The Evolution of Atlas: A Breeding (and Chat) Thread

[speckledhen]

We drove to look at the outside, walked on the dock, etc. Didn't get inside. The property itself is extremely secluded. The driveway is probably 2000 ft long and gated, but I'm not sure where the three acres were divided off from the two acres they are offering it with now. Not sure it would be large enough. Definitely has potential, needs windows. Probably needs more than I'd want to tackle; we are not looking for a project. I know why it's been for sale so darn long. It's in a more remote area of the county and the property itself? You cannot see any neighbors once you are at the house, not even on the pond, though I can see another dock up the shore from that one. It's quiet as a tomb there, which appeals to me, but probably not to most folks. It has steps from the main dock to a lower one and I see there is a boat cleat there so you could have a small paddle boat or rowboat on it easily.

I'm betting my husband will back off what he said earlier and say he's not ready to look at anything. He does this to me all the time, suggests a course of action, then when I pursue it, he acts like he was just thinking out loud and didn't really mean it. Men, sheesh! But they're selling trailers (mobile homes are all called trailers in the south) on 3 acres for $170-180K. That's insane, IMO. No trailer, no matter how big it is, is worth what my stick-built house is. They fall apart so easily. If a double wide on 3 acres is worth that, mine should certainly top 200K. I'll ask Anne, our agent we use, what she thinks. She has not seen this place since the fire renovation and new porch roof we had put on or since we have pasture and not dense woods on our extra lot.

 

[1muttsfan]

No one in sight until someone builds on the 3 acres next to you. 2 acres is kind of small, isn't it? I do like the house if you are looking to downsize.

 

[getaclue]

It depends on who the manufacturer of the trailer is, and how old it is, as to how much it's worth. At least one manufacturer has homes that are worth more than that, when they leave the factory, and they are seriously well built. True manufactured homes are a great choice too. Even though they look like a trailer, they're nothing like one. If you find the property you want, a manufactured home might be a good choice. 2 acres would be enough, since you're trying to downsize. You could build a good medium sized coop, and run. You won't need a really big barn. A medium sized garden will be about all Tom can take care of in years to come, if that. 2 acres is more than enough to try to take care of, when you get older, and have back trouble. I'm not telling you what to do at all. I'm encouraging your endeavors to downsize, and make things easier on you two.

 

[speckledhen]

It depends on who the manufacturer of the trailer is, and how old it is, as to how much it's worth. At least one manufacturer has homes that are worth more than that, when they leave the factory, and they are seriously well built. True manufactured homes are a great choice too. Even though they look like a trailer, they're nothing like one. If you find the property you want, a manufactured home might be a good choice. 2 acres would be enough, since you're trying to downsize. You could build a good medium sized coop, and run. You won't need a really big barn. A medium sized garden will be about all Tom can take care of in years to come, if that. 2 acres is more than enough to try to take care of, when you get older, and have back trouble. I'm not telling you what to do at all. I'm encouraging your endeavors to downsize, and make things easier on you two.

Cheryl, I'll never live in a trailer. They are never worth it, even the higher quality ones, so-called. They degrade over time, they're all ugly. I've seen folks put drywall in them and replace floors and such, but you'll never find me living in one, sorry.

I found the tax record for the Seabolt Drive house, finally. Oh, my. The dock doesn't appear to be fully on the property. It's on 12 acres owned by some LLC to the left of the long driveway. This is the oddest lot ever. Old Dial Rd is a long, long, looooong road that goes across a good bit of lower Fannin County, over the mountains and around Lake Blue Ridge and is mostly not even paved after you pass Seabolt Dr. So, the property edges Old Dial, but I think that's the section that would have to have been sold off, leaving the long leg of the driveway and the area around the house. The drive is like a half mile long leafy tunnel, all gravel. I'd hate to maintain that, for sure. And what would the LLC do with that 12 acres next to it? I wonder. Old Dial is the road down the left side of the photo and Seabolt is the road on the right. As soon as you leave Old Dial, the driveway is immediately on the right and gated.

Anne sent me 9 listings to start and I'd already rejected 8 of them. The 9th, I'd never seen, but it's nothing I'd ever want. I don't just want a small house out in the open. I want seclusion still and not something someone else has royally messed up with their terrible attempts at renovation. Seabolt is nicely renovated.

 

[speckledhen]

Oh, my, look at this. I didn't want to go into Murphy, NC, but this might tempt me if it's still available.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/209-Seldom-Seen-Ln-Murphy-NC-28-6/230511703_zpid/?fullpage=true

 

[getaclue]

Now you know why I said you'd better start looking now. Like I said, it took me 3 years to find our place. Another thing, if you check out realtor.come every day, you will see the ones that just sit on the market, and don't sell. It will also give you a jump on anything that becomes available, that's suitable. This place was on the market less than 2 days. That's it. There were 8 offers on it, before we put in our offer. Like I said, we seriously raced against the clock, and won. We offered $5,000.00 above asking price, and the seller paid closing. That's what sealed the deal.

While the market there may not be quite as fast paced, good properties still sell pretty quick there, and don't just sit on the market for long.

 

[speckledhen]

Cheryl, you're preaching to the choir. I was a realtor for 8 years, remember? It's how I put my sons through college. That house I linked was sold in 2007 before the housing bubble burst for $178K. I'm not even sure it's un-convenanted, but will check because Tom loved it. He doesn't love much so I have to at least give it a chance, though NC is not my first choice, generally. I guess it beats GA where Atlanta ruins it for us all.

ETA: I found that it says "shared well", which usually means community water system. Not what I'd want if it's correct in the listing. I'd have to check that out, but it probably has covenants anyway.

 

[getaclue]

I agree on the "shared well" thing. There was a place here that had trouble with that. The person had about 40 acres, and put homes on 5 acre lots. Instead of drilling a well for each home, she put in 2 big wells, and did the shared well thing. Everyone paid a low monthly fee for electric, and maintenance. Everything was actually fine, until she died, and they were selling her home. When her children sold her place, no one mentioned that the wells were for the community. Ultimately the new owner was responsible for the electric bill, and upkeep on the wells, pumps, etc., but was suppose to be charging a small fee per residence for this. The new owner didn't know, and when one of the pumps broke down is when the trouble began. Half the community was without water. When he found out the situation, he refused to fix the pump, because the residents failed to pay their monthly fee for over 6 months. He then shut off the water to the other half of the community. It went to court, and the judge ruled in his favor. Either the residents could pay their fees, or they could pay to get their own wells on their own property.

 

[speckledhen]

I agree on the "shared well" thing. There was a place here that had trouble with that. The person had about 40 acres, and put homes on 5 acre lots. Instead of drilling a well for each home, she put in 2 big wells, and did the shared well thing. Everyone paid a low monthly fee for electric, and maintenance. Everything was actually fine, until she died, and they were selling her home. When her children sold her place, no one mentioned that the wells were for the community. Ultimately the new owner was responsible for the electric bill, and upkeep on the wells, pumps, etc., but was suppose to be charging a small fee per residence for this. The new owner didn't know, and when one of the pumps broke down is when the trouble began. Half the community was without water. When he found out the situation, he refused to fix the pump, because the residents failed to pay their monthly fee for over 6 months. He then shut off the water to the other half of the community. It went to court, and the judge ruled in his favor. Either the residents could pay their fees, or they could pay to get their own wells on their own property.

Exactly. I don't share well (or wells) with others. No shared driveway, easements or wells tolerated. I will try and find out if the info is correct on that. The house is near perfect, though, just what we're looking for, a decent size, larger than our main level and two baths on the same level, not like our second one in the basement.

 

[getaclue]

We don't share a well, but we do share a driveway. We don't have to share a driveway, but the original owners, and my neighbor, instead of making two smaller drives, decided to combine half of each driveway, and made a wide driveway. It's great. Big work trailers, our neigbor's travel trailer, etc. fit down the driveway with plenty of room to spare. Another plus, we take turns buying pea gravel as needed to keep it high, dry, and free of potholes, so the expense and work is divided. It's been working that way for 17 years, so there's no sense in upsetting the apple cart now.