Need Help Finding Land

[Strongbow]

I live in Michigan's Southern Peninsula.
I'm looking for a state that's a little less "blue", with soil that's rich (as opposed to Michigan's mixture of clay and sand) so that I can grow a garden, and with far less restrictive building codes.
My girlfriend has suggested South Carolina, but I lack knowledge or even a place to find knowledge.
Anyone have any ideas or know where I could start looking?

[rckclmbr428]

Putnam county WV. Land as cheap as $500 an acre, some good bottom land for gardening and zero building codes. Not even septic.

[rreidnauer]

The only problems I had with most of WV when I was searching for land was, you either had mountain-side or top and no chance of a successful well, or flat, fertile ground that also happened to be floodplain. The other problem was finding land within a reasonable commute of work.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy using TapaTalk 2

[blane]

Tennessee is a really good State as far as being less restrictive, 75% red. Good farm land and good people. I like South Carolina as well.

[JJ Jr]

thought red - blue and politics a non-no ?
its not like we build a log home in a city
kinda freaks me out thinking we'd base a land decision on this but to each their own I guess.

[AkChas]

thought red - blue and politics a non-no ?
its not like we build a log home in a city
kinda freaks me out thinking we'd base a land decision on this but to each their own I guess.

JJ, I totally agree with your comment that politics should have no place on the forum. However, given the subject-matter and the many factors that go in to a land search, where one prefers to live, etc, I think it's acceptable in the context of this thread. I made a comment on a totally different thread/subject recently, that caused some offense. But again, if we all consider the CONTEXT of what's being said and not extrapolate it to our individual "trigger-points", then there'll be a lot less panties getting all in a twist. So, yeah, I see it as being a little freaky too, but as you said "to each their own". I won't fault anyone for their preference in neighbors. :)

[Strongbow]

Thanks, all, for the advice.
I realize politics has no place on the forums so if my original post offended anyone, I apologize.
As far as codes, are they statewide in most places or determined by locality? If it's determined locally, then I may be able to find what I'm looking for right here in Michigan. Then the only thing I'd have to worry about is the awkward weather.
Maybe it's a lower peninsula thing.

[sdart]

Strongbow,
The codes are county-specific, so you'll need to check each county to see what their restrictions are. There are bound to be some counties in Michigan with fewer restrictions. Sometimes, unfortunately, it all comes down to the individual personalities of the county building department employees...

[StressMan79]

codes and county specificity varies. In WA, they used to be county by county, but then in 1997, they passed a law that made all counties conform to the same standards, which peeved the counties in the east, since they don't have the will nor the resources to enforce them. Anyway, I digress... most states they are a county issue...

-Peter

[blane]

I too apologize if any one took offense that my post might have been politically charged. It was not meant to be. I was only answering the question.

[blane]

Tennessee and SC are county codes only. NC some State mandates regulate every county but some are better than others.

[oldtrapper]

I just got back from driving through the UP and down the west coast of MI and I have to tell ya, your state has some gorgeous country and a lot of great log house trees. I was a bit surprised at there being 10M folks there but in the little finger of the mitten, you may find what you are looking for. Good luck.

By the way, I did not find your question any more offensive or silly than if you had said you would like to live where there are good Mexican restaurants. ;-{>8

[FishingAddict]

Spent a load of time in the UP and from the Porkies to the Soo I cannot imagine you could not find everything that meets the needs and criteria you used.
And I would say we talking 80% Red if that actually is an issue. :(

[oldtrapper]

Should point out the city-data.com site as it will give a wealth of data about any county or city. You can find political, religious, economic and weather data just for openers.

[Tom Featherstone]

Strongbow, The UP is a beautiful place to live and raise that family, the problem is making a living here. Michigan Residential Codes carry throughout the state, some county's are more restrictive but not as bad as in other parts of the country. Gardening has its special challenges because of the short growing season up here along with a wide variety of soils, most not good if you compare it to the farm land of the thumb or Wisconsin where they measure it in feet not inches.

25yrs we've been here and have been proclaimed a "Yooper" by the local town cryer. The people of the UP have welcomed us although it took time with some. Being "neighborly" wins most of them over as like most people, they want to know your angle... after that they will generally help anyway they can.

Figuring out how to survive will be the biggest challenge and the constant "needs vs wants" as wages here are generally at the lower end of the scale. Most here accept that as a good trade for where we live. The UP has had many "Boom or Bust" cycles all tied to the mining or logging industry, the UP is dotted with many towns as a reflection of this.

Good Luck SB! Follow your heart to where it leads you, getting out of the LP would be a good start... IMHO

[Strongbow]

I think I may have made the whole "red - blue" thing sound more important to me than it actually is. The reason I brought it up in the first place is because it can be a very good indicator of where your community is headed economically as well as with respect to the moral integrity of the people around you, the more important of these, by far being economy. I'm not saying that either side is inherently better or worse than the other, nor am I saying that I ascribe to either of the mainstream political beliefs presented to us as our only options by our media services, rather, I am a true independent.

My comment about living somewhere that is "a little less 'blue'" is exactly what I truly mean rather than to be taken as me hating on Democrats. Were I living in a place that's equally red, I would be likely to ask if any one had any advice on a place to live that may be a little less "red."

As far as economy and community morals are concerned, I can fix any moral dilemma by raising children (once I have some) in a home grounded in solid, proven, and principled morals, while simultaneously working to ensure that my prospective children have a solid education that will actually serve them (and others) in the real world rather than merely grant them entry into the first university that will be willing to rob them of any prospect of long term prosperity, via the student loan. Therefore, the moral issue isn't really a problem until it comes to public money being stolen or misappropriated (Kwame Kilpatrick, former Mayor of Detroit), crime, or police officers who will watch a crime happen and do nothing about it because the local government of the community in question is so weak that it fails to be able to hold even negotiability of violence (the police are easily overpowered by criminal organizations in some parts of SE Michigan).

I suppose, therefore, that one of my chief concerns is being able to live in a place that is not publicly unstable or teetering on the brink of instability, due to political irresponsibility, regardless of the color that the community looks like on an electoral map. Another concern I have, which only I can truly figure out the solution to, is being able to earn enough money to raise a proper family in the manner that I and my future wife determine to be proper. I can do that right where I'm at. I can also find other locations where I can do that. Self-sufficiency is also a huge concern. I'd like to be somewhere where not everything I eat has to have been on a shelf or in a box at some point in time.

In short, I suppose I want the same thing that everybody else here wants: to live in or near a decent community of level headed, responsible people, where the government is administered by the same (preferably to the highest possible level of government), where I can raise my family the way I see fit, where I can earn a sustainable living without loosing sleep over being able to afford "the basics," and where I can exercise a moderately or heavily (but not totally) self-reliant method of living.

Therefore, as stated, I suppose my slightly politicized original comment wasn't entirely what I had intended it to be. I realize there are problems with the party, candidate, or proposal I support (or don't support) no matter which one it is. Likewise each has it's benefits as well. The reason I used the "less 'blue'" description, in my original post, is because it can be typically (but not always) found that the community I just described in this particular post tends to be less blue than SE Michigan is, but that does not mean that a community, or region that is equal but opposite to this one would not have exactly the opposite problems and exactly to an equal degree.

Therefore, I hope that this post does an adequate job of clarifying my original post. Thank you!

[Strongbow]

Oldtrapper, thank you for the link! I'll definitely check it out!

The UP is a very beautiful place! As mentioned, the only issue I have with it is the short growing season. That's one of at least a few reasons my girlfriend was thinking SC. If city-data.com has any info on SC, then I'll definitely check it out!

Thanks, all! Also, any additional advice is more than welcome!

[LogHomeFeverDan]

Blaine so far from what I've been able to gather, NC seems ok. At least in the county we'll end up building. The only thing I've not been able to gather much information on, is if I will be able to drill my own well. I can be my own GC. I can do all the work.

[blane]

What county are you looking at? I am in Haywood and even though they have codes and BI to deal with they have been great to work with and actually very helpful.
Blaine so far from what I've been able to gather, NC seems ok. At least in the county we'll end up building. The only thing I've not been able to gather much information on, is if I will be able to drill my own well. I can be my own GC. I can do all the work.

[LogHomeFeverDan]

Rutherford.

[ncgator]

Dan,

Building in NC as your own GC is absolutely possible. See: http://www.nclbgc.org/faq_fr.html#faq9 and drill wells see
page 5 section H of: http://portal.ncdenr.org/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=09f224a2-64da-4db3-beaa-774f364159a8&groupId=38325

Jim

[LogHomeFeverDan]

Awesome Jim!!! TYVM!! That's great news! Thanks for the link. I'd not found it yet!

[Bmetz34]

Dan, we've recently completed the land search in Rutherford County. We bought land in Lake Lure, and will be living in Rutherfordton while we build. Everyone we've talked to down there seems to be accepting of the idea of being our own GC. The only issue we ran into was it was just about impossible to get a construction loan as your own GC, but we've given up on that and are going back to taking the long road and paying cash for the project. Something that might be helpful to know is that inside city/town limits, there are more restrictions than if you buy land 'outside city limits'. Most of the land we looked at was outside city limits, as that's where bigger parcels were. Once you are outside city limits, you only follow Rutherford County rules. You file your papers for permits etc at the Rutherford County courthouse which is in Rutherfordton. Everyone there has been very nice and helpful the secretary/receptionist was very helpful and didn't mind repeating herself when we were there asking about the process for putting in well/septic which it seems you have to do together. Still seems like a bit of jumping through hoops to me, but I'm sure it's for a good reason. If you have any specific questions and we can help you out just having recently waded through the waters here, let us know! P.S. I've heard you can practically hand in a drawing of your house on a paper napkin as far as submitting building plans goes. So that works out nicely if you are making any changes to the LBHA plans or don't have them.

[LogHomeFeverDan]

WOAH!!! Brigitte!! Yeah we're in Rutherford County as well. At least the land. We're not in the city limits. Our parcel is out in the country! lol Have the locals given you the "local" pronunciation of Rutherfordton?? I stopped at a local stihl dealer a couple of weeks ago, the lady in there corrected me, she said it's "ruffton", only "visitors" say Rutherfordton. We just had our perc test approved but yes they want you to do both septic and well at the same time. I figure as we get closer to actually starting we'll visit the courthouse. I do want to get to know those folks. On the phone they've all been very helpful. Good to know after I take the class we'll have other LHBA builders very close by!! That's exciting! The parcel of land we bought was part of a development the builder went under. They already have a blacktop road in and underground utilities on all the lots. We were up there this past Saturday. Still don't even have a road onto the property and haven't really decided build site but again that's why I'm waiting to get to class. I know there are at least a couple more members building in western NC. We just fell in love with Lake Lure. Of course property ON the lake is astronomical. We'll be about 13 miles from the beach. The biggest challenge I have is controlling my eagerness to get to a class!! Hoping the first of 2013 will be announced soon. I believe we'll be foregoing construction loan as well. I want to GC it all!!

[Bmetz34]

Awesome! So is your land actually in Lake Lure? Ours is in 12 Mile Post. You pass it on the 64/74 alt out of Lake Lure heading toward "ruffton". Similar story with it being a development but the original developer went through a divorce and had trouble with the property after. We're about 7 miles from the "downtown" public beach area. Takes almost 20 minutes to get there bc of all the winding roads. We're on 5 acres and are settling in on a build site. Haven't had the perc test yet, bought it as a foreclosure, but there's never been a problem in the area. Where are you currently/where will you live while you build?

[Bmetz34]

Oh and was it the Stihl dealer in Spindale? We stopped in there and ended up with a chainsaw! They have a good catalog of rentals too by the looks of it. Pay for 2 or 3 weeks, keep it for a month.

[blane]

Even though y'all aint from around here, its good y'all is lernin proper english. My wife has family from Ruff"a"tin. Don't forget the slight vowel in there.

[Zetmandu]

Way to go Blane, if they are going to be helping out on some builds around the area we need to be able to understand them....

[blane]

Yea, they seem like good folks, they just don't speak real good english like what you and me do. I like to help out whenever I can:)
Way to go Blane, if they are going to be helping out on some builds around the area we need to be able to understand them....

[ivanshayka]

Yea, they seem like good folks, they just don't speak real good english like what you and me do. I like to help out whenever I can:)

And learn a new language? :) (sorry, it was too tempting)

[Strongbow]

Perhaps we'll look at NC as well as SC! Both sound like wonderful places to live and raise a family!

[blane]

Yah ne gavadichie paruskie Ivan.
And learn a new language? :) (sorry, it was too tempting)

[LogHomeFeverDan]

Awesome! So is your land actually in Lake Lure? Ours is in 12 Mile Post. You pass it on the 64/74 alt out of Lake Lure heading toward "ruffton". Similar story with it being a development but the original developer went through a divorce and had trouble with the property after. We're about 7 miles from the "downtown" public beach area. Takes almost 20 minutes to get there bc of all the winding roads. We're on 5 acres and are settling in on a build site. Haven't had the perc test yet, bought it as a foreclosure, but there's never been a problem in the area. Where are you currently/where will you live while you build?

Long story, but I'll make it short!! We are currently in Hartsville, SC. Our parcel is in the jurisdiction of Union Mills, NC. Heading out of Lake Lure towards "ruffton" on 64/74 alt, you turn on Bills Creek, then go as you said, winding through a few miles. It's out there in the "woods". Not certain where I'll live during the build! Much of that will probably be answered after I take the class. Will be attending the very next class that's offered. We want to transition to this being "home base" asap. I'll share all the details of our story once I can get over to the member's side. I'm certain at some point we'll all meet since we'll be close. From that Stihl /outdoor rental business it's only about 5 miles to our land. Really looking forward to class, just gotta stay patient til the next one is announced.