Selling the house without the whole farm

In the A-2 General Agricultural district, a principal agricultural tract must be at least 10 acres, rising to 20 acres in the Back Forty overlay and 25 acres on an unpaved county road. A single-family home for the owner can sit on 1.5 acres, but the ordinance allows the parent parcel to be split only one time under that provision; family subdivisions are handled separately. In the A-1 district a house needs 1.5 acres and 200 feet of width.

The Oglethorpe County Board of Health set its own floor long ago: 1.5 acres of suitable soil for any single-family, modular, or mobile home on septic, absorption fields at least 50 feet from the property line where wells are used, and since 1996 a separate 1.5 acres and a separate septic system for each unit of a duplex. If a relative's house sits on a half-acre that was never surveyed out, or two homes share one system, selling one of them alone takes planning. A minor subdivision or recombination plat goes through county planning staff.

Manufactured homes, timber, and farm uses

Manufactured homes are a permitted use in both agricultural districts, so many family tracts have one or more on them. If a home is being sold to be moved rather than with the land, the county's movement permit requires a bill of sale, proof that the prior year's taxes were paid, and an approved health department septic permit at the destination before the home can move.

Timber is common on these tracts, and the county building office keeps a Notice of Timber Harvest form. If you cut timber before selling, keep the paperwork; it shows the buyer and the closing attorney what was removed and when.

Oglethorpe County property we buy

  • Farmhouses with the surrounding acreage, or a homesite split from it
  • Houses sitting on unsurveyed family land
  • Single-wide and double-wide homes on agricultural tracts
  • Two homes sharing one septic system or one parcel
  • Older houses in Lexington and Crawford
  • Timberland with a house or homesite
  • Inherited property where several heirs share ownership

Records, courts, and closing in Oglethorpe County

Lexington is the county seat. The Oglethorpe County Clerk of Superior Court records deeds and plats and takes electronic filing of real estate documents and the PT-61 transfer tax form. The Probate Court handles probate of wills and estate administration; on heirs' property, where a farm may be split among many descendants, the probate or heirship filing is usually the longest step. The Board of Assessors values property and handles conservation use applications, and the Tax Commissioner collects the bills.

Georgia law has an attorney conduct the closing. When you ask for an offer, send the parcel number of the whole tract and tell us which part you want to sell, whether it has its own septic system and well, and whether it has ever been surveyed. Those answers decide whether we close in weeks or first need a plat approved.

Frequently asked questions

Can I sell just my house and an acre off the family farm?

Usually not on one acre. The Board of Health requires 1.5 acres of suitable soil for a home on septic, and A-2 zoning limits how many times a parent tract can be split.

Two houses on our land share one septic tank. Can you buy one of them?

Possibly, but each home would normally need its own lot and system. We can buy both together or plan a split with you.

Do you buy mobile homes in Oglethorpe County?

Yes, with the land or, in some cases, on their own. A home sold to be moved needs a bill of sale, tax proof, and a septic permit at its new site.

My grandparents' farm passed to a dozen heirs. Where do we start?

With the Probate Court and an attorney. Once the heirs are established, we can buy the whole tract with everyone signing at one closing.

Do you buy in Crawford and Arnoldsville?

Yes, along with Lexington, Maxeys, and the rural parts of the county.

Oglethorpe County property and court resources

Sources