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Old 02-19-2014, 10:13 AM
 
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DH and I used to live on 5 acres with a pole barn. We currently live in a subdivision but are considering buying land and building in the country again. There is a lot in our area that is 1.57 acres next to a rural golf course that would be nice to build on, but I know that DH would want to put up at least a small pole barn and I'm not sure if that lot would be big enough.

Does anyone have any advice on this sort of thing?

Thanks!
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Old 02-19-2014, 10:31 AM
 
Location: North of Canada, but not the Arctic
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1.57 acres = 68,389.2 sq. ft. So a small pole barn would definitely fit.

How big of a pole barn were you considering? What else are you planning to do with the property?
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Old 02-19-2014, 10:45 AM
 
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Not a very big barn, just basically big enough to store some tools, have a work area, and and possibly store a classic car. We used to have a 1959 Cadillac but sold it and DH would like to buy another old car someday.

We would probably build a one story house, since we are middle aged now and are thinking about having to do stairs as we get older, with around 2500 square feet so that we could have a couple of extra bedrooms for when our adult kids come to visit. No animals, been there, done that, when our kids were in 4-H, just a nice house in the country with a small barn out back.
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Old 02-19-2014, 10:47 AM
 
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The only way to know for sure is to take a rough plan with the dimensions into the city/township and make sure it meets setback requirements and the zoning is appropriate.
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Old 02-19-2014, 11:15 AM
 
Location: North of Canada, but not the Arctic
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Okay, so basically a two-car garage size pole barn. Yeah, that would fit with enough room to spare for a 2500 sq.ft. house and nice size yard.
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Old 02-19-2014, 11:22 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Retroit View Post
Okay, so basically a two-car garage size pole barn. Yeah, that would fit with enough room to spare for a 2500 sq.ft. house and nice size yard.
Thanks, Retroit!

Aoletsgo, you're right, especially with it abutting the golf course we would have to see if there are any zoning restrictions. There is probably a chance that a pole barn would not be allowed due to golf courses being somewhat scenic and not wanting a barn for a back drop when people are golfing. This is a small, rural golf course, though, not anything remotely country club about it, so maybe the restrictions are less because of that. Setback is important too, since that could put the house too far off the road to allow for a barn out back. It is also a corner lot, so that would offer us a little more flexability, I guess.

Thanks again to both of you!
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Old 02-19-2014, 11:28 AM
 
Location: Grand Rapids Metro
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Quote:
Originally Posted by canudigit View Post
Thanks, Retroit!

Aoletsgo, you're right, especially with it abutting the golf course we would have to see if there are any zoning restrictions. There is probably a chance that a pole barn would not be allowed due to golf courses being somewhat scenic and not wanting a barn for a back drop when people are golfing. This is a small, rural golf course, though, not anything remotely country club about it, so maybe the restrictions are less because of that. Setback is important too, since that could put the house too far off the road to allow for a barn out back. It is also a corner lot, so that would offer us a little more flexability, I guess.

Thanks again to both of you!
Generally speaking a public golf course doesn't have any restrictions on the lots around it, unless the lots were part of a golf course development.

The main thing, as people said, is going to be zoning restrictions. Find the townships website and they usually have zoning regulations right on there that you can print off, that will talk about setbacks from lot lines, etc..
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Old 02-19-2014, 11:34 AM
 
Location: North of Canada, but not the Arctic
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You can try using this tool to plan your lot. Area calculator - Outline a property on a google map and find its area
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Old 02-19-2014, 12:22 PM
 
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As has been pointed out, the important thing to look at is the zoning requirements. Lot setbacks will be a limiting factor but there may also be a limitation as to the size of any outbuilding relative to the size of the house. Given your stated "small" size, however, it's unlikely that would be prohibiting factor. You may have your heart set on building new but, for a better value, you may want to consider purchasing an existing house.
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Old 02-19-2014, 12:39 PM
 
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Originally Posted by jackmichigan View Post
You may have your heart set on building new but, for a better value, you may want to consider purchasing an existing house.
I would actually prefer an existing house with mature trees, but the problem is that there is very little existing housing for sale in our area, and none that fit our price range and also fit the bill for what we are looking for. it seems that if you don't want to be in a subdivision, you have a choice between a really small, outdated old farmhouse in mediocre condition at best, or a $350,000+ mcmansion on five acres. There's literally nothing in between in our desired area right now. Plus, we've never built before, so the idea of being able to pick all of the specifics kind of appeals to me. For example, I would like our kitchen to face east to get the morning sun, and you can't really pick and choose things like that when the housing stock is as limited as it is in our area right now. We aren't in a super high demand area either, just rural farm country in SE Michigan about an hour from Detroit and half an hour from Ann Arbor.

Last edited by canudigit; 02-19-2014 at 01:30 PM..
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