Where would you put.....

[Jnlcosta]

Hello! The husband wants some input on the 38 acres we are thinking of buying. He wants to know where you would build the house, barn, fences, garden, orchard etc..... At the bottom of the property is a creek and beaver pond. We want to make sure we would do what is practical as far as placement goes.

[greenacresusa]

I'd be careful about putting anything at the bottom of the land. Beware of any flooding. And it doesn't have to be from a creek/stream. Sometimes a good runoff from hillsides can cause flooding. We have land and we're building halfway up our hillside for several reasons but one of them is not having any flooding worries. Also we don't plan to do much with the bottom land except having it in pasture land.

[Cyngbaeld]

Looking at your map, I am wondering if the red line is in the right place? It looks like it is cutting across more than one property. It is highly unusual for a property to be cut out to sell that cuts across what looks like fence lines in the satellite photo.

[Jnlcosta]

Originally Posted by Cyngbaeld

Looking at your map, I am wondering if the red line is in the right place? It looks like it is cutting across more than one property. It is highly unusual for a property to be cut out to sell that cuts across what looks like fence lines in the satellite photo.

All of the surrounding farm land (hundreds of acres) belonged to one family. There is no fencing. Only crop fields. After the father passed away the land was decided up for all of the kids. That is why you see the property line going through existing fields. We would plan on planting hedgerows along the property lines where there are open fields.

[fordy]

..................Actual pics of your various locations would give a lot more info for reference purposes ! Can you afford to build an all weather road to any location that you choose ? Most state's have specified distances between water well and septic , have each of your location(s) satisified these requirements ? , fordy

[Wolf mom]

You really need to get to "know the land" before placing anything. How the wind blows, sun/shade areas, water run off, cold spots - you get the idea.
You don't say what area you want to buy in, but that would help.

If your prospective land is in snow country, I'd sure want my barn as close as reasonable and plant the orchard on high ground as cold air sinks.

BTW: Sure hope the land is surveyed and staked!

[geo in mi]

I would want to know why the unusual property line situation, and why the heirs didn't want that property, or why they divided it that way. I am naturally suspicious, but this should be a part of your due diligence. There may be a potential liability or concern with the beaver dam and the beaver population in your state; I would check with the DNR about that. As for placement, I would consider being near road access first(beavers equal snow country), then choose barn and outbuilding sites where smells and drainage won't interfere with your house--and where soil sampling shows you won't be using up good productive land. I would consider building placement with the sun in mind, too. I would be soil sampling in several places first, to see just what kind of soil I had. As said many times before, your soil will be your bank account.

geo

[Jnlcosta]

Originally Posted by Wolf mom

You really need to get to "know the land" before placing anything. How the wind blows, sun/shade areas, water run off, cold spots - you get the idea.
You don't say what area you want to buy in, but that would help.

If your prospective land is in snow country, I'd sure want my barn as close as reasonable and plant the orchard on high ground as cold air sinks.

BTW: Sure hope the land is surveyed and staked!

Good idea. Spending time on the land at different times of the day and season.

The land has been surveyed and staked. We are having it perked too. It's in central Virginia. About 45 mins south west of Richmond.

[Jnlcosta]

Originally Posted by geo in mi

I would want to know why the unusual property line situation, and why the heirs didn't want that property, or why they divided it that way. I am naturally suspicious, but this should be a part of your due diligence. There may be a potential liability or concern with the beaver dam and the beaver population in your state; I would check with the DNR about that. As for placement, I would consider being near road access first(beavers equal snow country), then choose barn and outbuilding sites where smells and drainage won't interfere with your house--and where soil sampling shows you won't be using up good productive land. I would consider building placement with the sun in mind, too. I would be soil sampling in several places first, to see just what kind of soil I had. As said many times before, your soil will be your bank account.

geo

From what I know about the seller, she is elderly and already had her own home and land when the farm was divided up so she is selling.

As far as the way it was divided up I don't know for sure. It seems that it was due to road frontage accessibility since the paved road curved around. Lots of the properties we looked at were divided up weird.

[geo in mi]

Originally Posted by Jnlcosta

From what I know about the seller, she is elderly and already had her own home and land when the farm was divided up so she is selling.

As far as the way it was divided up I don't know for sure. It seems that it was due to road frontage accessibility since the paved road curved around. Lots of the properties we looked at were divided up weird.

Well, as I said, I'm naturally suspicious, but it looks like the very last piece of the pie to me......

geo

[cricket49]

Originally Posted by Jnlcosta

From what I know about the seller, she is elderly and already had her own home and land when the farm was divided up so she is selling.

As far as the way it was divided up I don't know for sure. It seems that it was due to road frontage accessibility since the paved road curved around. Lots of the properties we looked at were divided up weird.

We found this to be true when families owned the land and carved out acreage for other family members. They never thought about the future that somebody outside the family would buy the property.

[Jnlcosta]

Originally Posted by geo in mi

Well, as I said, I'm naturally suspicious, but it looks like the very last piece of the pie to me......

geo

It may very well be. My cousin married one of the nephews of the seller and she said her husband always wanted to build his house there one day but they already inherited the land they have now and built their house years before right next door to this plot. I don't think it being the last piece of the pie is a bad thing. It is what it is. Old family farm land.

[rambler]

If I see it right, top of the pic is road access, then two small fields separated by vegetation (drop off, ravine?) then trees which likely slope down steep to the beaver pond which takes most of your land, with a bit of woods in the back corner that is difficult to access.

So, you will end up with the yard - driveway, house, well, septic, barn - in the first field, and your large garden, or hay, or whatever it is you want to grow, in the second field, and everything below is basically waste land you can only lightly use do to steep or wet?

I guess there is a small 3rd field down the right side, and maybe better access to the woods area than I first think along that side.

A shame to waste the first field for the building site, but that's the only thing that makes sense looking at it here, as anything else makes long driveways, long electric run, and difficult access.... But that can be different once one actually sees the lay of the land!

Typically one groups the buildings in a clump, not spread out to the far corners. For electric access and driveways between, for less snow clearing, for water access, etc.

I would want those boundaries well marked, or fenced, as they cut through existing fields, and the old neighbors might have difficulties breaking their old habits of following the old fields.... Also, if you are in the middle of family all carved up like that, there might be a few family feuds you are moving into the middle of. Feuding people tend to carry the grudge on the property, even if a new owner a bit......

Stuff closer to the creek or pond tends to be less valuable for fields, and not at all for buildings. Woods, hunting, firewood, rough low-producing pasture.

Steeper hills tend to have water push out of them at certain times of the year, as rainfall enters the ground on top, and will bleed out the side of the hill if the water hits a vein of clay or some such, follows out sideways through the hill. Basically a small tiny seasonal spring. Be careful of those, side hills can be terribly wet some part of a year.

Paul

[Jnlcosta]

Originally Posted by rambler

If I see it right, top of the pic is road access, then two small fields separated by vegetation (drop off, ravine?) then trees which likely slope down steep to the beaver pond which takes most of your land, with a bit of woods in the back corner that is difficult to access.

So, you will end up with the yard - driveway, house, well, septic, barn - in the first field, and your large garden, or hay, or whatever it is you want to grow, in the second field, and everything below is basically waste land you can only lightly use do to steep or wet?

I guess there is a small 3rd field down the right side, and maybe better access to the woods area than I first think along that side.

A shame to waste the first field for the building site, but that's the only thing that makes sense looking at it here, as anything else makes long driveways, long electric run, and difficult access.... But that can be different once one actually sees the lay of the land!

Typically one groups the buildings in a clump, not spread out to the far corners. For electric access and driveways between, for less snow clearing, for water access, etc.

I would want those boundaries well marked, or fenced, as they cut through existing fields, and the old neighbors might have difficulties breaking their old habits of following the old fields.... Also, if you are in the middle of family all carved up like that, there might be a few family feuds you are moving into the middle of. Feuding people tend to carry the grudge on the property, even if a new owner a bit......

Stuff closer to the creek or pond tends to be less valuable for fields, and not at all for buildings. Woods, hunting, firewood, rough low-producing pasture.

Steeper hills tend to have water push out of them at certain times of the year, as rainfall enters the ground on top, and will bleed out the side of the hill if the water hits a vein of clay or some such, follows out sideways through the hill. Basically a small tiny seasonal spring. Be careful of those, side hills can be terribly wet some part of a year.

Paul

The land is actually level all the way to the creek and beaver pond. There are hedgerows dividing up the fields you see. No ditches or drop offs. I had my dad check the property out and they took video so I can see that everything is easily accessible so very little "waste".

I definitely want to mark my property lines clearly so there is no confusion. I don't like the idea of someone walking onto my property because of old habits. Planting hedgerows would be one of the first things we did.

[rambler]

Picture is much bigger today, now I see. Yesterday the pic was the size of a penny, looked like that bottom field was the pond......

Paul

[Harry Chickpea]

I'd pass.

[rambotex]

Where is the access road to the property? Can you enter off a public road or do you have to go through Private Property?

[rambler]

Who farms the land now? A family member, or is it rented out to an unrelated farmer?

How is paid, the rent?

Those fields are going to be broken up now, with your parcel out of the mix. How will the farmer get down to that little tail of field on the left side of the lower field? As well the 2 tiny fields on the right side, is that a field road coming through your property to get to them, or is their access through that row of trees - not a ditch or ravine they can't cross?

Taking that chunk of property out of the laid out fields will disrupt things. Who is going to be upset about that, is kinda what I was asking before?

And if this is good farm land, would you consider renting some of the fields out for a time yet, or do you want nothing to do with that. Just a question that will come up, doesn't matter if yes or no.

If a family member is doing the farming, that is where you likely are entering a deal where someone is upset, and will want access to all of their fields that are left. How are the other parcels around you carved up, is their access to all fields of the properties around you, or will they need to cross your land to get to some fields?

Paul

[Jnlcosta]

Originally Posted by rambotex

Where is the access road to the property? Can you enter off a public road or do you have to go through Private Property?

There would be a private road off a main paved road.

[Jnlcosta]

Originally Posted by rambler

Who farms the land now? A family member, or is it rented out to an unrelated farmer?

How is paid, the rent?

Those fields are going to be broken up now, with your parcel out of the mix. How will the farmer get down to that little tail of field on the left side of the lower field? As well the 2 tiny fields on the right side, is that a field road coming through your property to get to them, or is their access through that row of trees - not a ditch or ravine they can't cross?

Taking that chunk of property out of the laid out fields will disrupt things. Who is going to be upset about that, is kinda what I was asking before?

And if this is good farm land, would you consider renting some of the fields out for a time yet, or do you want nothing to do with that. Just a question that will come up, doesn't matter if yes or no.

If a family member is doing the farming, that is where you likely are entering a deal where someone is upset, and will want access to all of their fields that are left. How are the other parcels around you carved up, is their access to all fields of the properties around you, or will they need to cross your land to get to some fields?

Paul

The fields were being rented out to a family friend actually and he stopped renting then once the property went up for sale. So it hasn't been worked in almost 2 years. No one would be using the fields anymore I'm told. The land around this one is all private land.