Any advice on what I need to know about country living/owning property?
Like everyone else says - water/well. I don't get why your brother in law pays for water if he has a well? (Maybe hes making payments on it) My well dried up a few years ago, cost over 8 grand and I had the electrical part myself. Water smells somtimes.
Property Tax has been a *****- $1800 in 2005 now it's $5700. Acre and a half.
How far is your work commute? Mine's 100m a day some months I drive over 3000 miles when we go 7 days.
Paying to patch and regravel roads and driveway is drag too.
But the view is nice and I'm surrounded by farm land that's not mine.
I just walked outside and took these two pics, back yard, front yard. Life is all about trade offs. Depends on what you want.