Log homes have provided shelter for thousands of years. Over that time, they have evolved from simple crude structures to extravagant finely crafted structures. As you begin to plan to build a log home, there are several details you will want to consider.

Cost is obviously one of the primary factors for any home and is even more so with log homes. You can get economical log home kits that you can easily construct yourself. However, they will not give you the rustic high-end elegance of a handcrafted log home. Handcrafted log homes will cost considerably more than kit homes however they of a much finer quality.

Log shape is another consideration. Log kits can come in full round (typically not fully round- round on exterior and interior but flat tops and bottoms), D logs (flat interior and round exterior), and square. There is very little advantage of any one type construction wise. It mainly comes down to personal preference. hand crafted log homes utilize raw full round logs. Crafters then fit each log into place by hand. As you can imagine, this requires much more time and skill thus increasing the cost of handcrafted log homes significantly.

Another detail you will want to consider is whether you want your home chinked or not. Chinking is the weather proofing between logs. Originally chinking was made of a mixture of mud and straw. Today it is comprised of a foam backer rod covered with a silicon or latex coating. All log homes do not require chinking. Kit log homes use a weather stripping that is compressed between the logs and therefore do not need to be chinked. Also tightly fitted handcrafted log homes can be sealed in the same manner and therefore do not require chinking. If you like the look of chinking, any log home can be chinked. Just remember that this will be an additional construction cost. Chinking also comes in a variety of colors to match the stain that you use on your log home.

Another factor that affects the overall cost is construction time. Kit log homes require substantially less time to erect compared to handcrafted log homes. Kit logs are milled so that all logs are uniform and just need to be stacked with little or no handcrafting. Handcrafted log homes are usually erected twice. The first time the logs are fitted into place at the log yard. The logs are then taken down and shipped to the construction site where they are fitted back together.

There are numerous log home companies that provide both kit and handcrafted log homes. Prior to selecting a company gather all the info that you can on the company, their logs and construction techniques and if possible visit one or two log homes they have constructed.

When you are ready to buy that special piece of land to build your log home on, visit www.landbrokermls.com to search land for sale.

When you begin your search for hunting land for sale, you will want to consider several factors. Species you desire to hunt, quality of species you desire, species population size, species acreage requirements, and management goals to name a few. Below we have taken a couple big game species and discuss some of these factors. We will start with Whitetail deer hunting land in Texas.

When looking for whitetail deer hunting land in Texas, you will first want to determine if you are looking for a place that has high populations of deer simply for the enjoyment of hunting or if you want a place that has trophy quality deer. You will also want to determine what your goals will be. Do you want to buy  land that has not been managed previously and start your own management program or buy land that has already been managed? If you want to buy place to manage for and hunt trophy whitetail, you will want a place that is at least 1000 acres or more if it is not high fenced. If it is high fence,d you probably would not want a place smaller than 3-400 acres. In addition, you will want to manage the deer population according to your management goals.

Now lets look at Colorado Elk hunting land. You will still want to decide if you want a place for hunting trophy animals or simply for the enjoyment of hunting. Once you have determined what type of hunting you want to be able to do, you have several options. You can by small acreage that borders National Forest or BLM land giving you access to 1,000s of acres to hunt or you can buy large parcels of private land. You will be very limited on your management options if you elect to buy smaller parcels that simply give you access as opposed to the options that will be available if you purchase large private tracts of land. You will also need to decide what unit you want to purchase land in. Some units are draw only and some have 2nd, 3rd and 4th season over the counter tags. If you buy private land, you may be able to get land owner tags. The draw only units will generally have better trophy quality but lower overall herd numbers so unless you have land owner tags you will be required to draw your tags and it may take several bonus points in order to draw. You will want to keep these factors in mind when looking at Colorado Hunting Land for Sale.

It is important to understand that there are different beetles affecting the forests of the Rocky Mountains. The primary beetle impacting Colorado Mountain Land is the Mountain Pine Beetle (Dendroctonus Ponderosae). The Mountain Pine Beetle commonly attacks Ponderosa, lodgepole, Scotch, and Limber pine while Bristlecone Pine, Pinyon Pine, firs and spruces are less susceptible. Things to consider when looking for Colorado Mountain land for sale, New Mexico Mountain land for sale, or Wyoming Mountain land for sale:

1. What species of pine are present on the property?
2.. Are any of the pines infected by pine beetle?
3. What type of beetle is infecting the trees?
4. If there is an infestation present how much of the forest has been affected?
5. What are the remedies available to mitigate any infestation?
- Spraying
- Logging
- Chipping

In the Northern Rocky Mountains, Montana Mountain Land and Wyoming Mountain land are also being ravaged by beetles. in Montana it is primarily a bark beetle that is killing trees and to a limited extent in Wyoming. Montana Mountain Land for sale will most likely have at least some pine beetle infestation however do not let this discourage you. There are many uses for the timber and many alternatives for mitigation.

- Firewood
- Furniture
- Pellet Production
- Construction lumber
- Wood chips

Also remember, that once the dead falls have been removed and cleaned up the forest will be more diverse and healthier.

When you began looking for land, it is important to understand how land is measured and priced. For instance, if you are looking for a farm for sale in Kentucky, farms would be represented in acres and either be priced by the acre or given as the total asking price. However,  if you are looking at New Mexico ranches for sale, the ranched may have size given in acres or sections with the price give in dollars per acre or as the total asking price. For those unfamiliar with the measurement of sections, 1 section = 640 acres or 1 mile X 1 mile.

Kentucky farms may range from a few hundred acres to several hundred acres while ranches in New Mexico may run from several thousand acres to several hundred acres or from several sections to upwards of 100 sections.

For those of you who may be interested in purchasing land in South America or Europe, you will most likely see land size given in number of hectares. 1 hectare=2.47105381 acres.

It is important to understand land measurement and be able to convert between them so that you can compare prices. For example, if land size is given in sections, you will want to convert to acres so that you can easily compare price per acre of other parcels. This will give you the ability to compare properties to ensure that you do not overpay.

As my grandfather use to say, “Everything is for sale. Just depends on how much you are willing to pay”. If you are looking for farms, ranches, or acreages for sale there are many sources other than Real Estate brokers. You can look on Ebay, FSBO websites, and auction websites. You can even approach property owners directly.

Suppose you know of an area that you would like to by a farm, ranch, or acreage. You can go to the courthouse or tax assessor and determine who the owners are of property in the area that you are looking. It is also good to visit with the tax assessor. You will be surprised at the information you can harvest from the locals that will help you in finding the owner most likely to be open to selling and their motivations. This will help you in your negotiations as well.

Another good source is auction companies. There are many companies that specialize in auctions for land. Auctions are a good place to pick up deals but you have to be willing to do your homework. You also need to keep from becoming emotionally motivated and stick to your budget. You must realize that you only want to purchase the property for the specific amount that you set prior to the start of the auction or less. It is too easy to get caught up in the excitement of the bidding and lose track or to let your emotional desire to purchase the property take over and you end up paying more than you should. You need to be willing to walk away if you cannot get the property bought for your set price or less.

Keep in mind that if you are not able to find property that fits your wants and needs through brokers there are other sources but you have to be willing to do some work.