How to Buy a Ghost Town

lifehacker ^

[mylife]

Visiting a ghost town is one of the closest things we have to time travel. If left undisturbed, the town remains suspended in time; perpetually stuck in the year it was abandoned. Fortunately, some ghost towns have been incorporated into state and national parks, which tend to leave them in their state of natural ruin—the most famous example being the former gold mining town of Bodie, California.

But there are at least 3,800 ghost towns located throughout the United States (in a variety of conditions), and on occasion, entire towns are up for sale. While owning your own ghost town may sound great in theory, in practice, it could be a very different story (depending on what you want to do with the abandoned property and structures).

Before even getting to that part, you have to go through the process of purchasing the ghost town—which, it turns out, is a little different than buying your average not-abandoned home. Here’s what to keep in mind if you’re in the market for a ghost town to call your own, courtesy of an article by Joe Pye on Debt.com.

READ MORE The Out-of-Touch Adults' Guide To Kid Culture: Is Elon Musk Funny? 35 Movies That Made Public Domain Characters Cool Again What to Look for During Your Final Walk-Through Before Closing on a House It’s more than just a house Attention-grabbing headlines on ghost towns being sold at what appear to be shockingly reasonable prices may give the impression that as long as you have the cash, you could be the proud owner of your own abandoned mining village relatively easily.

[super7man]

Auto correct is not your fiend.;0)

[Buttons12]

Back in the late 80’s upstate New York was like that. Whole little towns either abandoned or close to it.

Been there. Would live there but for the taxes. You really can't beat PA for low taxes, and whole communities that want to keep it that way. Plus, it's gun friendly. I've occasionally considered going elsewhere but nothing compares. (The majority in my family says the trees here look undernourished, there are no beaches, and Manhattan is too far away. But they don't want to move either!)

[jmacusa]

My late father lived in Emmaus, PA. My two sisters life there. Yeah, PA is nice.

[Truth29]

Thanks, I reacted too quickly. I LOVE the one with the kittens!

[Organic Panic]

I also got some good land in Pricher Oklahoma,

[DoodleBob]

Gimme two lots.

[Jolla]

Imagine having a place like that to one’s own!

When I got that first feedback looked on line and was amazed at what was available and thought that would be so cool, but then the old Realator line hit me, location location location. Kind of surprising that those millions living in Tokyo don’t have a weekend place to get away from the city for a few days.

[Chickensoup]

Of course Japan would not let us in, but I would love to go there and live in a small village with some like minded people. I understand that the stargazing is superb off the coast of Japan

[struggle]

Yeah, it is amazing. Also, the absolute silence and the squid boats that run late night and use UV lights for illumination.

I think that most unreal thing was my daughter and I caught 5 fish, which we scaled, prepared, and at that night with rice and local vegetables. As long as you have rice, all the fish in the world are right down at the harbor.

[struggle]

If you want to see how cheap things are, enter in 空き家 and a rural location in Japan and see the local area’s “open house bank.”

Basically the elderly pass away and their children refuse to inherit the property, so the local government takes it and attempts to sell them (which they rarely do). You can find old houses with little upkeep for $5k.

My friend bought a place in rural Miyazaki that is 5 minutes walk from a miles long beach with awesome surfing and nearly 2000 sq ft with a BALCONY ON THE TOP OF THE ROOF and two separate 1000 sqft mini houses, all for Less than $100k.

[Chickensoup]

I could live there forever

[Chickensoup]

With a cow for butter one would have the perfect diet.