Area's with "laxed" building rules?

[usroute10]

Look into rural Huron and Sumpter Townships. They should be a decent commute to I-96 and Telegraph.

[snopro879]

Thank you for all the replies! I've been learning that building regulations may not be as set in stone as what I assumed they were. Again, this is my first home purchase, so I have barely any idea how this stuff works. I had called Livonia and inquired about "accessory buildings" and I figured nothing would be allowed. Granted I wont know my neighbors before moving into a place so that may ruin any sort of special allowance.


For those suggesting I look south of 96 towards Huron and whatnot (sorry I'm not familiar with any of those areas), I'm really trying to stay north/northwest if anything. My parents live northeast past Chesterfield and I don't mind those areas, I'm just not a fan of I-94 traffic heading east. I used to drive back and forth to Flint from the Telegraph/I-96 area and I didn't mind that as much I did heading up I-94.


At this point, my head it just like, in a whirl trying to figure out where I want to go. I'm terrified to purchase a house near or over 200k, and it seems like everything within an acceptable driving distance heading west/northwest is somewhat "nicer" and quite expensive for what I'm looking for. I've found great properties north of I-69 or west towards M-127 (Jackson area) that are affordable, I'm just not sure I'm ready to commit to that commute.


At this point I'm thinking about settling for a semi-rural place around $120k-ish. I know I wont have much land and definitely not a barn of any sort, but it'll be affordable and I won't be stretching myself thin financially. I figure if I can find something in an area that's moving up in popularity (suggestions anyone?) I can find an ok property there, maintain and improve the house over time, save money and finish paying my student loans, and in the future sell that property for a profit and then really invest in something that I'm absolutely thrilled about.





I've been dreaming of home ownership for the past 10 years almost. I've continued to go back to school to pursue greater degrees and whatnot so renting has been all I've been able to afford. Now that I'm financially stable, I was so excited to find a place to call my own. It's disheartening that finding a place that satisfies me has been the most depressing and stressful thing I've ever put myself through.


Once again, thank you all.

[craig11152]

Originally Posted by snopro879

I've been learning that building regulations may not be as set in stone as what I assumed they were.I had called Livonia and inquired about "accessory buildings" and I figured nothing would be allowed. Granted I wont know my neighbors before moving into a place so that may ruin any sort of special allowance.

Not to kick a dead dog (or is it horse?) but plenty of places will allow small accessory buildings. But small is the key word. Usually in the 200 to 500 square feet range. The sheer size of what you want will only happen in a rural area. Again, once your out in "farm country" nobody bats an eye at a 1200-1500 sq foot pole barn.
Good luck finding a place. Update us if you get something.

[snopro879]

A revelation hit me this evening...sort of.


Since I'm becoming more than discouraged trying to find something that fits my needs that's both affordable and not an hour+ plus commute, I'm looking to maybe compromise a bit. I feel like it would cost well into the $30k+ range to build a pole barn/garage that would work for me. On top of that, I'd have to be out in the boonies to do so.


So, what about a temporary building structure? The main reason I want a sizeable garage to store all my stuff. It's not because I plan on spending hours a day out there working and tinkering with stuff, especially not in the cold winter months. I did some searching this evening and found that I can put up a temporary structure for 1/4 of the cost of building a barn (minus concrete if I was to go that route). I feel like this is the perfect solution to my problem. Projects I'm not currently taking on can be stored there. Snowmobiles in the summer, motorcycles in the winter, etc. It would keep my yard from looking like a junk yard/equipment dealership and would keep all my stuff dry and protected from the weather.


There's always the possibility that my neighbors won't like the fact that there's such a structure in my yard which would then cause the city to probably get involved. But once the structure is up, what course of action can they take against me? Would I actually have to remove it? I found a couple of places that have deep lots with good tree cover, one or two acres, and decent gaps between houses. If I tucked it away on the back of my property I would hope that no one would really mind that much.


My train of thought is that a temporary building wont require a permit to build (at least I don't think it does). The quotes I found online included assembly, so I'm hoping it would just be a day or two project for whatever company and wala, garage! I'm not looking to upset anyone or pull a fast one on whatever city I live in, I just want to be able to keep my stuff out of the weather. And believe me, I have a lot of stuff...


Thought's, opinions? Am I aimed down a sketchy path or is this feasible? Does anyone have any neighbors with temporary metal structures that haven't had any issues, or does anyone on here have structures like the ones I'm talking about? Thank you!!

[craig11152]

what do mean by a "temporary" structure?
Can you give a link or two some couple examples?
My initial thought is what you see as "temporary" (that will fit your needs), most municipalities will see as "permanent". I think "temporary" to most of them is a tent for a back yard wedding or graduation party.
I'm just offering a somewhat "educated" guess. I could be wrong.

There's always the possibility that my neighbors won't like the fact that there's such a structure in my yard which would then cause the city to probably get involved. But once the structure is up, what course of action can they take against me? Would I actually have to remove it?

If it violates codes or zoning in some fashion they absolutely can make you remove it. AND they can fine you daily for not removing it.

[Arthur Digby Sellers]

Originally Posted by craig11152

If it violates codes or zoning in some fashion they absolutely can make you remove it. AND they can fine you daily for not removing it.

Yep. I would scour the residential building codes in any of the cities you're considering.

[memph]

What splitting the space you need between different parts of the property? Like looking for a small home with a decent sized attached garage and then building an accessory structure to the max allowable size? Or a house with an un-finished or partially finished (concrete floors) walk-out basement for some of your storage needs? Maybe certain zoning codes are more tolerant towards building storage/work space that's attached to the house?

Just spit balling...

[zthatzmanz28]

Originally Posted by snopro879

Hello (again),


I'm the one who posted the "Taylor...or Taylortucky" post on here. Long story short, the home inspection revealed a lot of issues with the home and property. At this point, I'm 95% sure the deal is not going to happen, so I'm bring proactive about my home search.


First of all, my dream is a small house on a bigger lot that's within a half hour or less driving distance of the Telegraph and I-96 area (Redford/Northwest Detroit). But, this dream also involves having a pole barn style garage, or the ability to build such. I've talked to Livonia, Westland, Southfield, etc., and all of those areas have very strict regulations on building "accessory" buildings on your land/lot. I definitely plan on building a larger 30x40/50 or so pole building to work on vehicles and store equipment.


A coworker of mine laughingly told me that someone in his Waterford subdivision just finished building a 25x50 pole barn in their backyard that was so close to their house that he doesn't think they can even get equipment back there to cut the grass. Waterford is a bit of hike from where I want to be centrally located around (due to work), but not out of the question.


So, my question to everyone here is where else could I find rules like this? I haven't verified the building permit rules of Waterford (or Waterford Township), but I will be looking them up this coming week. I assumed that everywhere else near where I work would be just a stringent on what can and can't be built within their city limits. The whole Waterford story has led me here to ask all of you for any suggestions or ideas that you might possibly have.


Thank you all, so much.

You probably will not be building that in most cities in Wayne County. There is a possibility you can find an old warehouse style building in Detroit that also has housing.


Unless the property you are looking at already has such a building, getting a permit will be tough. You might consider looking in Oakland County where these buildings are more prevalent..