I'm not some HMO Karen,, but whats going on in Rural Lane County Oregon just seems crazy.

[buckeyefarmer]

Except for wind farms, solar farms, concentrated animal feeding operations, dairy farms, chicken farms, landfills, junkyards, drags strips, airports, multi-family housing, gas stations/convenience stores, strip malls. ....

Just depends on who's doing what next door to make us love or hate zoning.

I'd like to see it all gone. If you buy land, you should be able to use it for what you want.

 

[CliffordK]

Curiously, what do you have against houses built before the 1950s? The fact that they aren't the sterile, cookie-cutter McMansions being built today? I live in an 1830s vintage farmhouse and love it.

A lot depends....

The USA has been super-sizing everything.

We have quite a few older houses around here that perhaps have about 800 to 1000 sq feet. And if not well maintained over the years, they struggle to retain any residual value.

They may have sub-par electrical and plumbing systems, and weren't designed for the electronic world we live in today. Even sub-par insulation. At some point they should be gutted right down to the 2x4s, modernized, and rebuilt.

Or knocked down and replaced.

That isn't to say that there aren't a few real gems out there.

 

[JasperFrank]

Was out for a drive today, and saw at least 5 more places with RVs hooked up to septic and power cords out of the house. If this was just families accommodating other family members, I wouldn't care. This seems to be entirely something else and strange. The property tax is basically a fixed thing in Oregon, based on fixed structures/improvements. If you rent out space for two or three RVs, these are not considered fixed structures. So the Prop Tax isn't increased. Does, any one else see the issues here? This is the grand loop hole, of all loop holes, I've ever seen.
And to think the County, 30 years ago, wouldn't let me just dig a pond and put a used house boat on it as a dwelling.

 

[D&D]

Was out for a drive today, and saw at least 5 more places with RVs hooked up to septic and power cords out of the house. If this was just families accommodating other family members, I wouldn't care. This seems to be entirely something else and strange. The property tax is basically a fixed thing in Oregon, based on fixed structures/improvements. If you rent out space for two or three RVs, these are not considered fixed structures. So the Prop Tax isn't increased. Does, any one else see the issues here? This is the grand loop hole, of all loop holes, I've ever seen.
And to think the County, 30 years ago, wouldn't let me just dig a pond and put a used house boat on it as a dwelling.

We seem to have similar loopholes in our zoning. The RV industry of America (rvia) certification appears to be the key. It’s classified as an RV, therefore exempt from the zoning requirements. Tiny houses and other small semi-permanent structures are not exempt. Mobile homes not placed in an existing trailer park are banned.

 

[Oaktree]

We have quite a few older houses around here that perhaps have about 800 to 1000 sq feet. And if not well maintained over the years, they struggle to retain any residual value.

They may have sub-par electrical and plumbing systems, and weren't designed for the electronic world we live in today. Even sub-par insulation. At some point they should be gutted right down to the 2x4s, modernized, and rebuilt.

Or knocked down and replaced.

That isn't to say that there aren't a few real gems out there.

Clearly very different attitudes between where you live and where I do. Older homes seem to have plenty of appeal around here, even if they aren't designed for the "electronic world we live in today". I had no trouble selling my previous ~1000 sf house in the 00s. It's still there, other than having been painted a different color pretty much as it was when I owned it...nobody tore it down and built a modern house in its place. Not to say it doesn't happen, but it's usually places that are beyond salvaging, not anywhere near as common as it seems to be in some parts of the country.

 

[JasperFrank]

Tow-able destination RV is a whole new concept to me. Mobil homes, they take the wheels off at some point and call it a house. This is something different. It will always be an RV if its on wheels and stays on wheels? I should have bought a lot of water front properties, around local lakes that didn't allow permanent structures.

 

[Jstpssng]

The rules and regulations of an HOA are absolutely required reading for any potential buyer.
You’d have to be ignorant to not read it at least twice.
It’s not even remotely equivalent to pages of irrelevant lawyer boilerplate in computer software disclosures

Kick in the a-- is that I do take the time to at least skim through those software agreements. At least enough to know that if you aren't a lawyer you won't be sure what you just read.

 

[CliffordK]

This popped up on my Facebook feed today.

Facebook Marketplace: 2024 Forest River timberwolf 16ml $44,950

2024 Cherokee Timberwolf 16ML Floorplan - Forest River RV

Details, floorplan, specifications, and more about the 16ML floorplan Mini Loft Travel Trailers.

forestriverinc.com

$45K is expensive, but not truly insane, considering these are monsters.

There has been a lot of talk about tiny homes. The video above talked about it being a destination trailer, meant to be parked more than driven. I.E. A mobile tiny home, or vacation house.

There aren't really that different from what we saw 50 years ago, but called "single wides" at that time. And, of course, these are now clean and new. The lofts may be a bit of wasted space for a live-in trailer. I'm surprised they didn't do a pop up ceiling like the old Alaskan campers.

I haven't really seen a lot of what you're describing, but I know it is happening a little bit. Perhaps it is time to go knock on doors and actually talk to the neighbors.

=========

Perhaps this is part of the soft underbelly of the economy that the politicians aren't really talking about a lot. And, none of them have an answer for it. About 35 years ago I bought my first house. I could barely afford a "fixer" for $35K at minimum wage. Zillow now estimates that house is worth $324K. Almost 10x what I paid. Whew!!! Wages are up by a lot, but not by 10x, or even 5x.

So, one gets families where the kids, or the grandkids just aren't leaving home because they can't afford to.

So, a solution would be to have a nice large lot, and then cram in a couple of tiny homes. Perhaps if one can get it listed as an RV, then the local government will just look the other way.

 

[Dftodd]

Home Owner Associations seem to be loosing their bite in court more and more today.

If the HOA isn't listed in the deed, then the HOA is voluntary and can only enforce local ordinances.

I live in a neighborhood in Florida that had a homeowners association. HOA wasn't listed in the deed so the only thing they could do was call code enforcement if they saw an issue.

What made this really interesting was the neighborhood was split down the middle by the county line.

Each county had it's own set of rules for parking, lawn maintenence, street parking, etc.....

I got schooled on the ordinances that directly effected me and would really start messing with someone if they came up and started being a busy body. Especially is they started spouting the other counties rules.

You don't realize how many people run around with a napoleon complex until you live in a neighborhood with a HOA

 

[Dftodd]

Buying a house and downloading a computer program are very different things.

Anyone who buys a house and fails to read the closing and HOA documents - well, as Forrest Gump’s mother always said - stupid is as stupid does.

Locally, they list whether the property is deed restricted or not in the real-estate listing.

I ran into it quite frequently when we were looking for a lot to build on.

I don't want anyone telling me what I can and can't do on my property.

The last house we purchased, the property was deed restricted. But the restriction was "No mobile homes".

We walked away from property where they had minimum home size, plans had to be approved by a neighborhood board, etc.....

The land was cheap, but the restrictions made it undesirable. Those lots have been for sale for 10 years now.