Lot #10 Foxfire Way - Eden Shores on Douglas Lake - $168,900

Eden Shores Covenants & Restrictions

Lot #10 Foxfire Way Deed (Purchase Price $100,000 in January 2005)

Lot #10 Foxfire Way Tax Record From Jefferson County

Plat Map Of Property (The land for sale is numbered both 46 (parcel #) & 10 (lot #) in the picture. The mobile home is located on lot 53/17, the nice cabin is on 45/9).

The taxes on this property in Jefferson County are $255.13 per year. Jefferson County has its value at $49,300.

I believe you asked about a well on the property. This property is serviced by well and septic only, there is no access to city water or sewer. Electric is to the property. Boat docks are allowed

I took the pictures below today (February 19th) with my camera phone. I apologize for the poor quality. On my way over to Douglas Lake my digital camera battery died. As you can see from the photos, the water from the lake is non-existant during the winter months from the TVA controlling the water level of Douglas Lake. On the lake there is something called the 1002 line, which is 1,002' above sea level and is the high water mark level the TVA controls the water. In this 5.45 acre tract, 2.67 acres are above the 1002 line. In essence, during the winter time the remaining 2.78 acres that is filled with water during the summer pool months is nothing but dirt and not a very pretty sight. This is normal for secluded coves on Douglas Lake such as this piece of land.

The land itself is fairly gently sloping with lots of pine & cedar trees. There is a narrow (about wide enough for a Jeep to go through) path from the road leading to the water. Once you are down near the 1002 line, the view during this time of year is nothing but dirt and some old canoes and boats in the cove area from other lots.

My main concerns regarding this property are:

1. The access to the property is on a very curvy and marginally maintained road. When I was leaving the property, I timed my travels from Foxfire Way to Sims Rd. which took approximately 9 minutes. It feels like a longer ride with the many sharp curves and somewhat rough road. It took an additional 3 minutes from Sims Rd. to Highway 411 (Newport Highway). So it is about 12 minutes to a major road. This is not an extremely long time, but if you drive the road it takes a toll on you and feels much longer.
2. The neighbor across the street has a not very well maintained mobile home on the property and a dog chained to a tree that barked nearly the entire time I was at the lot.
3. It depends on your plans for the property, but if you were to spend time at the homesite during the winter months, I think you would be disappointed with the setting after seeing the original pictures. The cove without the water is not ideal scenery. The boats just sitting in the dirt from where the water level went down is not something I would like to see when they are asking $168,900 for the property. This property would not rent very well due to its location if that was your intention.
4. The restrictions of Eden Shores indicate a $50 a year HOA fee for maintenance of the private roads. The roads are not in bad shape, but are on their progression downward. With only $50 per year with 31 lots in the subdivision ($1,550 per year collected) there is a chance a special assessment would be needed in the future for maintenance and upkeep of the roads beyond the $50.
5. The land seems way over priced. The current owner paid $100,000 for the land in January of 2005. They are now asking $168,900 and to be honest, I do not know if I would give much more if any more than what the owner paid in 2005.

The few positives of the property in my opinion are:

1. It is rare to find 1,000 feet of lake frontage at such a low price, or at any price for that matter. The land definitely looks good on paper, in part because of the deceptive main picture the Listing Realtor put on the property. The land somewhat wraps around the lake cove, almost creating a pond effect which is why there is so much frontage on the lake. Being on a cove that is dry during the winter definitely diminishes its value. If it were on the main channel, this property would be priced astronomically high in comparison.
2. Despite the eye sore of the home across the street from the property, there is a nice log home next door to the land. The home seemed to be well maintained and the quality of the home appeared to be good from a distance.
3. The lot is subdividable. With the large amount of water frontage you could go to Jefferson County and have them re-map the property to split it into two lots. This would allow you to sell one lot and recoup some of the costs in the purchase of the land. The plat map of the property (above) shows the western side of the lot not very deep although having a lot of water & road frontage as it wraps around the lake. I am not sure about the feasibility of achieving a split due to the lack of depth to the lot on the Western side and the steepness on this side.

Click any of the images below to enlarge in a seperate window.

This is a view of where the water would be during the summer on Douglas Lake

This gives you an idea of where the high water mark is at the 1002 line (you can see a hint of the water in the distance - which is not on the land for sale).

Picture from the driveway location looking across the street at the mobile home.

A different lot for sale in the same subdivision offers both a view of the mountains & Mt. Leconte as well as lake frontage (during the summer months). This is a much better lot than the previous lot. The brown dirt you can see in the photo is where the water is during the summer pool on Douglas Lake at the 1002 line. It was priced at $229,900 and they have since dropped the price to $199,000. I still believe this is overpriced due to its location and difficult access to the land along with the lackluster surrounding homes. The views of the mountains are very good from this lot though and during the summer with the lake up, I am sure it is creates a spectacular view.

Good sized and quality home next to lot #10 on Foxfire Way.

View of lake from another lot in subdivision. I believe this lot is one with common boat ramp access for the develpoment, but I am not certain.

Street scene (the entrance to Foxfire Way) off Buckhorn.

Lot #5 Happy Hollow Road (High Pointe Subdivision) - $59,900

High Pointe Covenants & Restrictions

High Pointe Plat Map

High Pointe Lot #3 Tax Record

Map to Property from Google (if you click on the terrain tab you can see the ridge the lot is located. The aerial shows the road as it was cut in prior to being paved).

GeoCode Coordinates:
35.7178859093643
-83.6842741304482

You had asked about the taxes in your e-mail. The taxes on lot #3 are $232.54 per year. It has an appraised value from Sevier County Tax Assessor of $60,400. Details can be found in the "Tax Record" link above.

I would suggest this property over Foxfire Way regardless of price (meaning if they were both priced at $59,900 I would rather have this land). This land was originally listed for $135,000 and the developer has drastically dropped the price to $59,900. You inquired about lot #5, but I would suggest lot #3 after looking at the lots. It is the same price, but offers much better views. It is a little more steep and more difficult to build on, but I believe the additional view outweighs the disadvantages.

Lot #3 has a great view of Cove Mountain (about 4,150' elevation) and has longer range views into the Smoky Mountains National Park. Lot #3 is located on the right side of the road when traveling up to the lot, so the views are Southeast toward Cove Mountain and the National Park. Lot #5 is on the left side of the road and has western views.

It was approaching sunset when I arrived at the development, so some of my pictures turned out a little dark. I plan on taking more soon, hopefully tomorrow if you are interested.

Although this property is over 5 acres, very little is of use. The land is very steep once you go a little ways off the ridgeline. The paved road also crosses the land on the lower portion (thus splitting the lot up) as it makes its way up to the ridge. The value is completely in the view, not the acreage other than as a buffer.

In my opinion the positive aspects of the property are:

1. The views are comparable to much more expensive lots in the area.

2. Wears Valley is a high end area with good growth and expensive cabins.

3. The price of the lot looks to be very reasonable.

4. It is only about 10 minutes from an entrance to the National Park.

5. It is about 3-4 minutes from Highway 321 (Wears Valley Rd.).

6. It is about 9-10 miles to the Parkway in Pigeon Forge, TN (about 17 minutes).

7. The area is a strong overnight rental area for cabin investments.

8. In order to access The Homestead (a premier development in Wears Valley) you have to pass by High Pointe. I believe this would increase marketing if you were to ever sell the property.

9. Previous sales in the 7 lot subdivision have been $80,000 and $103,000 (The $103,000 sale was Lot #4 which is located next to lot #3 but lower on the mountain.

10. The drastic reduction in price from $135,000 to $59,900 indicates the seller may be in distress and eager to sell the property. This is pure speculation on my part and I have no way of knowing, it is just a hunch.

The negative aspects in my opinion are:

1. As you enter the subdivision off of Happy Hollow Rd. you travel by some old homesteads that are pretty rough, with some junk cars.

2. The roads getting to the top of the ridge and Lot #3 are steep with a couple switchback curves and would be very difficult to safely travel if the roads were icy. Winter weather does not get bad often here, but when it does it is usually ice.

3. The building site on Lot #3 is pretty steep, but not out of the norm for the area. The costs for a foundation would be considerably higher than for a flat or gently rolling lot. Due to the steep terrain, it appears there is only one and potentially two different places you could put a home instead of many varying options as you sometimes have when purchasing 5 acres. The building site does allow for one of the ideal positions for a view.

4. Lot #5 while easier to build on does not offer as good of a view.

Please note you can click any of the pictures to enlarge.

View from Lot #3. The trees obstructing the view somewhat would have to be removed if you were to build a cabin, creating an even better view.

Another view from Lot #3

View from Lot #3 - High Pointe Subdivision in Wears Valley

This is a view of the road from the ridge top taken from lot #2. Lot #3 is on the left (past the electical box) and lot #5 on the right.

View of Cove Mountain at dusk from lot #3.

View of Lot #2 and the mountains in the background. The furthest mountain in sight is in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

View from Lot #5 at sunset.

View of entrance into the High Pointe development.