3 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting a Homestead 🏡

1. Get Your Property Surveyed Right Away

This was one of my biggest regrets when we first moved here.

We bought 8 1/2 acres, and of course having land surveyed is another expensive endeavor when you just bought a house and already have a million other things to spend money on.

We had a huge discrepancy with our land because the previous owner had never properly staked or surveyed it either. A few years down the road, we learned that a pretty significant piece of land we thought belonged somewhere else was actually ours.

Unfortunately, property line surprises do not always make for good neighbors.

There have actually been quite a few stories like this in our town. We were lucky that nobody had built a house on the land in question. I cannot even imagine the headache if something permanent had been built there.

With the technology available today, one of the first things I would do when buying a homestead is have the property professionally surveyed and clearly know where your boundaries are.

Do not assume an old fence, stone wall, tree line, or what the previous owner tells you is necessarily the property line.

2. Know Your Town and State Laws

This is a big one, especially if you plan on having animals.

Living in a Right to Farm town is great, but that does not automatically mean you can buy a little piece of property, put whatever animals you want in the backyard, and be protected from every complaint.

You need to understand what actually qualifies as a farm in your state and what your own town allows.

Here in Massachusetts, we also have Chapter 61A, which can provide tax benefits for qualifying agricultural land. There are acreage, use, income, and other requirements involved, so this is something you need to research for your particular property.

The important thing is not to assume that because you live in a Right to Farm community, you can do anything you want.

Find out what animals are allowed. Find out about setbacks. Find out where manure can be stored. Find out what permits you might need. And definitely find out the rules before you build anything.

Right to Farm protections have also become an increasingly important issue as towns get more developed and farms end up surrounded by residential neighborhoods.

Our property is a legal working farm, so we are protected under our town’s Right to Farm laws. That protection is important, especially as more residential development moves closer to existing farms. Simply having a few animals on your property does not necessarily give you those same protections, which is why it’s so important to understand what qualifies as a farm in your town and state.

Something as simple and normal as a rooster crowing can suddenly become an issue.

Learn the rules before you bring the animals home, not after a neighbor complains.

3. Plan Your Layout Very Carefully

This is probably the one you will think about over and over again once your homestead starts growing.

Plan where everything is going before you start putting up buildings and permanent pens.

Once fencing is installed, shelters are built, water lines are run, and gardens are established, changing everything becomes a huge project.

One thing people forget about is heavy equipment.

You do not want everything so congested that you eventually trap yourself.

Most of us are not buying 100 acres. If you are, congratulations!

But in a state like Massachusetts, that rarely exists anymore at a price most people can afford. Even finding our 8 acres was not easy.

So you have to make the land you have work.

Think about what kinds of animals you eventually want because that will help dictate your layout. Some animals need to be closer to the house because you are checking them constantly. Others can be farther away.

Think about where you will plant.

Think about how many garden plots or growing areas you want.

Think about pasture rotation before you fence everything in.

Regenerative farming and properly rotating animals and growing areas has always been one of my biggest challenges because we are trying to do so much in a relatively small area.

And remember that your homestead will probably grow and change.