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If you don't mind sharing, please tell me what is your energy source for heating. And what seems to be the most common? (propane, oil, gas, electric) Are certain sources more common close to town and others more common far out / way up the mountains?
We live in the mountains and have natural gas heat. Some remote places may not have natural gas and will have to use propane.
The listings I posted give a good idea of the trees-in-your-face thing that I like, but it's much harder to find an example of that "nestled into the mountainside" positioning I would love to have. This one below gives a decent idea of what I mean. Picture #13 you can see the view out the kitchen window above the sink is the mountainside right up close. This house has it all in terms of views. In-the-trees, long range mountains, up-close mountainside:
I do wonder if being tucked right into the slope poses any potential problems. Like NCN mentioned how lovely little mountain streams can turn into raging rivers depending on conditions. I'd love to be able to hear the sound of water running in the stream from my deck. But maybe being that close to a stream would end up causing problems?
The listings I posted give a good idea of the trees-in-your-face thing that I like, but it's much harder to find an example of that "nestled into the mountainside" positioning I would love to have. This one below gives a decent idea of what I mean. Picture #13 you can see the view out the kitchen window above the sink is the mountainside right up close. This house has it all in terms of views. In-the-trees, long range mountains, up-close mountainside:
I do wonder if being tucked right into the slope poses any potential problems. Like NCN mentioned how lovely little mountain streams can turn into raging rivers depending on conditions. I'd love to be able to hear the sound of water running in the stream from my deck. But maybe being that close to a stream would end up causing problems?
To get all you want with being close to town is likely going to be out of your price range.
I'm inclined to go for one of the less snowy towns. I like snow in general but I think those mountain roads could be a little scary in the snow. Driving is going to be my biggest issue living in WNC. I don't like driving in general, I get car sick when I'm the passenger, I don't drive as fast as the locals on those curving mountain roads, these are the reasons I say we probably shouldn't buy a place too far from downtown and grocery stores. Those are the main places we'll want to drive to regularly and I don't want the drive to be too stressful for me.
I'm inclined to go for one of the less snowy towns. I like snow in general but I think those mountain roads could be a little scary in the snow. Driving is going to be my biggest issue living in WNC. I don't like driving in general, I get car sick when I'm the passenger, I don't drive as fast as the locals on those curving mountain roads, these are the reasons I say we probably shouldn't buy a place too far from downtown and grocery stores. Those are the main places we'll want to drive to regularly and I don't want the drive to be too stressful for me.
This rules out the Boone/Blowing Rock area. Don’t be too concerned about driving. There are a lot of retirees here who don’t drive too fast.
You mentioned built into the slope and does it present any problems.
Here on Beech Mt, we have plenty of homes built into the slope. I know of a couple that have experienced "foundation drift" and needed some remediation work underneath. Always good to get a structural person to check any home built on a slope.
Also, as I mentioned earlier, a crawlspace inspection prior to buying is an absolute necessity. There can be moisture intrusion when the land slopes toward the foundation, which is often the case in the mountains. I knew nothing about crawlspaces before we moved here, but learned quickly when an inspector found a small amount of water beside the fireplace surround in the crawlspace. The entire structure around the fireplace had to be replaced, which cost around $15k. The market was so hot we did not want to lose the house so we made an offer to the seller that we would pay half the cost and they accepted.
Something both my husband and I would like is a walkout lower level. Like you enter the house on the main floor and then there's stairs down to a lower level but not like an underground basement, one that you can walk out onto a patio that's maybe covered by a deck / balcony above. Would that type of home have a crawl space?
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