About the Author

Curtis Seltzer has been investing in rural real estate since the early 1970s when he bought his first 60 acres for $5,000. He's owned undeveloped and developed land in seven states. Since the mid-1990s, he's run a consulting practice that works with buyers of farms, farmland, second homes, timber tracts, development properties and conservation investments. These have ranged from 50 acres to 600,000. He's consulted on purchases in about half of the 50 states, as well as Canada and Brazil. He has written more than 150 columns on land investing in addition to his self-syndicated, weekly "Country Real Estate" column that began in 2007. He has written six books, including How To Be a DIRT-SMART Buyer of Country Property and Land Matters, and is working on a novel, Point of the Pick. He has a B.A. from Oberlin College and an M.Phil. and Ph.D. from Columbia University. He was raised in Pittsburgh where he graduated from Peabody High School. Since 1983, he's operated a cattle-and-timber farm in Highland County, Virginia, which claims 2,200 full-time residents. His books, writing and contact information are available at: www.curtis-seltzer.com.