Looking for a good area for vacation property?? (Maynardville: mobile home, closing)

[Barking Spider]

I once left my car in the parking lot at LAX for a week with the windows down. Not one thing was touched. They probably thought it was a set up. I would never do that on purpose though.

I think there is a big difference between leaving a house unattended in maryville, and leaving a mobile home in a rural area unattended.

There is also a difference in buying property in Jacksboro, and then deciding to go off grid later. Probably can't do that very easy there, though I'm not sure of that.

Another solution is to find a plot of land you like, buy a vacation trailer and store it close to the land in a secured storage facility.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by barking spider

i think there is a big difference between leaving a house unattended in maryville, and leaving a mobile home in a rural area unattended.

exactly.

[kimhankhess]

Yes I see that Maryville is a safe area to live. It is well populated. What area would make it possible to go off grid? It is possible to do it, even here in Ohio, if your land has little restrictions. Its all about being restricted and not being able to put up a windmill or solar panels if you want to, or being allowed to do a "edible landscape" for your lawn. We are not allow to do those things in most areas here. I would never relocate within Ohio anyway, its just too cold and depressing for me. Does anyone have any opinions on the home security monitoring idea or know anyone that used that? I would be visiting about once a month or every six weeks for a few days at a time, and longer in the summer. Storing the home will not work I don't think, since I will be only there for a few days and fairly often. That would be alot of work? to get the home out each time? Internet access in some form will be important as I will have to continue running my household while I am in TN.

I just want to again thank everyone for their input...the more the better to make a informed decision.

[Whataride]

I believe that one theing the OP is dealing with is expectations of prices in TN. I have clients tell me all the time what they are looking for and then tell me what they are willing to pay - usually a big difference. if you are looking for land big enough for a horse, you will need more than an acre. Horses are large animals and need to move about. In TN, as any where else for that matter, you get what you pay for. You have stated that you don't even need a toilet, because you have camped. Then why buy something that you will have to worry about. If all you really need is the property, buy a larger piece of porperty and don't worry about the single wide. If you really want a single wide, honestly, I see people giving them away as long as you pay for them to be moved(some of the repo lots sell them for as little as 5k and will set them up for you).

The crime rate can be used to scare anyone from an area. The area I currently live in has a high crime rate, but it is based on the % of people in the area. I lived in some very large cities that had lower crime rates, but had many more crimes on a daily basis than where I live now has in a month.

Don't let the determining factor be what you see on a bulletin board...If you want to have a place in TN, get it - but be realistic as to what your budget can afford. The East TN market is flat as far as prices (some up, some down), but if the market loses 10% value and then starts to gain again in 2009/2010 at an avg rate of 4%??? you do the math on what your investment will be worth in 10 yrs, which I think is your estimated time to move.

[DubbleT]

http://www.city-data.com/forum/tenne...tennessee.html
Have you seen this thread yet? Maybe you could send a quick DM to younglisa and see if she would have time to point you to a good area. I'm willing to bet she did a ton of research and looking at properties before she started on her adventure.

[kimhankhess]

I think I am going to have to just go for just the land right now. I will go crazy with worry about a home being broken into and there just doesn't seem to be a way to avoid it. Maybe a cheap Rv would work if I can find a place to store it.

I am anxious to see how those people did going off the grid, which is how I want to live out the end of my life. Their property is beautiful!

[J&Em]

Good advice but before anyone's hopes get raised, Lisa and her husband currently live on the property in a motor home as they are building and it is 40 acres. A big difference from a 1 acre, tourist area and singlewide, all to be left unattended for periods of time.


The area that Younglisa is building is far from "tourist" but it is really beautiful and may well have some good property values to be found. You may want to look around the Tri-Cities area (there is a subforum here http://www.city-data.com/forum/kings...-city-bristol/). There are some beautiful places up there (a lot of rural towns left) and it may be closer to what was originally asked for. MBMouse might have some pointers as to which towns might be better or worse as a point to start looking.


Kimhankhess I think you are on the right track. I can't imagine leaving anyplace unattended for long even without the worry of break ins. You would have to worry about who would mow the grass/weeds in the summer when it needs it every 4 days, who would call the fire department if there was a fire, what if a strong thunderstorm hit and the winds ripped a portion of the roof, or sent something through window. Six weeks later you arrive and have a nice mildew/mold stink, and major repair bill, because no one saw it happen. What if a pipe burst or a slow leak started in a sink? Owning a home has a lot "worries" and owning it long distance is a lot harder. Many people who own second homes choose places that have maintainence agencies that do the checking but it is not cheap.

I sure hope you find your dream place so you have something to get you through the coming winters.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by J&Em

Good advice but before anyone's hopes get raised, Lisa and her husband currently live on the property in a motor home as they are building and it is 40 acres. A big difference from a 1 acre, tourist area and singlewide, all to be left unattended for periods of time.


The area that Younglisa is building is far from "tourist" but it is really beautiful and may well have some good property values to be found. You may want to look around the Tri-Cities area (there is a subforum here http://www.city-data.com/forum/kings...-city-bristol/). There are some beautiful places up there (a lot of rural towns left) and it may be closer to what was originally asked for. MBMouse might have some pointers as to which towns might be better or worse as a point to start looking.


Kimhankhess I think you are on the right track. I can't imagine leaving anyplace unattended for long even without the worry of break ins. You would have to worry about who would mow the grass/weeds in the summer when it needs it every 4 days, who would call the fire department if there was a fire, what if a strong thunderstorm hit and the winds ripped a portion of the roof, or sent something through window. Six weeks later you arrive and have a nice mildew/mold stink, and major repair bill, because no one saw it happen. What if a pipe burst or a slow leak started in a sink? Owning a home has a lot "worries" and owning it long distance is a lot harder. Many people who own second homes choose places that have maintainence agencies that do the checking but it is not cheap.

I sure hope you find your dream place so you have something to get you through the coming winters.

J&Em: I guess I can't rep you again, but I sure want to.

Your budget is just not going to work, I think.

Buy some land, but be sure that you like where you are buying. That will probably involve more road trips. How fun!

[mbmouse]

You can store the RV at the RV parks around.You can leave it in TN! Lots of people park their RV's all year round and vacation in summers and other times of the year. You rent the lot that has all the hook ups you need and the owners of the parks keep an eye on all of the RV's all year round. There are several of these around. My grandparents and great aunts and uncles did this for many, many, many years, they absolutely loved it. Always had a home to go to in their vacation spot.

[kimhankhess]

Yes Lisa's place is beautiful...but not what I had in mind exactly...something on a MUCH smaller scale (but I like her cows =) ). And actually, for what I want (I just don't want or need much), 50K is plenty of money if I can just have my property left alone. Its annoying that I have to spend twice that just to have my own things left in peace. I really didn't want to live next to a lot of people. I guess my plan now is to buy just the land in the place I like and spend the next 10 years readying it for my move. I do have a listing in mind that I love but it has a mobile home on it. How much value does a mobile add to a property listing? Maybe they would be willing to just sell the land. Most of the lots I see being sold are in developements that have restrictions on animals, and I have no idea what areas are animal friendly areas to look in, so I just have to keep wading through tons of land listings. Its a lot of time and then I have to rely on the realtor to look up any restrictions which is a lot of work for him, only to have to nix them due to restrictions. Oh well, the search goes on....

MB- that RV park is a good idea. I will have to start researching that. How much does a rental spot cost a month on average. That will give me a place to sleep while I come in the winter to walk the perimeter of my land....haha.