Our trip to the Upstate (Greenville, Easley: real estate, rentals, loan)

[flgargoyle]

As promised, this is my little report after a week touring the upstate area west and north of Greenville. We had a great week, and ended up making an offer on 7 acres of woods about 15 miles north of Greenville.
We really love the area, and believe it will fill our needs for rural land within easy commute of a city. The traveling is very easy and fast compared to what we are used to in FL. Except for a few surface roads in and around the city at rush hour, everything else moved very well. In the rural areas, many of the roads are 55 MPH, and there are virtually no other cars on the road. We traveled almost every state highway, and a number of back roads without hassles. As for the individual towns, they are very small, some just a crossroads. Pickens is a charming little town, w/ a number of quaint older homes. Traveler's Rest (to be our address in a few years!) isn't much of a town, but does have supermarkets and a super Wal-Mart, so shopping will be convenient for us. Marietta was kind of ugly, w/ some kind of a migrant farm camp on the north side of town. Easley is different, w/ RR tracks going down the center of Main st. It could be a charming little town, depending on which way it is headed, which I couldn't really determine. The main rte. from Easley is 123, which is a sprawl of fast food joints, etc. We traveled it @ afternoon rush hour with surprising ease. Closer in, Berea is pretty run down, and Greer was kind of ugly, too, although in all fairness, we didn't look around much, but just drove through on Rte 101. Greenville itself is remarkably accessible, and the downtown is beautiful. We didn't venture into Simpsonville b/c that kind of growth and development is what we want to avoid.
We looked at about 20 pieces of land, but only found a few in our price range that didn't have 'issues'. Mostly we found land that wasn't very useable, due to difficult access or too steep a terrain. What we wound up with is 7 acres of sloping hardwoods outside Traveler's Rest. The only thing it lacks is any kind of creek, but all the properties we looked at w/ a creek were either steep terrain, or in a flood zone. Throughout the area, there are homes ranging from shacks and run-down mobile homes, up to beautiful, large, well-kept homes, often right next to each other. It is almost impossible to find a street in rural areas without some run-down places, so if this bothers you, shop in a subdivision.
The schools were surprisingly big and new, even out in the boonies, but I have no idea what the quality of education would be. It's obvious that religion is real big out there, with huge Baptist churches in really far-flung locations. We found people to be very friendly and polite. I was pleased to see what I would call 'comfortable' racial integration in most areas. People of different ethnicities seem to mingle and socialize pretty much everywhere, although we did stop in a really redneck souvenir stand that evidently thinks the war is still being fought.
We did some fun stuff, too. The BMW plant was impressive, with a small free museum, and plant tours will be available starting in Nov. We also spent 2 days in a cabin in Table Rock Park, and I highly recommend it to those who like the outdoors. There are a number of hiking trails, 2 lakes, and very reasonable boat and canoe rentals. They even have FREE 'loaner' fishing poles at the visitor's center. We rented a cabin built in the 1930's by the CCC (Civil Conservation Corps). It was a hand hewn log cabin w/ a big stone fireplace. It was very comfortable, complete with cookware, linens, fridge, stove, coffeemaker, and microwave. NO TV however (you really should try it!). Your cell phone won't work out there, either.
I hope this report is of some use to someone; PM me if you want more detailed info, or the name of our very helpful realtor.

[Adrienne1]

Thanks so much for all of the info! Did you check out Piedmont? That is a town we are looking at. How about Powderville, Liberty?? What did you like best about Traveler's Rest?
the housing in Easley seems to fit our price range, but your comments about it not being that great have made me rethink that area.
Did you go to any of the towns closer to the lakes, like Seneca, Six mile??
I also would like to know the name of your realtor. We are not ready to buy just yet, so not sure if he/she would be willing to work with us, but it would be very helpful to have contact with someone there who could keep an eye out for us for the type of home we will be looking for.
Maybe you could pm his/her name and info?? Thanks.
Also, do you have any pictures you could post?
Thanks again for reporting back
Adrienne

[OutKasted1]

Thats some good info. My friend is moving up there hopefully in October, and when I get a few things taken care of here in Orlando, I should be up in the Easley area with him by the end of the year.

[flgargoyle]

We did look at some acreage near Liberty (it was our second choice), but we never looked at the town. Seneca and Six Mile were too far from G'ville, which is where we will both likely work. Our priority was to find useable acreage within commute of G'ville, preferably closer to the mountains. In our price range, almost all the properties had issues: too steep, too far away, flood plain, difficult access, etc. Since this will be our eventual retirement home, we didn't want anything that would be challenging for senior citizens.
In all fairness, we did not explore Easley; we only drove through it from several directions. I have no idea what the residential streets are like, although I haven't heard anything bad about it. We looked at a lot of properties around Easley, but they were all several miles out of town. Pretty much all of the rural areas we looked at were pretty much the same- a mixture of mobile homes and nicer homes. It looks like there is development in most areas, and I think that money will eventually win out over poverty as real estate prices climb (and they are). From a scenic perspective, I liked the area outside of Pickens; very hilly and pretty, but it was too far out, and the properties we looked at were too steep. Our focus was on a nice piece of land, not the quality of the closest town. Travelers Rest is OK; with a super Walmart shopping will be convenient, so we didn't 'pick' TR per se, it just happened to be near the land we chose. Easley has good access to G'ville, as does Travelers Rest. Easley is big enough that there are probably some good jobs to be had there. There are a lot of manufacturing jobs in Greer (the BMW plant is near there). We never got to Powdersville or Piedmont; they were out of our search area. I think if anyone is interested in moving to any new place, it is well worth it to spend at least a week there at a minimum to try to get a feel for it. I spent countless hours on the computer looking at property listings, mapquest, google earth, and even topo maps before we even made our trip. Our realtor was quite impressed with my knowledge of the area. I printed mapquest routes from one property to the next, and we previewed them all before we met with the realtor. That way, we were able to eliminate a number of candidates, so that we could spend more time on the ones that we were realistically interested in. Everyone has different needs, so do your homework, and then plan a trip!

[JD4548]

What alot of good informations flgargoyle. Did you visit the Clemons area at all? I have been told that it is a bit rolling and up and ocming. Probably a little too far for your driving distance to GReenville, just wondered if you ventured that far. Would you describe your areas of travels like little mountain towns?

[lovethecarolinas]

Originally Posted by flgargoyle

We did look at some acreage near Liberty (it was our second choice), but we never looked at the town. Seneca and Six Mile were too far from G'ville, which is where we will both likely work. Our priority was to find useable acreage within commute of G'ville, preferably closer to the mountains. In our price range, almost all the properties had issues: too steep, too far away, flood plain, difficult access, etc. Since this will be our eventual retirement home, we didn't want anything that would be challenging for senior citizens.
In all fairness, we did not explore Easley; we only drove through it from several directions. I have no idea what the residential streets are like, although I haven't heard anything bad about it. We looked at a lot of properties around Easley, but they were all several miles out of town. Pretty much all of the rural areas we looked at were pretty much the same- a mixture of mobile homes and nicer homes. It looks like there is development in most areas, and I think that money will eventually win out over poverty as real estate prices climb (and they are). From a scenic perspective, I liked the area outside of Pickens; very hilly and pretty, but it was too far out, and the properties we looked at were too steep. Our focus was on a nice piece of land, not the quality of the closest town. Travelers Rest is OK; with a super Walmart shopping will be convenient, so we didn't 'pick' TR per se, it just happened to be near the land we chose. Easley has good access to G'ville, as does Travelers Rest. Easley is big enough that there are probably some good jobs to be had there. There are a lot of manufacturing jobs in Greer (the BMW plant is near there). We never got to Powdersville or Piedmont; they were out of our search area. I think if anyone is interested in moving to any new place, it is well worth it to spend at least a week there at a minimum to try to get a feel for it. I spent countless hours on the computer looking at property listings, mapquest, google earth, and even topo maps before we even made our trip. Our realtor was quite impressed with my knowledge of the area. I printed mapquest routes from one property to the next, and we previewed them all before we met with the realtor. That way, we were able to eliminate a number of candidates, so that we could spend more time on the ones that we were realistically interested in. Everyone has different needs, so do your homework, and then plan a trip!

Some great reporting flgargoyle!

[tony123]

I'm glad to have found this forum. I may have something in common with you. We just had our offer accepted on a 6acre tract just north of Travelers Rest. We'll be off of Lake Farm Ct. Your property wouldn't happen to be in this same location?

A little background about us. We moved to SC from Florida Panhandle about 6 years ago. We moved into a rental home in downtown Travelers Rest, where we lived for about a year. We then bought a house in Greer. Travelers Rest grew on us while there, and we alway knew we'd end up back there.

We will likely start building in the next few months.

If you have any questions or want any opinions on the area, I'd be glad to try and help.

I have a question for you. How did you research floodplains. I'd like to do that before contracting on our piece. It is on of the lower spots in the area.

Originally Posted by flgargoyle

We did look at some acreage near Liberty (it was our second choice), but we never looked at the town. Seneca and Six Mile were too far from G'ville, which is where we will both likely work. Our priority was to find useable acreage within commute of G'ville, preferably closer to the mountains. In our price range, almost all the properties had issues: too steep, too far away, flood plain, difficult access, etc. Since this will be our eventual retirement home, we didn't want anything that would be challenging for senior citizens.
In all fairness, we did not explore Easley; we only drove through it from several directions. I have no idea what the residential streets are like, although I haven't heard anything bad about it. We looked at a lot of properties around Easley, but they were all several miles out of town. Pretty much all of the rural areas we looked at were pretty much the same- a mixture of mobile homes and nicer homes. It looks like there is development in most areas, and I think that money will eventually win out over poverty as real estate prices climb (and they are). From a scenic perspective, I liked the area outside of Pickens; very hilly and pretty, but it was too far out, and the properties we looked at were too steep. Our focus was on a nice piece of land, not the quality of the closest town. Travelers Rest is OK; with a super Walmart shopping will be convenient, so we didn't 'pick' TR per se, it just happened to be near the land we chose. Easley has good access to G'ville, as does Travelers Rest. Easley is big enough that there are probably some good jobs to be had there. There are a lot of manufacturing jobs in Greer (the BMW plant is near there). We never got to Powdersville or Piedmont; they were out of our search area. I think if anyone is interested in moving to any new place, it is well worth it to spend at least a week there at a minimum to try to get a feel for it. I spent countless hours on the computer looking at property listings, mapquest, google earth, and even topo maps before we even made our trip. Our realtor was quite impressed with my knowledge of the area. I printed mapquest routes from one property to the next, and we previewed them all before we met with the realtor. That way, we were able to eliminate a number of candidates, so that we could spend more time on the ones that we were realistically interested in. Everyone has different needs, so do your homework, and then plan a trip!

[flgargoyle]

I'm not sure where Lake Farm Ct is. We are off Mush Creek, near where Rte 25 and Rte 290 meet. Your plat map should show flood plains. Our realtor was able to overlay a plat photo w/ topo lines, as well. Our lot is the top of a hill, and slopes down 100' over a 900' run. I doubt Mush Creek will ever come up 100'!

[tony123]

I agree, you probably don't have to worry about water.

Our property is about 2 miles west of 276 and Old White Horse Road. Probably 4-5 miles miles due west of yours.

We just walked the entire six acres this morning scouting out a house location. Ours falls about 50' in 700'. Half of the fall happens in the first 150' and then the back half is flatter, approximately 4%. Our house will be set at about elevation 106', and the lowest point of the creek in the rear is at elevation 80'. I suppose it is that simple, the house is 26' above the creek and thus should not have any issues with water. But I need a professional to tell me so.

Like you said, it is difficult to find a property that is not too steep, etc. and stay in a reasonable price range. We were looking for something with mountain views originally, but quickly gave up, as they were usually too steep, and the ones that weren't were priced accordingly.

I did pull up the plat with topo, etc from gcgis.org It is a very useful site.

We are in our mid to late 30's, with two 2 year old boys. We're looking at this property as the family homestead to be passed down through generations. I firmly believe that 20 years from now you will not be able to find 6 acre+ usable properties within 45 minutes of downtown Greenville, much less the 20 minutes that you and I are.

The pace of life in TR is what we love the most. I work in downtown Greenville, and feel my blood pressure start dropping when driving into TR. It is frequent that strangers stop and talk at the gas stations and frequent that you are driving behind a grandpa type in an old pickup going half the speed limit, and I LOVE IT!

When we moved into the rental home there about 6 years ago, our landlord had homemade muffins and a coffee pot waiting on the kitchen counter for us. There kids had hung a sign on the wall welcoming us. And, the landlord and all there cousins came over and unloaded our truck for us! They were great people, and we found the rest of TR to be the same.

[DixiePeachVA]

Hi, we are planning to relo to the NW TR area and looking for a good realtor, some acerage, and a builder. If you can recommend someone that would help. Thanks. We plan to visit right after Christmas. Thanks!