Floyd, VA

[JGallimore]

Having just moved back to this area after 8 years in New England, I can attest to the fact that the property taxes in Floyd are nothing compared to many parts of the US. In New England it was common to have property taxes that were four to five times the amount you pay in Floyd.

[NoSlowBuffalo]

1 - Mineral rights seem to be something that (in general) you just don't get when you buy land in most of WV. That is, the oil or coal or gas company can come onto your land and drill since they own the minerals under your land (incredibly sad, but true). Is this likely to be an issue in Floyd county, VA? Common? Rare? Unheard of?

I've lived in Floyd my whole life and I've never heard of that happening once. I wouldn't worry about it.

2 - As I mentioned, we're looking to buy acreage and then build. On a scale of 1-10, what are the building restrictions like (1 - they don't care what you do - it's your land, to, 10 - good luck getting anything built at all).

It's not that tight. It's probably a little more laid back if anything. Again, no problem here.

3 - What if our kids decide to build their house on our land in 10-20 years? Is this likely to be a problem (we will not be buying in a subdivision, but are there any county/state regulations to watch out for otherwise)?

Land is going fast in Floyd. It's developing but the people of Floyd don't like to let it develop. It's hard for any big business to get in there now. Food Lion, Hardee's and Subway were HUGE deals.

Anyway... Not too many regulations... However, 20 years from now...

4 - Related to #2 and #3 - any issues with having a well dug (i.e. water conservancy/quality issues or regulations)? What if we end up with 2-3 houses on, say, our 40 acre tract in the future?.

The water is as good as you'll get. There's a tiny bit of sediment in it but it is fantastic water. Best water there is.
5 - Also related to #2 and #3 - any issues with septic tank/field? (i.e. perk issues or regulations)? What if we end up with 2-3 houses on, say, our 40 acre tract in the future?.

There are but nothing out of the ordinary... Again, probably a little bit looser with the restrictions here.

What you may need to look for is if the land previously or currently had animals that lived on it (cows, chickens). You wouldn't wanna put a well there... You would have to be careful about where you placed it.

6 - Our kids are homeschooled. I have found that VA is pretty open to homeschooling and there are lots of regional support groups in SW VA. This is a long-shot, but anybody know of any homeschoolers or homeschool groups in or near Floyd itself?

I don't know of any groups. I do know that it is perfectly acceptable here...

7 - I love Bluegrass. Oh, nevermind, that's not a question.

Friday Night -> Country Store.

8 - How walking/hiking/biking friendly is the area? If I lived 2-5 miles outside of Floyd, how easy/safe would it be to walk or ride to town?It is the safest place in the world. Nobody I know in Floyd leaves their house locked. People pull up to the Express mart and leave their car running and walk in and have 15 minute conversations with the cashier. Floyd is so spread out though... that you probably wouldn't be walking to very many places.

[radcliffi]

Uh-oh. I just spent the long weekend in SW Virginia, and can say from personal experience that the equity locusts who got run out of NYC, California and DC have now descended on Floyd. The wishing prices on nothing special 3/1 and 3/2 houses are over $200K more than in the surrounding little towns. The place swarms with tourists, like in the Vail and Aspen of the 70s.The leading edge of the McMansion cancer has arrived: a host of "land" companies, offering "large tracts for sale". Floyd is a cute town - its chief advantage is that it has brick buildings and a downtown that is walkable, in contrast to a strip mall. However, it has caught the blight.
Too bad. The displaced New Yorkers and DC types will now swarm in, demanding huge plastic houses on quarter acre lots, and support services that are "adequate". In five years, this formerly nice little town will be a travesty of its former self.

Notice the pattern. In town after town around the country, the developers swoop in and wreak their destruction. They go belly up, leaving their plastic behemoths to rot, or to corrode in unfinished splendor. They will have pocketed the lions' share of the banks' "building loans": they can skip assuming they erect a HOA to hold the bag for them, and sell a bare minority of the planned houses in the "community".

Suburban sprawl has come to blight SW Virginia. I wish I had never lived to see the day.