I love working with these guys! They are first time buyers (always fun!) looking for a place that will allow them to have a mini farm. They want to grow some of their own food, have animals, and live close to town but have lots of land and lots of privacy. I know, right?! But we found it! Believe it or not, we found property right outside of Asheville that will allow for all of that.
When I met the Bardens, they were deciding whether to buy land and build, or buy an existing home on a few acres. We started by looking at existing homes, but they weren’t finding exactly what they wanted, so we planned a day to look at land in areas just outside of Asheville. We looked in Swannanoa, Weaverville and Black Mountain.
The one place they fell in love with was a 20 acre tract in Weaverville…a north facing mountainside complete with springs and totally wooded. It offers the convenience of being close to Weaverville and only 10-15 minutes from downtown Asheville, but it also offers privacy. It’s going to allow their dream of having a small, private mini-farm, complete with goats and chickens, become a reality.
They have learned a lot through this process. Buying raw land is very different than buying an existing home. Raw land usually requires at least septic inspection and a survey (unless the seller has provided them) both of which require a longer due diligence period due to the inspector’s and surveyor’s schedules typically being backed up.
In addition to that, this particular tract of land is “landlocked”, meaning there is no road into it. Guess who gets to (has to) build it?! While it can be very expensive to build a road, the Bardens get to choose where they’d like to put it, provided they are granted an easement by the neighbors. (Yet another reason for a longer due diligence period – laying out easements can be costly and time consuming) We are working on getting the easement now, and the Bardens are working with a builder on getting house plans in place.
The acreage has a few building sites on it, and their plan is to build a small cabin on the lower part of the property. In a few years, they plan to use the cabin for extended family or rent it out, while they move into a larger home they plan to build at the top of the ridge. They hope to begin building in the next 6 to 8 months. I am excited for them and honored to be a part of their journey. You can check back later for the rest of the story, but until then, check out the video – Part One!
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