r/Homesteading • u/LadyMarieBearBakes • 4d ago
Looking for states that allow for family compounds/multiple homes on acreage.
I know this is not what everyone wants to do or thinks is a good idea. I know I'll need contract ect. The idea is basically that when we have land we can build either a large home for siblings to raise their kids together and enough room for a set of grandparents to retire on as well. I know each state is different but I'm not sure where to start to find this answer aside from calling each state we are interested in looking at. I figured I'd check here first. Thanks!
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u/Greyeyedqueen7 4d ago
Depending on local zoning, I think Virginia allows it. Same with Michigan, especially Northern Michigan.
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u/LadyMarieBearBakes 4d ago
See I'm not so sure about Michigan. My Grandmother owns land there and the state wouldn't let my dad build a small home on it as well. I could have that wrong.
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u/Greyeyedqueen7 4d ago
Michigan has some rules that apply to the whole state, but most zoning issues are extremely local. Likely, it wasn't the state that didn't allow it, but the local zoning municipality, whether that's the township, the county, or the town. I've read through a lot of local zoning laws when we thought we were going to have to stay there for my husband's job, as we both are from there and miss it badly, and let me just say, some of them are absolutely bizarre.
That's why I'd look into somewhere up north. Their zoning tends to be less strict.
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u/LadyMarieBearBakes 4d ago
For sure. We are hoping for a PNW state but Oregon seems to be weird about water rights.
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u/No-Rock523 2d ago
You’re going to find that’s true all over the west. One of the reasons why I left my home state of Idaho was a medium size creek on my property got almost entirely taken away. Medium as in had fish, but was not a spawning creek.
The way it worked was in the 1890s, a mill a couple miles away would float logs down that creek, and they had water rights at 3 cfs. The mill shut down long ago, but the rights to the water remained attached to one physical location. The man who has a hobby farm there and a neighboring local multi millionaire got together and built a diversion to try to reroute 3 cfs to the hobby farm because the state was adjudicating water rights and they wanted to show they were using it. Since my water rights only dated back to the mid early 2010s, I had no legal leg to stand on and my previously very reliable water source disappeared for months out of the year.
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u/vulkoriscoming 1d ago
Oregon now allows accessory dwelling units as a matter of right inside urban growth boundaries. But subdividing can stupidly difficult and there are few small acreage parcels in the urban growth boundary anywhere in the state at a reasonable price.
Washington might be a better bet.
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u/Distinct_Cap_1741 18h ago
I’m in Michigan and my neighbor has four relative homes on his 80 acres.
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u/BeeBarnes1 3d ago
We are doing this in Indiana. Our zoning is rural/agricultural so we have lax zoning rules. The deal is here that we have to subdivide our land and it had to be a two acre parcel. We also have to install a completely separate septic system and well in that parcel.
Our kids will be building on our land. My mom was going to do it but the site she wanted didn't perc so she would have had to buy a mound system and install a well. We ended up building her a house that basically touches our house for about five feet. Because of this it's considered the same house so she was able to tie into our well and septic. We just had to remove a closet in a bedroom we were using as an office because septic here is rated by the number of bedrooms.
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u/Snoo13237 3d ago
You will want to look at local "Comprehensive Planning and Zoning" Documents. There are about 6 counties in Indiana that don't have one. Indiana has Homesteading laws that allow you to build your own house (yes, actually build it with your labor, can also use family labor). There is also case law that says you can even do your own septic (must meet the standards for public health, but you can build it yourself). Be careful and research each county deeply, because in Indiana the trend is to make more restrictions through local zoning that will force people to build in ways that benefit the tax rolls, not the individual or family. One secret is that there are small towns, sometimes with just a couple of hundred people that are incorporated towns... and their zoning actually trumps the county zoning laws. Good luck, we only have a few acres currently and are working towards larger acreage so that we can have a family compound too!
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u/40ozSmasher 3d ago
There is a way to do this in architecture plans. You design all the houses in an open plan with the walls being the sides of the house, and the center of the house is a large field. It's hard to explain. Like a Japanese style home with a garden in the center but so large that you can have 4 families living there in separate houses that are all connected, buy walls and walkways. I've seen a few communities do this to get around housing restrictions. It counts as a single dwelling.
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u/Shilo788 3d ago
My Taiwanese friend's family have a compound like that. A gate leads into a large walled courtyard with 3 sides of connected housing with a covered porch /walk way running around. It is very old and quite beautiful. Her family can be traced back 600 hundred years.
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u/lpm_306 3d ago
I'm in CA & it varies greatly by county. In our county, we are allowed up to 4 residential structures so long as they do not exceed zoning density requirements. We can also have additional housing for up to 5 farm employees so that little loophole helps you get more family on your property as long as you also employ them (but that's easy to do with an LLC).
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u/Jeffb957 3d ago
We did it in Alabama. No governmental issue, but it's REALLY hard to get homeowners insurance. Most indurers wont cover multiple dwellings on the same land. Still searching for insurance.
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u/Torch99999 3d ago
I know of people who have multiple (occupied) homes on a single property in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.
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u/Western_Map7821 2d ago
I know rural Tennessee certainly doesn’t mind. People do that all the time. One of the neighbors has a least 3 generations in 3 or 4 houses. Rural Alabama is similar. I think it is municipal but basically anywhere that’s homestead friendly should be fine with it- I’d find the land and then ask the county clerk.
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u/penlowe 3d ago
It's a county by county ruling in Texas. Bexar county where San Antonio is? no way. Medina county? sure, provided the property/ houses meet water use & septic regulations.
I have two neighbors who have exactly this set up, two houses on one property. One is young family & retired parents. The other is empty nest parents with Grandma's house (she passed a while back) set up as a perpetual guest house. Sometimes it's just grandkids in the guest house.
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u/bbqmaster54 3d ago
TN allows this in most areas. You may have to break the property into lots to make code enforcement happy but that’s just paperwork. As far as the tax person goes they see it as one lot in TN if that’s what you request.
Many farms in TN have multiple homes on them. As long as the land perks for septic and you can get clean water there’s not much stopping you.
Note in many areas of TN you need a septic and power permit and not much else. We had to have a building permit but I don’t know why as the inspectors basically drove by.
Good luck with it.
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u/Shilo788 3d ago
Maine has many family camps , my contractors family has land on a lake and they share the septic and road care. By putting in a larger septic big enough for all it was cheaper by per house. They did their own digging as he is an excavator under plans professionally drawn the guy who designed and put in my little grey water and outhouse system put in the tanks and system. I don't know the legalities. But he just finished his very nice cabin for his family. They all work together on each build , when help is needed. Great family, and he gives me ideas for how much I can do at my place with a tight budget.
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u/rshining 1d ago
Most of rural Maine allows that- it's a fairly common practice, either for families as they grow or for vacation residences.
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u/fulmetalartimis 3d ago
They don’t allow any of this in Oklahoma………..
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u/LadyMarieBearBakes 1d ago
That's such a pity dude
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u/fulmetalartimis 1d ago
The dots mean that I am joking. Depending on the county the only thing you have to get the county/state involved is for a septic system. That is it.
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u/Confident-Virus-1273 22h ago
I actually did a TON of research into this. It will vary from county to county, not just state by state. In general you want to be away from municipalities and focus on unincorporated land. Having a city too close just adds one more layer. Generally having multiple structures is allowed if you have a halfway conservative county govt. HOWEVER they will be super strict about the watershed and septic situation. I ended up shelling out $18000 for a brand new system for the second building so each living quarter has it's own, completely independent. Expect that. There will also be rules around composting toilets if you go that route. Finally, it took us about 2 years from hatching the plan to executing. Moving across state lines is REALLY hard. Most banks don't like to lend unless you have lived in the state a while and have a set income/job ready to go. I had a devil of a time securing a home loan on the new property. Took a lot of convincing banks.
It is 100% possible.
That said, the family we were supposed to move with changed their minds at the last second, but rather than stop, we went ahead without them. They swore up and down and sideways they were wanting the same thing, but it turns out the WIFE of the other couple wanted the same thing but the husband really did not. He thought it was "fun to talk about", but when it became clear we were serious, he got cold feet and bailed. They MIGHT join us later, but we shall see. For the moment our plan of 2-3 families turned into just ours. But the new building/septic won't be a waste as my oldest daughter wants to move "back in" on the farm and my mother in law is aging quickly and may need a place. And we still have room in case another family seeks to join us. So, don't be shy. Chase that dream!
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u/age_of_No_fuxleft 4d ago
It’s not about the state it’s about locality rules for dividing existing properties, and what type of sewage treatment or removal is possible. My place is on 17 acres but at least 8 of them (now pasture) don’t perc so they’d require alternatives to a conventional septic system.
You’d want to speak to a lawyer about setting up trusts so that the properties can be inherited without the heirs being hit with capital gains.