Just bought 6 acre of land. Now what???

[jjeff]

I was grateful being unlicensed I could still do all my plumbing and electrical on my cabin and pole barn with permits and inspections of course. In the city I used to live in you could not I believe. Did remodel on my old house anyway (without permits) cause at the time I couldn't afford to hire a licensed pro. I don't recommend my ways unless your somewhat handy and have common sense, able to read and understand nec and plumbing code. Not talking about watching a YouTube video either.

 

[Tinhack]

Within about 6 or 8 years both of those houses look like they needed to be condemned. I'm leaving a lot of details out about the problems with the build. My point being just those two houses have really run that neighborhood down.

I can't see any of my neighbors except across the county road to the East--About 1/2-3/4 miles away. My house is mostly surrounded by trees so I can't see the front or to the West. My driveway is about 1/4 mile to the state highway where I have my address. The "neighborhood" is pretty nice here, but I pick up a lot of trash along the county road before a stop sign and some along my state highway frontage. My Northern neighbor was a section farmer and I never see him. He raises turf now. Or his sons do. He's retired.

 

[Dftodd]

My county is like a secret police government. They are unbelievably strict in rules and regulations on buildings and land use. Especially so if you are in agricultural/rural zoning.

So you have state stuff, then local county stuff to deal with here in VA.

On the bright side of things, we are so backwards that change has not really run us over like it has neighboring counties.

I think the OP is beyond all the restrictions and whatnot, so congrats, good for you, and I'd go with a barndominion. More options for futures, IMHO.

It's much more relaxed in our area. They are serious about sewer requirements and do have building codes. But it's much more relaxed than some places I've lived in over the years.

Or I should say for the individual landowner, it's not a big deal.

Where they start getting wonky is if you want to subdivide your property into multiple lots.

Guy who owned a field near me wanted to subdivide his property into 3 and 5 acre lots with deed restrictions.

He ran into a huge snag. They wouldn't allow him to do it unless he put in a self contained sewage treatment facility. Or paid the $$$$$$$ to tap into the city sewer system a mile away.

I never did hear what the reason was, but my thought was he was inside of city limits. Or he royally ticked off the wrong person.

 

[Dftodd]

I can't confirm this because I never chased an answer. But I think my County has a restriction on how close my sewer effluent can be to my property line. Otherwise, no one cares.

I live in a large County with 8,000 residents. I'm 75 minutes from a "City".

That doesn't apply here. New house was built next to my property. The Mound system for that property was 3ft from the property line.

After a couple years, it started leaching out of the mound and running into my property. Thankfully he had them come back out and shut off the two problem lines.

 

[riptides]

It's much more relaxed in our area. They are serious about sewer requirements and do have building codes. But it's much more relaxed than some places I've lived in over the years.

Or I should say for the individual landowner, it's not a big deal.

Where they start getting wonky is if you want to subdivide your property into multiple lots.

Guy who owned a field near me wanted to subdivide his property into 3 and 5 acre lots with deed restrictions.

He ran into a huge snag. They wouldn't allow him to do it unless he put in a self contained sewage treatment facility. Or paid the $$$$$$$ to tap into the city sewer system a mile away.

I never did hear what the reason was, but my thought was he was inside of city limits. Or he royally ticked off the wrong person.

10 acres minimums for sub-divides here now. Pressure on locals to go higher. Lots of rules and regulations on septic systems. Most new neighbors, including me now have Aerobic type systems. $$$$$. IMHO, they force you into these. Having been through the septic process, I'd say it's goal is to limit development.

Funny how just a mile or so up the road, different county, much different rules. Zoning, infrastructure, tax base, night and day.

My neighbor could not live in his RV as he was building his house. So he built a garage with plumbing first, lived in the RV, and built his house. Very strange.

 

[JasperFrank]

If there is a fire hydrant, you are NOT in the country.
I've seen, and worked on several Barndominiums. Personally, I don't like them as the living space is always too small and the living space is on the second floor, above all the things that can catch fire.
I am a strong believer in the detached garage/shop.
You will immediately want to to be on site. Sell everything off that you can't fit in your car. Self Strorage fees add up. So the septic, well and electricity are the first things to be put in, while you live in a second hand RV of somekind. Then you are not paying rent, and you are not paying for a porta potty service.

This garage with electricity, is what you build first. Then build a conventional balloon framed house off of a conventional plan. There are thousands of plans out there. Look for the one that works for you.

 

[WVH1977]

IMO, if you are going to make this your forever home, build a small rectangle brick house. Put a little wood stove in there for back-up heat and enjoy life.

 

[2manyrocks]

The septic field requirements have a long history due to the need of protecting the supply of drinking water. Various cholera epidemics had their origin in the improper disposal of sewage waste.

The details of building codes, IMO, are more debatable. Sometimes I suspect they change the code just to trap the unwary and keep competition down. If you don't know that there's some peculiar requirement in the local code, you might end up having to rip out your work and start over.

Heck...the head of one HVAC company said he was thrilled when Nashville imposed licensing on HVAC contractors because he would be grandfathered, but anyone else wanting to start one would have to pass the licensing test.

 

[riptides]

The septic field requirements have a long history due to the need of protecting the supply of drinking water. Various cholera epidemics had their origin in the improper disposal of sewage waste.

The details of building codes, IMO, are more debatable. Sometimes I suspect they change the code just to trap the unwary and keep competition down. If you don't know that there's some peculiar requirement in the local code, you might end up having to rip out your work and start over.

Heck...the head of one HVAC company said he was thrilled when Nashville imposed licensing on HVAC contractors because he would be grandfathered, but anyone else wanting to start one would have to pass the licensing test.

Oh trust me, I get the septic requirements.

Then there is the look the other way while a lot of people allow their livestock in the water ways.

 

[Dftodd]

If there is a fire hydrant, you are NOT in the country.
I've seen, and worked on several Barndominiums. Personally, I don't like them as the living space is always too small and the living space is on the second floor, above all the things that can catch fire.
I am a strong believer in the detached garage/shop.
You will immediately want to to be on site. Sell everything off that you can't fit in your car. Self Strorage fees add up. So the septic, well and electricity are the first things to be put in, while you live in a second hand RV of somekind. Then you are not paying rent, and you are not paying for a porta potty service.

This garage with electricity, is what you build first. Then build a conventional balloon framed house off of a conventional plan. There are thousands of plans out there. Look for the one that works for you.

Property is on the last road that public water was run on headed south from town. Next road south is all wells. We actually prefer public water.

Well water around here has either a high Sulphur content and smells like rotten eggs, or high iron content and turns everything pink.

Every house we saw with high iron also had filtration units and water pressure issues.