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Hello everyone! After years of lurking on this forum and reading a lot of good and informative comments, it has finally become time for me to seek out some recommendations. I will be in NE Tennessee this fall for a scouting trip to look for an area that I will eventually settle in. This is not my first trip to the state, but it is my first time to the Tri-Cities area. I will be staying in Baileyton, and have the option of moving around from there. My area of focus in Tennessee has for the last few years been mainly East of I-75. My list of areas to look into on this trip are in Washington, Greene, Unicoi, Carter, and Hawkins Counties.
A bit about me and what I am looking for. I am a home hobby machinist, welder, and woodworker.
Along those lines, I focus on auto and motorcycle repair and restoration. Looking for a rural area 30 minutes or less from a hospital. Other needs such as food and home improvement stores I can deal with being a bit farther from. I would also like to be within 2 hours or less from a major City such as Knoxville. I am mainly looking for a buildable property that is in a private location. Either vacant land, or something in need if demolition that I can start from fresh on. Ideally the property would be 15-20 acres, although I would understandably adjust that to a bit more or less as needed for the right location and price range. I cannot overstate enough how much I am not looking to buy anything in this current Real Estate market. I am just looking for recommendations on areas to investigate and visit. Right now my current budget is $160K with a bit more room to increase that number if needed. Again, that number is only for the initial purchase of a property. Jobs, child activities, schools, and nightlife are all non issues for me.
I have read many posts and threads on this site focused on crime in certain areas as well as reputations certain County's have for it. I intend on visiting Rogersville, and Church Hill on my trip, both of which are in Hawkins County that I have seen mentioned in many posts for being known for higher crime. Can anyone comment on those areas as being places I should avoid? I have seen both of them mentioned in more than one online article as being some of the best small towns in that state to live in.
Thank you in advance to anyone that takes the time to read and/or respond to this. Any comments and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
$160k with that much acreage and a decent house likely isn’t going to happen, even if/when the market cools off. You will be hard pressed to find raw land that cheap, much less with site construction costs added in. You will have to make concessions. You have basically three options.
1) Very rural with an older home that needs updates or a mobile home and as much acreage as possible. Coming from Chicago, the lack of available services will shock you. Many truly rural areas do not have reliable internet access, cell phone service, trash collection, or municipal water. If you need internet, you need to find out the local internet service provider, input the address, and see if the address is serviced, for example.
2) Somewhere outside the city limits but reasonably close. This is probably going to put you in Hawkins or more of the rural counties. There are a lot of ranch houses with a couple acres. That will probably be in the budget.
3) Closer to the city. Prices are higher with less land.
Hawkins and the rural parts of Greene County have a strong “hometown lifer” feel, and aren’t that accessible to newcomers. Many families have lived there for generations, social circles are tight-knit, etc.
Baileyton is fine. I would look at parts of Greene County close the city of Greeneville, going back toward Washington County and Johnson City. The Cocke county side is more rural and a bit rougher.
Hawkins is the butt of jokes in the area for stupid crime. It’s hard to recommend. Church Hill is basically suburban Kingsport. The town of Rogersville is fine, but the surrounding rural areas are really rough.
Carter and Unicoi counties have the best mountain access in the region, prices are still reasonably low, crime is far less than Hawkins/Cocke counties, and you still have fairly easy access to Johnson City (and Unicoi is also close to Asheville, NC) if needed. That’s where I would start.
Thanks for the reply SC! Yes, I have given much thought to the differences in the amount of services this move will involve. When I choose a general area to focus on, my main concern for utilities is going to be electricity. I did not give much thought to garbage collection, and I am glad you mentioned it. Internet service is the other thing that I am going to absolutely need and my plan was to bypass the local providers and get on the list for Starlink when I start construction. As for water, I just assumed that a municipal water supply would not be an option based on what I am looking for, and I have an additional cost for a well built into my construction budget.
I learned a valuable lesson on cell service on a previous trip to Tennessee when looking at areas in the South East. In areas of Monroe and Polk counties I had no cell service for a full day, and it was actually kind of nice. Even the GPS in the car was useless and I had to use a road atlas for a few days. I am learning that land line phone service may be my only option for anyplace I end up, and I am keeping that in mind.
I was hoping to hear better news on the price budget I had for buildable land. I based my number on some past properties I have seen sell, as well as a few recent examples.
Carter and Unicoi counties are definitely on my radar for this trip. Speaking of Carter county, are there any areas of Roan Mountain you can recommend I visit? The Heaton Creek area there is on my list of stops, but I am thinking that is out of by overall budget. Hopefully I can find someplace similar.
Thank you again for your valuable input. I will be there in October and would certainly welcome any other suggestions you may think of.
Those are fairly typical land prices. "Better" land, whether it's good mountain views, higher elevation, or quality flat land good for building or farming, is likely going to run around $10,000 an acre.
Starlink and other satellite internet providers should be an internet option of last resort. Prices are high, there are often bandwidth caps and other technical considerations that make it less than ideal, along with a clear shot to the sky. If you absolutely must have a property and are not a big internet user, it is an option.
Verizon is going to be your best option for cellular service in small towns and rural areas. I know that I've had service most of the way on 19-E through there before. Most "landline" phones today are voice over IP (VoIP). I'm not sure if you can use a VoIP service with no internet access. The only company doing traditional copper phone lines that I know of is AT&T.
The town of Roan Mountain is basically a few streets off of 19-E. There isn't much there. You'll be going back to Elizabethton for Walmart and groceries. Anything bigger is a trip back to Johnson City.
Let's say you spend $160,000 for land. Builders are backed up. Most don't want to do smaller homes. A 2000 sq. ft. stick built home is probably going to run at least $150/sq.ft. with basic finishes. I could easily see the house cost going above $300,000 and the project going to a half million.
It's just going to be much more economical to buy an preexisting home for the foreseeable future.
Agree with Serious Conversation about Roan Mountain. It's a bit far off from any Walmart, Lowes/Home Depot and hospital. We bought just outside the Elizabethton city limits and are 5 to 10 minutes from the amenities. As aging retirees we didn't want to be any farther out.
Those are fairly typical land prices. "Better" land, whether it's good mountain views, higher elevation, or quality flat land good for building or farming, is likely going to run around $10,000 an acre.
Starlink and other satellite internet providers should be an internet option of last resort. Prices are high, there are often bandwidth caps and other technical considerations that make it less than ideal, along with a clear shot to the sky. If you absolutely must have a property and are not a big internet user, it is an option.
Verizon is going to be your best option for cellular service in small towns and rural areas. I know that I've had service most of the way on 19-E through there before. Most "landline" phones today are voice over IP (VoIP). I'm not sure if you can use a VoIP service with no internet access. The only company doing traditional copper phone lines that I know of is AT&T.
The town of Roan Mountain is basically a few streets off of 19-E. There isn't much there. You'll be going back to Elizabethton for Walmart and groceries. Anything bigger is a trip back to Johnson City.
Let's say you spend $160,000 for land. Builders are backed up. Most don't want to do smaller homes. A 2000 sq. ft. stick built home is probably going to run at least $150/sq.ft. with basic finishes. I could easily see the house cost going above $300,000 and the project going to a half million.
It's just going to be much more economical to buy an preexisting home for the foreseeable future.
I have read in multiple threads on how backed up the builders are in many areas of Tennessee, and the problems seem to mainly hinge on skilled labor issues. A former co-worker retired to Tennessee in 2019 just West of Nashville by about 60 miles. He told me getting his house built there was over a 3 year project, and a nightmare. In the end he was 50K over budget, and 18 months over on his timeline. He ended up in court down there with is original builder that did not finish the project. He finished the house by doing as much as he could himself and hiring another contractor to fix and finish what the first guy started.
Doing as much research as I can on this end by going to different home shows, I have been quoted $175 per square foot for a timber frame constructed house in East Tennessee. That was pre-COVID, and pre-real estate boom. I guess it is a good thing time is on my side, because there sure is a growing amount of issues I need to get straight. My time frame was to find a property in the next 1-3 years, then I figured a year to plan and another year or two to build. So, I don't need to decide on anything right away, but I am trying to be as thorough as possible in gathering information to make an informed decision.
Agree with Serious Conversation about Roan Mountain. It's a bit far off from any Walmart, Lowes/Home Depot and hospital. We bought just outside the Elizabethton city limits and are 5 to 10 minutes from the amenities. As aging retirees we didn't want to be any farther out.
Thank you for your input suzytx. One of my neighbors down the block just moved to Elizabethton this spring. For now my health is good, but range to medical care is a consideration for me while I am out looking in different areas. If everything goes according to plan my move to Tennessee, whenever it may be, will be my last move. So a local hospital may not be a need now, but it will be in the future.
My concern about being 5-10 minutes out of town is urban sprawl. I have seen in rural areas near where I live now people that lived just outside of a town are now surrounded by new neighborhoods. At the rate people are moving to Tennessee I am hoping I pick an area where that will not be an issue in the future. I put a lot of value on privacy, and would like to ensure that anyplace I end up will provide me with just that for a long time.
Elizabethton is on my list of stops for my trip this year. Is there any areas you can recommend I look at while I am there? Thank you for your response, and any input would be appreciated.
I have read in multiple threads on how backed up the builders are in many areas of Tennessee, and the problems seem to mainly hinge on skilled labor issues. A former co-worker retired to Tennessee in 2019 just West of Nashville by about 60 miles. He told me getting his house built there was over a 3 year project, and a nightmare. In the end he was 50K over budget, and 18 months over on his timeline. He ended up in court down there with is original builder that did not finish the project. He finished the house by doing as much as he could himself and hiring another contractor to fix and finish what the first guy started.
Doing as much research as I can on this end by going to different home shows, I have been quoted $175 per square foot for a timber frame constructed house in East Tennessee. That was pre-COVID, and pre-real estate boom. I guess it is a good thing time is on my side, because there sure is a growing amount of issues I need to get straight. My time frame was to find a property in the next 1-3 years, then I figured a year to plan and another year or two to build. So, I don't need to decide on anything right away, but I am trying to be as thorough as possible in gathering information to make an informed decision.
Thank you once again for your time and comments.
$175/sq. ft. does seem a bit high, but it may not be if you're considering custom new construction. I would be careful about building. I doubt the current market conditions will change much soon.
Thank you for your input suzytx. One of my neighbors down the block just moved to Elizabethton this spring. For now my health is good, but range to medical care is a consideration for me while I am out looking in different areas. If everything goes according to plan my move to Tennessee, whenever it may be, will be my last move. So a local hospital may not be a need now, but it will be in the future.
My concern about being 5-10 minutes out of town is urban sprawl. I have seen in rural areas near where I live now people that lived just outside of a town are now surrounded by new neighborhoods. At the rate people are moving to Tennessee I am hoping I pick an area where that will not be an issue in the future. I put a lot of value on privacy, and would like to ensure that anyplace I end up will provide me with just that for a long time.
Elizabethton is on my list of stops for my trip this year. Is there any areas you can recommend I look at while I am there? Thank you for your response, and any input would be appreciated.
Definitely consider your health needs, particularly as you age.
While there are close together houses in the downtown area of Elizabethton, the outer areas can be houses close to together interspersed with house that are only within bullhorn distance of each other. We invested in the latter but it usually involves a purchase of multiple acres (we purchased 45).
Not sure what areas to recommend. I suspect driving five to ten miles out from the downtown area (which is very cute in my opinion) will get you to more acreage but may need to be even farther now due a white hot real estate market.
Last edited by JMT; 08-12-2021 at 06:22 PM..
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Hello again everyone! Well, my trip was a success and I have to thank everyone here once again for all the valuable input and information. I have now narrowed my search area down to just Northeast Tennessee. My short list of towns to further explore is getting shorter for my next trip that will hopefully be spring of next year. I have to say I was pretty impressed with the town of Erwin, there is much more there in the way of conveniences than I thought would be. Some examples are Unicoi County Hospital, and more chain stores such as Tractor Supply than I expected to see. I am interested in more information and opinions about the town of Flag Pond, specifically the Northern area between there and Erwin. I really like the central location of Flag Pond being between Johnson City, and Asheville NC, while being 20 minutes or so South of Erwin. Not to beat a dead horse with regards to crime stats, but the little information I was able to find on the area was only about high levels of crime. Given what I have read about NE Tennessee in general in this forum, I will assume it is mostly domestic type issues between people that know each other. However, if that area is known locally as the Meth production capital of the state, I would appreciate someone letting me know.
My next question is about taxes. While on a stop to visit the City Garage Car Museum in Greeneville, I was talking to some of the locals and found out about the Wheel Tax in Greene County. Is this extra tax something that is common in the area? Does it apply to Washington, Unicoi, and Carter counties as well? If not the wheel tax, do other towns/city's have extra vehicle registration costs? An example is here in Chicago I just received my renewal notice for my City registration sticker on my pick up, which is in addition to the annual license plate renewal sticker I have to purchase from the state. All the funds are (supposedly) used to maintain the roads that are riddled with potholes, bridges that are falling apart, and road improvement projects that are over budget here.
Once again, thanks you in advance to anyone that takes the time to read and respond to this.
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