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I am far from rich and I prefer living in a gated community..... There was also no litter, no boom boxes, no traffic or speeding cars, no hunting or drunken tourists.
Yes, it is nice that the OP grew up in New Mexico where people were willing to allow responsible hunters to share their land. However, the world is now full of irresponsible people who will take advantage of other people's property. I also prefer the option of having a gated community.
I suggest that you zero-in on where you're most interested (between Boone and Asheville is way too wide a swath) and then get a buyer's agent who is familiar with that specific area.
There are plenty of non-gated properties available and of those many are surrounded by responsible and respectful neighbors.
The gated / HOA option takes a lot of the guesswork out of it and is a good choice for many. That said, be assured there are still a lot of us out here that have preferences more like yours.
Our marketing budgets just aren't as competitive .
Most gated communities give people a false sense of security. Take Carriage Park for example on Rt. 191 in Hendersonville; Kenmure on Rt. 225 in Flat Rock, and High Vista on 191 in Mills River -- all gated with a guard. There is nothing that will keep someone from walking right in out of the woods, or in the case of Carriage Park, right off the road. I don't know of a gated community here yet where no one can walk in if they are determined. (Obviously, they are not going to walk in through the gated area.)
If your total budget is $40K and you spend $30K on land, you are left with $10K to clear, permit, and build. Am I understanding you correctly? That in my opinion is impossible. A travel trailer may be possible, but not 2-3 permanent buildings on foundations. Any land that has an operating well and electric is priced accordingly. A well alone can be $10K if you need to drill deeply. Electricity needs a structure or temp. pole, all costing money.
benjalat you are certainly not alone - we had no interest in a gated community, either. I can't tell you why it's more common here than what you've seen before - or if that's even really the case or maybe just appears that way in the areas you've looked. That type of community works well for some and not for others - potatoes, po-tah-toes - but as Opt-out said, there are other options. You just may have to work harder to find them.
I've told this story here before, but my husband and I were very discouraged while looking for our dream here in WNC. We could see plenty of examples of it, but it was never property that was on the MLS or for sale by owner. Taking matters into our own hands we educated ourselves with the county GIS maps, set boundaries then drove up and down every road noting addresses on properties that appeared to meet our criteria. Then we came home and drilled down using google, bing and the county maps again, looking for things that would disqualify them (like a next door junkyard behind a fence that we didn't see). From the county system you can find out owners names and addresses, we wrote a letter of introduction specifying who we are and what we are looking for, gave our contact info and asked them to call if they are thinking of selling anytime in the near future. Sent out almost 30 letters, had about 2/3 respond and we closed on our dream property last July.
You might have to get creative, but it's worth it. We figured we had nothing to lose but a bit of time (which we were already investing) and the cost of some paper and stamps. Go for it.
creeksitter - yes, 2/3 - 67% Crazy, isn't it? Marketing people would kill for that kind of response rate whether positive or negative! Not all were responding saying they would sell - not by a long shot. Most called to say they got our letter and didn't want us to think they were ignoring us. Several asked for more details and said they would keep their eyes open for us. One man called back 3 THREE times with leads on other properties he thought we should see. We received one lovely letter offering to rent and perhaps buy later. One response ignited a friendship between the owner, a lovely, elderly woman and me. She has since passed away and her son invited us to her memorial. I attribute it to friendliness in a small, southern town - it's just the way people here seem to behave, by and large. At least that's what we've encountered and I don't think there's anything special about our experience
Yup, this part of the world full of really nice folks! We have lived here 14 years and only one incident of trespassing with intent. Not a gated fan but some feel safer in one I guess, their choice. Negativity about local people is rarely warranted and bad apples can be found anywhere, native and newcomers.
We did not fear that which a gate might stop. That's not to say there was nothing to fear, but seems to me that what's truly worrisome will climb a gate simply enough, leaving the gate to stop only good things.
This is one of the most poetic bits of writing I've ever seen on CityData. (I'm being serious. Though, I imagine gates are pretty good at keeping bears out.) I largely agree with you—I feel gates foster a sense of alarm that may not have already existed. The world "out there" (and the people in it) suddenly transforms into something dangerous. A friend of mine lives in a gated community high up on a ridge. The views are spectacular, but it feels lifeless to me. Given the crime rates in WNC, especially in the vicinity of some of the harder-to-reach mountaintop lairs, I think appeals to security are oversold.
I disagree,
Some sections of my community are gated, but where I live it is not. I live near the model home and we still have a few houses being built. Daily we have cars driving up and down my street and looking at houses. When they were building the house next to me, the appliances were stolen out of the garage. The good thing about being gated is you don't have non resident cars driving in the community. If someone is going to break in a house, I assume they want to use a get away car. They are not going to run up the mountain with the stolen goods. When the appliances were taken, they didn't carry them off, they loaded up their car. We had a lady come in and drove up to a house under construction and took the stone for the porch columns. She just loaded up her car in broad daylight.
I wish my street was gated. I understand that people can still get in, but only on foot.
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