newbie question

[WildRaccoon]

[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]so.. my boyfriend and i were actually debating van life and for those moments for when were done traveling for a bit and need to stop and take a breather, theres the idea to buy an acre of land (i found some properties for about $3k, more or less) and park our van there and just have a place to stop and relax and even have a permanent spot to plant plants and such... does this seem like an ok thing to do? or a bad investment to buy the land?  (also, just to clarify that in the state where we live, its not illegal to 1. collect our own rainwater 2. plant a garden and 3. live out of some sort of mobile home.. so if we got some land and did those things, it shouldnt be of any issue legality wise)[/font]

 

[bullfrog]

Most counties or developed areas are responsible for zoning regulations which they enforce. There are very few places that are zoned to allow you to do those things and even those are subject to change. I would research and check with the county zoning commission as it sounds to good to be true.

 

[Uncle Todo]

I guess it varies state to state & county to county, but I would think as long as the property doesn't have an HOA or isn't in a development, you're pretty much free to do as you please.
I'm guessing you're looking at rural property and not something in the suburbs...

 

[crofter]

Fact check: this has not been the experience of dwellers on this forum. There has been a lot of discussion and little success in finding areas where van dwelling on 1 acre of private land is permitted.

@uncle todo
If you know of specific towns or counties which allow van dwelling on 1 acre of private property, please list them. Thanks.
-crofter

 

[LERCA]

A mobile home is different from an RV, van, skoolie etc (vehicles) In no county in California can you live in a vehicle on your own land. Even if your house burns down you can’t camp or live in a tent or RV.

Most counties however, permit mobile homes. Even so before investing in land I would call the local city planning office.


A friend of mine bought a house on a half acre in a county that borders Oregon. I was really excited that I could put up a yurt (basically a tent otherwise it’s just a round house) When I called the city planning office I was told not only could I not live in a non-permanent structure but it is not permitted to be left up for any length of time. I didn’t bother to ask how long.

Don’t invest any money without doing your due diligence. And if you get tattoos or embroider pillows get one that says “if it sounds too good to be true. It is.”

 

[nature lover]

How about having a property where you have all those amenities you want including your gardens. And just visit it frequently. It would go better with most municipalities if you were a owner who came to visit the property for several days stayed in your mobile unit. And then went traveling. You may even be able to stretch those days into weeks depending on how nosy neighbors and officials are. I have often dreamed of owning a small piece of property particularly in the forest here in Pennsylvania and putting up a two car garage with one garage door. When I wanted to take a break from traveling I could pull the van into the garage and the other half of the garage would have the amenities I need to live a little more comfortably for a while. Then takeoff in the van and go again. It’s an air castle but hey that’s where I live. A neurotic as someone who imagine building air castles. A psychotic is someone who lives in air castles. A psychiatrist is the one who charges rent on those air castles.

 

[crofter]

You could get a place that is already approved as a campground. Here is a link to the land buying thread.
-crofter

https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=17895&highlight=Buying+land

https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=40058&highlight=Buying+land

https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=34004&highlight=Buying+land

https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=10012&highlight=Buying+land

And many more threads on buying land. -c

 

[travelaround]

That was my plan - to have some land. I got waylaid from my vandwelling travel plans and after I bought the half acre Covid happened and I was in lockdown for a few months until there was a forest fire and the mobile home on my new property burned. Now I'm here waiting for the county to clean off the land. I've slept in my van many, many nights on that property and nobody complained, but now am in a travel trailer as there are out-of-town type people in and out of that area frequently, involved in the forest fire cleanup situation. I hope to get another small mobile home set up there before I travel anywhere. So, yes, land is tempting, but it can settle you down when your dream is to travel. And, expect the unexpected.

 

[crofter]

How about having a property where you have all those amenities you want including your gardens.  And just visit it frequently. It would go better with most municipalities if you were a owner who came to visit the property for several days stayed in your mobile unit. And then went traveling. You may even be able to stretch those days into weeks depending on how nosy neighbors and officials are. I have often dreamed of owning a small piece of property particularly in the forest here in Pennsylvania and putting up a two car garage with one garage door. When I wanted to take a break from traveling I could pull the van into the garage and the other half of the garage would have the amenities I need to live a little more comfortably for a while. Then takeoff in the van and go again. It’s an air castle but hey that’s where I live. A neurotic as someone who imagine building air castles. A psychotic is someone who lives in air castles. A psychiatrist is the one who charges rent on those air castles.

Sounds wonderful. Whether you can legally do it or not is all about the local zoning codes.
-crofter

 

[rvwandering]

Welcome to the CRVL forums WildRacoon! Heed the advice that you've received so far and check carefully into the country codes before buying land. Having a small piece of land to stay for a while, rest, and plant a garden is a great idea but the codes are often a stumbling block.

To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started.

Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.

We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[LERCA]

When my house burned down the county wrapped it with yellow tape and only the contractor and his workers and the insurance company and their minions were allowed to enter the property. I wasn’t allowed to even get any of my stuff that survived (I did it anyway)
The sheriff came by every week to check on it. One thing I learned is that fires smolder for a long time so it can be quite dangerous. Thank God I was saved from my own stupidity. I guess the universe figured I had suffered enough or I just got lucky that no further damage was done due to my ignoring the rules. California is pretty familiar with fires and I cringe when I think about it.

 

[crofter]

@LERCA
So what happened with your house? Is that what put you on the road as a dweller? Sounds really tough. 
-crofter

 

[jacqueg]

I guess it varies state to state & county to county, but I would think as long as the property doesn't have an HOA or isn't in a development, you're pretty much free to do as you please.
I'm guessing you're looking at rural property and not something in the suburbs...

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[MG1912]

Inspectors love to find something wrong. Depending on the area, they'll usually find something minor with every new property, even conventional homes, which is then usually easily addressed. They'll have a field day with a parked RV or tiny home. There are lots of examples of towns and counties being very harsh to those attempting to live in an RV or tiny home on private land, and it definitely doesn't seem to me to be a good candidate for "better to ask forgiveness later than permission upfront."

Here's a recent article about a young woman who was just evicted from her tiny home on her parents' property in New Hampshire (which is actually a permissive state, in general). Bottom line is she even went to town meetings pleading her case and submitting a plan to address all the town's concerns. To no avail. She evetually had to abandon the tiny home, and and she left town. Probably lost a good bit of money, as well as the emotional and time cost of fighting the eviction, etc.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/woman-parked-her-tiny-house-160411263.html

 

[Cammalu]

Not that anyone might want to live in the East but where I have a house I don’t think they care what you have on your land if you are in the county. I’ve seen plenty of RVs and even some of those sheds converted to houses. I put a graveyard on my property also along with an additional little cabin. Only way I know that they even know about the cabin (now a rental) is they started taxing me on it.

Ohio County, KY. There are deals to be had. I purchased about three years ago a fixer upper place for a rental. It has a 3 bedroom 2 bath stone house, a mobile home and an old gas station on 5 acres with a pond for $25,000. All needed repair.

 

[bullfrog]

Wait till you get a bunch of new neighbors that decide you property is devaluating their property which will have already increased your taxes to a ridiculous amount. That has happened in many places around the country.

 

[highdesertranger]

you're not allowed to have a garden? in the whole state? what state is this? I don't believe it. highdesertranger

 

[Cammalu]

My taxes on 14 acres is now $60 a year. It goes down every year. I think it was around $150 when I bought the place. It has a double wide on it.

 

[bullfrog]

I have a hard time going back to Eastern Kentucky after so many of my family had worked so hard and then had it taken from them by the government and what was left ruined by coal companies. Still have lots of young family members struggling to keep home places going. Land is cheap there for a reason.

 

[Cammalu]

Bullfrog. Different animal altogether. My place is in Western, KY