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As a person who lives in a suburban area in North Raleigh, one thing I have often thought about is the idea of buying 8-10 acres of land somewhere in the Triangle or within an hour drive of the Triangle to serve as little a rural escape. This is really nothing more than a pipe dream at this point because I don't have the money to do this right now and I'm not thinking of this in terms of "investment" per se. I'm just looking to acquire some land that could be used for recreational purposes down the road. A little space to take my future dogs for an unleashed run through the woods, riding ATVs, maybe clearing a little plot to do some hobby gardening ect.... Not looking to build a house or sell to developers down the road.
Maybe I would put a little cabin on the land down the road for a weekend getaway in the summer or something like that one day. I've even thought about how it might help to preserve a little bit of forest or rural land that could be donated to a land conservation trust one day. As you can see, this plan is in its infant stages.
So my question is this, since I would be buying this land for recreational purposes and not to build a house to live in, are there certain areas in the triangle or vicinity that offer best value for land for these other purposes? Perhaps areas where land is cheaper because it is unsuitable for building on and therefore unattractive to developers (in the flood plain, too close to river buffers, no city sewer and water available and unable to perc ect....)?
Are there things I should keep in mind? Has anybody done something like this before and if so how did it work out for you?
Again, this is just a pipe dream at this point. I don't even have a budget in mind since I don't know about the various rates land goes for. I just like the idea of getting a little piece of land for a weekend getaway down the road and thought I would start thinking about how to make it happen now rather than later.
Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!
Last edited by North_Raleigh_Guy; 12-13-2008 at 01:13 PM..
NRG- Great idea. A cabin get away has long been a pipe dream of mine(my wife hates the idea). I would look in rural nash county, person, or granville counties. If you were willing to make it two hours away, anson county has some very cheap land in abundance. rockingham county and richmond county are worth looking into as well. Parrish Realty is the best around if looking in eastern wake county and points east. if the land will not perk, it will be much cheaper. plant pine trees and give yourself a nice retirement present.
We have 8 acres out in WNC with a small place on it. My small I mean small, it's a cabin. Has a bedroom, a shower/sink and a living room/kitchen. Covered porch. It's simple but fits the bill.
Several things to keep in mind:
-if it's too far away you might not use it. i have friends in Raleigh who bought a house out past this place, it's 6 hours of driving, the last 45 are windy/weavy on a dirt road. At first they thought it would be romantic, now it's a chore, esp if it's raining/snowy and they have to navigate it, which they've done twice this year.
- you thinking about loaning it out to friends/family?
-if you "build" make it accessible. The folks I mention above put an aframe in with a circular steel stairwell. I don't think I want to be 65 and climbing that, heck, I'm 45 and it's a PITA to get up.
-secure it! our place looks simple (because it is). I keep nothing in there but some canned goods locked up. No tv, no radio, nothing. Some cookware, etc. Nothing that I'd cry over if it was stolen. The folks up from us had their place almost cleaned out last year.
I love it out there, when it's decent we head out there every w/e, leaving on Friday PM and returning sunday pm. Takes us less than an hour to get there.
I have no advice but it sounds like a great idea. I've thought of doing the same thing! I know a guy who bought some land in North Dakota or something dirt cheap, I think at auction, and he just would go out there and camp in his land.
Anybody know some good websites where I can research land for sale check out picutres ect? I found a few sites last night, but I imagine there are more.
a friend has a "farm" just for outdoors stuff. It is in Turkey, NC..... no kidding, that's the name. It is off 40 towards the coast. He does hunting, 4 wheeling, whatever he wants out there.
I am not sure of prices there. I do know that down in Cumberland/ Hoke /Robeson Counties, right down 95 ('bout an hour to a little over an hour) there is rural land dirt cheap.
My favorite for this purpose would be Caswell county. Even though it has recently been "discovered" (since it is due north of the growing Greensboro area), land prices remain reasonable. There are huge NC gamelands up there...I love to go up and just park and walk through the woods--wearing blaze of course! In some places, if I half-close my eyes, I would swear I'm back up in my beloved North Country.
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