Areas To Avoid? No Contractors?

[billyblazes]

I'm in the processes of dialing in the area of East Tennessee in which to purchase acreage.  In a post by Jfluckey in another area of the forum, Fentress was referenced as being sketchy and a place to perhaps be avoided.  I am currently considering some land in Spencer and a piece of land in Sparta.  Any feedback on those areas?  I don't want to be in fear of my home being broken into any time I;m away be it a few hours or several days.

Running into a problem of finding a contractor to build a house in those areas.  It seems unbelievable to me that there is not a list of contractors from which to choose.  I cannot find even a single contractor who can provide references.  Realtor tells me that is the reason manufactured homes are so popular in that area.  Realtor is hoping we buy the land and then worry about finding a contractor, but that won't work for us.  We need two houses build on a single large piece of land.  Without a resource to build two real houses, the land is useless to us.  Any recommendations?

[peejman]

Sparta and Spencer are nice places, but they're both a good ways off the beaten path so you get all the good and bad that come with that. 

The housing market is so busy right now that I'm not surprised you can't find a builder that's interested in working an hour from anywhere. 

[DaveTN]

 

3 hours ago, billyblazes said:

Any recommendations?

Realtors are a dime a dozen and many don’t want to mess with anything very involved; that’s why they don’t make the cut.

When I moved to Tennessee I had some specific issues to address. I blasted out an email of very specific requirements and waited for responses. I had a whole bunch of “Come on down; I’m sure we have something” like you would get from a car dealer, a few that said they couldn’t do what I wanted, and one that addressed my specific needs and said “Give me a call, and let’s make that happen”. What I got was one of the top realtors in Murfreesboro that did a great job.

My point? I would expect my realtor to be able to provide me with the names of contractors in the area. I would expect that to be part of the job of a good realtor. Maybe someone can give you the name of a good realtor in the area also?

[A.J. Holst]

DaveTN = shop your realtor, check.

Found this link using "home builders in Sparta"

SPARTAAAA!!!!!

https://www.houzz.com/professionals/home-builders/c/Sparta--TN

In more rural TN areas, you will find the good contractors are not necessarily keeping current on Google reviews and have more basic websites.

Good luck with your search.

Is a prefab on permanent foundation with or without basement an option? 

They're not the single and double wide models of years past.

[A.J. Holst]

Regarding the area, no idea if a hotbed of civil disobedience, my best guess, bored kids riding down your driveway looking for opportunity.

Stout motion detecting lights, both house and remote would probably deter all but the most determined.

I would also assume once you get to know and trust your neighbors, they'll keep an eye on your homestead, likely to notice strange vehicles or unusual traffic

[billyblazes]

AJ, thank you for the link.  That's a start for me.  

Prefab won't work for us.  The way prefabs have almost nonexistent soffits, no option for raised ceilings, limited to vinyl siding, and some other easily overlooked features that are important to us but cannot be incorporated into a prefab.  We have some definite wants that will require some customization.  On that note, learning about the virtual absence of building codes in Van Buren County was a real eye-opener for us.

[A.J. Holst]

11 hours ago, billyblazes said:

learning about the virtual absence of building codes in Van Buren County was a real eye-opener for us.

We call it leeway for builders...

[peejman]

17 hours ago, billyblazes said:

AJ, thank you for the link.  That's a start for me.  

Prefab won't work for us.  The way prefabs have almost nonexistent soffits, no option for raised ceilings, limited to vinyl siding, and some other easily overlooked features that are important to us but cannot be incorporated into a prefab.  We have some definite wants that will require some customization.  On that note, learning about the virtual absence of building codes in Van Buren County was a real eye-opener for us.

That's state wide, and probably nation wide.... builders get as much code enforcement as they can afford. 

[TomInMN]

2 hours ago, peejman said:

That's state wide, and probably nation wide.... builders get as much code enforcement as they can afford. 

No, not at all. Lots of states have adopted the International Building Code directly, or have based their building code on it.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Building_Code

 

[peejman]

45 minutes ago, TomInMN said:

No, not at all. Lots of states have adopted the International Building Code directly, or have based their building code on it.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Building_Code

 

Just because a state has adopted it, doesn't mean that there's any real enforcement, especially in rural areas. 

[billyblazes]

I can tell you firsthand that in Florida we have strict and extensive building codes which are rigidly enforced. Especially since hurricane Andrew. 

The homes are generally well built or at least the weak spots can be easily identified. The downside is that some municipalities require permits for simple maintenance and repairs. Almost every place in Florida requires a permit and inspection on a roof replacement. Some cities require a permit even just to re-paint your personal residence. 

[TomInMN]

2 hours ago, peejman said:

Just because a state has adopted it, doesn't mean that there's any real enforcement, especially in rural areas. 

Like any law, people will break it or follow it if they're so inclined. And the regulators will regulate it if they're so inclined.

But all that's aside from whether the pass exist or not...

[peejman]

19 hours ago, TomInMN said:

Like any law, people will break it or follow it if they're so inclined. And the regulators will regulate it if they're so inclined.

But all that's aside from whether the pass exist or not...

My point is that rural code inspectors tend to be some elected official's brother-in-law or buddy and may or may not have the first clue about anything to do with construction.  Either way, the bigger builders can usually afford to grease enough palms to get by with whatever they want.  So just because the state has a written code doesn't mean that anything that gets built follows it. 

Florida is a different animal. The insurance industry has forced them to be very strict. 

[Moped]

21 hours ago, billyblazes said:

I can tell you firsthand that in Florida we have strict and extensive building codes which are rigidly enforced. Especially since hurricane Andrew. 

The homes are generally well built or at least the weak spots can be easily identified. The downside is that some municipalities require permits for simple maintenance and repairs. Almost every place in Florida requires a permit and inspection on a roof replacement. Some cities require a permit even just to re-paint your personal residence. 

We do not typically worry about Hurricanes here in TN.  When they get this far North, they are at best Tropical Depressions and moving fast. Therefore in the rural counties, building codes and zoning laws can be very lax.

If you want stricter codes and zoning, look at the more metropolitan areas of Chattanooga, Knoxville, Nashville or Memphis.

From your original post it seems you are looking in the lesser populated areas. Perhaps, areas like Jackson, Johnson City, Manchester or Morristown might be more suitable.

[DaveTN]

1 hour ago, Moped said:

We do not typically worry about Hurricanes here in TN.  

No, because we are too busy worrying about tornados. And tornados don’t give two  about building codes.

[10-Ring]

As a general rule of thumb in Tennessee, and generally any rural areas as well: the further you get from town the more likely you are to find thieves, drug addicts, etc.  It's a trade off, but cities have rampant theft.  Some suburbs are pretty void of that kind of thing, but I have no desire to live there.  I take my chances in the country, lock my stuff up, use cameras as necessary, and attempt to have a reputation with that ilk of people that they are better off to mess around somewhere else.

Edited June 17, 2019 by 10-Ring

[billyblazes]

Between my current fencing, driveway gate, and dogs, I try to send the message that there's softer targets and that nothing inside is worth dying for.

[OLDNEWBIE]

I'm a Realtor out of Cookeville but have sold and listed as far as Crawford, have a listing in Hilham to the north and shown as far down as Spencer, as far east as Fairfield Glade as far west as Carthage etc. etc... I burn alot of gas. Hard to be an expert on all of it but I'm willing to drive a bit for a client for sure!

I'll admit I have no clue as to builders to advise you on that far out from me but as someone here alluded to, the housing boom is in full swing here. Lots of realtors have have favorites they work with but be weary as to motivation besides...

We are warned not to recommend anyone unless it's more than a few anyway. Ethics laws frown on it.

Not knowing the Realtor yourself trusting his advice would be a gamble anyway. 

Good luck and if you get stuck I can ask some of the agents that build Spec homes and try and come up with a few names you can check out.

Sparta ain't too crazy far from us in Cookeville.