akirby Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 Also Dahlonega, GA which is just to the E/NE was the site of the first big gold rush in the states back in 1828. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 (edited) People forget the Appalachian Trail actually begins/ends in Georgia. It's actually a much easier acces point than the one in Maine. Edited October 23, 2017 by fuzzymoomoo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted October 23, 2017 Author Share Posted October 23, 2017 Awesome! Exciting stuff. Outside of our 3 kids being born, building our house was probably the most exciting thing I've ever done. My wife drew our plans herself (then had them blueprinted). It took her longer to draw the plans than it actually took to build the house..over a year from beginning to the final design! Ours was just over 7 months from breaking ground to moving in. That's a crew of 3 guys (plus the subs) with me chipping in for some of the finish work. You folks don't have tornados to need shelter from. 99% of houses here have basements. Hmm....guess my reference is my parents house they designed/built......it took years, but there was a lot involved in that......moving a cul-de-sac, seawall, etc., not to mention the contractor (someone my mom went to high school with, by the way) who decided to rip them off and take money but not pay sub-contractors that turned into a whole legal thing, so that didn't help with the progress...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 Hmm....guess my reference is my parents house they designed/built......it took years, but there was a lot involved in that......moving a cul-de-sac, seawall, etc., not to mention the contractor (someone my mom went to high school with, by the way) who decided to rip them off and take money but not pay sub-contractors that turned into a whole legal thing, so that didn't help with the progress...... Wow, that sounds like a mess. We don't have anything fancy like cul-de-sacs or seawalls here, and living in the country, no permits or inspections either. We were fortunate with our builders. It's actually two brothers and the son of one of them. The one brother is our neighbor, and they are well known in the area for quality work and being very meticulous. In a small town of 1100, if you do shoddy work, everyone will know about it. It couldn't have gone more smoothly, and the move was easy since we only moved about 1/4 mile (as the crow flies). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted October 23, 2017 Author Share Posted October 23, 2017 Wow, that sounds like a mess. We don't have anything fancy like cul-de-sacs or seawalls here, and living in the country, no permits or inspections either. We were fortunate with our builders. It's actually two brothers and the son of one of them. The one brother is our neighbor, and they are well known in the area for quality work and being very meticulous. In a small town of 1100, if you do shoddy work, everyone will know about it. It couldn't have gone more smoothly, and the move was easy since we only moved about 1/4 mile (as the crow flies). Yeah, it was a whole ordeal. Lots of codes and inspections here with hurricane ratings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 Around here they build new subdivisions and put in all the roads and utilities up front, so by the time the builder is ready to start it only takes a few days to get the building permit and there are plenty of subs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 Around here they build new subdivisions and put in all the roads and utilities up front, so by the time the builder is ready to start it only takes a few days to get the building permit and there are plenty of subs. Curious (and you don't have to say if you don't want), but how big is your lot and how much $$$ does a lot run in the area? I think it's interesting to see the difference in land costs in different areas. There's a 5 acre tract in our town for $36k, and that's rather high for our area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted October 23, 2017 Author Share Posted October 23, 2017 Curious (and you don't have to say if you don't want), but how big is your lot and how much $$$ does a lot run in the area? I think it's interesting to see the difference in land costs in different areas. There's a 5 acre tract in our town for $36k, and that's rather high for our area. Bahahaha.....here you have small lots on the water without houses that go for a few hundred thousand at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 Around here they build new subdivisions and put in all the roads and utilities up front, so by the time the builder is ready to start it only takes a few days to get the building permit and there are plenty of subs. They've done that in a lot of areas around where I live, but construction hasn't really boomed as much as I think they anticipated it would when the housing market recovered. I'm guessing the massive amount of cheap foreclosures for sale around here stunted new construction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 Curious (and you don't have to say if you don't want), but how big is your lot and how much $$$ does a lot run in the area? I think it's interesting to see the difference in land costs in different areas. There's a 5 acre tract in our town for $36k, and that's rather high for our area. The lot is around 2/3 acre but it wasn't priced separately. In this area the going price in a nice developed subdivision is around $100K - $120K/acre. If you go out into the undeveloped rural areas you can get it for $20K-$40K/acre. By contrast if you go 20 miles to Alpharetta which is in Fulton County it's probably closer to $150K/acre or higher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 Bahahaha.....here you have small lots on the water without houses that go for a few hundred thousand at least. Oh yeah, I know, and for us Midwesterners, that's crazy! Very nice houses around here, with 3-5 acres can be had for $200k or less. The lot is around 2/3 acre but it wasn't priced separately. In this area the going price in a nice developed subdivision is around $100K - $120K/acre. If you go out into the undeveloped rural areas you can get it for $20K-$40K/acre. By contrast if you go 20 miles to Alpharetta which is in Fulton County it's probably closer to $150K/acre or higher. I guess the $168k we paid for 48 acres isn't too bad. Of course ours is undeveloped, we had to put in our own driveway (1/4 mile), drill a well, and pay to get electricity to the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 Don't forget that almost all subdivisions here come with tennis courts, a pool and a clubhouse. Some have lakes or ponds and other common areas. All of that gets factored into the cost of the land along with the utilities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 Don't forget that almost all subdivisions here come with tennis courts, a pool and a clubhouse. Some have lakes or ponds and other common areas. All of that gets factored into the cost of the land along with the utilities. And HOA dues and rules and regulations. Blech! Maybe it's not as bad in your area, but I've seen some as bad as not allowing a truck parked in front of the house. Really? Sheesh! Good luck on the house build. Can't wait to see some pics and updates on the progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted October 23, 2017 Author Share Posted October 23, 2017 And HOA dues and rules and regulations. Blech! Maybe it's not as bad in your area, but I've seen some as bad as not allowing a truck parked in front of the house. Really? Sheesh! Good luck on the house build. Can't wait to see some pics and updates on the progress. A lot of places down here have that. I could understand that one years ago when trucks weren't as nice, but nowadays trucks can be really nice. Or having to get your house paint color approved, or certain landscaping approved, etc. Just seems stupid to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 HOA dues are $500-$1000/yr. Our last one wasn’t bad but some are downright tyrannical. It usually gets bad when you have board members who are retired or don’t work and have nothing better to do. The only real issue we had was having to ask permission before doing things on the outside. We tried to find land outside a subdivision but couldn’t. For that view and golf course access I can put up with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 (edited) Fuck HOAs Under no circumstance will I ever own a house under an HOA Edited October 24, 2017 by fuzzymoomoo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 Most are fairly benign and just make sure neighbors don’t let their grass grow 3 feet tall or paint their houses neon green. And they are needed when you have amenities like pools and tennis courts. The really bad ones you hear about are relatively rare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 Yeah see no I'm responsible enough to maintain my property. I don't want or need a group of elitist, self-righteous dicks telling me how to do it. If I want to live in a dump, dammit I'm going to live in a dump. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 But that’s not the issue. What if your neighbor decides to paint his house neon green, never cut the grass and leave junk cars in the front yard? Nobody would ever buy your house and your property value goes way down and you have zero recourse. Houses in my old neighborhood sold within 1-7 days for top dollar. Why? Because every house in the neighborhood was well maintained along with the pool, tennis courts, playground, lakes, baseball/soccer field, etc. etc. Like I said - I was never denied any modification requests or told to do anything other than refresh the mulch and get rid of some weeds. The things that were against the rules are things you wouldn’t want to do anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 But thats not the issue. What if your neighbor decides to paint his house neon green, never cut the grass and leave junk cars in the front yard? Nobody would ever buy your house and your property value goes way down and you have zero recourse. I basically live next to that right now. When we bought the house last year right we had to outbid 3 other couples and the house wasn't even on the market a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 You know, your subdivisions probably have a higher population than our entire town. Our entire town has one pool, and it's a crapshoot whether they'll be able to keep it open from year to year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 Our last subdivision had 500 homes with around 1500 residents, so you’re probably right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 Ha! Yeah, with our towns pop of 1150, your subdivisions are nice little towns comparatively. Our last subdivision (actually outside city limits so not counted in that pop above) has 17 homes. It is a big one! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 But that’s not the issue. What if your neighbor decides to paint his house neon green, never cut the grass and leave junk cars in the front yard? Nobody would ever buy your house and your property value goes way down and you have zero recourse. Houses in my old neighborhood sold within 1-7 days for top dollar. Why? Because every house in the neighborhood was well maintained along with the pool, tennis courts, playground, lakes, baseball/soccer field, etc. etc. Like I said - I was never denied any modification requests or told to do anything other than refresh the mulch and get rid of some weeds. The things that were against the rules are things you wouldn’t want to do anyway. It all depends on the area...my old house was in a new development, but the area around it was economically depressed because of the lack of good paying jobs (biggest industry in the county was warehousing jobs-the Chrysler plant that was in Delaware hit the area really hard) and it didn't help that the county was in the top 15 for drug trafficking (it was directly in-between Baltimore/Philly)...I had more people getting killed 10-15 minutes from my house with a population of 130K or so people in the county then where I live now....then again the county in NJ I'm in now is in the top 2% of income in the US county wise. The town I live in now had the same problem...housing goes really quickly because its in the sweet spot for pricing and has a good school system and has great shopping within 5-10 minutes of your house. I don't have an HOA either-which I had at the last house along with a lovely $400 a year bill to pay for the sewage system- but thats better then being a on well I guess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 ...but thats better then being a on well I guess You must not appreciate a nice glass of fresh, untouched well water. Mmmm, yummy! We paid $30+/month for city water at our last house. We were near the end of the line, and the water was always full of iron deposits and we had to change our whole-house filter every 3 months. If there was a problem with the line, the sediment would make it through the filter and we'd be drinking brown water. A neighbor ruined a whole load of whites not knowing the washer was filling with brown water. The chlorine taste was nasty as well. Yuck! It was a no-brainer putting in a well at our new house instead of connecting to the public water supply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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