Horseshoe Bend/Cherokee Village land auctions (Little Rock, Madison: environment, relocate, getaway)

[in_the_gloaming]

Dear RogMar.., Thanks for your input! My problem isn't with anyone in Horseshoe Bend, instead it came from U.S. Govt. Auctions, a land dealer out of California. They also tried selling me land in Costilla County Colorado which isn't exactly what I'd want. Its in the middle of b.f.egypt if you know what I mean. Back in 1992, my older brother wanted me to find him some very cheap land in Colorado, which I did. Five acres for $1,500, with a boundary problem, which was one reason why the price had been reduced. It turned out that there's an old, old, old fence that runs across the $1,500 property, dividing that property approximately in half. To make that property liveable, you have to have a BIG pick up with monster mudder tires on it, provide your own utilities or have them all brought in..., water is about 1,000 feet down underground, the land is fragile, extremely limiting anything that grows on it except for Buffalo grass, and that only grows in clumps with lots of sand between each clump. No trees. My older brother got mad at me for this, to which I replied that I had to charge him a finders fee even if it wasn't what he wanted! I just couldn't do all that research for free!

Anyway, how long ago was it that you installed your well and septic? Any recommendations on who to contact that is reputable for doing that kind of work? Your suggestions are welcome anytime.

There is an old mobile home on the lot next to mine. Mine's in Rolling Acres. Its the center lot in a block, 58 x 160 ft. in size.

[nicsan]

I got scolded and some of my previos post deleted because I failed to read the rules. Sorry, it was my mistake and I understand. Unless you are going to purchase multiple lots and are willing to set on them for a time, buying lots in HSB or CV is risky and quite cyclical. You need to stay on top of the market. Lots sold for a higher price in the 60's & 70's than they do now. They sold for higher prices two/three years ago than they do now. They will no doubt sell for more in the future than they do now. Yes, that means they are a bargain now but last time it took nearly 30 years for the cycle to turn upward. Can you wait that long? Nobody knows the future of course so it may change tomorrow - all I'm saying is be prepared to wait out a down market.
HSB is an incorporated city, approx. 12 to 14 thousand acres, 50 some subdivisions (only 5 of which have sewer-everything else requires private septic system) with about 1100 homes and a population of approx 2500 80% of whom are retired, not one stop light and yet only 11 miles to super walmart, 3 hours to Little Rock, Memphis or Springfield, MO - 2 1/2 to Branson. Have someone look before you buy at any price

[RogMar]

Originally Posted by in_the_gloaming

Any recommendations on who to contact that is reputable for doing that kind of work? Your suggestions are welcome anytime.

I don't think we can do that in this forum, but I changed my options so that members can e-mail me if they wish. There's an "e-mail RogMar" if you poke around a little.

It's an account that I don't check *every* day, but I check it.

I can tell you who I used, who are area businesses, and are N'th generation locals. Work was first class.

Mine was installed toward the last of '06.

I had to laugh a little at your description of the land and having to go muddin' to get to it.

I'll relate a little story about "southern discrimination".

Back around '93, I had done a lot of research about where I wanted to live when I retired. I came to the area near where I'm at, contacted a realtor, and told him I was looking for acreage.

So, for about 3 days. we're driving around the backroads, and I'm seeing all this land where access easements are needed. That is, you've gotta get somebody else's OK to drive across their land to get to yours. Not an attracrive proposal.

Now all this guy knows, is that I drove down from the Chicago area to buy land, and I talk kinda funny for being from there.

So, were having coffee, and looking at listings about the 4th day, and he makes chit-chat, and says, "So, your family all in Chicago?".

I tell him, not only no, but <heck> no, tell him where my family is and where my parents were born, ending with, Bud....I got just as much confederate gray in my blood as you do".

He grins real big, opens a drawer, pulls out some listings, and says, "Then look at these".

Then I saw the good stuff.

The most important thing around here is that you've got southern blood or that someone who does "speaks for you".

That changes as you go to the different communities around here. They have different priorities for who they go the extra mile for and who gets standard answers.

I own a lot in Cherokee Village, and I've got a card for privileges there since I'm a landowner. My reception as a "visitor", and my reception as a "resident", are oceans apart.

I think you see that most anywhere, and in the posts in some of the threads here there's frequent talk about being snubbed at one town or another, and how "cliquish" people are, and it is actually more prominant in the retirement communities and largely transplant areas than from the locals.

So, it really helps to have diverse people in here from the different communities. Just as nicsancan help Horseshoe with his transition to HSB, he can get answers from people he knows that I can't. There's just some folks around, thank goodness not a lot, that immediately stiffen up when I open my mouth with a "y'all".

That's part of what makes this area so darn fun

[RogMar]

Originally Posted by nicsan

I got scolded and some of my previos post deleted because I failed to read the rules. Sorry, it was my mistake and I understand. Unless you are going to purchase multiple lots and are willing to set on them for a time, buying lots in HSB or CV is risky and quite cyclical. You need to stay on top of the market. Lots sold for a higher price in the 60's & 70's than they do now. They sold for higher prices two/three years ago than they do now. They will no doubt sell for more in the future than they do now. Yes, that means they are a bargain now but last time it took nearly 30 years for the cycle to turn upward. Can you wait that long? Nobody knows the future of course so it may change tomorrow - all I'm saying is be prepared to wait out a down market.
HSB is an incorporated city, approx. 12 to 14 thousand acres, 50 some subdivisions (only 5 of which have sewer-everything else requires private septic system) with about 1100 homes and a population of approx 2500 80% of whom are retired, not one stop light and yet only 11 miles to super walmart, 3 hours to Little Rock, Memphis or Springfield, MO - 2 1/2 to Branson. Have someone look before you buy at any price

I've nudged those rules a time or two without thinking, nicsan.

Thanks for your input on HSB, I know probably about 60% of what you know since you're living over there.

My occasional visits and reading the paper give me a knowledge level that was defined in the military as "Knowing just enough to get yourself hurt"

[Horseshoe]

First of all thanks to RogMar and nicsan for responding to this thread.

As far as residential lots selling in HB and CV, i can see that many are bought because of the price. For the amount of lots that are offered in HB only a fraction will likely build homes there to live. As far as the city goes, taxes are being paid and there is "activity" in the town. Hopefully the "hipe" will carry for a while and the town will grow.

The next question is what will all these new people do for work to support themselves? The town can not survive on retirees alone. If there gets to be an imbalance of residents to jobs in the area, that would have some pretty bad effects on a town. Has there been business lots offered from the same land company? Where do the majority of jobs in the area come from? As I saw in a different post, 80% of the residents of HB are retirees. That tells me the town is surviving on "service" type jobs mostly. There should have been some sort of deal made with the buyers of those 7000 lots to offer some of those lots as business subdivisions or lots only made available to busineses. if the city can bring jobs to town, the residential lots will fill up.

[RogMar]

I don't know how rabid the town is to get growth, Horseshoe. However, I know that some efforts have been made to get industry in, the most public being a company that makes minitures of military weapons that shoot .22's full-auto. Yeah, a mini machine gun.

Now that might seem a little strange, but the company is sizeable with good sales, and is relocating fromout of state to HSB. That will provide more than a few jobs.

The major employer is probably the Wal Mart in Ash Flat. My wife works part time over there (she calls it a "hobby job") (can you belive somebody doesn't want to spend 24/7 with RogMar?????) and she really likes it. The employee demographics are a combination of retired folks and females whose husbands have another line of work. Got a number of Cherokee Village and HSB people there.

If someone wanted to make more money than that, there's the flooring factory in Melbourne, which pays well, has a large work force, and is expanding.

There are more than a few people who want more than that, and drive to Batesville to work, which has just about everything.

Including a trout-infested chunk of the White.

[in_the_gloaming]

I've also posted a couple of posts across the Arkansas Oklahoma State line you might consider reading under, Okie or not to be an Okie. It sheds some light on common terms we often use in both states.., and some historical value too on how Oklahoma got its panhandle. How the Oklahoma panhandle was part of four states: Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and New Mexico.

[RogMar]

Read your post about Okie history. Very cool and very well researched.

Another interpretationof "redneck" that I heard, actually I saw it on the History channel, IIRC, had to do with miners striking in one of the coal states.

According to them, miners got fed up with the deplorable and dangerous conditions.There was no union, and in one area, W. Virginia, E. kentucky, where ever, the miners actually went on strike. This was met with great opposition and violence.

Miners in other states, hearing of this dilemma, came to the area, and to diferentiate themselves from the masses, they tied red bandanas around their necks to I.D. one another, hence.....rednecks!

Just another spin on the term.

In chapter 2, class, we'll examine southern term of endearment............"cracker"!

[raeloe81]

Originally Posted by Horseshoe

My wife and I are moving near Horseshoe Bend this summer after buying land there last summer in 2007. In our research of the city and surrounding areas we noticed that there are many "lots" and small parcels up for auction/for sale all the time from a seemingly big realestate broker. Rumor has it that around 7,000 lots were bought by this real estate company and now they are selling off lots in Horseshoe Bend, CV and probably other areas. My question to any folks out there that have been living in or near Horseshoe Bend, Cherokee Village, etc...are you noticing new construction of homes from the result of these lots selling? OR is it a guess that the lots are just being bought up cheap for "investment" and just being sat on by the owners and NO new construction is happening? Has anyone noticed any change in the area since the flood of these cheap lots being spilled on the market?

Any observations appreciated....

I have lived here long enough to know that as soon a I can move I will Hopefully in the next 3 weeks.

[RogMar]

Originally Posted by raeloe81

I have lived here long enough to know that as soon a I can move I will Hopefully in the next 3 weeks.

Lived where and moving where?