How to Save Time and A Lot of Schlepping
I receive at least 3 inquiries a week from people living outside Western NC who would like to buy a piece of unrestricted land the Blue Ridge Mountains. The motives range from, “I want to build a full-time home,” to, “I’d like a place I can park my RV when clima-geddon finally runs us out of Broward County”
They do a Zillow search, and an abundance of multiple acre properties pop up for under $75,000. Unbelievable! Too good to be true? Well, sort of.
If you fall on either end of this spectrum or somewhere in between, rest assured that many others are having and have had similar thoughts, including developers with deep pockets.
Once a developer gets their hands on a flat-ish parcel in the mountains, in come the restrictions and HOA’s.
Buildable land in the mountains around Asheville comes at a premium. Most of it has been snatched up. Land that continues to be available at a low price, is available for a reason.
Save yourself time and gasoline by vetting the property before you plan to pay a visit. Here’s how to do it and what to look for.
The GIS
A very useful tool is available on-line and it’s free. Learning how to use it does not involve a very steep learning curve and if you are a map geek like I am, you will find that exploring it is fun. It’s called the Geographic Information System, or GIS. The vast majority of populated and well-resourced counties in the U.S. maintain interactive maps that are available for anyone to use. Here is the link for the Buncombe County GIS: https://gis.buncombenc.gov/buncomap/ All the counties surrounding Asheville/Buncombe have their own.
Before you can access the maps, you will have to approve a disclaimer agreeing to recognize that the property boundaries you’ll see are approximate and not a legal survey.
Once you’re in, you’ll see a wide view of Buncombe County at a small scale. In the upper left-hand corner of the page, you’ll see a search bar which will send you to the property you’re looking for. You can search by the address, the owner name or the Property ID Number (PIN). Sometimes, if the property has never been built out, it doesn’t have an address. You won’t know the name of the owner. The best way to locate the property is by using the pin number. Zillow will give you access to the PIN number. You can find it by scrolling down to Facts & Features. Under Details you will find the Parcel Number (PIN). Copy and paste that pin into the GIS search bar. Lo and behold; there is your property. You can view it as an aerial photo or as line drawing.
These images are rich in information. There are many features that can be toggled on and off on the right-hand side of the page. They can be accessed by clicking on the blue bars.
When Evaluating Land, What Questions Should I be Asking?
If you are planning to build on the property or even park your trailer there, there are a number factors that you should evaluate before taking the time to visit it in person.
- Accessibility – Is it directly accessible from a pre-existing road or will you have to cut a road in yourself? Is the site “landlocked.” In other words, will you have to cut through someone else’s property to get to it? More on this later.
- Topography – Is it on a steep slope? If so, is there a suitable site to build on?
- Clearing – Is the site heavily wooded? If the answer is yes, there will be a lot of clearing to do which can be expensive.
- Restrictions – Sometimes there can be deeded restrictions on land use even if it sits in an open use zone. Most people I speak with who are in this space are looking for unrestricted property. More on this later too.
- Homesteading – See all of the above
In future installments, I will zero in on what features to look for and how to find them.
If you have questions right now, feel free to give me a call or drop me an email.
