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My DH and I would love your opinions on this... after having looked at just about everything currently on the market in our area and in our price range, we've finally been shown a lovely piece of property that offers most of the features on our wish list, but it has a few drawbacks we are concerned about. Not sure how concerned we should be, we thought we'd ask for some feedback from ya'll. Sorry in advance for the length, but I want to give you some details.
On the plus side, it is a beautiful 47-acre cove, very secluded, with excellent southern exposure, a few acres of grassy area with plenty room for a homesite and large garden. There's a bold creek running through the property which is nicely placed and has a couple mini-falls on it, some fruit trees, an old overgrown former sheep pasture, and many acres of woods. Some of the land is steep, as in a ridge around three sides of the land, but a large part is gentle. There is a ten year-old DW on a stone foundation that seems to be in okay shape, if a little damp and musty. The adjoining 100-acre parcel over the north ridge is owned by the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy.
Of course we would get the well tested, but the seller claims it provides about 5 gallons per minute, and is not too deep, I don't have the figure in front of me but I think it was around 175 ft.
On the minus side, the access is a little tough, with almost two miles of 4WD-type private road that crosses three other private properties. Only the first of these properties is currently lived on by the owner, and he has a gate across the road which must be closed and locked at all times. There is a legal easement for our access, but the gate is part of the deal. Also, the seller gave an access easement through the property to the Conservancy when they bought the adjoining land. They have not used it but maybe once a year so far, but of course that may change. I think it is safe to assume that since no one lives on any of the five adjoining parcels, we would end up responsible for most all of the road improvements and maintenance costs for the whole road. There are also three places where semi-shallow creeks cross this road, no bridge or anything, they just drive on thru.
The other thing is, on my visits out to the property I noticed a strange, unpleasant odor wafting on the wind a few times...couldn't trace it but it wasn't a normal country smell. Out of the five times I've been out there, I smelled it twice. Just a strong whiff, now and then, on the breeze. After inquiring around a little I believe we have discovered the source... a paper mill in a neighboring town, maybe 10-15 miles south-west of the property. Apparently this employee-owned mill has made some good efforts to clean up their emissions, but still, it's a paper mill. How concerned should I be about possible health hazards from air pollution? We plan to raise children out there, in the future.
Would you all still consider this place, keep looking, or run screaming? :haha:
I'm not too worried about the price, we'll do our best to negotiate that if the time comes, right now just trying to decide if we should bid on this at all.
Did I mention it's beautiful?
Yeah, I said that. I do have pictures, not sure tho where to post them.
Okay, what do you think?
On the plus side, it is a beautiful 47-acre cove, very secluded, with excellent southern exposure, a few acres of grassy area with plenty room for a homesite and large garden. There's a bold creek running through the property which is nicely placed and has a couple mini-falls on it, some fruit trees, an old overgrown former sheep pasture, and many acres of woods. Some of the land is steep, as in a ridge around three sides of the land, but a large part is gentle. There is a ten year-old DW on a stone foundation that seems to be in okay shape, if a little damp and musty. The adjoining 100-acre parcel over the north ridge is owned by the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy.
Of course we would get the well tested, but the seller claims it provides about 5 gallons per minute, and is not too deep, I don't have the figure in front of me but I think it was around 175 ft.
On the minus side, the access is a little tough, with almost two miles of 4WD-type private road that crosses three other private properties. Only the first of these properties is currently lived on by the owner, and he has a gate across the road which must be closed and locked at all times. There is a legal easement for our access, but the gate is part of the deal. Also, the seller gave an access easement through the property to the Conservancy when they bought the adjoining land. They have not used it but maybe once a year so far, but of course that may change. I think it is safe to assume that since no one lives on any of the five adjoining parcels, we would end up responsible for most all of the road improvements and maintenance costs for the whole road. There are also three places where semi-shallow creeks cross this road, no bridge or anything, they just drive on thru.
The other thing is, on my visits out to the property I noticed a strange, unpleasant odor wafting on the wind a few times...couldn't trace it but it wasn't a normal country smell. Out of the five times I've been out there, I smelled it twice. Just a strong whiff, now and then, on the breeze. After inquiring around a little I believe we have discovered the source... a paper mill in a neighboring town, maybe 10-15 miles south-west of the property. Apparently this employee-owned mill has made some good efforts to clean up their emissions, but still, it's a paper mill. How concerned should I be about possible health hazards from air pollution? We plan to raise children out there, in the future.
Would you all still consider this place, keep looking, or run screaming? :haha:
I'm not too worried about the price, we'll do our best to negotiate that if the time comes, right now just trying to decide if we should bid on this at all.
Did I mention it's beautiful?
Okay, what do you think?