"Heartland” is both the name of a piece of land and of the corporation that owns the land. The land was purchased about 31 years ago, and the S-corporation was formed in 1981. We live on 800 acres of primarily rolling oak savannah in the hills west of Ukiah. We own 5 contiguous 160-acre parcels, which allow 10 separate homesites for the whole property. Our purpose is to maintain a place for us to live in harmony with each other and the land. Seven houses are currently built and six are occupied, and they are distributed over the acreage, most of which is to be left wild. We are off-grid and committed to minimizing our fossil fuel consumption, using renewable energy (mostly sun, wind, and wood) for electricity, heating, and cooling. Several of us are engaged in permaculture design.

Heartland includes roads that bisect the property (and continue on to adjoining properties) and a shared pond. Although there is no year-round running water, there are springs in many locations which we have developed for domestic and irrigation water. There is a private phone system that is used by some households. The vegetation includes native and introduced grasses, oak & madrone trees and forest, and some patches of fir forest and chaparral. There are panoramic views of the Ukiah Valley to the east, and more hills to the west. The elevations range from 700 to 1700 feet above sea level, and we get rare patches of snow during the winter.

Heartland (the corporation) is a California S-corporation with ten shares owned by the shareholders. Each of the ten shares is represented on the Board of Directors (BOD), which meets at least 4 times per year. The majority of the work necessary to maintain both the land and the corporation is done by the volunteer labor of the shareholders. The pace of decision-making and progress on projects is sometimes slow because we are also busy living the rest of our lives and have limited time to devote to Heartland. That said, we have paid off the land in full, maintained and developed the roads & phone system, and constructed the homes on the land. We prefer to make decisions by consensus, resorting to democratic voting when the former is unachievable. Shareholders have proven themselves able to work in groups and alone, to communicate patiently and kindly with each other (even & especially when they don’t agree), and to take responsibility for projects as needed. We are a thriving group who wants to maintain a dynamic and involved set of shareholders.

When someone buys a share in Heartland, they buy a 1/10th interest in the corporation, whose main asset is the land. The shareholders do NOT own the land or homes (and other modifications) directly, though they are allowed to sell the value of these to approved buyers. Since shareholders don’t own the land directly, they cannot get mortgages or loans on it, and our bylaws forbid the use of the shares as collateral on loans. Each shareholder is allowed to lease a ten-acre site on the land. This adds up to 100 acres of leased land, with 700 acres left wild. This lease is transferable if the share & lease are given away or sold, and is renewable by the shareholder or whoever owns the share & the lease at its expiration. Leaseholders can build houses on their sites, and can operate small businesses there, within the guidelines set down by the corporation (we discourage heavy additional traffic on the roads, for example).

The corporation has guidelines for Heartland including the Bylaws and General Plan. These include our agreements for activities on all 800 acres. In addition, shareholders sign a lease document that specifies Heartland’s agreements for the 10-acre lease sites. The share, lease, and modifications can be inherited or sold if the shareholder dies, and procedures for doing either are laid out in our bylaws.

The process for buying a share contains several steps. You must attend 3 Heartland BOD meetings, introducing yourself and answering general questions. This also gives you a chance to watch the existing BOD in action, so you can gauge your compatibility with us. You then meet with the Interview Committee and submit a credit report to them. They give a recommendation to the shareholders, who may approve you as a new shareholder. You must also be acceptable to the seller, especially agreeing on the price & terms of the sale!

We currently have one share for sale with a three bedroom/two bathroom house, small pond, and garden with fruit trees, going for around $350,000. We have experience living rurally and in community and have a proven commitment to sustainability.

If Heartland sounds like a good fit for you, please let us know and we can take the next step together!