places to build with little permits needed?

Couldn't happen here, you can't buy stock plans, you still have to have a local engineer stamp them, which means the engineer will need to do all the calcs for it. They also certainly don't approve "creative" here.

Don't move to Lane County Oregon. We have to be one of the worst. Here you also can't "build as you go" either because you have to have a final before you can occupy the house. Our UPS driver said they had a party and moved in some boxes in the garage and had left over pizza in the frig and beer (from the celebration party) and they wouldn't give the final until they moved the boxes and cleaned the frig because they had "occupied" the residence before the final was given. Down the road we have a winery that built their own house on the land, he had to put in wall heaters, in every room, even though he had a geo-thermal put in his pond (no idea how it works but the county wouldn't approve it), he said he had lived their 10 years and never had once turn on those wall heaters.

County to County can be very different, so don't just look at States but Counties within the State. Good Luck!!

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Idleness is leisure gone to seed

Here you don't need any permits for a pole barn. Minimal for a house. I am in Arkansas.

Things can vary a lot from state to state, county to county, and even township to township. You really have to do your homework when it comes to finding out where the areas of the least amount of regulation are. Good rule of thumb is find areas where there are lower population denisities. Usually (but not always) less people equal less regulation and permits. Where I live (Wisconsin) within the county there are big differences between townships. Some require tons of permits and some have none. There was a big change a few years ago in regards to new housing construction. Wisconsin adopted state wide building codes. I've read through a lot of it, most of it I'd do anyway (common sense) but some of it is a little ridiculous. The way I interpreted it one could do just about anything they pleased if they did not hook up to any utility companies. If I ever bought raw land in Wisconsin I would go off-grid, less balony to deal with all the way around.

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http://www.xanga.com/shackman A blog about whatever

Ditto for Metcalfe County KY! Oh, and when you hook up to the electric main line!

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Be a fountain, not a drain!

^()^
http://tubbsfarmstead.com/

Our permit:
required a site-plan showing distances between each property line and each waterfrontage;
the external dimensions of each building [height, length, width];
There was a line for each building where they wanted the type of construction [steel, wood, stone] just a one-word answer was all they needed:
a hand written plan of how I will avoid soil erosion;
a leechfield design submitted by a soil-engineer;
$75 and it is good for 5-years.

I got a permit and a 'certificate of self-inspection and completion'.

Whenever I am done, I 'inspect' and I sign it saying that I am done.

The application allows for as many buildings as you wish to list, and it encourages using many pages of lined paper to list all buildings you plan to build.

There is no internal plans required for any building. There will never be any government inspectors.

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http://www.mofga.org/

http://www.mofga.org/Programs/FarmAp...2/Default.aspx

Marion County Mississippi. When I built 8 years ago: Called Health Dept and a guy came out and gave me a pink slip saying what type of septic system I needed. I drew up house plans myself and took them along with a cost estimate (pretty detailed) that I had done to the bank and got a construction loan. Every draw I made on the loan an inspector (not really much of an inspection) came by to see if I had done what I said I had done and then the bank gave me another draw. The electric came to hook me up and asked "Who wired it?" I said me and they said "Okay, you got everything right, huh?" I said yes and they hooked it up. It hasnt burnt down yet. No one from the city, county or anywhere else ever had to come out....I like backwards Mississippi.

Ever since all of the hurricanes a few years ago, FL has become tough on all that stuff. We have property in upstate SC as well, and they have no plans review. The Building Inspector told me to get a permit and 'have at it'. But- it all still has to meet SC code, which is IRC 2006, and goes to IRC 2009 in January. Building to code isn't hard, but you need to get a copy of the code and study it. I was told if you're nice and respectful to the inspectors, and ask a few questions, they'll help you through it.

There are places with no inspection. Some areas are just too small to warrant a building department. I think those would be the best places to build, but they tend to be way out in the boonies.

Most, if not all states have adopted some kind of building code. Just because an area doesn't have inspection doesn't mean that you don't have to meet code. It's like people who take emissions equipment off of cars in states that don't inspect cars. You're still in violation of federal law. What difference does it make? You may have trouble getting homeowner's insurance, or they may deny a claim if they find out your house was not built to code. I would plan on following code to the best of your ability, wherever you build.

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"What one generation tolerates, the next generation embraces." -John Wesley

MushCreek is right about Florida and hurricanes. While I normally have the same attitude as most others here, that government needs to be hands off, this is one area where I really fight with myself. I saw the destruction of Andrew first hand and personal. We went through a few others, and then through Wilma, which was mild but put power out for a couple of weeks. Most everything that wasn't built to code on the southeast coast was severely damaged in Wilma, and the stress put on the infrastructure because of all the mess was intense, even for those of us who didn't suffer damage and knew how to make or keep some power. The housing that was built to code and properly protected held up MUCH MUCH better.

Florida and the Gulf Coast is a fairly unique situation where one error in construction or design can bring your house down around you. Oh yeah... in Florida if you haven't built to code, good luck on getting insurance. Lots of people are trying to tell the OP something...

The OP has a few choices - move, buy an existing home, possibly buy manufactured or modular, or go through the hoops. I have no problem with the government setting minimum standards for houses in hurricane country, because otherwise the insured homeowners and taxpayers are forced to clean up the mess of the idiots.
High insurance costs, ultimately because of the poor construction of other homes, were one of the reasons we moved out.


Here is north Alabama, if a place gets a direct hit by a tornado, it doesn't matter. It'll be torn apart anyway, no matter how many agencies and architects sign off on it. Only heavy duty commercial construction, underground homes, or monolithic domes stand a chance of surviving. FWIW, no building code is enforced in this county, you are just required to get a septic permit for power.

I think we've decided to stay where we are and try and get around the fees by buying a manufactured home and preconstructed sheds for livestock and garage. Yes, the shed buildings are more expensive than building ourselves but we wouldn't have to get plans and permits either. Also, we're allowed to build anything 8x10 or smaller w/o any permits, plans etc. so I think we're going to just try and get around things the best way we can. We love our land and really probably wouldn't do well anywhere it stayed cold for prolonged periods of time or even snowed.

Thanks to everyone for the input, it really did help!

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Crystal

Mom of 5 ages 8 and under in a Unitarian, Military, Homeschooling family in the city.
www.solidityofrainbows.blogspot.com

Reading through all this I'm kinda struck by the fact that nobody mentioned the sorting out of the permits under different sections of bureaucratic organization. There's zoning (is it agricultural or residential or whatever which will include width of access road, set-backs from boundary lines). There's building which isn't only about your approved plans but includes how they are implemented. My final inspection for my occupancy permit included the inspector opening and closing the bedroom window and testing the smoke alarms with a little can of smoke. There's health which will include your water coming in (well or city) and going out with unsavory enhancements such as your septic. That 911 fee has a connection because there is an addressing coordinator who has to issue you a 911 address and connect you into a protection grid so sheriff and fire department know where you are. There will be your electrical hook-up. Some of this pertains to taxes of course.
It all seems very overwhelming when you start out. Each item has to be done in sequence and sometimes inspected in sequence. There's other things that can pop up unexpectedly and blindside you like soil and erosion regulations.
However, nobody prints out a calendar or schedule for you. It's not a paint by numbers set-up when you are new to it! However, the thing to remember is you are equally as intelligent as the folks who set all these requirements down on paper. Maybe more so. And you had the spunk to do it yourself which gives you an edge over a bureaucrat. Other people have handled this miasma of regulations. Why not you? Some of the folks you will deal with are exceptionally nice and kind. My addressing coordinator rode me around in his jeep while he tried to get gps coordinates on his handheld whatsis that needed five satellite connections it couldn't get in the trees. He made me house number signs and came out to affix them with liquid glue. The building inspector failed my decks three times and yelled at me but my decks were built by an incompetent and gas prices had just escalated.
In short, if a ditzy, disorganized old geezer like me could figure it all out (or a way around whatever the obstacle was) then surely you can, too! Start with what you have, your precious land, and build on it. Why trek clear across the country to avoid problems? There will be new problems where you go. You are already figuring things out. Kudos to you! And think how you will add to your own self-esteem when you finally have dealt with all the nits and actualized your dream even within the restrictive parameters of your locality.

Crystal, be SURE to check with insurance companies on costs of insurance (and even availability of insurance) before buying a manufactured home or anything. Also, if you can find a used or repo-ed manufactured home (that meets code) you will pay a LOT less. You will likely need to rework ductwork and possibly plumbing though.

TN has changed very much in the last few years. In fact, there are only a handful of counties with little codes/inspections/permits. Most TN counties are pure pains in the rear now with fees/inspections/permits etc...

western Kansas: Septic permit/inspection.

The end



(Though you don't HAVE to have a septic system installed. If you want, you can use a composting set-up of some sort, too)

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~*~Erin~*~
SAHM, ranch wife, sub and quilt shop proprietress
the Back Gate Country Quilt Shop

Harry Chickpea is correct about carefully checking availability of the manufactured home insurance. I can't get it for mine from the company I've been dealing with for over 50 years! (Sniff, they declined to insure an Earthship, also).

This is the main reason I have been doing so much research into properties, even years before I am ready to buy. All of the county codes in the area I want to live are posted online, and I have them all bookmarked in my browser. I now know most of the basics of the regulations for each county by heart! LOL, my boyfriend finds a property he likes, yells out the county it's in, and I respond with the general basics of what permits are required and what types of "alternative" energy and sewage systems are written into the code, etc..

I'm sorry that you are having these problems. I'm glad, for my sake, that there is so much I can learn on the internet about a piece of property, even from half the country away. Sounds like a little pre-purchase research would have been in order.

If you REALLY want the property, then you'll have to do it the way the powers that be want you to. Otherwise, sell and find a more relaxed place.

Siting at a computer looking at the written codes does not tell you how strongly they are enforced nor if there are unwritten local "policies" in place due to regional peculiarities and personality quirks. In real life there are surprises.

While this is true, it does certainly help to research and know what is actually written into law. One county I'm looking at specifically mentions composting toilets as "acceptable". Another one just has a vaguely worded "alternative systems may be used provided they meet the requirements...". All other things being equal, I'll pick the property that is in the first county over the other county, just so I know I have backing when dealing with a building inspector who is afraid of his own poop!

A quick call to the permit office will generally tell you what kind of permits are required. I've heard too many stories of people buying land and then not being able to do what they wanted with it, because they didn't bother to do their research beforehand.

Missouri.

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You are confined only by the walls you build yourself.

Pretty sure their are no building permits in Hunt County Texas