Former Homeless Dude Kicked Off His Land For Living In RV
This article is a crucial lesson for anyone wanting to live small. Always talk to local governments (county or city in the US) about zoning requirements and building codes BEFORE YOU BUY THE LAND!
Photo from article
From what I gather, Mr. Smith bought a property in March after being homeless the past 6 years. He inherited $214,000, bought land for $125,000, then an RV, a shipping container, used car, dump truck and tractor. He got electric run, a water well, and a septic project. Now he's about out of money.
But he was living in the RV, so Jefferson County, Colorado kicked him off his property and told him to remove the RV and shipping container or they'd fine him $500 to $1,000.
Perhaps Mr. Smith went about things differently than you or I would have, but the punishment here doesn't seem to fit the crime, as they say. I can think of 20 ways the government could try to help this guy fit in, other than punishment.
Mr. Smith did make a big mistake in not talking to his county officials to find out what was or was not allowed in their county. That's on him. I can't really fault him too much, however, because we really can't expect everybody to know everything about this stuff before they dive in.
Let this be a lesson to everyone in the US (or elsewhere, probably). ALWAYS talk to your local officials about the zoning requirements and building codes before you buy your property. It's better to be safe than sorry.
I talked to county officials before I bought my land. I'm good, just want to spread the word of caution to others looking to buy land.
A picture of part of my front yard once I get moved.
I probably should have highlighted this issue more in this previous post
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It's very sad how the poor get forced out of land ownership like this. I have upvoted, resteemed, and followed. Plus had this shared on American Preppers Network facebook page. Hopefully we can get you some traffic and followers.
Wow, that's very kind, I really appreciate that. I'm just getting started and can use all the help I can get. I'll definitely follow along, thank you.
Land of the FEE, Home of the Gov Slave.
Hoorah for freedom
You're not wrong. :) Thanks.
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STOPWell, he probably can get his $125k investment back when he sells the land.
But, this is similar to a case where a military vet bought a lot and put in a trailer without checking the city codes. The city codes had been put in place to clear out a bad section of the town, which is where the lot was. If he had simply checked the codes before proceeding, he could have saved himself a lot of headache.
For this guy, he should have gotten the temporary building permit, before turning his front yard into a trash pile. I bet the trash was more of the issue than the RV and the shipping container.
You're right, he should be able to get that back. And that's not a bad amount to start again with. He's not without responsibility here.
If you give it more than a glance, the trash pile doesn't look that bad. Propane tank is perfectly normal. 4 lawn chairs aren't a big deal. Three totes, a metal appliance, and some wood stuff is the rest. That seems like a good reason to have a shipping container. But plenty of details I don't know. I just don't like the solution to this problem they are using.
Thanks for that perspective.
Good heads up here Mister bobbleheads Stead. Thanks for sharing definitely something to keep in mind
Thank you much, I really appreciate the support! Biding my time with stuff like this until I can get to the real action on my property.
Wow, just sad, and yes, you should have checked but I am sure he would not have even realized there was a need. One would assume that when they buy land, they actually own it and can do with it what they want - us silly Americans believing we are actually free! haha
It really is sad. It sounds like the guy had been boondocking in campgrounds and Wal-marts before he got the land. I can't believe going back to that situation is a better solution for him than just letting him live there in his RV. Land usage restrictions are way out of hand in the so-called land of the free, that's for sure. Thanks @raincountry !
You are so right!
We were looking to buy land and build tiny but found all the laws and restrictions on minimum square footage to be around 1300 sq. ft. in our area.
That sucks because we wouldn't be able to build our small little dream because of concerns with looks, property values, and controlling others.
Instead, we found a small house, less than 1000 sq. ft., not tiny I know..., but small enough to be cozy and it came on about .25 acres so it works.
Now we are just wrapping up about 3 months worth of renovations and couldn't be happier!
The square footage requirements are something I just don't understand the need for. I had a tiny studio apartment in Chicago that wasn't even 400 sq ft, that was fine. But if you buy land and want to do that, its not allowed for "safety" reasons, which I don't understand. Frustrating.
Sorry you weren't able to do what you wanted in your area. Not many areas left where you can. That's cool you found an alternative that you're happy with. Few can just pick up and move to somewhere that allows this stuff, gotta be creative.
Yup for sure.
Yeah that is the weird part with sq. ft. requirements, our house we bought would totally not be allowed to build now, but because it already existed, it's good. Whatever...
the square footage requirement of is a form of a caste system in this country, by controlling the square footage of a building, you can control the income levels in an area, therefore their school systems grocery stores and so on are populated with people of certain income levels so the become in all senses a different class of society.
@bdl1165 I believe you are right. Seems like a lot of the codes I've come across are mostly designed to keep poor people out. I can understand sanitation and fire hazard and health codes, but they go way past that to control what kind of people can live where. Thanks for commenting.
i have thought about it for years, why are some areas of cities destitute and why is poverty so rampant in those areas, i dont think anybody would expose their families willingly to these neighborhoods so if that is the case they how and why do they end up there, the schools are sub par , the grocery stores and so on, their is no chance for them to migrate upward through contacts, so they in turn create their own caste with its own rules ,language , dress code . it s very odd to me to realize that this may not be a mistake or just an occurence but more of a social engineering phenomenon that nobody ever really looked at.
so much for owning land and doing what you want to do if people can come in and say move or pay a price :( very sad and this is not the first story I've heard one chap was jailed for digging a pond on his property and as far as I know he did get all the legal paper work signed and everything. some times the world is more crazy then some of the folks in it :/ thanks for sharing
I thought this was a prime example of government over-regulation. He can't have an RV and shipping container on the property because it doesn't have a house on it. But if it did have a house on it, what he's doing would be legal. Its a literal double standard made worse by their solution, which is to punish him instead of try to help him.
And it makes total sense someone would bring in a shipping container for storage and an RV to to operate from during construction. Commercial/industrial do the exact same thing at job sites all the time. I spent a year traveling and helping open new hotels. I'd help hire and train staff and get them ready for opening. The opening team lived in the hotel before opening, before it met codes, and some had security guards 24/7 in mobile offices. With no doors yet, places are vulnerable in some places and need someone there 24/7.
Crazy everywhere. Thanks @freakygeak
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Great, thanks so much!
Great info Peoria dude!