Newbie questions: land

[lauramacf]

Hello all, I'm brand new to the boards. I'm in dream mode right now as I peruse the home plans and the forums. We have no land and I usually get some eye rolling from my husband when I talk about buying land and building a house. But recently our circumstances have changed enough that he isn't rolling his eyes as much as he used to, at least when it comes to moving further out from the suburb where we are currently renting a home. We are considering a move in order to be closer to a school we'd like our children to attend. That area used to be rather rural, but sprawl is taking over quickly.

Since we are only in the consideration phase I feel it is too early to seek out a realtor, but I want to start figuring out who we should work with now so we are ready when the time comes. I'd like to know what else I can do to find out more about zoning and building requirements in the areas available to us. What do you look for in a community when you are researching land you can buy to build upon (better to look where farms are still everywhere, or is agricultural land usually specially zoned)? What do you think the chances are of finding "real" land in an area where McMansion subdivisions are becoming the norm? From a glance at the mainstream realtor sites online, I can see that a lot of land in our search area is being sold in 3 ac lots with minimum sq foot requirements that don't suit me (1800-2200 minimums).  I would take a lot that size if I had to, but I don't want, can't afford, and couldn't fathom living in that kind of place.  But if I couldn't find anything except land with these kinds of sq ft minimums, do you think it would be possible to be sneaky and connect several small homes? Our move would include having my mother move onto our property for her retirement. I really don't want her in the same house as us .  So I was really attracted to the grandfather cottage or volks cottage, thinking we could build it first, live there while building the "big" house, and then have a home ready for mom. If we connected two separate structures with a breezeway or something, could we get away with it?

Anyhow, I'm really just thinking out loud. I've really been enjoying reading all your posts on the forum. I've found myself at the CountryPlans site often in my past dreamy wandering of home building info on the web. The Victoria and Universal cottages have remained my favorite plans of all I've run across. Today is the first time I've checked the forums out and I'm glad I did (though I've barely left the computer all day and my kids are being neglected!) I think it is pretty cool that as I read I become more and more interested in making my dream a reality rather than discouraged.

If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions for me I'd really appreciate it. I'm pretty much a blank slate when it comes to all this!!

[Bellla]

Welcome Laura,

    We are just a step ahead of you.  We have the land, some fenceposts, a falling apart rubbermaid shed, and a picnic table.  It's our little slice of heaven.  

    It sounds like you are making a good start by seeing what is out there, what you like and what you don't like.  You can isolate your dream propery even better by making a list of things you want and another of things you don't want.   You can then prioritize those to come up with parameters for choosing the ideal spot.  For our search the parameters where at least five acres, but 10 was ideal.  Hubby wanted mountains, I wanted low traffic, neither of us cared for view (but we ended up with a great one!).  We wanted reasonably priced (varies by consumer) and low restrictions.  I used the internet to check all sorts of properties around our state (we were looking for vacation property that could become retirement property so work wasn't a major factor - we could always telecommute or something similar if necessary.)  Once I located some properties we started driving the areas and immediately started ruling out some simply because what we thought was reasonably priced were also in flood plains, or next to undesirable "attractions".  We finally found an adjacent pair of 5 acre lots that were remote, yet w/in 25 minutes of a good sized town (with hospital, shopping, etc.).  Keep on searching and asking questions.  The more research you do the more you will narrow down exactly what it is you want and then when you see it you will know it.  Good luck!

Bellla

P.S.  I can't help you with the breezeway issue, but the county building department could tell you what it would take.  Perhaps a long sunroom/screenporch would satisfy the code?

[n74tg]

Every state and county are different as it relates to zoning and building requirements.  So, once you narrow it down to one county (it sounds like you have, cause you've already picked the school for your kids) you'll be locked into THEIR requirements.  So, run on down to the county court house and start snooping around.  If you know someone who lives in the area already, especially someone who built something like what you want to build, they may be able to point you in the right direction as to who to ask your questions of (or maybe they can answer them themselves).  

If you pick one of the CountryPlans designs, you may have to get a local engineer to review and stamp the plans as adequate for that county.  But, then again, you might have to do that with anyone's plans.  There could be all sorts of city or county requirements to comply with relating to most anything; foundations, framing, building permits, inspections at different stages of construction, (in other words, all the building code items).  Only way you will find out is to spend the time asking.  

On the other end of the spectrum you could live in the county I do (Garland County, Arkansas) and they have NO requirements outside of city limits...anything goes.  As I am tying on to city water and sewer I will have to plumb the house according to city plumbing requirements and be inspected by the city inspector, but outside of that, no other inspections, no building permit, no nothing.    

So, you see, it all depends on where you wanna live.

Good luck; welcome to the forum.

[glenn kangiser]

Hi Laura -- this is the place to check things out and learn.  

I have seen many go from wondering if they could do it to being well on the road to completion.

Most counties and cities have a building and safety department.  Some have none - they can tell you what they require.

[ShawnaJ]

Since you already know where you want to build and have a general idea of how you want to build, I'd go to the County folks and just ask if it's allowed..........one thing to remember though, as "rural" areas get developed, they often start adopting building codes and tougher regulations fairly quickly. So what you might be able to do today, you may not be able to do tomarrow.......Can you build your own place or do you have to hire a contractor, something else you might want to ask? If the developer of the land (the guy who cleared  and subdivided it) has any restrictions they should be on file at the Courthouse, these are usually in addition to any county or state requirements.

We knew we wanted to be near the Smoky Mountains, but right up against the park is very expensive, so we broadened our search by taking weekend road trips and searching through the internet for available land. We picked an area that is not growing, very rural, all farms and woods, one of the reasons we love it so much. As it is for our future retirement and summer vacation, schools were not an issue although the schools there are pretty good, at least compared to ones here. Plus we found out through the nice people at County that the ONLY permit we needed to build is a septic permit, and they had toughened up those regulations just before we got ours. We can build our own place, as long as the outside is finished within one year from the beginning of construction....that was one of the developers requirements, all of the parcels are 5 acres or larger and we have two 7 acre parcels next to each other.

If the area you have chosen is growing as fast as you say....that school may not be so attractive in a few years with overcrowding....that is the issue we have down here in SC, all of our schools are severely overflowing now,  5 years ago we were a backwater rural area with a population of 1200 and way under capacity with three brand new schools and a new high school on the way....now we need 4 more elementary, and another middle school just to accomodate the students we have now..and the area is still booming. It has now begun to overflow to the next county which recently toughened up it's building codes.

Good luck and remember to keep your options open, you never know what might come along..

[lauramacf]

Thanks everybody for your insights and advice. I do hope we'll eventually make this a reality! I am looking forward to continuing to learn from you and with you on these forums!