Owning your own camp lot is every hunter's dream and a serious investment. Protect it by knowing some of the pitfalls associated with camp lot shopping. As you will soon learn, not all lots are created equal. In this comparison, you will learn more about Tensas Escape, as well as camp lot shopping tips to help you advert potential disaster. With real estate purchases, the goal is always to sell your property for more than you paid! Be sure to visit our Frequently Asked Questions page for additional information.
Location
One of the first considerations to make when choosing a lot is its location. Over time, a poor location can cost you substantial amounts of time, fuel, and vehicle wear & tear commuting to and from your favorite outdoor destinations. Good locations have access to quality roads and utilities that stay well-maintained at all times. The Tensas Escape site location was strategically chosen for all of these attributes, having smooth state highway access, parish water, electricity, and most importantly, close proximity to 3 of the Louisiana’s premier hunting destinations: Tensas NWR, Big Lake WMA, and Buckhorn WMA. More public land acreage is accessible within 15 minutes from this location than from any other point in the area. More opportunity. More value.
One of the first considerations to make when choosing a lot is its location. Over time, a poor location can cost you substantial amounts of time, fuel, and vehicle wear & tear commuting to and from your favorite outdoor destinations. Good locations have access to quality roads and utilities that stay well-maintained at all times. The Tensas Escape site location was strategically chosen for all of these attributes, having smooth state highway access, parish water, electricity, and most importantly, close proximity to 3 of the Louisiana’s premier hunting destinations: Tensas NWR, Big Lake WMA, and Buckhorn WMA. More public land acreage is accessible within 15 minutes from this location than from any other point in the area. More opportunity. More value.
Access
The second most important attribute of a quality lot is access to it! The Louisiana Department of Transportation & Development heavily restricts driveway connections to state highways as a matter of roadway safety (LAC Title 70, Part I, Chapter 15). When several lots affront a state highway, DOTD often requires an interior road to be constructed by the seller to provide access to lots in order to limit the amount of driveway connections to the state highway. This interior access road can take up a substantial amount of your available lot size! Many sellers try to cut costs by not building an access road or getting driveway connection permits in advance—only to stick buyers with a piece of property that DOTD will not permit a driveway into. Whether you plan to access your lot from a driveway or interior road, ask your seller to provide you the DOTD Access Connection Permit prior to purchasing any lot on a state highway! Getting to your land depends on it.
Since Tensas Escape does not front a state highway, all of our driveway connections have been approved by the Tensas Parish Police Jury. And to top it all off, we've installed culverts and established individual driveways for each lot, saving you upwards of $2,000 doing it yourself.
The second most important attribute of a quality lot is access to it! The Louisiana Department of Transportation & Development heavily restricts driveway connections to state highways as a matter of roadway safety (LAC Title 70, Part I, Chapter 15). When several lots affront a state highway, DOTD often requires an interior road to be constructed by the seller to provide access to lots in order to limit the amount of driveway connections to the state highway. This interior access road can take up a substantial amount of your available lot size! Many sellers try to cut costs by not building an access road or getting driveway connection permits in advance—only to stick buyers with a piece of property that DOTD will not permit a driveway into. Whether you plan to access your lot from a driveway or interior road, ask your seller to provide you the DOTD Access Connection Permit prior to purchasing any lot on a state highway! Getting to your land depends on it.
Since Tensas Escape does not front a state highway, all of our driveway connections have been approved by the Tensas Parish Police Jury. And to top it all off, we've installed culverts and established individual driveways for each lot, saving you upwards of $2,000 doing it yourself.
Flood Zones
While Tensas Escape lots are NOT in a flood zone, sometimes other lots pop up for sale in the area that are in a flood zone. Making the mistake of purchasing one can cost you dearly. You see, all parishes in Louisiana are regulated by FEMA and require landowners to build their structures above the base flood elevation. There are no exceptions to this law. Most of Tensas, Madison, and Franklin Parishes are in a flood zone—especially around Tensas NWR! Flood zone maps are being revised by FEMA constantly, so be sure you contact the parish Flood Zone Administrator to check the flood zone status of a property and never take a seller's word for it.
If your land is in a designated flood zone, the parish will not grant you permanent power without you providing them an elevation certificate from a licensed engineer stating that your structure has been elevated above the base flood line. On several properties in the area, this means you'll have to bring in tons and tons of fill dirt or build your camp on pilings—both of which are costly, inconvenient, and lower your property's appraised value and resell-ability.
Tensas Escape lots are many feet above the base flood elevation and do not require special considerations to be made regarding construction. This translates into more value and resell-ability for you.
While Tensas Escape lots are NOT in a flood zone, sometimes other lots pop up for sale in the area that are in a flood zone. Making the mistake of purchasing one can cost you dearly. You see, all parishes in Louisiana are regulated by FEMA and require landowners to build their structures above the base flood elevation. There are no exceptions to this law. Most of Tensas, Madison, and Franklin Parishes are in a flood zone—especially around Tensas NWR! Flood zone maps are being revised by FEMA constantly, so be sure you contact the parish Flood Zone Administrator to check the flood zone status of a property and never take a seller's word for it.
If your land is in a designated flood zone, the parish will not grant you permanent power without you providing them an elevation certificate from a licensed engineer stating that your structure has been elevated above the base flood line. On several properties in the area, this means you'll have to bring in tons and tons of fill dirt or build your camp on pilings—both of which are costly, inconvenient, and lower your property's appraised value and resell-ability.
Tensas Escape lots are many feet above the base flood elevation and do not require special considerations to be made regarding construction. This translates into more value and resell-ability for you.
Size
When determining the value of your lot purchase, size matters! Some sellers try to overinflate the size of their lots by including road right-of-ways or rivers and streams in their advertised lot price in order to make the lot appear larger in their listing. For lots affronting parish roads, the parish right-of-way is 30 feet from the centerline of the road. For state highways, the state right-of-way is usually 40 feet off the centerline! This means that if a lot affronting a state highway is advertised as 140 feet wide by 100 feet deep to the centerline of the road, your usable land area is only 140 feet wide by 60 feet deep. That's a 5,600 square foot difference! This, combined with a DOTD requirement for the seller to construct an interior access road, can cut the usable size of your lot down to less than half of its listed size.
For lots fronting rivers or streams, the centerline of the waterbody often serves as the rear boundary line. This low ground can render over half of a lot unsuitable for construction. This sales tactic can lead buyers into making inaccurate comparisons and paying more for a property than it's worth. Don't just accept the advertised lot size at face value. Do your due diligence and ask questions. Step comparable lots off and measure their true usable areas before making a decision. At Tensas Escape, you’ll own and be able to use the entire lot. It starts where the road right-of-ways end! Every square inch belongs to you!
When determining the value of your lot purchase, size matters! Some sellers try to overinflate the size of their lots by including road right-of-ways or rivers and streams in their advertised lot price in order to make the lot appear larger in their listing. For lots affronting parish roads, the parish right-of-way is 30 feet from the centerline of the road. For state highways, the state right-of-way is usually 40 feet off the centerline! This means that if a lot affronting a state highway is advertised as 140 feet wide by 100 feet deep to the centerline of the road, your usable land area is only 140 feet wide by 60 feet deep. That's a 5,600 square foot difference! This, combined with a DOTD requirement for the seller to construct an interior access road, can cut the usable size of your lot down to less than half of its listed size.
For lots fronting rivers or streams, the centerline of the waterbody often serves as the rear boundary line. This low ground can render over half of a lot unsuitable for construction. This sales tactic can lead buyers into making inaccurate comparisons and paying more for a property than it's worth. Don't just accept the advertised lot size at face value. Do your due diligence and ask questions. Step comparable lots off and measure their true usable areas before making a decision. At Tensas Escape, you’ll own and be able to use the entire lot. It starts where the road right-of-ways end! Every square inch belongs to you!
Sewer & Electricity
Without a sewer system, you cannot obtain power, and sewer systems are permitted by the Louisiana Department of Health & Hospitals. Louisiana Sanitary Code requires all new subdivisions go through a rigorous application process prior to lots being issued sewer permits (LAC Title 51). Beware of any seller marketing new lots who cannot provide you a “Letter of Sewer Preapproval” from DHH for the sewer system you’ll need to install. Failure to obtain this letter from your seller prior to purchase can restrict use of your lot for months—or even years—while the seller navigates the challenging sewer approval process. If the seller cannot meet all DHH requirements, the lot may never be granted approval. Tensas Escape lots have already been preapproved by DHH for individual sewer systems, making the move-in process as painless and fast as possible for you.
Without a sewer system, you cannot obtain power, and sewer systems are permitted by the Louisiana Department of Health & Hospitals. Louisiana Sanitary Code requires all new subdivisions go through a rigorous application process prior to lots being issued sewer permits (LAC Title 51). Beware of any seller marketing new lots who cannot provide you a “Letter of Sewer Preapproval” from DHH for the sewer system you’ll need to install. Failure to obtain this letter from your seller prior to purchase can restrict use of your lot for months—or even years—while the seller navigates the challenging sewer approval process. If the seller cannot meet all DHH requirements, the lot may never be granted approval. Tensas Escape lots have already been preapproved by DHH for individual sewer systems, making the move-in process as painless and fast as possible for you.
Water
Another often-overlooked consideration to make in a lot purchase is access to water. The availability of city water in rural areas is a valuable resource! The alternative is a water well, which is costly to install and maintain, and never quite yields the same end-product as treated water under good pressure. Each lot in Tensas Escape is supplied by water from Tensas Water Distribution, the public water utility located near Lake Bruin.
Another often-overlooked consideration to make in a lot purchase is access to water. The availability of city water in rural areas is a valuable resource! The alternative is a water well, which is costly to install and maintain, and never quite yields the same end-product as treated water under good pressure. Each lot in Tensas Escape is supplied by water from Tensas Water Distribution, the public water utility located near Lake Bruin.
Drainage
Unimproved, raw lots can be risky purchases having lower resale values. Often, drainage problems don’t show up until it’s too late. Tensas Escape was developed using a comprehensive drainage plan and each lot is graded to have positive fall into drainage improvements, sufficiently moving water off your lot and out of the subdivision quickly.
Unimproved, raw lots can be risky purchases having lower resale values. Often, drainage problems don’t show up until it’s too late. Tensas Escape was developed using a comprehensive drainage plan and each lot is graded to have positive fall into drainage improvements, sufficiently moving water off your lot and out of the subdivision quickly.
Protective Covenants
It's a proven fact that subdivisions without protective covenants lose value over time! Tensas Escape has a minimal amount of protective covenants in place to allow owners to live harmoniously with one another and maintain their property values.
It's a proven fact that subdivisions without protective covenants lose value over time! Tensas Escape has a minimal amount of protective covenants in place to allow owners to live harmoniously with one another and maintain their property values.
Safety & Security
Isolated camps on busy highways are prime targets for criminals and are under constant threat from vandalism and robbery. Camps in Tensas Escape subdivision are more safe and secure than isolated properties due to constant activity in the neighborhood. We have great neighbors looking out for their great neighbors (you) and this community activity deters problems. We're also tucked far back off the highway so your children and dogs can play safely away from heavy and noisy highway traffic.
Isolated camps on busy highways are prime targets for criminals and are under constant threat from vandalism and robbery. Camps in Tensas Escape subdivision are more safe and secure than isolated properties due to constant activity in the neighborhood. We have great neighbors looking out for their great neighbors (you) and this community activity deters problems. We're also tucked far back off the highway so your children and dogs can play safely away from heavy and noisy highway traffic.
Value
Priced to sell, these lots start at only $16,850. You will not find comparable lots of this caliber for a better value in the area, guaranteed. Enjoy payments as low as $114/mo* when financed through our preferred lender—Sicily Island State Bank. Special terms may apply. Visit our Finance Page to learn more.
*Monthly payment based on 20% downpayment at fixed 6% APR over 15 years.
Priced to sell, these lots start at only $16,850. You will not find comparable lots of this caliber for a better value in the area, guaranteed. Enjoy payments as low as $114/mo* when financed through our preferred lender—Sicily Island State Bank. Special terms may apply. Visit our Finance Page to learn more.
*Monthly payment based on 20% downpayment at fixed 6% APR over 15 years.