Welcome to Macon County! We welcome you as our neighbor but also want your experience in our community to be a pleasant one with NO surprises. As you shop around for land you will find a wide variety of options and prices. Close to town or further out, views or valleys, good access, poor access, high end or low end etc. This is a "straight-up" discussion on the most serious issues you face. As always… you usually get what you pay for. Buying land in these mountains is unlike buying land anywhere else. We have no zoning laws, you MUST be careful! Whether you purchase from us or another - you need to educate yourself before making any decisions.

FORECLOSUREs: Big Problems: Just like homes, developments and communities everywhere have been hit hard by the weak economy. Some of the largest developments in WNC (Western North Carolina) have either gone back to the bank or are teetering on disaster. Developers generally put the raw land up as collateral for bank loans used to build roads and develop the property. Then, they pay the loans back as land is sold. Countless developments both under construction and completed are now bank owned since sales have come to a crawl. Although I'm sure there are some good deals to be had out there you must ask yourself: Who will maintain the roads, mowing, maintenance etc? Is there a functioning (POA) Property Owners Association to share in the costs? Will the bank honor the promises made by the developer such as covenants, utilities, paving etc? Will the bank elect to simply sell (dump) the rest of the unsold land off for "whatever" use it can or slash prices just to unload the property? A recent article in the Franklin Press told of a man who was one of the first purchasers of land in the largest and what was supposed to be one of the best communities in WNC. He, as well as hundreds of others paid huge sums of money (way more than what we ever sold for) for their land and for the privilege of building in this new community. Well, here we are a few years later, the developer is struggling to hang on. Further development has ceased. Land prices in that community have fallen to a mere fraction of their original sales prices. Unfortunately, the gentleman was the ONLY owner built home in the entire community. He is now faced with huge losses in the homes value and even worse, the prospect of him being one of the only ones around to cover road maintenance, mowing etc. which could cost thousands!!! Does it make sense to buy land at ten cents on the dollar when you may have to spend thousands yearly just to keep the roads maintained? At Featherstone, since 2005 we have 11 homes built by owners in Phases 1 & 2 (which are now sold out). ALL of the land currently for sale Phase 3 (Featherstone's last phase) is owned 100% by developers Bill & Cheryl Vernon and is free and clear of ANY bank loans so a bank takeover is impossible! In fact we even offer Owner Financing. All underground utilities, wells etc. are installed and paid in full. Our POA is well managed and actively running with a surplus of cash on hand for maintenance and future problems should they arise. Phases 1 & 2 are completed and paved. All that remains to be done in Phase 3 is the final paving which will be done as soon as the roads have settled. Looking for a stable environment…better check us out!

DRINKING WATER: You may find the prettiest, best land value in the county but if you can't get drinking water what good is it? Consider what can happen if you purchase a small parcel in an area where YOU are responsible to drill your own well; at $12.50+ per foot and an average depth of 700' you'll have 8,700.00 just in drilling the hole - no pump yet. It is VERY possible that you may have to drill 2 or even 3 holes in order to obtain a good productive well. We've had a total of 5 non productive holes at Featherstone so far. You could end up spending 12,000.00 - 25,000.00 or more just in the hole! Add another 3,000.00 - 6,000.00 for the pump and other necessary equipment and your attempt to secure drinking water could add another 18,000.00 - 30,000.00 to the cost of developing your building site before you even begin thinking about building your house. Even worse, suppose you purchased a small parcel as did all your neighbors. They are all ready to build and proceed to install their septic systems, wells etc. There are state mandated setbacks that may come over on to your property as result of your neighbors actions and unbeknownst to you that could render sections of your parcel non-useable insofar as a well or septic system is concerned. You MUST have knowledge and be careful so these issues do not come back to kick you in the head and wallet. Some communities offer chlorinated city water. We prefer and offer natural, deep well, mountain water - no chlorine other than one shock treatment to sterilize the system after any work is done. ALL parcels in Featherstone have access to deep well drinking water delivered right to the property line - usually right to your finished driveway.

SEPTIC SYSTEMS & PERMITS: This issue goes hand and hand with the drinking water section discussed above and has great importance when it comes to smaller parcels. Did you know that if your neighbor was to install a septic system or drill a well lets say 15' from his adjoining property line with you, this can have a profound effect on what you can now do with your land? The Health Dept. will require that there be a 100' setback separating a septic system from a well. Do you know what happens if you draw a 100' circle around a well? You lose almost 1 acre of land that can not be used for a septic system! Clearly, both septic systems and drinking water MUST be addressed together if you intend to build on the land that you purchase. Your neighbor can definitely impact you and your options. It is important that you address upfront if and where will you be able to install a septic system and where will you get your drinking water. There are cases in Macon County where people owning a small parcel find that they can no longer get either a well or a septic system on their land, rendering it un-buildable!

ROADS: A poor road is an invitation to big trouble and reduced property values! Carefully consider:
ROAD WIDTH: Many lesser traveled or private roads in Macon County are very narrow. A wide road is a safe road. If you can't easily pass another car due to width, poor construction or bare spots, who will be the lucky one who gets to back up to let the other car by?
EMERGENCY VEHICLES: What about emergencies for fire or illness? If you can't easily pass another vehicle or there are problem spots - what about a fire truck or ambulance? Don't "scrimp" here as this is a very serious issue!!!
ACCESSIBILITY: How will you access your land? Will you control the access or will it be shared with others? Is there an active, functioning and operational road association of all those using the road? Roads need constant maintenance…Is the road currently being maintained?

EASEMENTS: Always beware of a property whose access is via an easement through another persons land. Make sure that you have a deeded right-of-way that is plenty wide enough and offers you a good deal of control. Many mountain properties have compromised access and right-of-ways so be sure to have your attorney review all the access issues.
GRADE & STEEPNESS: Watch for very steep areas - especially those with gravel that remains badly and continuously disturbed for long distances. Any steep grade where your tires spin continuously and easily probably needs to be paved or you'll end up with ongoing, costly maintenance expenses.
GRAVEL: There is nothing wrong with a good, well built and well maintained gravel road. However, gravel usually requires constant maintenance. Dust can also be an issue especially to those with certain health issues. Roads in the mountains literally "eat gravel" over the first several years. Their appetite for gravel then slows a bit as they become more stable over time. Watch out for gravel roads with dirt or clay showing through. If you see thin gravel with a lot of dirt or clay showing through the gravel today, while it is for sale, what will it look like a year from now after another winter or heavy storms? You need to ask the seller how this will be addressed before you get stuck with thousands of dollars in repairs and maintenance. Gravel will run you about 300.00 +/- per truckload not including the bulldozer if you will need to level it!
DRAINAGE AND CULVERTS: The best protection for a road comes when you can shed the water off easily and quickly. Watch for LARGE heavily eroded "ruts" or standing water that seem to remain problematic or are not properly maintained. A good road will also have plenty of culverts.

OTHER IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS:
DRIVEWAYS: Will you have a "fully completed" driveway or do you have to build and or finish off your own? You can figure on spending about - 18.00 - 20.00 per foot for a "quality" driveway like the ones we build and include in the price of each parcel (unless otherwise notated).
VIEWS: Has your view been opened up? More importantly, do you have control of future tree growth? Or, are you told what could be done? You come here for a view. We spend "big money" to assure your view is open and protected for decades to come.
ELECTRIC SERVICE: Is electric readily available? Overhead or underground? We provide underground power. You can get caught in a revenue guarantee with Duke Power if you are not careful. Figure on 3.50 - 4.00 per foot just to bury power.
SECURITY: Will your property be safe and secure? We offer one way in and one way out. This is security at its best without having to deal with a sometimes cumbersome or broken gate which many outside vendors and personnel end up with a combination to anyway.
PROTECTIVE COVENANTS: Be careful! Macon County has no land use or zoning. Unless you purchase enough land to protect yourself, you could end up with an undesirable neighbor. Our restrictive covenants are realistic, reasonable and designed to fully protect your investment without having to purchase a huge parcel of land.
REFERENCES: Available upon request from those who have purchased in communities I have built over the years. Reputation is everything!

AT BILL VERNON DEVELOPMENT: We address EVERY single issue! We have PAVED - D.O.T / State Road Maintained access into our communities. ALL main roads are VERY heavily graveled. If paved most roads use a 16 - 18 foot asphalt width. Paving WILL NOT be done until the roads have properly settled even though this can hurt our early sales efforts. It can take several years for roads to properly settle depending on the soil conditions. I personally maintain at my sole expense every road I build for 1 year before it is turned over to the Property Owners Association. We feel that if "you are gonna do it…DO IT RIGHT" so we address EVERY issue facing the prospective land buyer. It is well worth the piece of mind knowing that you will not be blindsided with issues that you may never have thought of. Believe me, these days there are many folks out there who now wish they had addressed the issues outlined in this discussion more seriously. I have even had previous lookers at Featherstone purchase elsewhere then come back and tell me themselves that they now wish they had purchased in Featherstone! Join us for carefree mountain living that truly is… Simply The Best!!!