So you want to go rural?

If you’re thinking of buying a hunk of land off the beaten path, consider “The Country Property Buyer’s Guide” ($19.95 in paperback from CreateSpace; also for Amazon Kindle). The subtitle says it all: “A Complete Guide For Buying, Financing, Developing And Living On Rural Property.”

“This book,” writes author Garry Cooper, a Chico State University grad and California real estate broker, “will take you for a relaxing stroll through the world of buying and developing country property.” Cooper says he’s been “developing bare land into country home sites for nearly forty years,” and it shows. Reading his work is like sitting down with a guy who knows his way around the fence posts and is not afraid to “tell it like it is.”

The longest of the three sections focuses on finding and buying country property. Cooper’s message: think it through. “Let’s say you want to move to the country so you can enjoy living on a creek where you can fish and swim from your own property, let the kids raise some hogs for 4-H.” Then you realize the bus trip to school is a long ride, the attractive creek is in an area known for illegal activities, and there’s no power.

If you still want to proceed, Cooper is a seasoned guide. In choosing the right property “probably the three most critical factors are the water availability, the sewage disposal, and the availability of electricity.” Need power? “Out here, we use a rule of thumb of about five thousand dollars per pole!”

The second section provides tips on development including what Cooper calls “macroscaping,” “the art of ‘painting a picture upon the earth, using a bulldozer, a backhoe tractor, and a chainsaw as my brushes!’” A short final section offers help in being a good neighbor. “Use your head for something other than a hat rack for that new cowboy hat you’re sporting! Get your fences in place permanently so they are built specifically for the type of livestock that you plan to get before you get them.”

The stroll is eye opening, the book a must-have for those going rural.