I have dusted off my old Yelp account so I can tell you all about how fantastic my experience…read moreworking with Homestead Crossing is, and has been since I first began dealings with them in the Fall of 2016. I used to live in the big city (Portland, Oregon) and was tired of the rat race, so I began researching how I, as a blue collar worker, could afford to buy a place to build a home, on some land out in the woods.
Coming up with a huge down payment, saving money while paying city rent and bills, was an issue for me, as was credit, (Again, those horrific city bills!) so a bank loan was out of the question. I was also pretty specific in what I wanted: rural land in a beautiful wooded area with low-to-no building codes, mostly for the sake of cost efficiency in developing my future homestead. I narrowed my land search down to the Ozarks region and that's when I came across Homestead Crossing on eBay.
Not wanting to buy sight-unseen, and wanting to do some exploring on ground in the area I desired to live in, I planned a trip to Northern Arkansas and Southern Missouri in the Fall of 2016. I spoke with several realtors and land sellers all over the Ozarks and looked at a few places before I decided to pop in to the Homestead Crossing office in Willow Springs, Missouri, to see what they had available. I am glad I did.
From the moment I walked in off the street, slightly bedraggled from all the driving and camping, I was shown the utmost professionalism and respect. All my questions were answered and they asked good questions of me to narrow down what I was looking for, which, honestly, I was not as certain of as I thought I was when it came down to it. Did I need electric? How many acres? Geographic features? I gave slightly vague parameters, admittedly, but was promptly given a personal escort, a friendly and laid back guy named MJ, and a list of properties to look at for starters.
MJ answered questions and pointed out features and amenities at and around the properties on the list, and I absolutely fell in love with the third one we toured. By mid-afternoon, I was putting a small down and my first month's payment on the table after having the contract explained and all those questions answered.
One of the things that sold me on going with Homestead Crossing and the owner-finance route was that from the moment I started paying, I could start using the land, although, I did decide to go back to the city to save up some before relocating, whilst making my low monthly payments. (These payments were facilitated by a fabulously easy-to-use and instant payment processor on the Homestead Crossing Inc website, although, there are multiple ways you can pay for your land from wherever you are without having to physically go to their office.)
Since signing on as a Homestead Crossing land buyer, I have had nothing but good experiences with the company, their accurate and transparent accounting processes, and, best of all, their fantastically friendly and fun staff. (Ed, Shannon, Audrey, MJ, EVERYONE there is great!) They really do remember their clients by name and even have a yearly Customer Appreciation Day, which is a great time. They go all out with live music, great food, the works! They also have a networking group on Facebook for current and potential customers called "Friends Who Like Homestead Crossing Inc." It's a great source of homesteading and area information in addition to being a place to see new listings.
Anyway, this is getting to be a novel, but long story short, I highly recommend Homestead Crossing. I love my new life in the Ozarks and Homestead Crossing has truly been, and continues to be, responsive, efficient, straightforward, transparent, and all-around excellent to work with.
