East Tn land wanted

Started by jamieh99, March 25, 2007, 06:54:17 PM

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jamieh99

If any of you folks run across some land in east Tennessee please let me know.  I have been looking just south of Johnson City and working with a realtor.  I am wanting 2-5 acres to build a little house.  Also, I would appreciate any advice on other areas of east Tn that you feel would be a nice rural place to put a small house on.
                                                                         Jamie
 

glenn-k

Welcome to the forum, Jamie.

Hopefully Amanda will show up soon - she's in Tenn.  We have another member or two in that area also.  


jamieh99

Glen, I am just below you in Clovis , Ca.  Thanks for the welcome.  However, Tn boy homesick gotta go!

glenn-k

I'm so sorry. :'(

Feel free to drop by when you can't stand the city any longer.  :)

Amanda_931

Unfortunately, I live in the south-west corner of middle Tennessee.  A long, long, long ways from Johnson City.   Hundreds of miles.    

(there are three stars in the Tennessee flag--standing for the three Grand Divisions of the state.  since it's a long narrow state, they are East, Middle, and West Tennessee.  East is the part in the Eastern Time zone. West starts where Mississippi and Alabama meet at the Tennessee border--it's the Tennessee river, goes north to that funny little jog in the east-west line across Tennessee.  Mostly, not totally.)

But in every area I've heard of here, land auctions are considered a good way to sell your land.  No serious bargains, but maybe a reasonable price for both buyer and seller.  You've got to be there to do that--or have a relative on the ground there who really wants you co come.

Finding a realtor who will work with you is sometimes a trick when you are after fairly small parcels of raw land.  At one stage, United Country Realty, big in most areas of Tennessee, made their reputation on selling just that.  Our guys here would really really prefer to sell "riverfront lots" in an area that they are developing  The Green is called the Green River.  It's usually wade-able.  A whole lot less work.  But even that company sometimes still gets land to sell that the owners remember buying from his daddy.  They do have a few places in the Tennessee "farms and ranches" section, but most of that section is somebody subdividing a big package across the river from me in West Tennessee.  There is an office in Johnson City--they do Washington, Carter, and Unicoi counties.  

http://www.unitedcountry.com/johnsoncitytn/index.html

Or, sometimes, subscribing to the local newspaper is a good way to see what's going on.  

I know what our Chamber of Commerce sends out to people who call saying they would like to move here.  Often everything from the phone book--ours is teensy--a copy of the paper, preferably one without 15 pictures of drug dealers just arrested on the front page, and cards from the realtors, a good county map, whatever came to hand in the way of brochures.  You could try the Chamber in counties you are interested in.

A couple of years ago here, the timber/paper/land/forest product companies were selling a lot of their property.  This was, maybe still is, true in a lot of areas.  A lot in the kind of parcels that Don was complaining about in New Mexico.  Maybe not that big, but 500+ acres anyway.  I don't know how to get in to that, but if you could find which were big in the area you looking for, you might find they were selling out.  A friend figured that if he had heard about one before he bought the land he's got right now, he could have divided into four, sold three, still had a good sized tract, and have all his land and half of his house paid for.  But he wanted a really tiny house.

Champion International, Weyerhauser, don't remember any of the rest, but surely they all have a national real estate offices.  A search on Timber Company or Forest Products will get you some kind of interesting looking links.  Including some to the kind of people that the timber company really wants to sell to--"investors" who haven't a clue what they are doing and will let the timber company run the whole operation without risk.  I think.   :)   Either that or they are supposed to hire one of the people that the timber companies are laying off to manage the property.


benevolance

my wife and I are on the hunt for land in tennessee....We went white water rafting up there in Hartford a few weeks ago...And we looked at some land in the mountains overlooking the pigeon river....

We do not care if it is remote and has no power access....We are looking for acreage on the cheap...As we are not rich like Glenn and Cathy :P Not looking for thousands of acres...Want enough land that we will not have to see smell or hear our neighbors... total privacy is our goal...

of course that means yours truly has to build the wife a log cabin....Where the time and money for that are coming from is another debate

But yeah eastern tennessee is okay with me...

Nothing west of Pigeon forge... I like the area about 50 60 miles to the north of pigeon forge... mountains and lakes...Nice

glenn-k

We have plenty of debt for everybody if you'd like to share, Peter. :)

benevolance

Glenn

Surely the underground headquarters is worth millions!

you landscape your yard with a dozer, bobcat and excavator... until recently...I landscaped my yard with a pick shovel and wheelbarrow....That was until I bought a tractor that had a front end loader on it for a couple hundred bucks

Do not talk to me about being poor ::)

glenn-k

#8
You have lots of time Peter.  You are still young.  I came to California in early 1971 with about $120, a '59 Pontiac and a kid on the way.  No money in the bank - no magic wand,  I got a job the weekend I arrived, not due to knowing anybody, but with the knowledge I gained from reading books and learning from others.  I was 19 years old and had already been the head mechanic at the Dodge Dealership and had worked in a diesel repair and welding shop.

By 1976 I was building steel buildings and pouring concrete.  1978 grossing 1.5 million per year.  1982 I was broke and in the hole $150 to $200,000.  Owed the IRS $20,000 for which they took over $40,000 in my money, land, equipment, life.  I never went bankrupt.  Paid it off.  I learned how to make a decent living and always lose enough to not owe them anything.  The IRS lady - collections agent- who I consider a friend told me to "operate my business in the future  in such a way that I never had any liability to the IRS."  Good advice-- I'm always broke -- hence the toys and equipment I must buy to stay broke.  

Your turn, Peter.  :)


jraabe

Very interesting story Glenn.

I wonder how you would look in a shiny suit doing a seminar on "[highlight]How to turn $150 into $1,500,000 in 7 years or less![/highlight]"

(You could just leave out the part about the IRS and stuff - that side of the slope doesn't sell as well.)  :P

benevolance

Glenn

No money....No debt....Nothing for the IRS to chase me down for....

I do not swim in deep water....No imaginary numbers or debt... Do without until I can pay for it.... Be patient and try to be persistent to find a deal (like the $200 tractor with front end loader)

The only thing that would be tough for me is to explain to someone that is not from this site...How I have re-built most of the things in my life... Currently...I have renovated 1 house completely myself and am working on number 2.... Spending a little here and there...

So whereas for most people to get a nice home needing nothing they would have to invest 3-4 times what my wife and I really have in it... We have a lot of receipts to prove how we did it... I guess the only problem would be the value of  the houses and how that contributes to net worth...Which screws you up in a tax audit...

But instead of massive incomes...I have focused on just paying the bills more or less and acquiring more things...Such as the 30+ old cars the tractor...my truck, trailer...etc...

As to what I have done to make a living...Well I still do odd jobs for people...I shingle the occasional roof...take the chainsaw cut down rotting patios and replace them...Handyman stuff like that...

I mostly price repair work...Several people I know in the auto industry call me to price jobs... From mechanic repair work to auto body to antique resto work....

For example...Today I removed the door off a 80 ford pickup...Then I removed the box....Cut out the cab corner door post and back outer skin of cab(window removed).... Port-a-powered   roof back to original specs....Fixed front door hinge area... Went to salvage yard....Pulled door chop sawed offback of cab and  door post...

Brought it back to shop trimmed parts to fit...Welded in door post back outer shell on cab.... installed door...gapped it fitted latch to shut per OEM specs... ground the welds.... Skimmed with plastic... sanded primed ....Now is ready for body shop...

This job was given to me by a body shop...I priced it out at $450...It cost me about $75 for the parts and materials to fix truck....I worked like a slave...welding is dirty and nasty... you know how much fun it is to grind and weld overhead...

But it was a job no bodyshop within 50 miles would even do....Price quotes were $1500 to fix... I did it in one day!!!

In life I learned I can succeed if I can learn to do a little of everything...And be willing to take the jobs nobody else wants.... I do a couple jobs a week like this...

Monday I am removing a vinyl top...and cutting metal patches and welding up the roof to repair the rust under said top on a 73 cutlass....Should be a whole days work... Another job no body shop would even take.

Other than doing dirty work nobody else will do...I sell cars... and junk a few cars a month....go to swap meets in the summer...every so often someone brings me a car to restore for them

Keep it simple...Stay close to the house.. stick with things I know....

Low overhead, low maintenance, little paperwork or hassle

never going to make a million bucks... or have a bunch of employees..I have tried to hire people...Usually lasts an hour or so...And they have to leave...Cannot handle complete idiocy or laziness or both....Even if it means working by myself

Hope to have three or four places so we can pick a couple to retire on.... maybe they will be worth something someday?

When I am 55 I will be retired...On my own land sawing logs putting around building things welding... just keeping myself amused... The pursuit of money does not motivate me.... The pursuit of financial independence does motivate me however...Everything we do is aimed at being able to afford to retire and never have to worry as soon as possible....So to that aim we just keep scraping along knowing we are getting further and further along being able to retire early and enjoy what time is left...

Wife's mom is 60 and she is looking at several more years teaching...Cannot afford to retire... I feel that we do not have infinite time on this place...You need to get out of the rat race asap....And do what you want for as long as possible

Sometimes I look back at something I have done and wonder if I am insane... you know working with pick and shovel when a backhoe does 300 times the work... for a fraction of the price...

But I refuse to dig myself into debt and play with money that is not mine...I stumble along as I can afford.

We have penciled several parcels of land in TN and in Maine....we are taking 2 weeks off in July to drive around looking at land...and to go kayaking...We will buy some land this fall.... Something under $100k I want Tennessee mountain land  between Knoxville and Bristol...50-100 acres depending on the deal you strike...In my mind that will be the piece of land we retire on...

25 years from now when I am retired and wanting to saw logs and play..Timber will be plenty huge... even if it is only semi mature now..Lots of rain logs grow fast here... I can have enough land to not have neighbors... or worry about taking a leak on my own land without indecent exposure charges.

Tennessee climate is warm enough that you can grow almost anything you want...Not too hot in summer...a little snow here and there....

Tennessee has no property taxes!!! This in itself is reason enough for me to be there...Also no zoning in many parts of eastern TN.... We all know how good that can be

not rich, but a plan for later

benevolance

John

Maybe glenn will be on TV one of these nights around 2 am.... you know the tv infomercials...

"Come to my seminar...I will show you how I built all this wealth and the underground headquarters"

3 hours of inspiration for the low low price of $199.99 ::)

he will be of course promoting the $150 to $1.5 million in 7 years book ;)

glenn-k

I think I understand , John and Peter.  Fame and fortune could be mine if I would just shave and put on a suit.  Fat chance. :-/ :)

benevolance

Glenn

Maybe like Seinfeld when he was the first pirate.... you could be the first  overall wearing bearded,  self help guru! :)

I refuse to shave....Well in truth the beard is there for the wife....Covering up my face as much as possible prevents all the other ladies from seeing me and trying to whisk me away ::)



benevolance

Glenn

If I had a way to make all the ladies look...Do you think I would have gotten married?
::)

glenn-k

I guess some of us are lucky that some of the gals are partially blind. :)

benevolance

amen buddy amen

well you have seen my picture so you know what I am talking about :)

Amanda_931

Where on earth did you get the idea that Tennessee has no property taxes?  Sure it does.   And they vary widely from locality to locality.  Plenty sales taxes.  Although they have recently reduced--not eliminated--the ones on groceries.

At the moment no taxes on income generated in Tennessee.  There are taxes on interest income from out-of-state.

benevolance

Amanda

I bought a car up there a while back and he said no property taxes...Said there were no taxes to pay on cars either each year like there are here in SC...

I knew that the state sales tax was high...

Okay lemme get this right...If I work in the state of Tn my income is tax free...?

That would be amazing


benevolance

Jamie

If you have job security and or money you can steal land in remote areas of the state... But the catch 22 to that is you need to have a job...and if you are in the middle of nowhere it may be hard to make a living.

What is it that you do?

fourx

Tax..? Is that thing still going on ;)..?
""Keep it simple...Stay close to the house.. stick with things I know.... "" Yep.

""Low overhead, low maintenance, little paperwork or hassle ""  Thats just how I do things, now...no mortgage, no car payments, everything cash ( basic healthcare is free here), grow all my own vigetables and barter the excess- and work only 12 very well paid hours per week.

Amanda_931

#22
Basic health care here is not only not free here, but the uninsured get billed between 35 and 300 per cent more than the big insurance companies.

But no, we don't have

[size=48]Socialized medicine.[/size]

Although actually we don't hear that much about socialized medicine any more.  That was the 50's.  Most everybody except the insurance companies thinks the system is broke now.

fourx

Well, it works here, with a lot of grinding noises and dust from the hinges, but it means that a serious health emergency is not a disaster- you have to be aware of and look for health professionals who ""bulk bill"", ie: don't charge a fee on top of what the Government pays them, though. And there are far too many sub-standard overseas trained so-called Doctors here.
On Tax, there are property taxes ( mine are about six hundred bucks a year) and a 10% GST on most consumables, so even in a very low income bracket you are still really paying tax on almost everything anyway.

benevolance

Leaving on Monday to look at a parcel of land in Sneedville TN

Where are you at Amanda?

My wife mother law and myself are camping up there...We are going to look at a 80 acre parcel of land on the clinches river... Going to spend 3 days 2 nights up there touring around trying to get a feel for the area to decide if it is where we might want to buy for retirement or whatever...