Seeking Advice on Purchasing Starter Home

[Sunset_Va]

I think I messaged you once about North Dakota. But it really sounds like you are level headed and want to get out of the concrete jungle you are in, I don't blame you one bit.

Just speaking as a traveler, and one with limited experience with ND. I really thought that ND was much prettier than Montana, but that was based on passing through the northern part of ND, however one area I think you should look into more is the Devils Lake area, there are lots of beautiful homes on the lakefront at a very affordable price, from what I have seen looking at realtors websites.

I am not sure the commute time from most of them into the town,I just know that when I saw that area on my trip I was astounded at how beautiful it was, and had no conception that North Dakota was so pretty. I didn't see Fargo(the train went throught Fargo at night) , or Great Falls, but Devils Lake, Rugby, Minot and Williston on the train line. I liked Minot, but its a much different terrain than Devils Lake.

Do look into the Devils Lake area, perhaps some one is selling a great lake front home at a great price and you would have a view of that splendid lake.

You may want to ask some locals here from Devils Lake , if the lake effect kicks in , like up at the Great Lakes area.


I admire your spunk. I really think you will love it, its gonna be tough at times, but isnt it tough at times there too?

[Cain]

I have a relative who lived in California and had a job that lets here live pretty much where-ever. i would say that of the areas in North Dakota to live, I think I like the Bismarck area the best. You can go rural without getting too far away from the city and still not fear that when you buy a home and for some reason you need to sell it, someone actually will be willing to buy it.

I have some relatives who hit that problem in a town north of grand forks, about 50 miles I think. Smaller town, they bought a place, went to move a few years later, and had to give it back to the bank.

The nice thing about North Dakota to remember is that its pretty much all rural. Just dots here and there of people in clusters. And what are considered cities are nothing like whats in California or the east coast (used to live in Connecticut, Hartford, way too crowded).

Good luck and I wish you the best.

[magiccity]

Christine,

Adapting to ND is not as hard as you think. I'm from Texas and moved here 17 years ago. In a way, it's nice to have a hard winter to sit inside and catch up on the books and magazines you always wanted to read. During the summer of course, you do all of your outdoor activities and you appreciate the outdoor activities knowing that you'll be indoors for about 2-3 months. I would reconsider finding a home an hours drive. During winter, the driving can be hazardous. I would look for areas that are within 20-25 miles from your work place. This is experience that I'm talking about. ct

[ssgoodman]

some other things to consider if you are living in a small town or in the country is the road conditions. being from California I bet you dont get of a chance to drive in snow and blizzard conditions. If you live in the country you will want to make sure you have either a 4 wheel drive or make sure you have someone clean off your road. the county blade usually gets to most rural roads but sometimes i can take awhile, so you might be snow bound for a few days. you can usually get by with a front wheel drive car if you are a good winter driver but 4 wheel drive just makes it so much easier.

also one area that might interest you would be the turtle mountains/bottineau area. there are quite a few smaller lakes other then Metigoshe in that area, also Bottineau has a new walmart going up soon and 2 groceries stores still operating. not sure what lake metigoshe house prices run but i know bottineau is relatively cheap for houses. plus that area is neat in the fact that when you are on highway 5 its prairie area but if you go a few miles north its small hills with lots of trees. also that area sees a lot of lake traffic. if you get bored of bottineau/lake metigoshe you could drive about 30 miles and go to the casino in belcourt. minot is about 80 miles from bottineau and Brandon manitoba is about 90 miles from bottineau. also in the turtle mountains there is the International Peace Gardens which is not really my thing but its a pretty big tourist draw.

check out Bottineau.com or City of Bottineau or Lake Metigoshe State Parks. i have never actually lived in Bottineau but grew up not far. Some of the smaller towns in that area would be Kramer, Souris, Gardena, and Dunseith. Although from what i understand Dunseith has seen an up tick in crimes lately.

Sutton

[magiccity]

Christine Joan,

As a professional in this area, this is what I look for. If the house has a basement, look at the walls, the floor and where the two join. Smell and feel the dampness. If the home has been lived in for a while, you will have the dampness. Look for any type of water seepage and if the basement has a sump pump. If you see seepage along the wall, go outside and see if the water is coming down the wall due to poor landscaping. If it is poor landscaping, that is easy to fix. If it's not landscaping, then the water is coming up from the bottom. Check that the sump pump is working and how much water is in the hole. If there is water, is it being pumped away correctly. If the well is dry, then you need to question why there is water damage/signs along the wall. I'll stop here before I get to long. But the basic is, if the house has a good basement/foundation, then the rest of the house should follow structurally. ct

[Christine Joan]

All of these messages are so very helpful. Each one helps me to become more focused on what I need to do to plan a successful move. Thanks everyone.

[Cain]

One thing you may want to consider too is moving to the area and established here first, say rent for 1 year, and then in the timeframe look at all the areas you want to live. In a way, I feel that is better than you just moving and buying right away just in case you don't like it here. And renting here is dirt cheap compared to other areas.

I am not sure what your financial situation is, but I do know this from my experience, I started my profession in connecticut right out of college in 2000 at 50K+ a year. Not bad I thought coming right of college, no experience. With my wife and I's combined income around $80K, we were really in no way able to purchase a home out there, and knowing California, I bet its much worse there, especially if you are single.

I moved back when I found a job taking about 25K pay cut. But now I have a house, a stable job, no need to worry about money or traffic, etc. and I live in the biggest city in North Dakota. When we moved, rent went from over $1000 a month in CT to $550 in a bigger and nicer apartment here.

I pay only about $50 more for my house now than I did for a rental in connecticut, and I live in a nice community.

Being able to afford things and have a good life is much easier here. I still have people I keep in touch with who comment on the money they make out there, but it means nothing compared to the quality of life you can have here.

I would say this is how I would start my planning for a move, basically this is how I did it:

1. Begin putting away 10% of your income to prep for the move if at all possible, minimum 5%.

2. Research the job pay ranges in the cities you want to be close to. There are some nice pay comparison charts and caculators out there, I used them to come up with the minimum amount of money I needed.

3. Research purchasing a 4wd vehicle if you plan to live a bit away from your work. You don't need some hulking SUV, A subaru or like vehicle will more than do the job (heck, some subaru sedans have more ground clearance than For Explorer SUVs).

4. Visit the area if at all possible to see what you think.

I only did 1 - 3, but that is because I have lived here before.