great news...

[rita]

well, i visited my local court house and found good new.  we have no building codes in the county.  no building inspectors.  A building permit will probably cost about $60.  it lasts for 2 years.  if your exterior isn't done yet you can spend $25 for a year extension.  what a deal!  electric and plumbing are through the state and cost exactly $2.00 each.  I can't believe it.  this is so great.  I'm actually thinking "i CAN do this!"

rita

[Kevin]

My county was the same way. Makes things so nice.
Kevin

[glenn kangiser]

That is good news Rita, What area are you in?

Sorry -got lazy there- I see it's South Dakota.

[benevolance]

Hey guys,

This gives me an idea...Maybe we could all list the counties we live in and someone could make up a spreadsheet or web page...and we could offer the information for our county...And it would be a resource for members if they were to move or buy land somewhere else.

I have zero computer skills guys...I can tear down a engine or build a house, but I have trouble sending pictures in a e-mail. But I am sure there are lots of people here that would be able to do this in their sleep.

-Peter

[Texan lost in cali]

Wonderful... I could only dream that it was the same here in the on the left coast.
I am at least glad I dont live in San Francisco with the changes they are making up there.

[keyholefarmhouse(Guest)]

Maybe everyone should move to SD.

[achildofthesky]

I am!

I was pleased to hear that apart from the septic stuff, If you so desire, you can do it all from soup to nuts. Knowing that electron tubing isn' my strength, I'd run the wires out in the walls and let a pro hook 'em up to the service panel and outlets though.

Patty

[John Raabe]

I expect we will find that there is a clear INDIRECT correlation between an area's population growth rate and the ease of getting a building permit.

In other words, the faster the county is growing the more likely the building permit process will be used to slow or hinder that growth. And vice versa.

If I remember right (my dad grew up there) South Dakota has a smaller population now than it had in 1900!

[Jimmy C.]

Hey guys,

This gives me an idea...Maybe we could all list the counties we live in and someone could make up a spreadsheet or web page...and we could offer the information for our county...And it would be a resource for members if they were to move or buy land somewhere else.

I have zero computer skills guys...I can tear down a engine or build a house, but I have trouble sending pictures in a e-mail. But I am sure there are lots of people here that would be able to do this in their sleep.

-Peter

This is almost what you are wanting.
It shows how many state permits have been issued in a county.

http://recenter.tamu.edu/data/bps/


Texas county data
http://recenter.tamu.edu/data/bpc/

[rita]

actually, i had to check but SD has grown since 1900.  

for those who are wondering I am in the black hills, which are actually a fairly high growth area, but outside of rapid city, pennington county just doesn't have any inspectors.

[John Raabe]

Thanks for keeping me honest, Rita!   I have to have my dad update his story. Also, the Black Hills is a great location. My wife even fell in love with the badlands.

Thanks also to Jimmy for that great state by state housing data! This is a good way to compare housing appreciation histories between states. Most have only had a few short and slight corrections in property values. Nevada with -11% in 1981 was the sharpest I found. Many states (such as mine - WA) have not had a single year in which house values dropped (at least going back to 1980).