zoning kind of question...

[missyspotty]

Hi there, I've done a search and can't find the answer to my question, probably 'cos the answer is so obvious to you guys no-one would ever ask it!! (I'm in England but am looking for land in the US to quite likely build a cabin on whilst I'm attending college-I can't rent as I'll have a bunch of dogs with me).
Now, if for example land is zoned regular R1 and mobiles and manufactureds AREN'T permitted,, would a log home be ok? Are they looked upon as permanent structures like site-built, or would it be up to the county? We just don't have these kind of homes in the UK other than majorly scaled down ones for vacation rentals where they aren't really classified as being permanent as they can be dismantled. Also, does anyone know, if they won't let you live in a trailer on the land whilst the home is being built would a motorised RV that was being used as your transport on a daily basis be ok?
Thanks in advance and I'm sure I'll be back asking more questions soon as there's so much to learn when you are dealing with another country's technicalities and red tape!!

[rreidnauer]

First thing would be to try and find property without the restrictions. That will make life much easier all around, but if you can't, then here's my thoughts.

The type restrictions you speak of are usually set up by home-owners association, not the local government. When you have a restriction of "no mobiles/manufactured" there are usually plenty more restrictions. Yes, the log home will be allowed, provided it is of a minimum square footage. You'll probably be required to have it constructed in a amount of time. (are you talking kit log houses?) The association might allow you to park an RV for limited time periods, but can vary. They may impose noise abatements, like no chainsaws, or at least operated during limited hours.

The list can go on and on. So I stress again, avoid home-owner's associations if at all possible.

[missyspotty]

Ah, thats good info, thanks. I have heard about your infamous HOA's and have seen some of the covenants when checking out various possibilities. I had pretty much discounted the idea unless there was absolutely no other option.
As I have just posted on the introduce yourself thread I have literally just found a small acreage which has SR frontage but is completely landlocked by wildlife management areas, there can't be many places in Florida where you can have a small patch with actual legal and physical access and no neighbors!!
Kit log houses?? Noooo!!! I wouldn't DARE come on here and utter such words LOL. Nope, I'm one for rolling up my sleeves and getting down to things, I am currently wondering if I can make the end of April class!! I've actually been a fan of log homes for years and years, you just aren't allowed them in the UK. It would never have occured to me that it was actually possible for an ordinary person to construct one anyway. With my change of lifestyle coming up it's really got me thinking... :)

[spiralsands]

Sometimes restrictions are put on a property by the owner who sells the property and aims to maintain a quality environment in an area. My property is an example of that. The owner of this old farm broke it up into 10 pieces and deeded it so it wasn't allowed to put single or double wide mobile homes on any of the lots. The other restrictions were that no temporary structures are built, homes had to be at least 1000 sq feet of living space, that any unregistered vehicles must be garaged and that the hay should be mowed at least once a year. A travel trailer is not a single wide mobile home and not a temporary structure so the town of Oppenheim probably won't come after me if I live in a travel trailer while I build my house.

Frances

[JeffandSara]

Hello, Missy--

Love your avatar photo. : )

Rod's absolutely right about HOAs. Building your own house, LHBA-style (or any style) is much more difficult, if not potentially impossible. The less restrictions and regulations on the land you buy, the better, definitely.

I did want to add, however, that even on land without HOA-style covenants and restrictions, you CAN potentially come up against problems living in an RV while you build. Some cities and counties have rules about living on the land while you build, too. Obviously, as you mentioned, a movable RV ought to be different than a house trailer; but be aware that sometimes it isn't.

If you build in an area with some sort of restriction on living on the property while you build, and/or if you have nosy, persnickety neighbors, it's obvious enough if you're coming and going to camp out for a few days at a time, or if you're really living in the RV and only moving it to get propane or dump the tanks, etc. If your neighbors decide to complain (even sometimes without a strict local ordinance), or your inspector feels you're not complying, it can be a problem.

The less your RV parking site is "in anyone's face", the less likely you are to have a complaint. But you ought to also be able to get a decent overview of local regulations and restrictions by calling the building departments of the areas in which you're considering building. If you need to live on-site while you build, you don't want to get committed to a certain property until you feel fairly confident that you'll have this option.

Best of luck to you. Sara

[RockEngineer]

We have had members build in the UK. Here's one thread

http://www.loghomebuilders.org/scaling-down


In case you can't get into the member's section here is the general quote

Hi everyone,
I'm building a log cabin in my back garden as a sort of scaled down version to learn the basics (it will probably end up as a summerhouse, studio, office thingy). The floor area will be 15' x 15' and I am using red ceder to build with (an average of about 10" diameter). Our building regs hold me to under 4 meters (12') so the log wall probably won't exceed 9' high.

OK, the question is that the site is more or less inaccessible so can I scale down my piers to say a base of 2' x 2' and 2' high given that I'll not be building a large structure?

Just to let you know the neighbours were totally amazed to see our logs being delivered in a suburban street in London... ha they haven't seen anything yet! :lol:

Cheers,

Peter

[missyspotty]

Thanks for your input guys, great stuff!!

I've spent the last 2 days with my nose buried in county and city websites checking out ordinances for various possibilities in various states. WOW, what an eye opener!!!! Absolutely unreal some of the stuff they come up with, what I'm really checking out is dog regs. and it's amazing the variations on an identical theme you encounter. Some county's zoning depts. are clearly in the grip of seriously power-crazed individuals who clearly want to make their mark on society with subsections to amendments and goodness knows what, it's like reading War and Peace...others have quite clearly been thrown together by a bunch of guys who would much rather be at the ball game and have decided on the minimalist approach!! The most and the least strict so far are both in the same state, funnily enough (CA)...only 2 dogs in Tehachapi yet Plumas county kinda says "dogs...yeah, whatever."
Have been doing a bit of googling and found negative comments about the coastal counties in FL too, any comments on anything at all you can add about anywhere would be really interesting.
Being from an over-populated island the thing that I've found hard to get used to is the fact that I've seen 50, 100 acres which, because they are residential zoning, only lets you keep 4 dogs if you are in the "wrong" county, here in the UK just an acre is a huge amount of land to have with a property. I know you can apply for variances but it's a hassle as you would still end up having to get a kennel licence just to keep your own pets! I've got a background in animal shelters so that's a possible route around it but as I said, it's all extra hassle. I would rather live somewhere cheaper where I could buy adjacent lots, put a cabin on the extra lot too and rent it out with a couple of dogs as part of the package!! Tbh I can't imagine there's ever an issue with numbers unless a neighbor complains, and my attitude is the further away a neighbor is the better I like it, it's just a different matter when you are a "guest" in another country and are fearful of doing anything wrong.

PS I would just LOVE to see a log cabin in London!!