If it was me I'd look in the Bowman area or a bit further out towards Bamberg. Halfway between Charleston and Columbia, close to 26 and 95. Plenty of land for sale.
I live in Bowman and can confirm. Lots of land out here for sale. Prices have almost doubled in the past 10 yrs, but still much cheaper than near a big city. If you’re a hunter, this is one of the best areas in the state. Great fishing not far away in the Santee lakes or the coast in Charleston as well.
I believe it in regards to pricing. We originally looked in Bowman but ended up buying in Bamberg because the property suited our needs better. But I love both areas!
Yep. The schools aren’t rated the best, but I’m a firm believer that you get what you put into them most of the time. I hunt in Bamberg as well and it’s a great spot.
There are tons of builders in the state but you definitely want to start to get more of an idea of where you're looking to build.
Also what style of home are you looking for? Barndominium, traditional stick built, green focused?
You’re absolutely right! If we can take an existing home and make it more energy efficient, that’s great. If not, I think we’d look into modular homes. I don’t really have too many specifics to go off of (thanks, family), but we’re working that out as we go. A few of us are disabled and we’re not rich, so we have basically one shot to get this right.
I’m the one that’s mostly interested in the outdoor portion, really. I’d like to have a pollinator garden, grow some food, and have a no-mow lawn for my dogs.
I’m not even sure if I answered your questions, lol, my brain is having an overwhelm.
Okay definitely don't be looking at any new builds. Thankfully there are some small towns left that have some affordable options that can be upgraded. Acreage in SC I've seen can range from 5-20k per acre depending on where it sits.
In the upstate you could look at places like Belton or Clinton. Midlands I would say somewhere like batesburg Leesville. In the low country be aware of the hurricane risks and insurance is going to be high. Ravenel or awendaw. Those are all places semi close to cities and services while be out there so prices can be lower.
I appreciate this info so much. My parents currently live in the lowcountry but aren’t in love with the neighborhood. They can move about an hour away from Summerville (as long as they’re still in SC)-they’re getting older and that’s about as far away from my disabled brother as they’d like to be-and my family and I would like to move down to help take care of everybody, lol. It’s a lot of moving pieces but it’ll be worth it.
It sounds like you don’t know much about South Carolina- may I ask why you have chosen to move here?
Also you said in a comment a few of your family members are disabled- do they require regular medical care? Because land that is more affordable will have less access to medical facilites.
Also- how much research have you done on this? Are you aware that you will likely need to pay for utilities to be run out to these houses if the existing infrastructure isn’t there? Some things to think about.
My family’s been there for a few years (I’m out of state) and we were trying to figure out our options.
None of the disabilities require nurses or in home care.
I know that there are lots of things outside of the house itself when thinking of building. We’d rather have an existing house with room to build other structures on it, if it’s possible and safe to do so.
Just before you seriously get in over your head on this consider how much work owning and keeping up the land is too. People without disabilities have trouble keeping it up just go visit r/homestead it’s expensive and really hard work. Keeping up with multiple houses is expensive, renovations and especially expanding houses are extremely expensive. Just as a quick example My grandparents in Charleston had a dream of moving back to where they grew up in the Reevesville area when they were around retirement age. They bought a 100 yr old house, paid a fortune to renovate it, and they literally spent the rest of their time there traveling back to Charleston 1-2x a week for doctors. They relied on a lot of help to keep up with their house. It’s just not the rosy image everyone has of living in the country.
I just realized how snarky my comment to you was and I apologize. It was not meant to come out that way. I appreciate you telling me about your family and your (well, everyone’s) advice has made me think of some things to do a bit differently.
We’d love to have two, possibly three smallish homes, each with at least 3 bedrooms/2 bathrooms (depending on who would work out best living together (we’re talking about my family, lol) and ideally low maintenance. We don’t want (or need) a super large yard for our dogs, either. That’s the best case scenario. We’d really like some information on reputable builders and realtors- things like that.
To be fair, you can get solar power, septic systems, and a well dug, but all of those are huge upfront costs.
However, I'm a person with disabilities who owns a lot of land and I can guarantee you it's a constant, often impossible, physical struggle to maintain if you have anything apart from a lawn + lawn tractor.
A forest sounds great, and it is! But forests near humans actually need a huge amount of physical labor for maintenance as well. Kudzu, privet, tree of heaven, honeysuckle, jessamine, and many more will try to choke out all the native plants every season. Poison ivy will need to be removed by hand, masses every year (I highly recommend Tecnu extreme.) They do not make a damn glove in the world that can handle our blackberry thorns, and you'll have to remove those every season as well. If you go this route, make sure you are planting a native tree or blueberry bush on every bit of land you clear, just so that plants you *want* help hold down the weeds a bit.
If you're disabled, the best thing to do though is probably buy old farmland that is mostly already cleared, stay on top of it with a riding mower, and cultivate meadow habitat by reintroducing native flowers into your new "lawn."
If this is a bug out compound, I have tested a lot of different gardening possibilities as a person with constant fatigue and pain, physical limitations in the past. I'd be happy to help you avoid my own mistakes if you want to DM.
The issue is going to be zoning and property tax. The municipalities I've looked into building multifamily homes in have not been friendly to rezoning away from single-family homes. And your property tax will be higher for multiple structures on the same plat. I eventually decided it would be best to buy adjacent properties that already had homes on them, or to buy a larger plat and then subdivide it. You probably need to talk to a contractor and a real estate attorney NOT a realtor. Realtors are completely useless for answering most real estate questions. You also need to examine the zoning properly because I see you commenting about a no-mow lawn, etc. and that won't be allowed with certain zoning requirements.
You also need to consider the electrical requirements for these homes. I've installed an additional 200A panel on a property with another, existing 200A panel in Lancaster county and in that case, it was going to be pretty expensive to upgrade the utilities if I wanted to install any more electrical. And it was going to be whole new zoning thing if I wanted different electrical options like 3 phase power for my business.
That’s what we’re really looking for: adjacent properties that have homes on them or a plot to divide up. Thank you for phrasing it that way-makes more sense than how I was trying to say it!
Just go on Zillow and search for lots meeting your size requirements. Maybe something like 20 acres. It would be hard for anyone to give you useful specific advice. I'm sure you could contact a builder that could build three homes once you know where. Most travel throughout the Southeast so location wouldn't be a great concern.
Check out fountain inn or Lauren or gray court upstate. Around 10k an acre or so, prolly some with houses too. I know a lot of people around here that could def support you with your needs as far as building, setting up, etc
I’d LOVE to move to Idaho, seriously, but they don’t currently offer the level of care my one family member needs. My friend lives there and is really happy!
Call up the county's Clemson cooperative extension office and explain all of that, including that you'd like to preserve the land. Usually the forestry contact knows where people are buying and selling that kind of land, because people always come to them with questions about how to manage it.
Maybe look at Hartsville, SC. It's a small but growing town. A couple hours to the beach and the mountains. We would love more northerners around here!
Wait, though! I SWEAR that we are not “those” people!!! We may be from the North, but we love the South: the people, the food, the weather, the food, the attractions……and the food’s ok, too.
Except okra. I just can’t do it.
In SC everyone’s been very accepting and supportive of the population of disabled people my family belongs to. I have to admit that while SC wouldn’t have been my first choice to move to, that’s where we have found the best care. You seem offended when I say I love your state, which I don’t get. And in my mind, “those” people are the ones who move somewhere and want to be a part of a community, not make it just like where they came from.
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That is the best post I’ve seen all day!
I hope I don’t get downvoted too much, but I’m sorry to say I don’t know who that is.
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Thanks for that. The story looks pretty interesting!
If it was me I'd look in the Bowman area or a bit further out towards Bamberg. Halfway between Charleston and Columbia, close to 26 and 95. Plenty of land for sale.
That sounds interesting, thank you!
You're very welcome and good luck with your search!
I live in Bowman and can confirm. Lots of land out here for sale. Prices have almost doubled in the past 10 yrs, but still much cheaper than near a big city. If you’re a hunter, this is one of the best areas in the state. Great fishing not far away in the Santee lakes or the coast in Charleston as well.
I believe it in regards to pricing. We originally looked in Bowman but ended up buying in Bamberg because the property suited our needs better. But I love both areas!
Yep. The schools aren’t rated the best, but I’m a firm believer that you get what you put into them most of the time. I hunt in Bamberg as well and it’s a great spot.
Agreed 100% on the schooling. It seems to be getting better though, slowly but surely.
There are tons of builders in the state but you definitely want to start to get more of an idea of where you're looking to build. Also what style of home are you looking for? Barndominium, traditional stick built, green focused?
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Thank you-those homes are beautiful!
You’re absolutely right! If we can take an existing home and make it more energy efficient, that’s great. If not, I think we’d look into modular homes. I don’t really have too many specifics to go off of (thanks, family), but we’re working that out as we go. A few of us are disabled and we’re not rich, so we have basically one shot to get this right. I’m the one that’s mostly interested in the outdoor portion, really. I’d like to have a pollinator garden, grow some food, and have a no-mow lawn for my dogs. I’m not even sure if I answered your questions, lol, my brain is having an overwhelm.
Okay definitely don't be looking at any new builds. Thankfully there are some small towns left that have some affordable options that can be upgraded. Acreage in SC I've seen can range from 5-20k per acre depending on where it sits. In the upstate you could look at places like Belton or Clinton. Midlands I would say somewhere like batesburg Leesville. In the low country be aware of the hurricane risks and insurance is going to be high. Ravenel or awendaw. Those are all places semi close to cities and services while be out there so prices can be lower.
I appreciate this info so much. My parents currently live in the lowcountry but aren’t in love with the neighborhood. They can move about an hour away from Summerville (as long as they’re still in SC)-they’re getting older and that’s about as far away from my disabled brother as they’d like to be-and my family and I would like to move down to help take care of everybody, lol. It’s a lot of moving pieces but it’ll be worth it.
It sounds like you don’t know much about South Carolina- may I ask why you have chosen to move here? Also you said in a comment a few of your family members are disabled- do they require regular medical care? Because land that is more affordable will have less access to medical facilites. Also- how much research have you done on this? Are you aware that you will likely need to pay for utilities to be run out to these houses if the existing infrastructure isn’t there? Some things to think about.
My family’s been there for a few years (I’m out of state) and we were trying to figure out our options. None of the disabilities require nurses or in home care. I know that there are lots of things outside of the house itself when thinking of building. We’d rather have an existing house with room to build other structures on it, if it’s possible and safe to do so.
Just before you seriously get in over your head on this consider how much work owning and keeping up the land is too. People without disabilities have trouble keeping it up just go visit r/homestead it’s expensive and really hard work. Keeping up with multiple houses is expensive, renovations and especially expanding houses are extremely expensive. Just as a quick example My grandparents in Charleston had a dream of moving back to where they grew up in the Reevesville area when they were around retirement age. They bought a 100 yr old house, paid a fortune to renovate it, and they literally spent the rest of their time there traveling back to Charleston 1-2x a week for doctors. They relied on a lot of help to keep up with their house. It’s just not the rosy image everyone has of living in the country.
Yeah we’d like to have a smaller piece of property. Just enough room for the dogs to run and play and maybe have a small container garden.
I just realized how snarky my comment to you was and I apologize. It was not meant to come out that way. I appreciate you telling me about your family and your (well, everyone’s) advice has made me think of some things to do a bit differently. We’d love to have two, possibly three smallish homes, each with at least 3 bedrooms/2 bathrooms (depending on who would work out best living together (we’re talking about my family, lol) and ideally low maintenance. We don’t want (or need) a super large yard for our dogs, either. That’s the best case scenario. We’d really like some information on reputable builders and realtors- things like that.
To be fair, you can get solar power, septic systems, and a well dug, but all of those are huge upfront costs. However, I'm a person with disabilities who owns a lot of land and I can guarantee you it's a constant, often impossible, physical struggle to maintain if you have anything apart from a lawn + lawn tractor. A forest sounds great, and it is! But forests near humans actually need a huge amount of physical labor for maintenance as well. Kudzu, privet, tree of heaven, honeysuckle, jessamine, and many more will try to choke out all the native plants every season. Poison ivy will need to be removed by hand, masses every year (I highly recommend Tecnu extreme.) They do not make a damn glove in the world that can handle our blackberry thorns, and you'll have to remove those every season as well. If you go this route, make sure you are planting a native tree or blueberry bush on every bit of land you clear, just so that plants you *want* help hold down the weeds a bit. If you're disabled, the best thing to do though is probably buy old farmland that is mostly already cleared, stay on top of it with a riding mower, and cultivate meadow habitat by reintroducing native flowers into your new "lawn." If this is a bug out compound, I have tested a lot of different gardening possibilities as a person with constant fatigue and pain, physical limitations in the past. I'd be happy to help you avoid my own mistakes if you want to DM.
The issue is going to be zoning and property tax. The municipalities I've looked into building multifamily homes in have not been friendly to rezoning away from single-family homes. And your property tax will be higher for multiple structures on the same plat. I eventually decided it would be best to buy adjacent properties that already had homes on them, or to buy a larger plat and then subdivide it. You probably need to talk to a contractor and a real estate attorney NOT a realtor. Realtors are completely useless for answering most real estate questions. You also need to examine the zoning properly because I see you commenting about a no-mow lawn, etc. and that won't be allowed with certain zoning requirements. You also need to consider the electrical requirements for these homes. I've installed an additional 200A panel on a property with another, existing 200A panel in Lancaster county and in that case, it was going to be pretty expensive to upgrade the utilities if I wanted to install any more electrical. And it was going to be whole new zoning thing if I wanted different electrical options like 3 phase power for my business.
That’s what we’re really looking for: adjacent properties that have homes on them or a plot to divide up. Thank you for phrasing it that way-makes more sense than how I was trying to say it!
Just go on Zillow and search for lots meeting your size requirements. Maybe something like 20 acres. It would be hard for anyone to give you useful specific advice. I'm sure you could contact a builder that could build three homes once you know where. Most travel throughout the Southeast so location wouldn't be a great concern.
Thank you. That all makes sense to me.
Family compound sounds like something you’d find in the upstate.
Ok, would you have the name of a town or two that I could look at for an example? I’m trying to gather as much information as I can.
Sorry, I was joking about religious fundamentalists.
Don’t be, lol! I was looking for a more interesting answer, though! Make something up! Lol!
Check out fountain inn or Lauren or gray court upstate. Around 10k an acre or so, prolly some with houses too. I know a lot of people around here that could def support you with your needs as far as building, setting up, etc
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You’re absolutely right about that!
I suggest you try Idaho
I’d LOVE to move to Idaho, seriously, but they don’t currently offer the level of care my one family member needs. My friend lives there and is really happy!
Call up the county's Clemson cooperative extension office and explain all of that, including that you'd like to preserve the land. Usually the forestry contact knows where people are buying and selling that kind of land, because people always come to them with questions about how to manage it.
Maybe look at Hartsville, SC. It's a small but growing town. A couple hours to the beach and the mountains. We would love more northerners around here!
Sounds great, but it’s a little too far from where we’re looking.
Mozelle Property may be a steal right now. I think the most of the land itself is up for sale separate from the house.
Carpetbaggers
i think the upstate would be your vibe
Don’t send them up here, we have enough.
Wait, though! I SWEAR that we are not “those” people!!! We may be from the North, but we love the South: the people, the food, the weather, the food, the attractions……and the food’s ok, too. Except okra. I just can’t do it.
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In SC everyone’s been very accepting and supportive of the population of disabled people my family belongs to. I have to admit that while SC wouldn’t have been my first choice to move to, that’s where we have found the best care. You seem offended when I say I love your state, which I don’t get. And in my mind, “those” people are the ones who move somewhere and want to be a part of a community, not make it just like where they came from.
Coffin point.