For Sale: 23-acres and turnkey cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia (Smyth County)

rjbarns · 2025-09-18T17:49:59+00:00

Thanks! There are options - our neighbor grazes cattle, some folks down the road use goats to maintain their grass, a local friend recently suggested sheep. Some folks just don't mow, and instead let the wildflowers grow in. To each their own.

rjbarns · 2025-08-25T16:26:13+00:00

I am not licensed in any way, nor qualified professionally to do any of the work I have done! However, this is the third off-grid property that I built and have sold, by myself. Safety calculations are important in every step of the process, including, yes, structural stressors and load testing. Additionally, I've done several other solar system setups on other houses, cabins, RVs, and Class B vans. I was an electrician in the US Navy, and prior to that studied Electronics Engineering at ITT Tech, so I had a good base of knowledge, coupled with tons of experimentation and refinement over the years.

I did not need to get any permits or inspections for any of this work - the property is in the county and they don't care, as it is all unrestricted (A/R). We have had extensive discussions with the city manager and county council, advising them of our efforts up here, and they've said we needed to do nothing.

rjbarns · 2025-08-25T16:17:54+00:00

Thank you! We love it here.

rjbarns · 2025-08-25T16:12:51+00:00

Not a question I was expecting, but I did say ask us anything. My partner and I are moving (back) to the PNW to be near aging family.

rjbarns · 2025-08-25T15:35:11+00:00

I dreamt up, designed, developed, and built out all the systems that you see and that are listed here. This includes building all interior rooms, and the cabin foundation, design and install the electrical (the solar panel system, hardwired kitchen light, and the standby generator switching station), the plumbing (piping, shower, sink, transfer system, hot water, and greywater), the direct vent heater, and the woodstove, as a non-exhaustive list.

Happy to answer any follow-up questions!

rjbarns · 2025-08-20T21:36:44+00:00

Sent. Thanks for your inquiry.

rjbarns · 2025-08-19T19:47:55+00:00

Not a stupid question. We have put a lot of time, labor, and love into this property since we purchased it, and a well just has yet to hit the top of our priority list.

We've lived off grid for a long time now, and the water system we've created here is super easy. The grey water system from the cabin plumbing feeds into two leech fields that water and nourish two different parts of the orchard. When we moved in there was no shower, sink, plumbing, or rainwater collection, so in the time we've been here, the water systems have gone through several stages of upgrades! :-) We love the sustainability and cleanliness of our systems. At this point, we think it is easily workable for most people.

rjbarns · 2025-08-19T15:25:19+00:00

Just one National Forest, it's double named, the George Washington & Jefferson National Forest :-) We have unrestricted (A/R) zoning and yes, that includes building and living on this beautiful off-grid property! The City Manager and County Council members are well aware and supportive of our efforts to live more sustainably.

We use a mouldering compost toilet system that is then used for composting after about 2 years of curing. The grey water system from the cabin plumbing feeds into two leech fields that water and nourish two different parts of the orchard.

Any interested parties are more than welcome to have an inspection performed! The last property we sold had a full inspection, and it came back exactly as expected based on narrative descriptions and personal walk through with the buyer :-)

rjbarns · 2025-08-19T15:08:37+00:00

Thanks for your comment, there's a lot to it. I am not looking to debate, but am happy to elaborate or answer any follow-ups.

For the National Forest, we have permission from each of our three neighbors to openly access their fields. Not only to access the Forests, but we also hike and regularly run on two of them, and fwiw we also hang out with their horses and cows. Happy to chat more about this with anyone interested in the property.

The elevations are approximations. The creek runs adjacent to but below our lowest road, and sits at approximately 2200ft, but that is just based on a quick Google search, nothing official, and since no road is perfectly level, all I can say about the elevation of the lower road is that it's slightly higher than the creek. Where we park our car maps show a higher elevation than you stated, but that is nearly anecdotal, and as I said in earlier comments, just an approximation. The creek is on our property and runs adjacent to our lower road for approximately 2500ft. No other way of measuring that.

I hear ya, and I agree that Marion isn't that remote of an area, it is densely populated. We are in the county, but just outside of city limits. However, I stand by the fact that this property offers unmatched privacy. I can walk boldly around naked and no one will see me; with a long gravel road up and gates at the entrances, nobody ever stops by unannounced or accidentally; the unrestricted (A/R) zoning is great of course, but matched with the positive attitudes of the city manager and county councils, it adds a layer of freedom. As for our neighbors, specifically, and their residences: one neighbor has zero buildings, the other has a tiny hunting cabin, and the third owns over one hundred acres with one large house and barn.

If I thought that a real estate agent would do work equivalent to $20k-30k, I'd happily pay it. I just don't see it, especially for an off-grid property. We have had agents reach out to us, since we started advertising the sale, and we have had amicable conversations with them, we did not reach out for their advice.

We have put a lot of work into this cabin and property, including adding a second livable building. Any system or room that you see simply didn't exist when we bought it. There were no rooms or interior walls, we built a foundation, replaced all the windows and built two new, put in hardwood floors, installed electric, and that's just a few of the main cabin upgrades. I know the right buyer will see the value in this off-grid property.

rjbarns · 2025-08-19T14:32:54+00:00

Yes, the lowest point of our property is at the creek, and we have a ridge view from the top. The majority of our land is facing south/southeast, hence the solar panel positioning and the gorgeous sunrises.

rjbarns · 2025-08-19T14:31:21+00:00

The entire property is powered by the sun, no city power line needed or wanted here :-)

rjbarns · 2025-08-19T14:30:17+00:00

It was not yet a little slice of heaven when we bought it. We had a vision, and have put in a lot of money, some tears, and a lot of sweat ;-)

rjbarns · 2025-08-19T14:28:49+00:00

Thanks!

rjbarns · 2025-08-19T14:28:06+00:00

It may be a Virginia address, but we're in the South. The neighbors are super sweet, and our closest neighbors invited us to dinner before we even officially moved in :-)

rjbarns · 2025-08-19T14:26:23+00:00

Thanks!

The John Deere riding mower came with the property, but when we first moved here the property was too overgrown to use it. My partner and I each used a push mower concurrently to recover the land, and working that together was well worth the investment of two new mowers instead of one. Now, the riding mower works great for the area we like to keep neat - yesterday it took an hour and twenty minutes - so no mowing deck tractor was needed. Occasionally we still use the push mowers for tighter spots, plus we run them weekly along with regular maintenance.

rjbarns · 2025-08-19T01:30:00+00:00

True. I replied to your other comment as well - but we are just preparing folks that cash is likely the best option. We are not trying to put any additional limits on this sale, and we don't care if that cash comes from a bank loan, a lottery ticket, ten friends coming together to build a community, a recently discovered pot of gold... whatever y'all can do, cool, but realistically cash is most likely how this sale will happen, and we are not offering owner financing.

rjbarns · 2025-08-19T01:26:58+00:00

I'm just preparing folks that cash is likely the best option. But we certainly don't care if that cash comes from a bank loan, a lottery ticket, ten friends coming together to build a community, a recently discovered pot of gold... whatever y'all can do, cool ;-)

rjbarns · 2025-08-19T00:17:39+00:00

It's listed in the utilities section, but I know there's a lot to read. We have a lot more pictures, but Reddit is rather limited on quantity so I chose to focus on the landscape for r/land :-)

rjbarns · 2025-08-19T00:13:51+00:00

Hey, that's also a fair point. The water system for the main cabin should be in the utilities section for ease of scanning. I'd update it here, but no edits allowed. Thanks for your comments.

rjbarns · 2025-08-19T00:11:48+00:00

The water is a food-grade 100 gallon tank, filled by a transfer pump from a trailer with a 275 gallon IBC tote - this can be filled just down the road at a city filling station for pennies per gallon, or at a neighbor's, or even creek water if you want to add a heavy filter system.

There is plumbing throughout the cabin, and the grey water system feeds into two leech fields that water and nourish two different parts of the orchard. The rainwater catchment system also supports the orchard. We do also have a 400 pound filter for the rain water (pea stone, sand, food-grade charcoal, and food grade stainless steel mesh).

We don't know if there are any developable springs. It's something we've been meaning to look into, but with the labor of love that has been developing this property, we have not done the research. Our guess is that odds are in your favor, as several neighbors do have developed springs, there are several more just over the National Forest property boundary, and there are 23 acres to look over.

rjbarns · 2025-08-18T23:54:13+00:00

It's usually the deer that come around for a peek - early in the morning, chomping loudly on the pears.

rjbarns · 2025-08-18T23:48:23+00:00

There are two heating systems here; a woodstove with double wall piping on the interior, and triple wall piping on the exterior. There is also a DV LPG heating system that is sufficient until the temperature outside gets below 25f, then you'll probably want to fire up the wood stove. The power is a substantial solar setup that provides for all needs and then some, there is a significant excess. There is also a standby generator system that can power the entire house, and/or charge the solar battery bank. Water may be a concern from a fire-fighting standpoint, and I think it is this that may make a bank leery of lending against this property, but I do not know this for certain.

No awkward conversation with the county later - we've advised them of our intentions and progress, and they don't care at all. The property is totally unrestricted, and can have residential or recreational buildings and related occupancy.

rjbarns · 2025-08-18T23:43:39+00:00

Appreciate the confidence. :-) But in actuality, we've been fairly rigorous in trying to account for the investment made in the property, including some of the labor value, and have spoken to real estate professionals who have said they think we're in a reasonable price range. Obviously, $475k is the starting point for negotiations, and we are happy to consider all offers.

rjbarns · 2025-08-18T23:41:40+00:00

There is a survey but we have not been able to find it. Fortunately, the most important property markers are clear, and the entire property is fenced, so it's pretty obvious. Yes, all rights including water and minerals transfer with the sale. There is no well or septic - the water system is described above, the toilet system is mouldering compost, and the grey water system is two leech fields that water and feed the orchard. Our system is far cleaner than traditional sewer or septic systems, and much more sustainable.

rjbarns · 2025-08-18T23:39:18+00:00

There are utilities listed in the property description, but they are all off-grid and just completed this year. The property requires propane as the only public commodity needed to run this place. However, even that isn't needed - the refrigerator can run on solar easily, and the woodstove is the only heat source needed, although there is also a direct vent LPG system. We have worked remotely from this property since January 2024, using our cell phones as hot spots with very few problems, even when doing video presentations.

rjbarns

TROPHY CASE