Goochland County is a land of
contrasts. The parable of the blind men and the elephant—each described the
entire animal according to the part they touched insisting that their view was
correct. Newcomers often believe that the entire county is the same. It’s not.
Thinking about moving to
Goochland? To help you make an informed decision before signing on the
dotted line, here are some tools and suggestions to help you research
Goochland.
State law limits what
localites can require realtors and developers, who tend to omit or gloss
over details that might deter sales, to disclose when marketing and selling
property.
A lot of heartache and buyer remorse can be avoided by doing
some homework. Take glowing sales pitches with a grain of salt. One realtor touts
the quaint shops on the tree lined streets of the charming village of Manakin Sabot.
Another contends that it looks like something lifted from a fairy tale. There
is no village of Manakin Sabot, it’s a zip code that includes horse farms in “Deep
Run Hunt Country”, and both the Centerville and Manakin Villages. Neither have
tree lined streets. Resemblance to fairy tales is in the eye of the beholder.
Speaking of zip codes, some parts of Goochland have
Richmond, Louisa, or Rockville (Hanover) zip codes but are geographically in
Goochland. The US Postal Service is responsible for this.
Be wary of realtors and developers who try to convince you
that living on a sliver of an acre in a house with all suburban conveniences,
or a townhouse in a business park is rural living. It’s not.
Refugees from Long Island, northern Virginia, or even Short
Pump bizarrely believe that eastern Goochland’s designated growth area is
rural. Those who settle in the truly rural parts of the county can also have
rude awakenings. These folks arrive with unrealistic expectations and throw
tantrums when they learn about things they do not like.
Be prepared to drive more. Stores, schools, restaurants, and
other amenities are not on every corner. “Easy access to I64” can depend on
your definition of easy.
There are lots of resources on the internet.
·
Check out the county’s comprehensive land use
plan https://www.goochlandva.us/250/2035-Comprehensive-Plan
to see what kind of development is expected around your potential new home. A wooded
area might be a timber stand, which is periodically harvested, essentially
clear cut. Trees are a crop, an agricultural land use.
·
Do not assume that undeveloped land will stay
that way. Chances are good that a high-density new subdivision was recently farmland,
and those shiny new homes have degraded rural character and displaced wildlife.
·
Is the home you’re considering located inside
the Tuckahoe Creek Service District (go to https://www.goochlandva.us/Faq.aspx?QID=288
for details)? If so, you’ll pay 32 cents per $100 of assessed valuation in ad
valorem tax, which generates revenue to service the debt that built that public
utility system. This is on top of the 53 cent per $100 real estate tax, making
your total tax rate 85 cents. This supplemental tax bill can be an unpleasant
surprise after you move in. Sellers are not required to mention this tax, which
buried in closing documents under the heading of “town tax”. This is expected
to go away by 2030.
·
Rates for water and sewer are higher in
Goochland than in neighboring counties because our system has fewer customers.
These rates are expected to increase annually to cover operating and other
ongoing expenses. Take this into account when estimating recurring expenses for
your new home.
·
If you are considering a house whose water is
supplied by a private well, be aware that during power failures, you will have
no water without a generator. This requires a connection to the home’s electric
panel. There is no way to “plug” a well into a portable generator.
·
If used properly, septic systems will operate
for years with little maintenance. Be very careful what is “flushed” or put
down the drain, and plan to have it pumped out every few years.
·
When buying raw land on which to build a house,
be wary of smaller lots and demand a “perc” test before you buy to ensure that
the soil hydraulics will support a septic system. If you’re looking at a
resale, make sure that existing septic systems are in working order and always
get a whole house inspection. Deep, drilled wells tend to be less prone to
going dry during droughts, but there are no guarantees.
·
Radon testing is also a good idea.
·
Don’t expect new schools to pop out of the
ground. There are no immediate plans to build an elementary school in the
eastern part of the county. The need for the new elementary school that opened
in Courthouse Village in 2024 was identified as far back as 1996. Goochland is
far smaller (population 28k versus Henrico at more than 300k) and poorer than
our neighbors who can afford to build new schools every few years. East end demographics
indicate that newcomers tend to be empty nesters or send their kids to private
schools. This could change, but probably not in the next few years.
·
Our public schools have an excellent reputation,
especially the career and technical education (CTE) program, which exposes
students to a wide range of career options to help them prepare for successful
and satisfying futures. Go to https://www.goochlandschools.org/
for more information. If you have questions about a particular school, please
contact its principal.
·
There are several private schools in the county
including Adams International School https://adamsinternationalschool.org/
in Maidens; Salem Christian School https://www.salemchristianschool.com/
in Gum Spring; Benedictine College Preparatory https://www.benedictinecollegeprep.org/
and St. Gertrude High School https://www.saintgertrude.org/
have a Richmond address but are located on River Road in Goochland.
·
The county has several active rock quarries
where periodic blasting occurs. Check out Google earth to see how far your home
is from one of these before you sign on the dotted line.
·
The availability of high-speed internet and even
good cell phone service can be spotty, especially in the western portion of
Goochland. Broadband access is expanding, but slowly. Assume at your peril that
high speed internet is available in the entire county. Check before you sign
any papers if this is important to you. Go to (https://www.goochlandva.us/1025/Broadband-Internet)
to double check.
·
Farms have a way of morphing into other uses
including housing and commercial uses. People have a right to sell and develop
their land and farmers, who do not have 401ks, sell land to finance their
retirement. It’s easy to check the zoning of adjacent land, go to the county
website goochlandva.us, and click on “parcel viewer” then select either E911
address or map. Locate the area you’re interested in and click on specific
parcels. A summary of property information that includes the size of the
parcel, its current assessed valuation, and how it is zoned will appear, as
will surrounding parcels. Go the
community development tab under “government” then to planning and zoning and
click on zoning ordinances and scroll down to select the zoning that applies to
the parcels you want to learn about and their permitted uses. If you’re
interested in farming, there are three agricultural zoning districts. Each describes
what uses are allowed “by right” and which require conditional use permits. By
right uses in each zoning district were approved after public hearings and stay
that way unless changed, which would require public hearings and a vote by the
board of supervisors in open session.
·
Farming, a vital component of “rural,” can be
noisy, smelly, and messy. Some farmers spread manure or biosolids, processed residue
from wastewater treatment plants ( go to https://www.goochlandva.us/162/Biosolids-Program
for details), on their land to increase fertility. This is legal but can be
fragrant. If this bothers you, look elsewhere.
·
Do not assume that two lane roads will be
widened any time soon. There are no plans, for instance, to four lane Hockett
Road, or Fairground Road, or Rt. 6 in the foreseeable future.
·
Make a real time. dry run of your daily commute,
both morning and evening. Rush hour traffic is far different than that on
weekends. Several spots, including the westbound Oilville exit on I64, and
Fairground Road can be dangerously congested, especially in the
afternoon/evening rush. Crashes on I-64, which are becoming more frequent,
divert traffic onto Broad Street Road. See how many alternate routes you can
find. It only takes a single wreck or tree across a road to cause long delays.
·
Improvements to the Ashland Road corridor north
of I-64 are currently under construction. A portion of Rockville Road just
south of I-64 will be closed for several months to facilitate significant road
improvements, but not to the intersection with Ashland Road. Before purchasing
property in this area, ask lots of questions about this project and prepare for
inconvenience.
·
If you have children, ask where the school bus
stops for your new home are. Do not assume that provisions have been made for
this in newly built subdivisions. Developers often downplay the number of school
aged children a residential project will bring leading to heartburn when
families move in.
·
In the less densely populated areas of the
county, Goochlanders own and fire weapons and hunt on their land. The fall
festival of firearms starts after Labor Day as hunters hone their shooting
skills to prepare for opening day.
·
Goochland’s long narrow shape has relatively few
roads, which adds to its rural charm, but also adds precious minutes to
emergency response. We have outstanding fire-rescue service, but the distance
between stations, homes, and hospitals is greater than in more densely
populated areas. If health issues are a concern, do not move to an isolated
area.
·
Be very careful about trespassing, just because
land seems unoccupied, doesn’t mean it’s a park for your enjoyment.
·
Look carefully at “maps” of new subdivisions to
see if they include “stub roads” that connect to adjoining parcels of undeveloped
land. These could bring additional traffic to what may be marketed as a
“cul-de-sac” neighborhood. Ask lots of questions about this and do not be
afraid to walk away if the answers are vague.
·
Realtors and developers put the best face on
property they are trying to sell, and there is nothing wrong with this. Buyer
beware, especially if a realtor based outside of Goochland is involved. Too
often “foreign” realtors are unfamiliar with Goochland and make unfounded
assumptions that buyers sometimes take as gospel.
·
Visit Goochland social media sites to ask about the
area you are considering. This is a good way to gain insights, perhaps about
things you never considered.
·
Talk to people who already live here.
·
If you move to western Goochland, especially, do
not expect suburban amenities to pop up near you. Be prepared to drive a lot
and get used to planning your trips. The county does not “put” things like
grocery stores in lightly populated areas. Businesses locate where their customers
are. If you want a certain kind of business near you, please start one.
·
Goochland has many excellent local realtors who
work hard to educate buyers not only about the property they buy, but the
community.
Goochland is a special place
filled with wonderful people with a variety of world views that enrich our community.
