Newport? (Hendersonville, Greeneville, Sevierville: transplants, for sale, rent)

[3chihuahuas]

We are looking to buy land with the expectation of building a retirement home within the next three to five years and are thinking of taking a look at a development called Rivercrest, near Newport. The brochure and Web site look great (of course, they almost always do) and the prices seem reasonable if you don't buy a riverfront lot, which we're not interested in anyway. Any opinions or impressions of this area? It hasn't been discussed much on these boards for some reason. We've looked in the mountain areas of North Carolina (Brevard, Hendersonville and Waynesville are charming but on the pricey side for land and construction costs) and the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee (a bit too hot in the summer, at least this year). The development is offering a fly-up-free-for-the-weekend deal, but we don't want to go if the area is not nice and/or the development is overhyped. Thanks for your responses!

[mbmouse]

It is a nice area, very pritty and great if you want a really laid back place to live. However.....you do realise that the movie "Deliverance" was filmed there? You do haave to drive a distance if you want some culture or to shop anywhere except Wal-mart. But if you like going to Sevierville and Gatlinburg a lot, the drive is really pritty down 321 from Newport.

[denise1971]

Originally Posted by mbmouse

It is a nice area, very pritty and great if you want a really laid back place to live. However.....you do realise that the movie "Deliverance" was filmed there? You do haave to drive a distance if you want some culture or to shop anywhere except Wal-mart. But if you like going to Sevierville and Gatlinburg a lot, the drive is really pritty down 321 from Newport.

hello i am from florida . my dad has sbout 35 acars just off75 exit440 . last year he gave me 5 acars . i am relly thinking to sell my house in florida and move up next year . if you could find any info on somthing for rent. .it just cost to much to live in fla any more.can tou give me a brack down on cost of living and jobs. rent school ..ect...............

[daniellefort]

I just bought some land in Newport. A subdivision called Secluded Riverbend. It offers property on the Pigeon River and some property not on the water. Acres of 1.5 up to more than 8 acres available. Many still for sale by realtor and private sellers. Don't know much about the subdivision your looking at but if your looking for very minimal restrictions, the place i bought is great. It's classified as a Farm Subdivision so if you own at least 2 acres, you can have 1 farm animal for each acre you own. Min home size 1500 sq/ft with a 2 car garage. Other than that, basically just keep your yard cleaned up and looking good. If your interested in more info, let me know. It's not a gated community. No HOA fees. Already has underground utilities just septic needed and paved curbed roads throughout. You might want to check that area out as well. So far only 2 homes have been built. Here's a picture of what we're looking at from our piece of land we bought up on the hill overlooking the other lots. [IMG][/IMG]

[hiknapster]

Be skeptical of anyone that wants to fly you out to see their development. There is land here, at good prices.

This is another development that just came up on this forum. Man, are the land-scam artists overrunning Tennessee, or what? When I said I thought this would be the new Florida, I didn't realize how on the mark I really was.

If you want land in Tennessee, buy it on your own. Why would you even entertain this possibility? Do you not see this for what it is?

Living out in the countryside of Tennessee has some drawbacks. Some locals make their own laws and are not very happy with transplants. That is exactly the way it sounds. But if you want to buy in Newport, I would at least PM Daniellefort. She didn't buy into one of these land scams that are overpriced, and may or may not eventually have roads, water, etc. You could be left with nothing.

[daniellefort]

I agree. I wouldn't buy in a gated subdivision either. I find they are way too picky with the way things are supposed to be. I'd rather have the laid back relaxed property where the only thing that matters is your home looks nice and there's plenty of room between you and your neighbors. Then again, some people like to live that way apparently.

There is a lot of land for sale in East TN. you shouldn't have to resort to something you find online or something that is convienint to look at. I suggest you look up some realtor listings online and see what they have listed. I can connect you with the one realtor who helped us, then take a drive around up there and scout out the areas. Don't think you have to limit yourself to a subdivision either. There is a lot of unrestricted land as well for sale but there's also a downside to that.

[3chihuahuas]

We posted the first message about a year ago and never did check out the development in Newport. Additionally, after posting questions about other heavily advertised developments, we decided not to look at them. We strongly considered the Hawks Bluff fly-in weekend offer, but we concluded that $35,000-plus for 1.5 acres or so was a little too much to pay for the location -- it's obviously a beautiful area and I don't wish to offend the posters touting Hawks Bluff, but it seems a little far from shopping and (especially) medical facilities for our taste.

Instead, we plan to drive through eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina in September so we can get a first-hand view of things, and we even have a contact in the Greeneville area who has offered to check out anything we find online that's within a few hours of his home. We figure this is the best way to buy property we really like at a fair price.

Daniellefort, I would be interested if you could PM me with some more information about where you bought -- could you give me any idea about the prices? It looks wonderful!

[daniellefort]

I didn't even notice how old the original posting was. I guess it got bumped up as it was on the first page. anyways, i also meant to say my property lies along the French Broad River not the Pigeon River. Don't know why the Pigeon River came to mind. Either way, i sent you a PM about the info.

[WOWAddict]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Living out in the countryside of Tennessee has some drawbacks. Some locals make their own laws and are not very happy with transplants. .

This may be an old post but it must still ring true. This is part of the reason I would want to look closer to the cities.

[crossvibe]

That Kincaid-like landscape photo is to die for, please pm me the details if you don't mind. I too am searching for a spot at reasonable costs. Know any good builders nearby also ? Thx !