Blog

“Sprawl is Bad?”

We all know that urban and suburban families often move out into the country and use up land formerly used for farming. This is considered an inefficient use of our natural resources, and the “sprawl” resulting contributes to the shrinking resource – rural farm and timberland.

Sometimes the new country residents really don’t use all the land they buy, and it grows up in weeds. Also sometimes the new resident gets into conflict with the farmer next door about his obnoxious habits that his family may have practiced without interference for generations.

Sometimes the new resident can qualify his “farm” for special tax breaks that farmers receive. But, at the same time the new resident sends his children to local schools and enjoys local services such as road maintenance and snow plowing. Sometimes the cost of these services far exceeds the taxes received by the local government and institutes that have to pay the costs.

Another gripe about “sprawl” is that the developer often carves up the farm into skinny narrow lots that seem ridiculous to anyone who knows a lot about attractive developments. And sometimes the rear part of the farm is divided into peculiar “flag” lots that have only a driveway past the narrow skinny lots from the road to the “flag” part of the lot. Maybe developers should divide the property by using attractive winding roads to attractive wide lots on cul de sacs so that the driveways all funnel into an internal road. This would funnel the traffic out of the development and offer a much safer main road void of multiple driveways.

So the negatives can pile up concerning the evils of “sprawl.” But, as you may have already guessed, this blog is not about the negatives, which are already well publicized. This is about the positives.

The dream that many of us have is to have one’s own “farm” in the country, much as the original pioneers wanted when they came here to the good old USA. Then they wanted a safe place to raise both crops and children away from urban noise, dirt, light, traffic, drugs, liquor, population, overcrowding, and other characteristics of cities that are often considered unhealthy for families.

Many of the prospects that Countrytyme meets have such a dream, and often their dream can only be realized by holding down the costs of the parcel. At the Countrytyme office we have over 50,000 people on our database who apparently have this dream. It is our job to help them realize their dream. So, sometimes we cut corners and do not produce the perfect development from the point of view of a landscape architect or a land planner. But we try to produce what the public wants.

Lately we have noticed that not only does the average middle class family yearn for the “place in the country,” but many of the more affluent from the upper middle class are competing for land with the average folks. So the value of attractive parcels is going up fast, and the average guy is pushed further out in the country.

But the cost of living in the country is going up. The cost of gasoline is tough on the average guy who may travel 100 miles a day to work. And since 9/11 there seems to be a trend to want to stay home more with the family and to participate more in family and school activities. So, the middle class family is not quite so aggressive in buying remote property.

There is another trend. Many of the lower middle class folks are reasonably happy to have a manufactured home, a single or double wide mobile home. However, the communities force these folks out further out in the “boonies.” The lenders for these folks have become so aggressive that the market for these loans has turned sour. Too many of the loans were not paid back, and the lenders were not able to recover their investment.

So now there is a trend toward modular homes that are somewhat more expensive and somewhat more politically and socially acceptable in rural areas. However, these homes are also more expensive, and the financial standards for the families require both higher income and a better credit standing.

So, the average couple with a dream to move to the country is in a squeeze.

There is another trend making it tougher to buy land in the country. Many farmers are electing to have an auctioneer sell the farm in large parcels in order to get the maximum price from the farm. This means many folks can bid on various parcels. But usually the winning bidder has to pay cash for the land within thirty days, and this is tough on the average guy.

Many buyers need favorable financing with low down payments. Their plan is to purchase the land by installment payments over a long period of time, much like the financing of an auto.

This is where Countrytyme can help, as we offer financing or assistance in obtaining bank financing. Also we guarantee that a building permit will be available on our residential lots.

All of this is a way of telling what sprawl is like and who is doing it. But is it bad?

We don’t think so. Our customers often make very efficient use of the land, once they get their land paid for and their home built. They have horses, dogs, cows, whatever. It seems like there is a trend to goats right now.

Our customers plant gardens, make hay, and plant trees, even have orchards. They hang around home, buy a small tractor and mow their acreage. The husband seems to want to be around more, and with acreage he has more to do at home.

The lifestyle of country living tends to be somewhat unique. The father often includes the children in these activities. Some tracts are used for hunting, or for access to hunting when there is a state or national park in the area.

In the country the children very often join the 4-H and proceed to raise animals or develop expertise in some other rural activity. These projects culminate in an exhibit at the county fair. For example, in Fairfield and Ross Counties, there are literally hundreds of rural teenagers involved in 4-H programs, and if you visit the fair, you will see scores of family RVs lined up for the use of the families. The fair becomes a center of summer social life leading to friendship that can last a lifetime.

This development and perpetration of rural values has a very positive impact on the teenagers involved, and the overall result is that healthy values are learned and practical for another generation in these counties.

So, sprawl is good.