Note that I did not say that was a “good first step.” I said it was the “easy way.”
This isn’t necessarily true, either. Many counties in the U.S. have building departments which require building permits, and enforce their building codes with building inspectors.
It does if I’m going to be living in it! As mentioned by Sprockets, building codes are there to protect us.
The aforementioned Pickens County does seem to have a building ordinance. WARNING: PDF Link.
Nitpick: I could be mistaken, but I believe that Deliverance was set in Georgia. But I 'spect those revenooers know how to find West Virginia. I think there is some beautiful country up there not so far from the interstate. They certainly have winding rural roads and mountains.
bibliophage, it’s no wonder that Maine is comparatively inexpensive. There is still so much wilderness there! I think about 90% is still forested. Maine is so cool! It’s my favorite state. I was surprised to see that even in expensive townships the codes were not very restrictive at all. A movile home could be in the same neighborhood as a beautiful old mansion with a widow’s walk. Very liberal ideas about property ownership. I don’t know if that is a statewide thing or not.
Alaska; single-handedly supporting the blue-tarp industry.
[nitpick]That’s not codes, that’s zoning. [/nitpick]
We own a house in the mountains that is about a mile from a two lane state highway. No neighbors to speak of (but I think they are on the way).
We bought the one acre lot next to us so we would not have neighbors right next door. Now this lot is very steep, There is only one place you can build (that I can see) and It’s right near the property line. It does have power and phone. And a corner of it touches national forest.
$45,000.
Get yourself a subscription to the Mother Earth News or just read the archives online. I am about the exact opposite of a hippie and I have had a subscription since I was little. It isn’t devoted exclusively to building cabins but most issues include people that have done just that and even moved off of the grid completely. Alternative building techniques like hay bale construction are also regularly covered. The archives make interesting reading.
Not apropos of the discussion at hand, but it makes me think of the times I’ve driven Interstate 40 where you don’t see signs of civilization for miles, then off in the far, far distance, you’ll see some little ramshackle trailer in the middle of the desert. No trees, no nothing, maybe a pickup parked next to it. I’ve often wondered what the story was there. Was this all that was left from their great-great-grandfather’s huge estate, or what?
I misspoke. While you may not have to have a building permit, you certainly have to build your home to code, which in most places is defined as what the federal government says. You can’t just decide that since there are no building inspectors in your area, that you will decide you don’t need a septic tank and spill your wastewater into the river.
When I wired my house, it had to meet the NEC (National Electric Code). No federal inspectors enforced this however.
That’s what both MCSE and myself are getting at: there ARE no federal standards for what a house must or must not be comprised of. The federal government imposes no officially mandated guidelines, laws, rules, or regulations for how a home must be built. All building inspections, codes, etc. are local, whether city, township, county, or state. But not “federal”.
If there were federal standards for home builders, then why would we still need city/county building inspectors and permits? There would be a federal building code you’d have to consult before you added a room onto your house, and there’d be a federal building inspector you’d have to arrange to come inspect the addition when it was done.
And there ain’t no such person. And there ain’t no such thing.
Please provide a cite for your statement.
You have been misinformed. Most areas in Alaska outside of incorporated cities & towns are subject to no code enforcement whatsoever. Now, this may make it difficult to get a mortgage, as lenders may require code, but owner-built and financed homes are free to live in whatever ramshackle shotgun shack they can cobble together. For instance, in Kenai Peninsula Borough (PDF), with only a few exceptions, not even a building permit is required in unincorporated areas of the Borough, and the state only requires a building permit on residential structures containing four or more dwellings.
Of course not; that violates federal EPA laws, and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) provides and enforces standards for well and septic systems. But it does not violate any applicable building code.
So who did enforce it?
The NEC (National Electric Code) is often adopted as-is by government agencies. But… it has to be adopted. The NEC is published annually by the NFPA – the National Fire Protection Association. They don’t represent any federal agency.
:: blink ::
Residential structures containing four or more rooms, perhaps? Because otherwise I now have this vision of Alaskan backwoods housing as something like Cabrini-Green…
Cabrini-Green with blue tarps.
Oy.
I took it to mean something more along the lines of attached townhouses, quadruplexes, etc.
Ah.
Except now I have to see Alaskan gated communities with blue tarps… 
Well, there is a difference between being up to code and being permitted.
Wow, the description in the OP is a great description of the property our daughter bought in Syskyou county, Northern California in 2002. It is 49 acres that was a gold mine in the 1850’s and totally surrounded by a national forest. Lots of gold left but no longer economical to mine. She paid about $146K, financed by the bank of mom and dad. When she first went to the area she lived on a former hippie commune where they grew their own food and worked odd jobs for about a year. She found her property through a classified ad. It took a lot of convincing for us to go along on the deal. Instead of involving a real estate agent we got advice from a local real estate attorney and did the paperwork ourselves. The cost of the attorney and appraiser he recommended was well worth it. The written appraisal (for over $200K) the seller showed us turned out to be phony.
This is a very difficult lifestyle that takes a lot of commitment. Be sure this is what you want before buying property. I suggest you rent something in such an area first.
I will try to describe this funny thing that happens to me from time to time while driving around in this Cosmic Hamlet.
Every day i am struck by the beauty of my surroundings. This is a magnificent place. Mountains, oceans, forests, wildlife. Hell, I almost got attraced by a large moose last night but that is another story. I have lived here for about 11 years and not a day goes by that I am not struck by at least one thing or another. This I think can be said for most of the people that live here. And to top it off most people say that the people are the most beautiful. And yes we are blessed with a wonderful community as well.
Maybe it is the light, to much or too little or sothign else entirly, but I will drive about doing my daily errands and instead of noting the beauty I will exclame to my self or whoever is listening. What a fucking dump!
Dumpsters along the roadside. Duck taped, blue tarped houses. Rotting timber frames. Piles of “project” cars. Sewn together mobile homes,
There is little to no building codes here. And down east end road, were your address may be 8.2 Mile East End Road or how ever far along you live, and up in the hills, and in Anchor Point things get worse.
Tyvek is Alaskan siding it could stay up for years or decades. This is fully visible even on many of the nice homes. Don’t get me wrong some of the nicest homes I have seen or been to are here is as well.
The contrast dial is turned all the way up were i live.
Absolutely - that knife cuts both ways. Your point?
If it wasn’t clear in the OP, this would be a project and a vacation home. In idle theory. One assumes it is very difficult to make a living as a librarian and a video production entrepreneur in a log cabin with no power or running water.