Arden: what the ground and the paperwork look like

Local facts for Arden, with sources and the date we read them.

Arden is an unincorporated community in the south of Buncombe County, so there is no town hall and no separate building office. Buncombe County Permits and Inspections handles building permits for unincorporated addresses, and that office is at 35 Woodfin Street, Asheville. We did not find a current population figure we could trace to a census table for Arden alone, so we do not print one.

Arden runs along the French Broad River valley and the roads south toward Hendersonville, with older subdivisions and newer ones spread across rolling land rather than steep coves. That mix affects what goes wrong. In older neighbourhoods, houses are often on crawl spaces with vents and bare soil; in newer ones, slab and basement foundations are more common, and settlement shows up as cracked drywall and sticking doors.

The county line

Fletcher, just south, is in Henderson County, and Henderson County has its own permit office. If you live near the line, check your tax bill or the county parcel map to see which county you are in. The wrong phone call wastes a day. This site covers Buncombe County; for a Henderson County address, ask the Henderson County office.

A short list for an Arden house

• If the crawl space smells damp, read crawl space moisture.
• If a brick or block wall has a stair step crack, read foundation problems.
• If a downspout ends at the wall, move it first. That costs little and removes a common cause.
• If you are buying, ask the seller for any past repair paperwork and permit numbers.

Prices and permits

Published ranges are on the price page. The county's rules, hours and portal are on the permit page. We are not a contractor, and this page is information only.

Newer houses and settlement

A house built in the last few decades on fill can settle for the first years as the soil compacts. Hairline cracks over doors, and in drywall corners, are common and usually cosmetic. Cracks in the foundation wall or slab that widen, or a gap opening between a wall and the floor, are a different matter. Date and measure them. If a builder's warranty or inspection record exists for the house, read it before calling anyone else.