That's complete BS though. It costs a lot of money just to get to the permitting stage of any proposal. If it met the requirements and they did everything they were supposed to do, nobody has any right to drag their feet. Let them outbid the developer, or go home.
Got to love developments in rural areas
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Hay Dude
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I agree, but I dont think the developer did their due diligence in time, either. The problem, is, its such a big development that enviromental issues changed over the years from concept to final stages. Lots of hold-ups along the way.
I sure am glad to see this happened. If you saw the farm and the surroundings, you’d know the way we feel about seeing this piece of land go to cheap white vinyl and 20 yr shingles….
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I understand what you are saying. A timber company (Plum Creek, now Weyerhauser) up here had a massive, long term recreational development planned involving thousands of acres. They had to hold hearings, donate conservation easements for the unaffected part of the ownership, allow ATV trails on some of their woods roads... sharing them with logging trucks.
It was a rather ambitious dream and took well over a decade to get the permits in place.Meanwhile, a goal of many so-called environmentalists is to create a "National Park" encompassing 3.2 million acres in Maine, as well s extending across NH and VT into upstate New York. A wealthy businesswoman bought up around 100,000 acres and "donated it" to the Park Service for the purpose... I don't know all of the tax benefits. It met with a lot of opposition from those of us who have worked in the area for years, but after having 2 "bull sessions" over the course of a couple of months it's been absorbed into the National Park System, as seed for the larger plan. There were no permits, no environmental impact statements, no actual hearings where opponents could testify. Some of the affected parties went to court because they don't have deeded access to do what they are doing, but since it's the federal government they don't have to.
The real irony though is that the very same people who were opposed to and adamantly fighting Plum Creek's plan were the same people who said "It's her land to do what she wants with it."
The other oddity is that people are more restricted in what they can do now that it's Federal land than they were when it was a privately owned multiple use forest.
A couple of years ago Weyerhauser gave up on their plan to subdivide, after spending millions of dollars in the process.
buckeyefarmer
Epic Contributor
I am looking for 5-10 acres for a retirement house in southwest VA. Just not much out there. What is available is junk land.
Did find one lot we really liked, until we saw the deeded restrictions. My wife said it would be like renting the land, you can’t do what you want with it.
Another 12 acre lot we looked at already had an offer day 1 it went for sale. I figure one of the neighbors that didn’t want a house there.
These are in the country, 5-20 miles out of town, yet have more restrictions than most suburban lots.
Did find one lot we really liked, until we saw the deeded restrictions. My wife said it would be like renting the land, you can’t do what you want with it.
Another 12 acre lot we looked at already had an offer day 1 it went for sale. I figure one of the neighbors that didn’t want a house there.
These are in the country, 5-20 miles out of town, yet have more restrictions than most suburban lots.
deezler
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That sucks, must be frustrating. What kind of tools are you using to search?
Quick check on zillow with 5+ acre lots make them seem... abundant. Especially down by Independence. Understand if price is a factor.
Real Estate & Homes For Sale - 208 Homes For Sale | Zillow
Zillow has 208 homes for sale. View listing photos, review sales history, and use our detailed real estate filters to find the perfect place.
www.zillow.com
Bill Guenthner
Platinum Member
Yep. They do arial photo surveys here. They can see every detail of the property.
Bill Guenthner
Platinum Member
That's the whole point. 5 acres isn't that big and the people who live in the area don't want someone turning it into a landfill, junkyard, used car lot, etc. The land is millions of years old, you can never "own" it, you can only use it for a while and then it will be someone else's land. You would be pretty darn upset if you built an expensive, beautiful home and then a neighbor was piling junk cars against the property line 100 feet from your front door.
In places like England you must get approval from a conservation officer or forester for any changes to the land, even cutting a tree or making a road. That's why the English countryside is still pastoral and not endless miles of apartment buildings and dollar stores and used car lots. I think some parts of the US are adopting these types of restrictions now as well.
buckeyefarmer
Epic Contributor
Guess that’s why I don’t live in England. 
Some restrictions are good, but these were overboard in my opinion. No camper sitting outside, no man made stone on house, no exposed concrete foundation, no visible trash cans, no exterior lighting (they value the dark), their architectural committee has to approve house design. The minimum sf was ok.
Independence VA is a little too far from hospitals, but have been looking in that area. Wythville, Abington, Bristol. Research some of those on Zillow. Most have been on there a long time. Also Zillow has lots that are no longer available, so I started using realtor dot com.
Some restrictions are good, but these were overboard in my opinion. No camper sitting outside, no man made stone on house, no exposed concrete foundation, no visible trash cans, no exterior lighting (they value the dark), their architectural committee has to approve house design. The minimum sf was ok.
Independence VA is a little too far from hospitals, but have been looking in that area. Wythville, Abington, Bristol. Research some of those on Zillow. Most have been on there a long time. Also Zillow has lots that are no longer available, so I started using realtor dot com.
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OP
Sigarms
Super Member
Have you thought about in western Northern NC?
I'm only about 25 minutes north west of Winston Salem and I've been going to Hillsville for work lately, only an hour drive from my house or Winston.
Sorry, when I read some of those restrictions you mentioned in SW Virginia, kind of find it hard to believe for the area, but NC is more of "hands off" per land restrictions.
oosik
Epic Contributor
An interesting observation - once told to me by a real-estate agent. Land value should be no more than 1/3 of the total package value. IOW - 100K land - 200K house = 300K.
A nice twenty acre chunk of land, around here, - 110K to 140K. All the big farmers already have their sprawling mansions on their land. Makes it pretty hard to sell a twenty acre chunk to a city dweller wanting to come out to the country. Anything smaller than twenty acres is pretty rare.
One of the advantages of high land values. I pay my high property taxes and enjoy my solitude out here. Plus most all the land to the East of me is Turnbull Nat Wildlife Refuge.
A nice twenty acre chunk of land, around here, - 110K to 140K. All the big farmers already have their sprawling mansions on their land. Makes it pretty hard to sell a twenty acre chunk to a city dweller wanting to come out to the country. Anything smaller than twenty acres is pretty rare.
One of the advantages of high land values. I pay my high property taxes and enjoy my solitude out here. Plus most all the land to the East of me is Turnbull Nat Wildlife Refuge.