For Prospective NID'ers: Interesting listing (Clark Fork: for sale, HOA fees, appliances)

[Clark Fork Fantast]

For you prospective NID'ers who thought you couldn't ever find a place you could afford: Just to keep the dream alive!

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...1_M13944-46034
Big cabin on the Clark Fork River delta--but it's only half built! It looks like our place on the inside before we had it insulated etc. Why has it been on the market for over 30 days? Because it is boat in only! Guaranteed seclusion!

I'll try to list more interesting NID places here from time to time. I enjoy looking at those listings, anyway.

[volosong]

Originally Posted by Clark Fork Fantast

For you prospective NID'ers who thought you couldn't ever find a place you could afford: Just to keep the dream alive!

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...1_M13944-46034
Big cabin on the Clark Fork River delta--but it's only half built! It looks like our place on the inside before we had it insulated etc. Why has it been on the market for over 30 days? Because it is boat in only!

Been for sale a lot longer than 30 days. They've been trying for at least two years to dump it, relisting and delisting it several times, each time with a reduced price. Still too expensive for a "weekend cabin" that will need north of $100k to finish. Interesting though.

[Clark Fork Fantast]

Ohhhkay, that figures! Without road access it becomes a lot less attractive, and I am pretty sure that there are no plans to build another bridge to the islands in the delta. But the location is spectacular.

[AnythingOutdoors]

"half built" is putting it generously Missing siding and windows, questionable/missing home wrap, walls w/o insulation, gas range connected to 20# propane tank. While I see a small amount of Romex in the open walls, there are also propane lanterns about, so probably no electricity. The drinking water container on the counter also isn't encouraging, guessing they're hauling drinking water. It's difficult to tell from the photos, but it also looks like there are foundation issues (check out the photo of the sagging front porch). But they got the mounted trout put up... priorities!

[banjomike]

What you see in those pics is the reality of The Little Vacation Cabin In the Mountains.

They are a wonderful notion and always make a very pretty mental picture of warm cozy hearths in magnificent wilderness. A terrific getaway from all the bustle and pressures of modern life.

But the reality is once you've spent the money, they are a big ball and chain. They demand constant repair if they aren't occupied most of the time, so vacation always has to be there at the cabin, and spent mostly putting it back into shape after the last year's wear and tear have torn something apart or has degraded it. If the wife and kids want to go to Disneyland this year instead of the same old cabin again, tough luck, kids... we gotta go fix the joint again this summer, and get the mice poop swept out before they take it over.

Frequent visits have to be made year round to keep those places in good shape, and leisure time becomes nothing but hard work fixing and re-fixing. Nature is really hard up in the mountains and is relentless. Civilized dwelling is nothing but easy shelter for every wild critter that stumbles onto it.

This one is particularly bad, as no one is ever going to find a local who will agree to be a caretaker for it when the only access is by boat. Skip one season, and everything is gonna start falling apart.

I'm sure, though, that if the owners just took the first offer they get and walk away with a big loss, someone else would buy it. The Cabin in the Mountains is still a very popular dream getaway for millions of folks.

If I was to buy it, I would plan on tearing that mess down and make a thorough plan that could rebuild a dwelling that could be finished in one summer. That new place would be smaller, bare bones, and probably much more expensive to build.
But I could heat it with the salvaged wreckage. And with the purchased boat I would need, I would have something extra added that could attract a future buyer once I grew tired of keeping up the upkeep.

[AnythingOutdoors]

Yep, so true banjomike.

I wouldn't buy this for $275k for all the reasons you listed. If I could get it at the right price or, even better, similarly situated bare land for much less then I'd just put up a yurt with a wood burning stove and be done with it. Building a platform would be the most difficult part, and the yurt itself would need to be replaced in 10-15 years, but would be relatively inexpensive. I would even consider adding a few creature comforts like a small 12 volt DC solar system and some RV appliances.

[Clark Fork Fantast]

I totally agree--I hadn't seen the pictures with holes in the walls etc. For an off-the-grid place it needs to be reconfigured or just torn down, and in that case $275K is too much. Waterfront properties in the area present an additional problem in that septic may not be permitted that close to the water's edge.

There are properties on those islands that can only be reached by boat, and that's exactly what some people are looking for, for a vacation getaway. A yurt is a great idea. But Mike is right--after a few seasons the magic probably wears away, even under the best of circumstances. I just did a Google Map flyover of those delta islands, and there is a whole little community of 8-10 or more homes with boat-only access. Not for me! I'm adventurous, but not that adventurous...

[banjomike]

Thanks, CFF...
You are a good example of how to do this the right way.
You mde thorough plans and created a construction schedule, so when you came you knew what you wanted to get done and a basic idea of what you needed to do it.

You stayed flexible. When something couldn't be completed that you planned, you completed something else.

I always have liked your progress reports a lot. I think they give a clear picture of what anyone who wants to make a homesteading move what to expect, what unexpected things may arise, and how much perseverance is needed to make the dream happen the right way.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

It looks like a good bargain to me. You would pay that much just to have a boat slip in a marina and it comes with over half an acre. Although, you wouldn't be able to leave the boat parked there because you need the boat to get back to your car.

It would have to be for someone who lived close enough to spend a lot of weekends there in the summer.

Listing does not say whether or not it has an approved septic system.

[NORTY FLATZ]

LOL!

$10 HOA fees...

LOL!