Land in North Carolina Part 2

The View from Our Lot
Well, after spending a few days looking around at the options for land, our realtor (and our own independent research) convinced us that what we wanted... a good buildable lot with a killer view, close to the town of Waynesville, but with a 'remote' feeling, did not exist in the $50K range.

After John and Sandy showed us around for a few days, we really liked the Waynesville area. It has a very old North Carolina quaint downtown. But it also has a Walmart and other shopping within a reasonable distance. There is a great recreation center, golf courses, and there is all kinds of hiking and National Forest land within about a half hour's drive in any direction. And Waynesville is about a half hour's drive from Asheville, NC, where there are malls and 'culture'.

We looked at a lot of 'cheap' lots, but they were either low elevations (not the cool air we were looking for), or no view, or so unimproved it was daunting, or they were marginally improved (roads, but just a steep slope, no water, electric, septic, etc). Or they were a half hour's drive to the nearest store. The location that John and Sandy's house was in was pretty perfect (close, but not too close to town, etc), so we were really trying to find a place in that general area.

John & Sandy's House
Our realtor, Yvonne from Keller-Williams, finally dug out a listing that had expired a year ago for 1 1/4 acre with a great view at 4,000 feet (cool air!), with roads, electricity, water, a septic permit, and a leveled, filled spot of land to put a house on. Since it's a lot, it doesn't have an official address yet, but the Lat/Long is 35-26.43N 83-02.95. See location on Mapquest

It is a bit scary to plunk money down on real estate, with the economy the way it is, but it should turn out to be a good investment in the long run. Just like 'they ain't making any more waterfront', 'they ain't making any more good buildable mountaintop lots'. (or, location, location, location, as my Mother used to say). We ended up paying more than our original budget of $50K, but we think we got a fair deal, and it will be a good investment in the long run.

Though we originally were looking for land we could pull an RV into, we opted for a 'subdivision' with a few deed restrictions (including no 'temporary housing'). After seeing some of the falling-down trailers in the non-deed-restricted areas, that seemed the best compromise to protect our investment. But I'm sure if you come visit us in a motor home, you can pull in and stay for a few nights.

Don't worry, Florida friends, we're not planning on MOVING to North Carolina. Our home is still in Florida, this is just a 'someday, summer home' for the hot summer months.

Rafting the Upper Pigeon River

Dave and John Getting Ready to Load Up
The day before we left North Carolina, we managed to fit in a river rafting trip on the Upper Pigeon River. We used Wildwater as our 'outfitters' and had a thoroughly enjoyable trip.

The Upper Pigeon trip is only about 2 hours long, and is a good compromise between 'too tranquil' and 'too exciting'. It has one Class 4 rapid and a number of Class 3 rapids. Only one person fell out of a raft in the group of rafters that went down with us (5 rafts wtih 4-6 people per raft).

Our Guide, Travis
The Raft Behind Us on a Class 3
We had hoped for a warm and sunny day, but we ended up with kind of a misty cloudy day. The water temp is VERY COLD in the mountain stream, and a little sunshine would have been welcome. I was really worried about getting too cold.

We did get drenched on the trip, but Dave and I had snagged the optional spray jackets at Wildwater, and we stayed pretty warm and dry (at least the part that was under the jacket!). Our friend John had opted not to take a jacket, and was pretty chilled by the time we got to the bottom of the run.

Surfing!
Here we are 'surfing'. You go through the rapid, and then circle back around and put the bow into the waterfall. Everyone leans forward, and a skillful guide can hold the raft there for a minute or so. When we did it, our raft filled to the brim. Fortunately they are self-bailing.

Our Gang, After the Trip

Land in North Carolina

On Tuesday we went to look at some land that some friends had found on a mountain top near Brevard, NC. We have been looking at this lot for almost 2 years (it went off and back on the market in that time period). 6 acres for $60K, and it has a stunning view.

We were talking with our cruising friends on Tackless II about splitting the cost of the lot and being able to pull motor homes in there, and eventually have 2 homesites.


But... it is about 3-4 miles in on barely-improved roads. You'd really need a 4-wheeler to be able to get in and out consistently, and it would be really difficult to get a big motor home up there. It has also been sold recently (the realtor sign is still on the lot, though).

We have been looking at some other lots, but NC is no longer 'cheap'. On Friday we plan to run around with a realtor in the Waynesville area.


Our friends John and Sandy's house is beautiful with a fantastic view and is located strategically close to the convenience of Waynesville, NC. But it wasn't in the $50K range to purchase!

They have a nice log home with a big porch along 2 sides. The 3 remaining lots in the neighborhood we can find on the MLS are in the 'over $100K' range.

Dave and I are struggling with what we really want to do. We obviously don't really need land in NC right now. But if we wait 10 years, what would it cost then???

Cool Mountain Air and Green Vistas

We've been having a ball in North Carolina. It is beautifully cool here right now.

Monday, we left Atlanta (my sister's house) and drove north toward Waynesville, NC. We took a few side roads and stopped and had lunch at a pretty restaurant overlooking a stream.


One place we stopped was a pottery shop (Mark of the Potter) in an old mill on a stream. Dave had to see the 'huge' trout we'd been told about.



Wednesday we went hiking on Big Creek Trail at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It was a nice hike on a shady, mostly level path, along a river. We went swimming in a 'pool'. (Except it was so frigid, I declined to get more than my feet wet). John took his fly rod along, and we stopped and fished for trout in the pools we found.





Yesterday, we drove 30 miles up the Blue Ridge Parkway and met some old boating/ham friends at the Pisgah Inn for lunch. Great drive, great lunch, great view. And really nice seeing Bob and Caroline, who have recently bought property nearby in Hendersonville, NC.

On Saturday we plan to go on a short whitewater rafting trip down the Pigeon River.