When a new house is built in a rural area not in a neighborhood

[Moonbear]

Why would there be zoning laws against it?

Because people don't like the look of a mobile home being parked on the property next door to them. Anywhere you choose to live, you need to check zoning laws. Though, in many rural locations, that's not such an issue. There are a lot of areas around here with no zoning laws at all, because properties are far enough apart that people have the attitude if it's your property, you do with it as you want. Nobody is worried if the grass is mowed or there's a junker car parked somewhere on the property. The closer houses get to one another, the more laws start being created to keep the peace between neighbors. And, sometimes, even when there are zoning laws, one can get a "variance" from the town that allows you to break a specific law with their permission. An example would be if there's a law against mobile homes on the property, but you just want to put one on for a year or two while constructing a more permanent home, and then you'll remove the temporary housing. That can depend somewhat on the generosity of neighbors too. Again, as an example, the law might have been put there if someone was letting every brother, uncle and cousin plunk mobile homes on their property, making the place look like a trailer park and an eyesore to neighbors. But, if you want to put the home out in the middle of the property where none of the neighbors will ever see it, they might give you permission to do so with restrictions on where on the property it can go so you don't have it plunked out at the road edge where it looks bad to the people buying the expensive house down the road a ways.

Really, with all these questions, we can't give you really good answers here. These are all things that vary from state to state, town to town, and even neighborhood to neighborhood. The only way to get good answers is to plan to spend some time at the local municipal building or with a local real estate attorney.

Another thing I would need would be a well (in addition to septic tank and electric hook up).

You'd want to get a good survey of the land to make sure there's water in an accessible location for a well and that the source isn't contaminated.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

I couldn't find any, but if you look near the bottom of this list, you will find some cheap ones.
http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/1888.html"

 

[stickythighs]

Because people don't like the look of a mobile home being parked on the property next door to them. Anywhere you choose to live, you need to check zoning laws. Though, in many rural locations, that's not such an issue. There are a lot of areas around here with no zoning laws at all, because properties are far enough apart that people have the attitude if it's your property, you do with it as you want. Nobody is worried if the grass is mowed or there's a junker car parked somewhere on the property. The closer houses get to one another, the more laws start being created to keep the peace between neighbors.

I want to live in an area where there is not another house in a sight. I don't think zoning laws for a mobile home would be an issue.

 

[LowlyPion]

Another thing I would need would be a well (in addition to septic tank and electric hook up).

If there is no well on the property, you will need to drill one of course. You should contact a driller in the local area and get an estimate for any fees, permits and drilling costs to hit the water table. You may also want to investigate which water table, if there are more than one that would be more suitable for your long term needs too. My rough guess is about $6000-$10000 for drilling and pump installation. But you should definitely check into it.

Another consideration is the possibility of putting in a heat pump well, as this could supply you longer term with heating and cooling and reduce propane use considerably.

 

[LowlyPion]

I want to live in an area where there is not another house in a sight. I don't think zoning laws for a mobile home would be an issue.

In rural areas you can expect little zoning.

 

[Redbelly98]

Property taxes are set by towns and cities, not states.

 

[LowlyPion]

I live in a VERY sturdy log house with a concrete cellar. ... This is a VERY rugged house.

You are fortunate then. My approach is to never underestimate the forces of nature however. The F-4 to F-5's can strip the ground bare.

F-5
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mfl/hazards/info/f5torn.jpg [Broken]

No basement. And now no house.

 

[LowlyPion]

Property taxes are set by towns and cities, not states.

Counties and water districts too.

If there are people to tax, ways will be found.

 

[arildno]

Eeh?
What sort of country do you live in??

Here in Norway, the property tax on house-owners should not exceed 0.7% of the house's market value, and less than 50% of our counties and municipalities derive income from that sort of taxation (with a minimum rate of 0.2% for those municipalities wishing to have that tax)..

 

[stickythighs]

Another consideration is the possibility of putting in a heat pump well, as this could supply you longer term with heating and cooling and reduce propane use considerably.

I've never even heard of a heat pump well, but it sounds interesting. So a heat pump well is a heat pump that is powered by gas from a well? What type of gas would it use?

 

[Redbelly98]

Eeh?
What sort of country do you live in??

Here in Norway, the property tax on house-owners should not exceed 0.7% of the house's market value, and less than 50% of our counties and municipalities derive income from that sort of taxation (with a minimum rate of 0.2% for those municipalities wishing to have that tax)..

I'm in northeastern USA, about 1/2-way between NY City and Philadelphia. Our property tax has fluctuated between 2% and 3% of our home's market value over the past 8 years.

 

[mgb_phys]

I've never even heard of a heat pump well, but it sounds interesting. So a heat pump well is a heat pump that is powered by gas from a well? What type of gas would it use?

No a heat pump is a more efficent heating (or cooling) system.
It uses a series of water fileld pipes which run between the house and underground, it works by pumping heat between the warm ground and conentrating it to heat your house.
Effectively you are stealing some of the suns heat from the warm ground and using it to heat your house (while at the same time slighlty refridgerating the ground), so you use less expensive propane/natural gas/electricity for heating. The pump itself ussually runs on electricity/propane, it's expensive to install but if you are out in the country using expensive propane for heating it will pay for itself.

Some of them can also run in reverse, dumping heat form your house into cold underground water - this is much more efficent than AC.

 

[LowlyPion]

I've never even heard of a heat pump well, but it sounds interesting. So a heat pump well is a heat pump that is powered by gas from a well? What type of gas would it use?

You can read about variations of them here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_heat_pump