Sandpoint and surrounding area (Post Falls, Priest River: fit in, for sale, real estate) - Idaho (ID) - City-Data Forum

emmank · 11-29-2007, 01:21 AM

My husband and I and our 18 month old currently live in Livingston, montana and work in Bozeman. We love the area but the growth is crazy, and we cannot afford property, let alone property with a house on it. I've been looking at Sandpoint, and noticed that real estate prices seem to be about 40% lower. We don't have "careers" per se, we mainly just do what we can to earn a living and like to spend our free time backpacking, camping, fishing, gardening, and being in the mountains. We're planning a trip up there next spring, but I am hoping that anyone who has lived there or is familiar with the area can offer some insight. Basically we want to find a decent plot of acreage (10-20) with a small home or cabin and space for a little farming and still be close enough to a town to find work in the service industry (my husband bartends right now) or office work or something similar. So, my questions basically are: Is the population growing rapidly? Is there a variety of people or mainly vacationers from bigger towns? How are the schools? Friendliness of the locals? How much snow? (we love snow). Are there decent work opportunities? Really any insight would be appreciated since we know very little about the area. Thanks in advance.

Sage of Sagle · 11-29-2007, 11:03 AM

Greetings Emmank,

I'm not sure you're seeing the same ads we are..."acreage" and "cheap" aren't often used in the same sentence in the Sandpoint area....A 1500sf home on 10-20 acres is probably $400K...a mobile home on 10 acres could run $200K these days...you may want to look in other areas of the Panhandle that are less resort-oriented...

The area is growing, but not at the same rate as Post Falls and CDA (Kootenai County is #81 of the 100 fastest growing counties in the USA (by percentage, not actual population, at 4.7% from 2005-2006. That has certainly slowed this year, but it's the hotspot in the area since there are more jobs...

Work can be tough, but tending bar is awfully portable. Schools are good but not great from what we hear. But our friends' kids are very happy in the various area schools and don't have to worry about getting mugged...it's a nice environment. Locals are friendly, most people here came from CA over the past 30 years (probably 30%+ of the total population it seems) so as long as someone has the "fit into the small town relaxed lifestyle" they do fine here.

emmank · 11-29-2007, 03:21 PM

thanks for replying sage. it looks like you're right, the more i look at sandpoint, it does seem a lot like here (real estate prices) although i will say, i saw a cabin for sale up there on 10 acres that had a generator and a well for 137,000. That's unheard of around here. mobile homes in bozeman on a .1 acre lot sell for that or more, usually more. it's ridiculous. .... we will definitely take your advice and check out the surrounding communities in the panhandle. you guys have a beautiful little corner of the world up there!

Sage of Sagle · 11-29-2007, 03:26 PM

Yes. If you look at outlaying areas, basically the further you get from the resort area and the lake, the cheaper you get. So Bonner's Ferry area is cheaper, Priest River is cheaper, maybe Newport WA (or just on the Idaho side), south down in Athol (yes, just get past the name if you live there), etc. The beauty is still there...you're just out in some serious boonies and you may have to be concerned with year-round access issues to your property if it's remote enough...not the best idea with service industry jobs and a youngster....

Sage of Sagle · 11-29-2007, 03:30 PM

Oh, and some "cabins" are held together by fervent prayer and chewing gum...seriously...on our spread there was an old hunting cabin...but you hold your breath if you go inside so it doesn't fall over...not really a viable place to live, and the photos often lie...

One other option is to get 5ac or more, and put a mobile or manufactured place on it I suppose...that could also fit your price range probably...

mistyriver · 12-02-2007, 05:50 PM

There is some beautiful land near Priest River. The schools are abysmal though.

FreeMarketSlave · 12-04-2007, 11:15 AM

I was just talking to my parents. I guess on the day that it snowed so much, the gov showed up twice, how strange is that? Law enforcement heavily armed came through tracking a guy, and then near dark the fish and game(or whatever they are called) people came in to retrieve lost hunters that freaked and feared for their lives. Exciting day for them i guess.

Sage of Sagle · 12-04-2007, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FreeMarketSlave

I was just talking to my parents. I guess on the day that it snowed so much, the gov showed up twice, how strange is that? Law enforcement heavily armed came through tracking a guy, and then near dark the fish and game(or whatever they are called) people came in to retrieve lost hunters that freaked and feared for their lives. Exciting day for them i guess.

Huh? Can you elaborate a bit so we understand how this pertains to the OP's question? (TIA)

FreeMarketSlave · 12-05-2007, 09:12 AM

you're just out in some serious boonies and you may have to be concerned with year-round access issues to your property if it's remote enough...not the best idea with service industry jobs and a youngster....

Sorry for not tying it all together. The wife flew out of there on saturday just before the snow started falling. They say she would have been stranded if she hadn't left then. Hunters getting lost happens every few years around the folks place, but having the men in black show up hunting a person is a rare occasion. A lot of excitement out in the boonies for one day.

If the OP can just secure 5 or more acres, you can get plenty of free trailers in Kootenai county, 1990 models or before. They have laws there that you can't reset one if it is a 90 or earlier. Take one to Bonner county and there you go!

FreeMarketSlave · 12-05-2007, 11:03 AM

One thing about the trailers. Some of the older models had aluminum wiring, stay away from those unless you plan on rewiring it. Just pull the fuse panel face off and look to make sure it has copper wiring. Most of the time the axles are still underneath...but sometimes they aren't, look for that also.