Potential land in VA

[Mulegirl]

Mulegirl's husband here ... I'm hijacking her account because mine hasn't been activated yet (so I can't post on my own).

Anyhow, we've been chatting about the future, and our schedule and our potential plans aren't quite matching up. See, we've got 14 acres, but only five or six acres worth of time and energy. The thing is, we work 40+ hours a week, with a three-year old to keep us busy ... and the land we have is not exactly set for a turn-key operation, so choices must be made, and time is of the essence -- for the land, that is.

See, the previous owner logged the place, about three years ago. Here in central VA, that means that we've got a clear spot around the house, and about 13 acres of THICK-et (yes, I am a child of the western desert, and the way things grow out here just blows my mind). We've already got a great big garden spot near the house, and beyond that we want to clear out a bit for pasture, but we're only looking at a couple of goats/sheep, maybe a milk cow, and a few chickens (the goats are in the plan as much for the brush-clearance as the meat). We've also got three acres in Blue Ridge apple country (long story), so that's where the orchard/vineyard is going to go.

So what that means is that the "lower pasture" is just sitting--even in future plans. At 7-8 acres, it isn't even big enough for a woodlot, and we don't need to clear it for pasture with our modest plans (heck, we can't even afford to FENCE it at the moment, even if we wanted to turn goats loose on it).

So basically we've got, say, seven to eight acres of thicket that we're not using, nor likely to use. we;d love to pass it off to someone who would use it, but we don't know who might want it, or at what price.

The downside is (I always go with the downside first) that, as I said before, it's a thicket. Big time. It'll take a fair amount of effort, and some thick pants, to clear the brush and brambles. (To get a sense of what we're talking about, read an account of the Battle of the Wilderness--it was fought just down the road, on cut-over, on similarly thickly grown land ... but without the valuable bigger trees ...). It's rocky, clay-heavy soil, (old gold-mine country, lots of quartz, but no more gold), on a hillside, with some moisty bits at the bottom. There's no well, or septic, so you'd have to deal with all that. It'll be some hard work to get fit, or you'll be paying somebody to do the hard work, but either way, you'll feel it. Plus, your immediate neighbors (us) will be godless (well, we go to an Episcopal Church, so close enough, right) hippies (well, we're college professors, and you know how they are) who spend far too much time homebrewing, playing music, and chasing chickens.

The upsides, however, are worth considering. The slope is not steep, nor is it on the bottom. Thus the moisty bits could be drained, or turned into a pond if you like. The land has potential, if one judges by the surrounding area (lots of farms, and some pretty good pasture) once it's cleared and worked, of course. Plus, it faces south and a little east, and the big trees are gone, so the light is currently great for ag purposes--you won't be doing row crops, but with a bit of work you can probably pull off a market garden. There's easy electric at the road, in a couple of different spots (it was set up to subdivide, and wired up for it too, but it never actually happened ... the utility posts, however, are still there). The neighborhood is great for market folks, since we're within half an hour of Fredericksburg, 45 minutes from Charlottesville, a long hour to Richmond, and an hour and a half for DC and most of Northern Virginia--if you seek markets, look about you. We've got lots of local stuff here already (cheese, meat, veggies, eggs, whatever, right off the farm) but it's not really saturated (so there are plenty of like-minded people--and potential mentors and suppliers--without a lot of real competition). There's also a fantastic feed store just down the road, where everybody local rolls in fairly often, so they're a good source for info as well as feed.

Oh, and did I mention that we are willing to finance ourselves? We don't need the money, like, today (though we could use it, don't get me wrong), so we're open to negotiation on the dollars and cents. We can sell it as a homesite and all, I suppose, but we'd rather help some potential homesteader to get a start. The price ... I don't know ... it goes for about 10k an acre around here these days, but we haven't looked into it yet (and we'd be willing to undercut the local rate for the right folks ...).

Anyhow, this is still in the talking phase, and we haven't even looked into the whole subdividing process yet ... so we're just asking now. Do y'all suppose folks would be interested in this? Is this something worth pursuing, or do folks have better options elsewhere?

[DYngbld]

I'm in central VA a nice wooded lot might get 10K. A lot that is about useless will not likely get you anything close to that. I am look at getting 40+ at about 1k an acre.

[Mulegirl]

Where in central VA? Sounds like you might be in more reasonable territory.

We're right on the edge of NoVa, near Locust Grove/Lake of the Woods, and we're more or less in Fredericksburg exurb territory, so the prices we've been seeing in our brief bits of research might be inflated, and priced as home lots (and a fair amount of it is cutover like ours) for folks who are looking for the country/suburban/retirement "dream home" ... the only reason we could afford our place at all was because it was a lightly (and not necessarily well) rehabbed foreclosure that had seen better days.

Still, price isn't so much an issue ... we were just wondering if this would be the sort of thing that folks might be interested in. Judging from the responses (or lack thereof), it seems this isn't too attractive to anyone here. No matter ... it was more a wonderment than a solid plan anyway. We'll just sit on it, and see what happens.

[katydidagain]

I'm not sure what you're offering; you remind me of my college professors--vague until I got handed the exam then boy it was clear what was expected. It's been logged--is it a forest of stumps? I can't visualize this land. Sorry.

You really should do more than "looking at what's being offered" to set a realistic price per acre--ask a Realtor or 2 who know the area--if you want to sell.

Then post pictures and what you're seeking--in simple English.

[Mulegirl]

It's a thicket. There are stumps, sure, and even slash piles, but you can't see them unless you're standing on them. Pictures of the place would do no justice, because you can't see more than a few feet in front of your face (if that, in some spots). A picture actually worth viewing would have to either wait until winter, or be taken from about 15 feet up.


I haven't contacted a realtor because we're not considering all that. We don't actually want to sell it, at least not as land, on the general market. We don't need a McMansion next door, or a retiree looking for a porch, or anyone, really, who'll be complaining at us if they think our goats are ugly or our rooster makes too much noise.

My purpose here is simply to gauge homesteader interest in a small, workable parcel in this area. If there is some interest, we can chat further, but if there isn't, then there isn't. Local land prices are simply a marker, but they are almost irrelevant, because we're not planning to weigh offers by dollar signs, or even put it on the open market. As I said before, we could sell it as a homesite (because it's wired up and such), but we don't really want to. We can't afford to give it away, but we're not land speculators either ... we got lucky, and had a lot of family support in making this move, so we'd think of it more as paying it forward, and helping someone who has more muscle, and motivation, than money.

Judging from the responses thus far, it seems I may have miscommunicated our intent here--this place isn't on the market, and we're not trying to sell--we simply have a chunk of property that's not getting the love and attention it deserves (and is not likely to anytime soon) so we're asking about general interest in such a spot. Does it sound like a good way to start (so that it might be worth following up with), or are there better opportunities elsewhere? See, it seems that the best and cheapest land tends to be far from potential markets, while the stuff close to potential markets (like our area) is either low-quality or high-priced. What we have seems to have decent possibilities with stellar market access, so we thought we'd ask (we're not likely to go into the market game ourselves, BTW, because our day jobs keep us far too busy--we just want to do for ourselves and our family).

It's more of a general question, and you don't have to be in the market for land to answer ... is this the sort of thing a young self-starter would want, or should we just sit on it for the kids, and eat the rabbits that poke their heads out of the brush?

[katydidagain]

Nothing wrong with a general question or testing the waters. But you need to have a price per acre for what you're offering or might want to offer to gauge interest. Talking with a realtor or 2 or 3 doesn't commit you but gives you a realistic value and costs nothing. Do I think $1k/acre is fair in that area? Nope. But $10K would make me balk unless it was backed up with numbers.

Just saying that you need to do a little homework before presenting such a wishy washy "listing" here. Being more specific would give you a feel for who might be a suitable neighbor.

BTW, I would never live in VA again; it's my Bermuda Triangle. I get lost once I pass over the line even with maps/directions from Google and Mapquest. But that's me.

[edcopp]

The title of this post left me wondering. POTENTIAL LAND. My first question is what is it now?

[bassmaster17327]

I am interested, sent you a PM

[rickfrosty]

Originally Posted by Mulegirl

Mulegirl's husband here ... I'm hijacking her account because mine hasn't been activated yet (so I can't post on my own).

Anyhow, we've been chatting about the future, and our schedule and our to undercut the local rate for the right folks ...).

Anyhow, this is still in the talking phase, and we haven't even looked into the whole subdividing process yet ... so we're just asking now. Do y'all suppose folks would be interested in this? Is this something worth pursuing, or do folks have better options elsewhere?

Nice post & you sound like you'd be great neighbors. Up here land can be divided once in 5 years w/out permission needed for subdivision ?

[rickfrosty]

Originally Posted by DYngbld

I'm in central VA a nice wooded lot might get 10K. A lot that is about useless will not likely get you anything close to that. I am look at getting 40+ at about 1k an acre.

Bigger lots are generally less per acre than one or 2 acre, or 5 acre lots.
I am buying a 100+ acres of hardwood & rocks for $50k up here in northern Appalachians, but it is because no one else can see the potential for a defensible retreat farm (if I live long enough to carve it out ?!).
NOT land that anyone would subdivide for houselots, even in normal market.