Retiring in Washington with Trees and little Snow (Seattle, Olympia: low income, section 8)

[CrazyDonkey]

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2...23351537_zpid/

Very Special Lk. McMurray waterfront. 102 acres with over 3200ft of west facing lake frontage in 4 parcels. Imagine continuing the 96 year history of this unique property. Huge Fir, Spruce, Cedar and Maple accent the shoreline and Hortenses Point, her favorite place for picnics and sunsets. Won't take much to make her cottage cozy. Fishing (of course), boating, hiking or soaking in the sun. Adjoins thousands of acres of State land and includes over 75 acres of thriving 20+ year old, professionally planted Douglas Fir. This is a rare property, unspoiled and ready to begin your legacy.

[xPlorer48]

Here is a ranch in Whatcom County that has been on the market for 1129 days and features 367 acres for $14 million. I know where this is from the view photos. I wish we had the money to buy it. As others have said, you won’t find undeveloped large acreage parcels in Western Washington for less than several million dollars. You might find something in Southwest Washington but much of the land there is owned by private timber companies.

Western Washington may not get a lot of snow (depending on elevation and proximity to salt water) and colder temperatures, but the rains may discourage you from working outside for long. Our area near the Canadian border has seen massive flooding and if you lived in one of the affected areas, your time working outside would involve pumping, sand bagging and evacuating.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

We lived for 13 years in Texas before moving back here.

Honestly? If you want 500 acres of land for less than multiple millions of dollars you need to stay in Texas. That isn't going to happen in western WA. What you could swing in Western WA is some rural spot with say 5-20 acres where there might be a functional house and shop. But not 500 acres.

For example, here's 70 acres in Woodland WA (about 45 min north of Portland) with a house and a shop for $2.4 million and it has been on the market for about a year. I assume this is sort of what you are looking for? Or are you looking for ag land and not forest land? https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...70577578_zpid/ But the chances of subdividing and building additional houses for a family clan are probably limited.

That reminds me; the area around the Willappa River, like around Raymond, South Bend and Willappa Bay, is pretty affordable. You'd have to do your research to buy on high ground or farther away from the river, which can flood. If you're looking to pass the property on to the next generation in your family, keeping the effects of future climate change in mind would be important. Sea-level rise is projected to affect the Willappa River. But that part of WA will have a fresh water supply a lot longer than Texas will.

The area is about equidistant drive-time-wise between Olympia to the NE and Astoria OR, to the south. It's about an hour's drive to Astoria.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

We lived for 13 years in Texas before moving back here.

Honestly? If you want 500 acres of land for less than multiple millions of dollars you need to stay in Texas. That isn't going to happen in western WA. ...

or...stay off zillow when searching for large acreage.

Here is 500+ acres in SWWA for under $1m and ~30 min to PDX.
https://www.landwatch.com/skamania-c.../pid/409041203

Of course the buyer is not getting a 'turn-key' residence. There will be work involved (some may include zoning reviews and changes. )

IIRC the plots on lower Columbia River were ~250acres for under $500k
There are some nice 400+ acre props on the Klickitat for ~$1m and some 1500+ acre spots for under $4m

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

or...stay off zillow when searching for large acreage.

Here is 500+ acres in SWWA for under $1m and ~30 min to PDX.
https://www.landwatch.com/skamania-c.../pid/409041203

Of course the buyer is not getting a 'turn-key' residence. There will be work involved (some may include zoning reviews and changes. )

IIRC the plots on lower Columbia River were ~250acres for under $500k
There are some nice 400+ acre props on the Klickitat for ~$1m and some 1500+ acre spots for under $4m

That is timber land. I doubt anyone can put a single house there let alone subdivide and create a family compound of houses as the OP suggests. If it were developable and subdivideable it would cost many times more than $1800 per acre.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

That is timber land. I doubt anyone can put a single house there let alone subdivide and create a family compound of houses as the OP suggests. If it were developable and subdivideable it would cost many times more than $1800 per acre.

Of course the buyer is not getting a 'turn-key' residence. There will be work involved (some may include zoning reviews and changes. )

Btdt several times.... Know what you want, know how to accomplish it, it's very common to have to do land use changes. (And it is not impossible). But it is a good way to collect $500k tax free every 24 months. Beats working for wage income.

OP is (will be) retired... Plenty of time to pursue what needs to be done.

A retired ex-coworker just did this in 2020 (within 30 minutes of PDX)

[ejisme]

I'd pick the southeast corner of Washington, near Walla Walla. Not really a lot of snow or cold in the winter. It's wine country now (used to be peas and wheat). Much drier than western Washington, so not so much working in mud and wet clay. Here's 327 acres a ways outside of Walla Walla. I'd guess you'd have to have your own power or spend about as much to get electricity out there, but it looks to be pretty nice. You'd still need to investigate building codes and all, but who knows...

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/0...67894173_zpid/


Anyway, Walla Walla is a nice sheltered area at the base of the Blue Mts.

[ejisme]

Here's your place!! Says it has three additional building permits on this property.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...10451470_zpid/

Whoops, just noticed it's across the boarder in Idaho :-(

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by ejisme

Here's your place!! Says it has three additional building permits on this property.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...10451470_zpid/

Whoops, just noticed it's across the boarder in Idaho :-(

Potlatch ID averages 43 inches of snow per year. I'm not sure that is what the OP has in mind in terms of "little snow"

[leastprime]

How many trees?
How much snow?
Really doesn't snow much when temps are less than 25F floor temp. Much of the moisture fall as rain in wet-west WA-OR, wet-dry snow (quite a bit) in the mountains and what's left is very dry stuff east of the Cascades. Trees east of the Cascades will depend on availability of water and if there is any soil-can vary enormously. Some islands in the San Juans are near deserts, on the cool side but not cold year round. Property of your size would be unavailable but the population would be in your bracket. Canada would be closer than USA.