need home for under 20,000 (prebuilt, Home Depot, buying)

[harborlady]

Originally Posted by Katie1

A friends dad died leaving the kids land to devide equal. That ment each got under 5 acres. they all wanted to put moblie homes on the land. Berkely co said NO! So for the others to do what they want 2 kids gave up their share! Was it fair no..was it the law YES!

All I am saying is Before you buy check things out cause if you want to up grade later you might get stuck!

Usually these ordinances can be challenged at a town meeting with the municipality in question. Especially when you're close enough to being in compliance with the spirit of the law, if not for the letter of the law.

My sense is that the spirit of the law wants to prevent the transient & junkiness trailer parks are known for throughout america. I think they should have been able to challenge things.

As far as this OP's question is concerned, he doesn't have the funds for new construction or new anything. He likely wouldn't qualify for a loan to own with current tight credit requirements in effect in USA. Best he look for rentals, which can be found in area newspapers. Corrine's thread applies to him more than acreage requirements.

[Threerun]

Originally Posted by ArizonaBear

Are site built homes also illegal on below 5 acre parcels in Beckley County as well?

No. Single Family dwellings are governed by the codes I linked to.

We did a lot of construction loans for single family's on 1+ acre lots. No problems, as long as the health dept issues a well and septic permit.

Heck, my old house which was built in 1999 was on less than 5 acres, and I was approved well and septic. In that development, parcels could be improved with double wides as long as they were on a permanent foundation.

To my knowledge there is no restriction that singles out mobile homes in Berkeley County. Now if you want to build a mobile home park, that's a totally different story and it falls under the subdivision ordinances.

[Janipoo]

I was surprised when we put a new mobile home on our land in Paw Paw that Morgan County doesn't have codes to have step access to it. You can put the mobile on the land with no decks or steps. I don't know about other County's.

[harborlady]

jani and three- It's been my experience elsewhere that these type of things are decided by individual municipality ordinances rather than county level gov't. Am I wrong as it pertains to WV?

[amerideaf]

>>>WV State law says you need 5 acres for MH<<<

Puzzled! I guess it might be a local ordinance (not a state law)

[Threerun]

Originally Posted by harborlady

jani and three- It's been my experience elsewhere that these type of things are decided by individual municipality ordinances rather than county level gov't. Am I wrong as it pertains to WV?

If you reside in a municipality, say Martinsburg for example, then you have to defer to the city code. If you reside in the county, then you defer to county codes.

[darstar]

Most all places in this Country , have septic requirements. The health departments are getting tougher , to say the least. I have over 8 acres , and , had to spend over 12,000 for my system. If you don't have easy perk , a lot of sand , will need to be hauled in. Nothing unusual about my system , just , a lot of work hauling,grading,and such.

[LilyLaLa]

If you're out of reach of public water/sewer systems, is a septic tank your only choice in WV?

Can you install (for instance) a reed-bed system, composting toilet system, or other more eco-friendly option?
Any idea what those would cost locally?

Spending 12,000 for your septic system, darstar, is almost exactly what OUR quote was for a new system, here in Ireland--the landscape is much the same in places; we're over limestone karst with mountains and lakes all around.

[darstar]

Originally Posted by LilyLaLa

If you're out of reach of public water/sewer systems, is a septic tank your only choice in WV?

Can you install (for instance) a reed-bed system, composting toilet system, or other more eco-friendly option?
Any idea what those would cost locally?

Spending 12,000 for your septic system, darstar, is almost exactly what OUR quote was for a new system, here in Ireland--the landscape is much the same in places; we're over limestone karst with mountains and lakes all around.

The granite bed rock on my property is at the surface almost everywhere. I knew that going in , however , did not expect things to take so long. My 40 degree ,1000 foot long driveway , dosen't help ether ! Our summers are short up here , so , got to get to work, we are doing above grade foundation next week.

[vec101]

Originally Posted by harborlady

Usually these ordinances can be challenged at a town meeting with the municipality in question. Especially when you're close enough to being in compliance with the spirit of the law, if not for the letter of the law.

So true - often you can get a variance. The "powers that be" try to be reasonable and fair to all concerned, best for the greatest good, protect existing landowners, etc. Check out the Planning Commission in your county - will be able to address your problem or head you in the right direction.

I'm sure a lot of people would not agree with my statement about the powers that be - it's usually when things don't go their way. We all want the land, developments, etc around us to be they way we want it but the fact of the matter is.... if you want to control the property around you, you better buy at least 10 acres and plop your house in the middle of it. (Oh wait, the govt can proclaim eminent domain - spelling?)

A lot of the regulations are for housing development/division of property, etc for water runoff (new development doesn't flood existing homeowners), traffic concerns (is road wide enough), etc.