I've been looking to get out of suburbia as I prefer not to have backyard neighbors. We've had them for 10 years now and it's time to move on.

Not far from our house is a nice 5 acre treed parcel with 390 feet of frontage. The problem: it has a storm drain running down the. Idle of it for about 400 feet and then the line takes a 45 and goes to the neighbors property. The high side is 120 feet wide and is nicely treed. The low side is 159 feet and treed but poorly drained.

The drain is confirmed not to have an easement so I can move it if I want to. Just another expense.

There is enough land that we can pull the dirt to regrade and move water away from the house.

Another problem. Fred Sanfords brother lives next door on the wider side. Okay, he's not that bad but you get the idea.

There is a golf course across the street that is being reasoned into a residential neighborhood. Starter + homes and the township is in court to get them to reduce the 600+ home count.

I would build the home 350' back so the added traffic does not bother me too much. As long as I have a back yard with a pond and trees behind it, I'm good.

Behind the lot is another small neighborhood but it is highly unlikely that it would get further developed as there is a gully that prevents it.

I can ride my atv and shoot on the property (would need to build a good backstop on the flat land) However, the shooting prospect may disappear as the neighborhoods get more populated.

What say you? It's not the County but could be a little slice of heaven in suburbia.

It sounds like you're going to have a lot of neighbors you can potentially get crossways with, to me.

That's a concern but the road is not a main drag right now and don't see it becoming one. That being said, the new neighborhood would have 3 exits, 2 on this street and one on the adjacent cross street.

Again it is across the street and the township has been good with green space up on roads. The side neighbors are on 4 acres to the south and 10 acres to the north.

My other concern is the drain line on the property. There is room to build next to it but it is coming from the existing golf course but I don't believe they can upsize it. The township is looking to see if they can remove it but I doubt it.

What you've listed has already talked me out of it. I'd keep looking.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
It sounds like you're going to have a lot of neighbors you can potentially get crossways with, to me.

Yes, and that gets bothersome and expensive rather quickly.

I would not be all that quick to jump on the deal. LOTS of work, expense, and regrading land is not something I would undertake.

But then I just turned 79 and the missus is 81.

Young whipper-snappers are a little more "courageous".

Oh, and when we moved in here, we had no drainage ditch for runoff water from up the slope. Thanks to an illegal shopping center we now have a potential trout stream. I had to build a bridge to get across it now.

The other land I'm looking at is 20 acres that is about 15 minutes from us. Mostly old field in the boonies but it would require pulling environmental permits to get across the low quality wetlands along the frontage road. Would be less of an issue if there were not shown on the fish and wildlife wetlands mapper.

^^^^^. Regrading is not my forte so I'd be contracting out the work. We are about 30 years your junior so still young and dumb.....

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
What you've listed has already talked me out of it. I'd keep looking.

This

Does the county (or township or whatever) have regulations on the size of a parcel you can use firearms on? Many do. If you have subdivisions on two sides, you can expect that there will be complaints (legitimate or not) to the authorities about your shooting range, no matter that you have a safe backstop. I wouldn't want to subject myself to that or the other headaches (tresspassing, etc) likely with housing developments that near my "rural property". YMMV.

^^^. No regulations on parcel size to shoot firearms. It's a rural area next to suburbia. Throuble is, the are has been discovered and is growing. Yes, the shooting complaints have started so now it's a matter of time.


We are about a 100 yards from the county border now and we hear the gunfire all the time. I can tell when someone get a new AR for Christmas.

I know nothing about land or grading or drainage, but I would pass. I may be wrong but it seems like you're trying to talk yourself into this because you want to move. I think if you bought that land you would be settling and would be unhappy with it in a couple of years.

quote:

Originally posted by ugeesta:
the area has been discovered and is growing.

Sounds like if you already lived there you'd be looking to move.

quote:

Another problem. Fred Sanfords brother lives next door on the wider side. Okay, he's not that bad but you get the idea.

And this brings us the biggest problem with everyone's dream of "getting a few acres in the country." You have no control over what your neighbors do. Hog farm? Saw mill? Trailer park? Nothing you can do.

People like to gripe about home owners' associations and subdivision covenants, but they are truly there for one reason: to preserve property values.

It's a real challenge to a developer as well. If you want to put in a nice subdivision just outside of town, you have no control over what can happen across the road from your entrance.

quote:

Originally posted by 45_Auto:

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
What you've listed has already talked me out of it. I'd keep looking.

This

Agreed.

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quote:

Originally posted by cooger:
I know nothing about land or grading or drainage, but I would pass. I may be wrong but it seems like you're trying to talk yourself into this because you want to move. I think if you bought that land you would be settling and would be unhappy with it in a couple of years.

Yes, I'm the one that wants to move. My wife will do with whatever I want as it's my passion to get to the country.

This property is a compromise between suburbia and the country as all the amenities are close and the drive to work is not altered much.

The other property I mentioned is a little more than what I'm looking for and about as far out as we want to go. Then there is the wetland issue and dealing with the regulations to build a driveway through it.

This area of the county is pretty flat so grading and water diversion requirements are necessary wherever we would buy.

Yes, the locals are leaving as property values are going up and a lot of the home are scrapers.

Seems like if youre on the edge and someone makes a big enough stink about your shooting they will rezone the land to include your property. All that money wasted. Id go further out.

Don't forget about septic system costs and maintenance. If your property is wet you may need a expensive system with regular maintenance.

5 Acres with all the things you want to be able to do, isn't much. Add to that the issues you mention and I'd pass.
You need more acreage and without the problems.

Two items that would worry me, both with the golf course/home project. Old golf courses are notoriously "dirty", arsenic and other nice chemicals. If there is any water flow toward your property, top or ground water, you could have a problems. If I was buying property that backed onto a golf course I would test the ground water and do a Phase II on the land near the property line.

Then there is the development of the course which would change your whole dynamic of "living in the country".

quote:

Originally posted by ugeesta:
The other land I'm looking at is 20 acres that is about 15 minutes from us. Mostly old field in the boonies but it would require pulling environmental permits to get across the low quality wetlands along the frontage road. Would be less of an issue if there were not shown on the fish and wildlife wetlands mapper.

As a builder / developer I agree that 5 acres isn't much given what you want to do. The neighbors could be a royal PITA and could make your desire for a little country a nightmare.
I would get the larger parcel mentioned above after finding out about the environmental issues and gaining access.
In the long run you'll probably be much happier.
Keep in mind that suburbia is constantly moving out as you already alluded to and in 5 years you might not be as far out as you originally thought.