Looking for 5-10 acres in E. Tenn. (Knoxville, Oak Ridge: for sale, real estate)

[mmelwood]

Hi everybody, I'm new to this forum...What I'd like to find is approx. 5-10 acres, wooded and hilly with old abandoned farm house/ buildings. I would prefer the property to have existing utilities or at least electric. Burned down house with usable foundation would be ideal. could be located anywhere from knoxville to johnson city. In rural areas with no city water, does anybody know what the expense for this area is for installing a well? Does anybody know how well wind generators or solar power systems work near this area? You may think I'm asking some odd questions, but my goal is to build a small home which is very energy efficient. I do not want to depend on utilities if at all possible. Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

[knoxgarden]

The wooded and hilly part is easy.
Are you in the area? Try driving out Hwy. 11W from I-40 to Rogersville.
I was just out that way visiting friends in Mooresburg. There are a lot of places like what you describe out that way. I saw a for sale sign on some acreage on Hwy. 31 just off 11W. It's in Hawkins County. I know it's in an unincorporated area.
Ask realtors in Rutledge, Rogersville and Sneedville. There are people up there who have been living "off the grid" for generations.
Lots of links here:
ClinchPowell.net -> Community Services
Those communities are located on or near Clinch Mountain above the Clinch River Valley.
And check this:
Living Off The Grid - Tennessee’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory Builds Dollar a Day House — The Real Estate Bloggers

[mmelwood]

thanks for the very informative links. I'm not sure where that area is but I will go to google and check it out. I live in N.W. Fla. and have been through two major hurricanes in the past couple years. although i now have a generator for when there is no electricity, I also have added solor panels and a large battery bank.I have designated one large room in my home to be totaly self sufficient with the solor system. Even having a generator after a hurricane, doesn't mean you can buy gas for a few days, and storing 20 to 30 gallons is very unsafe and a pain in the butt. I have run lighting, computer, stereo, t.v. and satelite dish for eight days on a test run for this one room.
My main objective is to try to perfect this system, and apply what I have learned into a new, more efficient home located in E. Tenn. within the next five years or so.
Finding a old existing home site/ farm, may help decrease the expense of a basement or slab. Other outbuildings on the property may also serve useful for storage of materials while the home is being built.
Again, thank you!

[DanBev]

Sounds like me,hurricane in 2005 knocked our power out for 5 days.My Troybuilt 5500/8500 kept every thing running.I have #12 wire run to 6 location's,run computer,refrig,micro,dish/tv,freezer,500W air in small room and pump,works excellent.Use low energy lite bulbs.Store 7 five gallon cans of gas in out building with lawn mower.Rotate gas by using in mower and put new gas where oldest gas sat.At end of season use in truck.We live near Branford.Cost very little to implement,have dedicated power cds.Kind of funny to hear you mention TN,we have 2 acre's there.

[mmelwood]

although i do enjoy a good hurricane , my wife hates no power. ( well me too, after a couple of days and the beer starts getting warm..AHHAHAH.) I hope to have the mini fridge connected soon.
I live near Pensacola Fla. but really want to relocate to tenn. after my daughter graduates in 4 years.. so I thought start looking now and get the feeling of different areas.
Any opinions on locations?

[YFY]

One real problem of living in the mountains is the depth of a well. An old abandon house will never have a clean working well. My friends house near Knoxville has a well thats 280 feet and theyre not in the mountains. Thats a huge expense and takes a good size pump to keep it going. If you live in a higher elevation you could go many times deeper. They had to drill deeper 3 times in the past 12 years to keep hitting water. A well here is very different than in FL.

I know of several people living completely off the grid in WV. It's super cheap to buy large tracts of land there, some even available for the back taxes. There are many abandon houses and farms through out WV. Look around and you will find something very cheap.