Call out to Tennessee Farmers, I have lots of ???

MrSteve · Feb 14, 2006

Hello… To start off this post, we are going to relocate to Tennessee from Florida. We are just starting to do this by putting up our land for sell and knowing we would like to go to the Crossville area of Tennessee. Are plans are to get as much farm land (no house/structures) as we can afford then start from there to build our “Horse Farm” with a house, barn, hey storage, and so on. To be a bit personal, our budget for just the “land” is around $400,000. We are hopping to find 100+ acres (more would be great, even if we never use it) with 80% to 90% clear for growing hey, pastures for the horses and structures. So there is the new history of our plans, so to the point of this post with all the questions I can think of at this time…

We are “kind of” thinking it would be best to buy something small 1st with a house/barn and so on then find what we need/want while already living there. We have 6 horses now so we would need to find something with about 10 acres (pretty much clear) for the horses to have space. Is this a good thought?

Is our price range going to get what we want in land (100+ acres)?

What is the average cost per acre of clear or mostly clear land with a bit of rolling hills (max of rolling hills)?

What type of hey can be grown? (T&A?)

How many cuts per season do you get in hey?

What is the frost line? Asking for fencing, water lines (are hydrants needed for pastures?)

How is the water supply for wells, if city/county water isn’t available?

How is perk testing for septic?

Are septic a problem with cost of building? In other words, will we need a mini sewage factory ( I am being funning with that statement) to take care of waist?

How are the Contractors for home building? Are they great, good, average or worse?

Say with building a “Farm” house of around 2500 sq ft what is the time frame we would be looking at?

How about Log Homes… Any good Companies in the area and time frame for about 2,500 sq ft?

Ok I guess that is it for now… I know asking the thing I have is a hit and miss to good replies, but if you have done any of what I said any reply to me is a great reply. Yes I have more questions, but I think some of them will be brought up by others and answered.

Thanks for ANY and ALL replies.

scott_vt · Feb 14, 2006

Hi Steve,
Boy that was a mouthfull /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Is your wife givin you money again /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I dont know much about Tennessee realestate, but you can get a ton of land for that price.

Rule #1 Dont go flashin your money around /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Rule #2 Make it sound like your lookin for the moon on a shoestring budget /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Rule #3 Have fun doin it /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Good Luck in the hunt!

scotty
ps One other thing, I have been to Bristol Speedway, and Tennessee is one beautiful state IMHO /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

SnowRidge · Feb 14, 2006

Another couple of Floridians relocating to Tennessee. I'll try and answer some of your questions.

 Is our price range going to get what we want in land (100+ acres)? 

You could have gotten 1,000 acres for that a couple of years ago, but now with all the people coming up from Florida, you will be lucky to get 2 1/2 acres and an outhouse.

 What type of hey can be grown? (T&A?) 

With land, I would have thought you would have wanted to grow 'hay.' However, if it's 'hey' you want, you are definitely in the right area when you talk T&A. There are a couple of T&A joints in Knoxville (so I'm told), where 'hey' is only one of the shouts frequently heard. Knoxville is somewhat downhill from Crossville, so check your brakes first.

All of the above with tongue very firmly in cheek. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Welcome aboard. I'll see if I can be a bit more serious for the rest of this.

We are 35 miles southeast of downtown Knoxville and just within commuting distance, so our prices here are driven somewhat by demand from people looking to live and/or work in the Knoxville area. Frankly, land prices are going up. Right now, I would say about the cheapest you can buy good undeveloped land is $3,000 an acre. Some people are paying more. Crossville may be slightly higher or lower; I'm not sure which.

While it is out of the Knoxville commuting area, it seems to be growing quite a bit. I can't quote official figures. It just looks that way to us. Personally, I like the area a lot, but my wife has to continue to work at her high tech job in order to support me in the style to which I would like to become accustomed, so we had to locate a commutable distance from Knoxville.

About the only place I have seen mechanical irrigation is the State tree nursery down in Etowah. Nobody in my valley irrigates for hay that I have seen. I don't grow it myself.

I think your idea of getting a temporary place to live while you research the area is a good one. I think it takes about a year to learn a place well enough to make sure you are getting the best deal that can be gotten. We looked for several months, and had a dickens of a time finding some of the undeveloped property that was on the market. It was pretty clear that some of it had not been visited by the listing agent for months. Descriptions were vague and signs were frequently completely missing or laying flat making them difficult to spot from a moving vehicle. Knowing the area better would really have helped.

Don't forget to check the tax rates in the various counties and towns around the Crossville area. You may find significant differences, if it is anything like the Knoxville area.

I would also suggest surfing the net for property listings. Most realtors today have a web site. The good ones have all their listings easily accessible.

The rest of your questions are pretty specific to the Crossville area. I'm not sure if there is anybody on TBN located right in that area, but with luck, somebody will pop up.

MrSteve · Feb 14, 2006

Scott... Um right, the wife giving ME money that’s funning, no I have to do the leg work and she gets to spend it all… Once in awhile see might feed me. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Yes I know the post was a big one, but there is so much info I need to make this move (when it happens) easy as possible for use humans and the horses.

I know what you mean… The moon is our goal for the cost of a pound, no money will be said or shown until after the fact.

We have heard so many nice things about Tennessee, that is why that state is our goal. Also looking at the area we are thinking of, we “hope” to get a view of the Cumberland Plateau.

EDIT... SnowRidge thanks for the post, I was making a reply as you made yours, I am reading it now.

EDIT again... Thanks for the info SnowRidge. Yes my typing/word skills are from the greatest /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif . I know what you mean about us Florida people "trying" to take over your part of the woods. Just think of it this way, the wife, oldest daughter and I are from Western New York, so our 3 year old daughter will be the only Florida born person coming with us.

SnowRidge · Feb 14, 2006

Er, I came up from Florida, too. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

KentT · Feb 14, 2006

I'm a native of the area around Knoxville, but have been away for many years. However, I just went through the "land search/buy" scenario last year, looking for a much smaller piece of property for retirement. I can't talk specifically about that area, but will offer this general observation -- the farther you get "out of town" or "off the freeway" the lower the prices are. When you're in the rural areas, land is priced based upon its value as a farm or ranch. Anywhere within commuting distance, land is priced based on it's value for potential development into subdivisions.

What type of hey can be grown? (T&A?)
How many cuts per season do you get in hey?

Timothy and orchard grass are commonly grown, and you can consistently get at least two cuttings, and most often three if the weather cooperates.

What is the frost line? Asking for fencing, water lines (are hydrants needed for pastures?)

Frost line is under 12", but most people go that deep just to be safe.

How is the water supply for wells, if city/county water isn’t available?

This varies from area to area, and elevation to elevation, but overall there is plenty of water, but your well may need to go 200 - 300 feet deep. Most don't bother with irrigation.

How is perk testing for septic?

Varies by county, but in general it's a two step process. Step one (done as part of the purchase) is to have a "soil survey" done to ensure if it will support a septic system. Only questionable soils are actually perk-tested -- which is more expensive. Then, you typically must have the county health department approve the location of your septic system before you can get electric service to the building site -- this is done to ensure that you DO get an approval for your septic system.

Are septic a problem with cost of building? In other words, will we need a mini sewage factory ( I am being funning with that statement) to take care of waist?

Septic systems for most homes should be less than $5,000 installed -- since most areas won't require a mound system -- unless the site requires that you pump it uphill (such as from a lakeshore). Again, this varies by county, but that's what I've generally found.

How are the Contractors for home building? Are they great, good, average or worse?

Haven't gotten there yet... but to give an idea of cost. The mortgage company I used says that they use $85 sq ft as a rule of thumb for rural areas -- where it's $125 sq ft here in Mass. Towns/cities are proportionally higher in both places.

Say with building a “Farm” house of around 2500 sq ft what is the time frame we would be looking at?

I'd allow 9 months minimum, though it can be done in close to 6 if the weather/timing is right... 12 months is "comfortable."

How about Log Homes… Any good Companies in the area and time frame for about 2,500 sq ft?

Many are headquartered in Tennessee, and the challenge will be deciding which one to use:

http://www.loghomes.org/member.phtml?state=tn

Two at the top end of the scale (for machined, versus hand-crafted) are Tennessee Log Homes from Athens and Heritage Log Homes from Sevierville. There are many others...

MrSteve · Feb 14, 2006

Kent... Thanks so much for that info!

SnowRidge · Feb 14, 2006

This varies from area to area, and elevation to elevation, but overall there is plenty of water, but your well may need to go 200 - 300 feet deep. 

Ours is at 400 feet, FWIW. So are at least two of our neighbors' (the wells, not the neighbors). A driller I talked to says he has gone to 1,500 feet, but it was unusual. I think it will be highly dependent upon exactly where you relocate to, and is probably one of the first things you should look into when you are able to communicate directly with someone from the Crossville area.

They still seem to use steel casings here, BTW. They were using nothing but plastic when I was in Florida.

KentT · Feb 14, 2006

( This varies from area to area, and elevation to elevation, but overall there is plenty of water, but your well may need to go 200 - 300 feet deep. 

Ours is at 400 feet, FWIW. So are at least two of our neighbors' (the wells, not the neighbors). A driller I talked to says he has gone to 1,500 feet, but it was unusual. I think it will be highly dependent upon exactly where you relocate to, and is probably one of the first things you should look into when you are able to communicate directly with someone from the Crossville area.

)
My soon-to-be neighbors are in the 300' range also, but that's at 1200 ft elevation in the foothills near the Foothills Parkway. Our well in Sevier County was 96' and the water came up to within 3' of the top...

As I said, it varies by location. I'm guessing 1,500 feet well was on a ridgetop/mountaintop somewhere. The whole Tennessee River valley and much of the eastern part of the Cumberland Plateau is undermined by limestone caves and underground streams. Some of the biggest artesian springs I've ever seen are around the edge of the plateau...

EddieWalker · Feb 14, 2006

Don't know anything about the area you've chosen, but I'm sure it's a nice one.

My advice when searching for land is to get a general idea of what the comps in the area are and what dictates those values. Land closer to town in comute distance will be worth more. Land with pasture or marketable timber will be worth more. Anthing that says horses on it is gonna be way more. The most overpriced land is horse property!!

Look online and get an idea of what interests you. Get some maps and figure out what's where. How close to walmart, home depot and hospitals. Do you want to drive two hours to get groceries??? What is the road like getting to the property? Do you have to drive by trailer trash **** or a sewer plant?

Things to watch for are easments, deed restrictions and future development in the area. A good real estate agent is key here to learn these things.

The biggest mistake everyone makes is to hire the first agent they come across. Second mistake is to hire a family member or friend as a realtor. Don't do neither!!!!

Start contacting agents now and see what type of replies you get. Lie about what you can afford and are willing to spend by at least 20 percent. I contacted a hundred by email and recieved replies from about half. Of those, only three responded to my queestions and only one offered advice about the land I was interested in. He told me not to buy in that area because of the crime rate there.

One out of a hundred.

Most replies I got were phone numbers to call them because they were experts on the area and couldn't give out the info over the phone. Remember, the agent works for you. Always have a clause in any contract that you can fire them for cause.

A bad agent can still be etitiled to payment even if you give up on them and buy the land on your own if you still have a contract with them. I made that mistake once.

Get everything in wriiting from your agent. If they tell you that the land has certain types of trees or anything else, make them write it down. Most wont because they are full of it. If they say you can build or improve the land, get it in writing. If they tell you teh easment doesn't exist any more, get it in writing. GET EVERTHING IN WRITING!!!!!

The second the deal closes and they get paid, your new best friend will no longer take you calls or know your alive.

Good luck and have fun,
Eddie