Raw property in NC??

[JaynePage]

Hello everyone! I'm trying to get some specific information, and I wasn't sure where to post it, so sorry if it's in the wrong spot!

I live in NC, Raleigh-Durham area. I am trying to find a decent sized piece of property out in the country to park my skoolie on, but it seems like every county has some sort of ordinance against using an RV as a main residence.

Ugh. What happened to the days when you bought land... it was yours???

Anyway. Are there any counties around this area that are RV friendly? Just so I can narrow down my search, I truly want to believe it can be done!

I just want to be by my introverted self and not in a city

TIA!

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by JaynePage

Ugh. What happened to the days when you bought land... it was yours???

Ever since we took up settled agriculture, the land has always belonged ultimately to the king, who just lets you use it until he needs it for a game preserve or to buy off the Huns.

I have occasionally seen tiny house people set up in NC, but it tends to be on land near a pig farm, which is undesirable for obvious reasons.

[DeMac]

You can use land within the scope of its zoning. Residential must have residence. That is its primary function. It can (usually) also have a real estate office or psychologist office, etc. But (typically) not a standalone office building in a residential area.

Same is true for retail/light industrial zoning. You can build an apartment upstairs, right after the storage facility or office is complete.

Agricultural zoning requires working the land and or animals, usually a minimum acreage. On an working farm, a shepherd will do well to guard his herd of sheep from a horse covered wagon. He has that right, every night of his life.

We can't simply force ourselves into a community because 'I want'. Gotta be a part of what the community wants.



Invest yourself into....
a business or
a home or
a farm
...all of the above

[Oscar1]

We can't simply force ourselves into a community because 'I want'. Gotta be a part of what the community wants.

Well said DeMac.

[peteg59]

There might be better states suited for doing what you want, not too far from NC, if you are flexible.
West Virginia and Kentucky come to mind, but even those states might have clamped down on land usage over the years?

Buy a 5 acre plot of heavily forested land in an agricultural zoned area and clear out a small place in the middle that can't be seen by neighbors, and you'll likely get away with it for awhile.
Of course you'll have to live off grid, meaning no electricity or other municipal utilities being used.

As previously suggested, maybe if you put up a fenced in yard and put farm animals in, you could make it work?

[Mountain Gnome]

Originally Posted by JaynePage

Ugh. What happened to the days when you bought land... it was yours???

It's all about taxes. They can't tax your house as a home if you don't have one. Same for parking an RV next to a house. Then more people can live there, for the same amount of taxes. They don't like that. Same with "single-family" dwellings. They want everybody to pay as much taxes as possible.

[Drew Bru]

I don't know the particulars or legalities, but while searching for homes and land in NC, TN and VA we've seen several that already have a well, septic, electric and an RV pad to park on. One was in TN, one in VA. I've also seen a few RV pads with the same utilities (not for sale though) in NC. These were all within a few hours of Boone, NC. and were on unrestricted land.

[john61ct]

Usually the RV or other "temporary shelter" is only allowed in conjunction with "regular and significant progress"

being made on the main "to code" residence under construction.

Absolute term limits usually enforced to prevent completion being delayed forever.

Working septic and water availability usually the bare minimum starting point for any occupation.

Land in arid sparsely settled areas out west usually enforced more leniently than back east.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by john61ct

Usually the RV or other "temporary shelter" is only allowed in conjunction with "regular and significant progress"

being made on the main "to code" residence under construction.

Absolute term limits usually enforced to prevent completion being delayed forever.

Working septic and water availability usually the bare minimum starting point for any occupation.

Land in arid sparsely settled areas out west usually enforced more leniently than back east.

Where I live, you automatically get a year to live in an RV while fixing or building the real house on a property, and then you can petition for one additional year and that's it. It would be great to combine living in a skoolie with flipping houses - or it would have been, if there were still houses around to be flipped.

[john61ct]

Yes each jurisdiction has different rules,

as well as hug differences in diligence of enforcement.

Where counties or townships are too lax, the state often steps in, especially on matters of hygiene, human waste disposal.

But some places even actual police are loathe to intrude on "those folk in the hills", dangerous people who don't take kindly to strangers, takes a few generations to no longer be considered outsiders.

So don't just look at the laws as written down, scope out the lay of the land socially.

My reco is renting for a few years before thinking of buying somewhere.

[Veloc]

If nothing else, you can find a place that allows mobile homes, then roll a used singlewide out there. Nobody says you HAVE to live in the mobile, just have a few sticks of furniture inside. Park the RV around back and live in it. Not a perfect solution, but used single wides can be had for a couple thousand and you just have to maintain it well enough to look livable, and perhaps have a couch visible through a sheer curtain.

Hmm, looks like I responded to a zombie thread, brought back to life with a liberal application of spam.

[HamSkoolie]

Garage under or in NOT ME


The GF however brought up the idea of a custom built three wheeler out of one of our GoldWings. Two wheels in front, side by side seating, and (basically) the ass end of a GoldWing in the rear for propulsion (engine, trans, drive assy, and part of the frame). I've seen them and they are pretty kool as well as getting great fuel economy.
The idea I came up with was basically start with a lift gate system. Remove the deck and fabricate clamps that attach to the frame of the three wheeler. Run the lift up and the front wheels "drive" onto the back of the bus with the rear wheel able to roll to the rig and then get pickup up in the air.
Underway the lift mechanism would lock in place securing the "top" (front end and supporting most of the weight) while the rear would be locked in with a wheel or frame type clamp mechanism.
I doubt it will happen but it's an interesting idea to have a "toad" but not have to tow it.
I still haven't convinced her that we should just toss a couple of electric bikes on a rack. I think it has to do with who has to do the work of designing and fabricating both the vehicle and the lifting mechanism.

[Veloc]

Originally Posted by HamSkoolie

Garage under or in NOT ME


The GF however brought up the idea of a custom built three wheeler out of one of our GoldWings. Two wheels in front, side by side seating, and (basically) the ass end of a GoldWing in the rear for propulsion (engine, trans, drive assy, and part of the frame). I've seen them and they are pretty kool as well as getting great fuel economy.
The idea I came up with was basically start with a lift gate system. Remove the deck and fabricate clamps that attach to the frame of the three wheeler. Run the lift up and the front wheels "drive" onto the back of the bus with the rear wheel able to roll to the rig and then get pickup up in the air.
Underway the lift mechanism would lock in place securing the "top" (front end and supporting most of the weight) while the rear would be locked in with a wheel or frame type clamp mechanism.
I doubt it will happen but it's an interesting idea to have a "toad" but not have to tow it.
I still haven't convinced her that we should just toss a couple of electric bikes on a rack. I think it has to do with who has to do the work of designing and fabricating both the vehicle and the lifting mechanism.

Thought about selling both Gold Wings and just buying a single trike? Used Gold Wings are going in the 10-30K range depending, and trikes are in the 25K range, so you might wind up with enough to build a custom hauler setup for the bus. Depending on the year and options on yours you may get enough out of one Gold Wing to get a ready-made trike.

[HamSkoolie]

Originally Posted by Veloc

Thought about selling both Gold Wings and just buying a single trike? Used Gold Wings are going in the 10-30K range depending, and trikes are in the 25K range, so you might wind up with enough to build a custom hauler setup for the bus. Depending on the year and options on yours you may get enough out of one Gold Wing to get a ready-made trike.

Our GoldWings are rough.

A 1983 with Vetter fairing and windshield that I bought after I lost my wife in a crash of our two year old 750 Shadow Ace. I wasn't sure how I'd handle getting back on a bike so I picked it up for $2500. I put nearly 3000 miles on it the first month and while my neck was sore from REALLY watching for every threat, I had no issues. It got parked when my second wife (who rode one of the above Shadows) started getting migraines and dizzy spells and gave up bikes. I tried to get it running after the divorce and did manage to but it would only fire on two cylinders. The early GoldWing carbs don't like disuse, especially with today's nasty fuel, and it wasn't properly put away.
A 1984 Interstate that my GF bought after T boning a deer 6 days after getting her license (after two years of riding on a permit). Her training bike was a Yamaha 650 Maxim (transverse 4 cyl with shaft drive). I'd had one in the 90's and they're a great bike. We picked that up for $500 and she did all her learning and dropping on it. The deer totaled it but she came out with just a bit of road rash on her knees, the base of her palms, and her forearms. It would have been much worse but she had on gloves and a leather jacket that were pretty much shredded. She went over the handlebars right in front of me and was on top the deer with most of her body sliding down the asphalt. She jumped right up as I was laying my bike down in the dirt to go to her though. Anyway, I told her that a GoldWing would have taken that deer (they dress our at a measly 70-80 pounds around here) up on the front end and she'd have been able to stay up. So she bought the Interstate for $1000.
Riding with her I realized that my 1100 V Twin Shadow Saber wasn't going to keep up with her GoldWing and so I started looking for my own as mine now had brake issues to go with the carb issues. I found a 1983 Aspencade that had been torn down to install a lower mileage engine and picked it up for $750. On the way home with it in a trailer we came across a guy at McDonald's and in conversation the bike came up and he mentioned that he was going to sell his Shadow Aero 750..... the bike my GF had been drooling over but wouldn't spend the money on. He said he'd need $2500 for it and the next thing you know it was hers. So now we had a pair of V Twins and she much preferred the Shadow 750 to the GoldWing so it got parked. The one I had in the trailer is still the way it was when I picked it up.
Her GoldWing developed carb leaks from not being used and so we have 3 non running GoldWings along with the two Shadows.
If I were to build a three wheeler it would be two in front and side by side. I'd use one of the GoldWing engines after converting to a 2 barrel carb which is fairly easy and a well known mod. That eliminates synching carbs and another developed mod is to put a car alternator on. So the three wheeler would have both of those mods.
But do I really want another build project after several years toiling on the bus?

[Veloc]

No worries. Kinda wonder how older bike values are these days considering how wild car values are.

[peterbylt]

Quite a bit off Topic for this old Topic, but since were talking old Goldwing’s and Trikes a couple of Years ago I took a 1985 GL1200, I shortened a 1993 Mustang Rear end by 15 inches and mounted it on the Goldwing.

I still prefer to ride my two wheeled Goldwing, but the Trike is really good on the dirt roads and loose sand you find in a lot of campgrounds.

Peter

[Bus'n it]

I have been looking for land in several states as a parking spot for my bus. The key word you need to use in your search or with a realtor is “Unrestricted”. Only then can you do with what you wish on the land. Most of those lots are nowhere close to a city if they are cheap.

[john61ct]

Even if the seller or agent claim that local land use regulations let you "do anything" with your land

most state governments do not allow them to do so.

Might get away with some things for some years, but when it comes to things like allowing human habitation for weeks at a time without "proper" provision of water, septic systems, progress toward a sticks and brick home up to code etc

the local government would be overridden, sanctioned, have their jurisdiction removed etc if they tried that for long.

[TaliaDPerkins]

Originally Posted by JaynePage

Ugh. What happened to the days when you bought land... it was yours???

Too many progressives, and so too much of industry captured regulators.