Any one from NC

[Otter]

Okay, DH and I are VERY actively land shopping. We are in PA right now, but I want to be a little closer to the coast and DH REALLY wants to move to NC. So could anyone who lives in NC tell me a little about how much land goes for? I've been looking on line, but all I seem to find are high-end mansions and homes in town. What we're looking for is at least 2 usable acres, usable for pasture, and we sure wouldn't mind having some "non-usable" aka; too steep, too muddy, heavily treed, etc, for privacy and roaming around. We would prefer a fixer-upper house, but would buy a mobile home if it was in decent shape and had three bedrooms. I would really like to be within a 1 or 2 hours driving distance from the ocean.
What the land would be used for is dairy goats and poultry and one, maybe two, small horses or ponies. The equines would be mostly drylotted, pasture would be a supervised treat, not their main source of food. We do raised bed gardening so we are always gardening on land that most people wouldn't consider a "garden spot".
We are both really flexible as far as jobs go, DH prefers to work construction, I've yet to live someplace he couldn't get a job! And I've done animal related; dairy farm, poultry farm, petsitter, horse-trainer-handler-trail guide, dog trainer, and non animal related; cashier, bank teller, restaurants, house cleaning, painting and handy work. So if there are any jobs to be had in an area, I think we could get them.
So does anyone know of areas I should check out? Or even any good properties? I'd also really like to know of any "Pennysaver" type papers, or local newspapers that wouldn't be easy to find online. Any realtor friends who would know of a good deal or relatives selling? We'll be taking a trip down in a couple of months and would like to own something and start moving by the time DD gets out of school in June.
Thanks in advance for any help!

[Otter]

Bump

[Lairvine]

Here are a couple of realty sites from around where I live in NC. I live right on the coast. I hope these help.

http://www.sealevelrealty.com/

http://www.easterngatewayrealty.com/

http://www.moreheadncrealestate.com/

http://www.insiders.com/crystalcoast...alestate3c.htm

[beamernc]

I'm more in the middle of the state and the 2 acres next to me just went up for sale. No house, no water or sewer service and will not perk. They are only asking $225,000. I hope they get it, because if they do, I have 7 1/2 acres that will go on the market soon. Our last tax re-evalutation came out last month and my property value increased by over 30% and they are wanting to increase the tax rate another $.17/hundred. My property tax value has increased 10 fold over what I paid for it 20 years ago.

A couple of counties over some of their property values increased over 100%.

NC is not what it used to be.

[Woodroe]

People have moved in droves from up north to NC and VA and ran property values and taxes thru the roof. Be prepared to pay a premium.

[maidservant]

I'm in Stanly County, NC and land outside city limits is going for around $10,000 an acre. I'm about 4 hours from the coast though, so that doesn't help much. Guy beside of us is selling 87 acres of field for $250,000 (a steal, but it won't perk, that's why its field).

Emily in NC

[Bearfootfarm]

www.therichcompany.com

These people deal with a lot of farms and such in Eastern NC.
There are STILL good deals if you stay away from the bigger cities, and their counties

[Liese]

Up our way in Caswell Co. land in 5 acre parcels is in the neighborhood of 25-30k - that's what folks are asking. That's for a build-able site. If you're open to living in a doublewide or modular I'll bet you could do even better with a foreclosure. Look in the Danville, VA region if you can handle being this far out from the coast - of course that means we don't get the full brunt of the storms either. Job prospect though are another matter all together...

[HillsideHouse]

Hi! We are just finishing up our build in NE North Carolina, the Albemarle area. We are about 40 minutes to the beach. Since the area is growing rapidly due to people de-camping from the overly crowded VA cities there is a real need for carpenters!! Our builder was pulling his hair out trying to find one & the ones he did find…well, we ended up fixing a great deal of their work. Since your husband won’t have to commute to VA there are many good deals in outlying counties.

Here are some local links of interest:

Realtor w/MLS
http://www.janicehassell.com/
News
http://www.dailyadvance.com/
College
http://www.albemarle.cc.nc.us/
Beach paper:
http://obsentinel.womacknewspapers.com/about_us/
Good luck!!
KAT

[auctioneer]

Originally Posted by beamernc

NC is not what it used to be.

A pitiful truth!

[sueacurrin]

www.iwanna.com is a good sale paper in nc, one of the best imo.

[hillsidedigger]

I'm someone in NC, 2.5 hours east of the western end of the state but still 5 hours from the South Carolina coast and 6 to 8 hours from the NC coast.

One comment, there would be no problem with 'steep land' (from the opening post) anywhere within 2 hours of the NC coast.

[Otter]

Thank you guys all so much! I've got alot of work now with all the links you've given me. I know that nowhere is what it used to be, but we all need to end up somewhere. We think NC is beautiful. Prices seem to vary hugely and I was getting seriously swamped looking online.
Thank you guys again, especially for the tip about carpenters. DH is never happier than when he's cutting and banging. He's remodeling a bathroom for someone this week.

[Randy Rooster]

Make sure if you find a place yo like you find out what is around it!

NC has more hogs than people. And probably 20 x the chickens and turkeys. Youve never smelled anything as bad as an industrial pork or poultry farm on a warm spring or summer day. And the stink travels literally miles from the source. If you happen to be down wind , it will drive you indoors in a hurry and youll close your windows and doors in disgust. The smell will get in your clothes and house and carpet and you wont be able to get it out. There have been many lawsuits in NC against the factory farm industry because of both air and groundwater pollution. As a result there is a moratorium against building any more "farms" but all the old ones are grandfathered in.

Be very very careful of what is around you. Most of the "cheap" land acreage is located around the animal factories because nobody wants to live there.

And most of the animal factories are located in the east, on the coastal plain.

[Lairvine]

I can give you more info. on the area around here. There are plenty of construction jobs and the type like you want. Here is a link to a local newspaper

http://www.carteretnewstimes.com/

[Iddee]

Here is a link you will want to save, not only for real estate, but all your farm needs.

http://www.ncagr.com/paffairs/agreview/

[shellrow]

We recently found a modular home on 10 acres for $160,000, which is quite a steal for that much land in this area. We live in the central part of the state in Harnett County. March 1st we move in! You can check out www.realestatebook.com . Look for Harnett or Lee county properties.

[TSYORK]

I live in Western NC. You better be ready to dig deep for land around where I live, unless you want hill and holler to renovate.

[Beeman]

With the cold snowy winter up north and heating oil at $3.50 a gal. I'm guessing NC real estate just might be going up.

I can tell you that NC is a right to work state so you should be prepared for low wages.