Join Early Retirement Today
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Re: Retirement Land
Old 06-09-2005, 02:06 PM   #41
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
cute fuzzy bunny's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Losing my whump
Posts: 22,708
Re: Retirement Land

Subtlety
__________________
Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.
cute fuzzy bunny is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Re: Retirement Land
Old 06-09-2005, 02:06 PM   #42
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
cute fuzzy bunny's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Losing my whump
Posts: 22,708
Re: Retirement Land

Is
__________________
Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.
cute fuzzy bunny is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Retirement Land
Old 06-09-2005, 02:06 PM   #43
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
cute fuzzy bunny's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Losing my whump
Posts: 22,708
Re: Retirement Land

My
__________________
Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.
cute fuzzy bunny is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Retirement Land
Old 06-09-2005, 02:07 PM   #44
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
cute fuzzy bunny's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Losing my whump
Posts: 22,708
Re: Retirement Land

Specialty
__________________
Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.
cute fuzzy bunny is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Retirement Land
Old 06-09-2005, 02:07 PM   #45
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
cute fuzzy bunny's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Losing my whump
Posts: 22,708
Re: Retirement Land

!
__________________
Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.
cute fuzzy bunny is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Retirement Land
Old 06-12-2005, 11:09 AM   #46
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 3,875
Re: Retirement Land

Quote:
Originally Posted by MRGALT2U
We deal with both situations.* Here in Illinois, although it is a subdivision, there is no HOA or rules other than county laws.
So, you can do about what you want with an existing house, let animals
run loose, not mow your lawn, etc.* I like it, but can see it comes with
the risk of getting a nasty neighbor and not having any options.

The Texas condo rules and regs are as thick as the phone book.
I have a visceral dislike of this but it does help preserve my
equity.

JG
Had a bunch of stuff happen recently that relates to this issue.
First, the residents at both ends of our sub. (upstream
and downstream) are builders and own heavy trucks and equipment,
so they mostly handle snow removal and road repair on a
voluntary basis. Last Tuesday, a big tree felt on my neighbor's deck.
He spent all day yesterday cleaning it up, but for some reason he opted
to dump all of the debris in the river (illegal I am quite sure).
I didn't say anything, but was pretty sure it would cause trouble.
Sure enough, this morning a guy way downtream appears at my door
asking for my neighbor's phone number (he's a weekender).
Seems most of the debris stopped at his dock (very shallow there).
I'd have been wired, but he seemed pretty calm. Anyway, all
interested parties are downstream from us, thankfully. Another resident
has parked an old fishing shack on a vacant lot until he gets around to
setting it on a foundation and fixing it up. Like I said, very few rules out here. Thus, the residents mostly work out things on their own.
I prefer that as opposed to a bunch of imposed regulations.

JG
MRGALT2U is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Retirement Land
Old 06-12-2005, 11:17 AM   #47
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Texas
Posts: 1,038
Re: Retirement Land

How much land does everyone think is necessary to have privacy from the neighbors? Don't want to tie my money up in more land than I need since it won't be making me money.
__________________
In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not.
Lazarus is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Retirement Land
Old 06-12-2005, 12:28 PM   #48
Moderator Emeritus
laurence's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: San Diego
Posts: 5,267
Re: Retirement Land

I think size of property is too narrow a view. My lot is small in SD, and because of the small lot size, everyone is more aware of each other and more careful to be considerate. My parents own a 10 acre spread in Colorado(vacation home), heavily forested, feels very private. They had a problem with a neighbor shooting his 22 rifle at any "durn thang". Some of those bullets splintered off trees very close to their cabin. Ugly fight, that was. You move someplace to get away from people, you might be surrounded by those who don't get along with people!
laurence is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Retirement Land
Old 06-12-2005, 01:49 PM   #49
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 188
Re: Retirement Land

One man's privacy is another man's overcrowded living conditions. I have come to understand why Daniel Boone moved to Kentucky when he noticed a neighbor within 5 miles of his place.
I am in the center of 25 acres and feel than 100 would maybe guarantee some privacy. One neighbor has 10 acres, the rest are on from 18 -- 65 acres on the same ridgetop I live. Most of those are hidden amongst trees. The ranch behind our ridge is at least 1,500 acres and the ridge across in the opposite direction is not that large. I would hate to see a rooftop across to another ridge maybe a mile away.
At this point I can see 3 rooftops within my field of view but one of them is a barn that adds to the view rather than detracts from it. At night I can see only one light from a house a mile distant. The real bane of hill country is the proliferation of cellular towers and the buyer of hill top property must look carefully at he horizon with binoculars before buying. One strobe light can ruin a 30 mile view.
Of course the minimum privacy test is if you can shoot guns off your porch and/or choose to use the land outside your front door to relieve yourself.

Yeehaw
__________________
Ol&#039; Rancher<br /><br />I wake up in the morning with nothing to do, and by the end of the day, I feel lucky if I&#039;ve gotten less than half of it done.
Ol_Rancher is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Retirement Land
Old 06-12-2005, 02:12 PM   #50
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
cute fuzzy bunny's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Losing my whump
Posts: 22,708
Re: Retirement Land

My old mcmansion enjoyed large lots. I had one neighbor on either side that was a good solid rocks throw away and one in the back that was about 300-350 feet away. Guy on one side was an a-hole. Had the dogs that barked all day and all night and kept digging out under the fence and attacking people, his teenaged kids drove over my lawn when I complained to animal control, etc, etc. A very helpful reason to downsize and move out.

My current smaller home has good distance between me and my 'side neighbors' because we're in the back of a cul de sac, but I have four small homes on tiny lots lined up in my backyard. 15 foot tall shrubs create a sense of privacy. Other than a few occasionally barky dogs and some kids playing (aka 'the sounds of suburbia') its pretty quiet.

I know a guy who had ten acres, as did his neighbors. One of them threw these yahoo redneck parties every weekend where they blasted what was allegedly music, screamed and yelled all night long. When he complained, the neighbor waited until there was a good stiff breeze in the direction of my friend and then started burning garbage and dead animals. When he complained about that, the guy said the burning of the animals was part of his religious preference and the sheriff told my friend he'd have to sue in civil court over it.

So land size may help. But one a-hole neighbor can ruin things for you regardless of how far they are away.
__________________
Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.
cute fuzzy bunny is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Retirement Land
Old 06-12-2005, 02:26 PM   #51
Moderator Emeritus
laurence's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: San Diego
Posts: 5,267
Re: Retirement Land

Shootin' from the porch and relieving oneself outside the front door, Ol_Rancher, you live in my version of heaven, unfortunately, any discussion of moving with DW involves, "but will my mother move there?".

One time I went hiking in back of my parents property in Colorado, crossed a line I didn't see, all of a sudden two atv's started racing towards me from a ranch house in the distance, as they got closer I saw the riders had hunting rifles strapped on back. In my limited 15 year old life I decided standing perfectly still was my best option at that point. Once the two arrived, a couple in their 50's, the mood quickly switched from tense to friendly as they saw I was a kid and I explained my "Maw and Paw" owned the land right behind me, and I didn't mean to trespass. Still, it's just plain different when you're living in a rural setting. Imagine packing when you answer the door for a salesman in suburbia!

Th, one a-hole neighbor is so true. I have 4 people I share a property line with, and only one was a problem, but it really stressed me out to the point of considering moving. They got a divorce and new neighbors moved in. Now I'm in heaven. I hope I never lose my current neighbors, I couldn't be luckier!

laurence is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Retirement Land
Old 06-12-2005, 06:15 PM   #52
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 3,875
Re: Retirement Land

Quote:
Originally Posted by th

So land size may help.* But one a-hole neighbor can ruin things for you regardless of how far they are away.
I agree! Happily I have excellent neighbors and so do they.
Everyone is content.

JG
MRGALT2U is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Retirement Land
Old 06-12-2005, 06:41 PM   #53
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 3,875
Re: Retirement Land

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ol_Rancher

* Of course the minimum privacy test is if you can shoot guns off your porch and/or choose to use the land outside your front door to relieve yourself.

Yeehaw
I can do (have done) both. Guess I pass the "privacy test"

JG
MRGALT2U is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Retirement Land
Old 06-13-2005, 08:15 AM   #54
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Lawn chair in Texas
Posts: 14,183
Re: Retirement Land

My little house in the 'burbs is fairly quiet, neighbors ok, although the guy on one side of me has a bumper crop of crabgrass.

I enjoy some privacy, but I'm not moving to the middle of nowhere to be "alone"; I like people... (in small doses!!)

As far as shooting guns, just firing willy-nilly in any random direction is kinda stupid and dangerous. Like all the FIs who shoot up in the air to "celebrate"...

Don't they know those slugs gotta come down somewhere...
__________________
Have Funds, Will Retire

...not doing anything of true substance...
HFWR is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Retirement Land
Old 06-13-2005, 04:07 PM   #55
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Texas
Posts: 1,038
Re: Retirement Land

No matter how nice the neighbors I wouldn't want them 20 feet away like I live now. In many rural areas there is a minimum amount of land required for septic tanks. In the area I am looking in it is 3 acres. Good rule, l lived on an acre once and the neighbors septic tank left a lot to be desired. I am thinking in the range of 5 to 20 acres would be about right. More would be better, but I don't want to tie up a lot in land. Of course 100 might not be enough if they put in a pig farm next to you. I wouldn't want to be so rural that it took an hour to get to the store. But 20 miles out of town in a rural area is 20 min. driving. Faster than I make it in the heavy traffic where I live.
__________________
In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not.
Lazarus is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Retirement Land
Old 07-10-2005, 08:57 AM   #56
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Texas
Posts: 1,038
Re: Retirement Land

Made an offer on a piece of land this week. Then found there were restrictions even though it was in the country. For example you have to build a 2,000 sq ft house or greater. The developer has the right to approve your plans. The “developer”, is just a family that sold some farm land and don’t want anything they don’t like built next to them. I withdrew my offer.
__________________
In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not.
Lazarus is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Retirement Land
Old 07-10-2005, 09:04 AM   #57
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 3,875
Re: Retirement Land

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lazarus
Made an offer on a piece of land this week. Then found there were restrictions even though it was in the country. For example you have to build a 2,000 sq ft house or greater. The developer has the right to approve your plans. The “developer”, is just a family that sold some farm land and don’t want anything they don’t like built next to them. I withdrew my offer.
Wise move.

JG
MRGALT2U is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Retirement Land
Old 07-10-2005, 09:11 AM   #58
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 3,875
Re: Retirement Land

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lazarus
Made an offer on a piece of land this week. Then found there were restrictions even though it was in the country. For example you have to build a 2,000 sq ft house or greater. The developer has the right to approve your plans. The “developer”, is just a family that sold some farm land and don’t want anything they don’t like built next to them. I withdrew my offer.
We are very outdoorsy and I have owned a lot of real estate. I tended to get
emotionally attached to my RE investments which the experts would tell you is not good. Anyway, I have owned some beautiful pieces of property over the years and looking back now I can see that I could have held on instead of
cashing out. Don't have many regrets but that is one.

JG
MRGALT2U is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Retirement Land
Old 07-10-2005, 09:26 AM   #59
Dryer sheet aficionado
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 38
Re: Retirement Land

Another thing to think about is who will build it, for how much, and how fast. Where I live, there are a dozen or so general contractors that give so much business to the subs, that subs always do what those contractors want when they want it. And the contractors generally work in only particular developments. Thus, when someone buys some out-of-the way acreage, they can't get one of the "main" contractors to come out there, and the owner tries to be GC. Then it can take two to three times longer than normal at much greater expense to get the house built, because subs are loyal first to those other GCs.

Also, if you might want to sell the land in the future, pay special attention to zoning. Here, land zoned agricultural that is less than 5 acres can't be subdivided. So, you would generally go for the 5.1 acres over the 4.9 acres, other things being relatively equal.
__________________
Sal
Sillysal is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Retirement Land
Old 07-10-2005, 10:04 AM   #60
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Texas
Posts: 1,038
Re: Retirement Land

In that area you have to have 3 acres for a septic system. I expect it to be raised to 5 acres eventually. So I would not consider less than 5. Many of the people in the country are opting for manufactured housing which helps with the contractor issues. The manufacutred housing on a basement looks like a house. Even has an attached garage. The land I was looking at was restricted to stick bult also.
__________________
In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not.
Lazarus is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Tax Policy Promotes "Early" Retirement REWahoo FIRE and Money 19 07-21-2017 02:10 PM
Vanguard Adding More Target Retirement Funds Lusitan FIRE and Money 23 03-21-2006 06:17 PM
Targeted retirement funds - I don't get it. HBH FIRE and Money 7 03-11-2006 01:58 PM
Paying Catch-Up with Retirement Savings Mountain_Mike FIRE and Money 1 06-22-2005 12:27 PM
Scott Burns: Stay safe on retirement spending PL FIRE and Money 49 12-22-2004 10:59 AM

» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:57 AM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.