In my last blog I talked about buying water property. Especially water property that was on a Corp of Engineer Lake. In this blog I am writing about mountain property. Your buyers or friend moving to the mountains may be coming from an urban or different setting. They are looking for mountain property. They don't want to be fenced in. They see the trees hear the streams and are taking out their check books. Later they may be taking out their handkerchiefs !

You may say, " Charlie dirt is dirt whats the point?" All dirt is not equal and there are many things to consider. The two types of dirt we are going to talk about are developed and undeveloped.

Undeveloped. Undeveloped is just that land period. So you want to buy raw land. You look around and see a tract of let's say 5 acres and you put down your money. You draw up your house plans and hire a contractor and are ready to go when oops, Wheres the power? Did you look at the road your land was on to see where the nearest power poll was? Yes usually you pay by the foot to have the power run. OOPS what about water? Didn't notice a fire hydrant on the road did you. Well you are now into the 8-10 dollar a foot drilling process to get your well. But you figured OK I know there is water because of that beautiful stream running through the property. OOPS did no one tell you you had to be 50 feet back from water, some Georgia counties more. Thats not a giant oops since you have 5 acres. Did you have a level 3 soil test (more later on this). So if you are buying raw land there are unexpected expenses you may incur that may hurt you project. So you decide ok I am going to buy developed land

Developed land usually means power for sure and MAYBE water. You have to ask about these things. If water is well and the well is not dug, see expense above. Now you are buying a 1 acre lot and the BIGGEST problem here is the level 3 soil test. Since you may be moving from an area that is flat, sandy, or urban you may not realise that 95 percent of the time in the mountains you will be on a Septic system. In order to get in a system the Level 3 test tells you if the land is suitable. Problems like hitting rock or underground water are things that could make your lot unbuildable. So the test is key. Do not buy unless you are on Sewer or have a good level 3.

The thing that even we mountain Realtors fail to do from time to time. is ask the buyer if they have a specific home in mind. Even with the soil test and everything else being good  a county may not approve a home plan. A Realtor friend of mine had a client crying on a lot they bought. They loved the lot, they loved the area. The Realtor did his work and made sure they had a good soil test. But guess what, the county rejected the house plan for the site. The lady had these plans with her for years and was finally going to build her dream home. So many counties offer a lot evaluation service . Use it if your buyer knows what they want.

The last thing we should talk about is slope. After all it is the mountains!. Slope will effect the price as the more slope the more concrete you need for your foundation. It also may dictate the type of septic system you are putting in at its cost. Remember concrete companies charge extra to move their trucks up your hill. And often deliver less concrete due to the weight. Oh did you forget to notice whether the road to your property was paved and would ber able to support truck traffic? Bottom line work with a mountain Realtor.

Our mountains are beautiful and with a little up front work you will be very happy here and have a good home building experience.