Oregon Shores - Agency Lake Lots - Good or Bad Place (Portland: car rental, for sale)

[Freebird52]

Would like to learn more about life in Oregon Shores - Unit 2 Agency Lake area. I'm living in Santa Monica right now - have a small business that will keep me here for awhile. I would like to invest in a lot in OR and develop it with a one bedroom house on it eventually for retirement purposes or even resell it. Oregon Shores has a homeowner's association and they pretty much deal with the trash, water, road maintenance and all. The lots need septics and range in price from 10K - 30K (for a lake front lot). It looks gorgeous from the pics online. Was wondering if anyone is familiar with this area and can help me out with some feedback before I sign on any dotted lines and exchange any monies.

[Cornerguy1]

You're going to spend $30K on a chunk of land sight unseen?

It's not that far to go have a look.

You can fly from LAX into Medford for around $250, return. Add in a car rental, some gas and even a hotel room overnight and you're still under $500 for the peace of mind of actually seeing the property and talking to folks who actually live there.

Seems like cheap insurance for a $30K expenditure.

[davefr]

Originally Posted by Freebird52

Would like to learn more about life in Oregon Shores - Unit 2 Agency Lake area. I'm living in Santa Monica right now - have a small business that will keep me here for awhile.

How long is "awhile". I wouldn't spend the money until you're good and ready.

The taxes and fees will be a very large money drain and don't assume there will be any appreciation to offset the expenses.

I'd wait until your plans are firm and there'll be plenty of properties to choose from.

[skinem]

Cornerguy1 has some great advice. City-data is full of threads on virtually every state forum regarding people who have bought in developments sight unseen and have been taken. Sometime intentionally, sometimes not--everything from developers disappearing, going bankrupt, title problems, etc. Go look at the place.

As someone who was raised in the PNW and getting up there in years, I've seen more land sold over the years to people who never saw it. Come to find out the land was either miles from a road, miles from electricity, miles from water, or virtually vertical, or a combination of these.

Go look at it. Caveat emptor!

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by Freebird52

Would like to learn more about life in Oregon Shores - Unit 2 Agency Lake area. I'm living in Santa Monica right now - have a small business that will keep me here for awhile. I would like to invest in a lot in OR and develop it with a one bedroom house on it eventually for retirement purposes or even resell it. Oregon Shores has a homeowner's association and they pretty much deal with the trash, water, road maintenance and all. The lots need septics and range in price from 10K - 30K (for a lake front lot). It looks gorgeous from the pics online. Was wondering if anyone is familiar with this area and can help me out with some feedback before I sign on any dotted lines and exchange any monies.

I live very near there. There are a LOT of properties and lots for sale, many of them from out-of-state owners who bought them sight unseen before the real estate bubble crashed. Many of those buyers fell into the "but it's so cheap compared to here" trap - it matters more how the lot compares to similar lots in the area as far as value.

Oregon Shores I and II have CCRs (Codes Covenants and Restrictions) that control what can be built where. Parts of the development are stick-built only, parts allow manufactured housing. There are minimum size requirements for building. The area is pretty, but you have to know it's 35-45 minutes from Klamath Falls (population roughly 40,000) and doctors, hospitals, real grocery stores. Many locals go further, to Medford (75 miles) or Bend (117 miles), for clothing or big shopping trips. The tiny (and very poor) town of Chiloquin has a great small hardware store, several churches, two "grocery" stores (which are pretty much All Things Canned and nothing fresh), a library, a post office, a couple of art galleries and a very ... eclectic used book store. The population of Chiloquin in the city is 716, but out on Agency Lake, between all the developments and ranches, the population is around 2,500. The recession has hit hard everywhere, but it's particularly bad in rural Southern Oregon, where the unemployment rate is up around 15%.

We wanted to live out in the country, away from towns, on several acres, which was why we bought out here. The views across the lake to the Cascades are gorgeous, and the wildlife refuge offers a huge variety of birds. We currently have two bald eagles roosting somewhere nearby and in the morning and we see them flying out to the small part of the lake that's not frozen to fish. We like the area, the quiet, the views, the weather.

Your Mileage Might Vary.


Weather-wise, here's a photo from this morning:


DM me if you don't have a realtor you like and I'll give you the name of mine - also DM me with the lot you're looking at and I'll take pictures of it a bit more dispassionately than a realtor trying to sell will....

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by Cornerguy1

You're going to spend $30K on a chunk of land sight unseen?

It's not that far to go have a look.

You can fly from LAX into Medford for around $250, return. Add in a car rental, some gas and even a hotel room overnight and you're still under $500 for the peace of mind of actually seeing the property and talking to folks who actually live there.

Seems like cheap insurance for a $30K expenditure.

You can fly from LAX to SFO to K Falls as well - travelocity shows flexible date fares from between $170-$298 round trip. Gotta keep those flights out of Klamath Falls populated or we'll lose what few flights we have (south-bound to SFO is doing better than K Falls to PDX right now - there are rumblings of cutting the PDX service).

[Freebird52]

Thank you to all my Forum friends for enlightening me on potential retirement life in Oregon Shores. It's time I wake up and smelled the roses. I live in Santa Monica where if I want to have a smoothie at the local Whole Foods, I basically go 1.5 miles and get it. If I move to Oregon, and I want a smoothie, I wil have to drive 50 miles to get it!!
Also who wants to shovel snow at 55!!!

Yes it is pretty up in Oregon, but a visit is forthcoming first. Must have been my fantasy side coming out again.

Happy Holidays and thanks for the common sense replies.

[PNW-type-gal]

I'd rather shovel snow than live anywhere near LA, so it takes all kinds. We have a number of So Cal retirees here who are quite happy. Los Angeles County is 4061 sq miles and has a population of 10+ million. Klamath County is 5900 sq miles and has a population of 66,000, so the difference in shopping, restaurants and availability of items is to be expected.

And it's 117 miles to a Whole Foods smoothie, as Bend has the only Whole Foods and Trader Joe's in all of Southern, Central or Eastern Oregon (the Portland area has many of both stores and one of the best Farmer's Markets in the country).

You might be much happier in one of the "resort" communities in Central Oregon that have city amenities - try Sunriver, Brasada, even Northwest Crossing. Lots won't be $20-30k, though.

[rbrannie]

We, too live in Klamath County, but we're east, near Bonanza. My husband builds houses. He hasn't built in Oregon Shores, but we've looked at lots for several owners who are thinking about building on their lot while costs are lower. It's true that the subdivision is not a quick drive to Klamath Falls, but do be aware that traffic is much lighter in this region. The pace is laid-back and the people are friendly. This is a great place to get away from it all. It's unfortunate that you can't have privacy and seclusion AND have the nearby amenities of a large city. One has to prioritize wants wishes and burning desires! Oregon Shores lots vary in topography, trees, views, etc. They are, in our opinion, a better deal than "town" lots or the more expensive Resort lots with stricter CCR's. It's worth a trip here to get to know the area and look at property. It's a great time to invest. Just before the bottom dropped out of the market, Klamath Falls was busy with development. New businesses coming in, new commercial developments, motels, dining, shopping, etc. For now, many things are on hold, but we remain optimistic that activity should resume when the market turns around. We're answering frequent inquiries from folks who are ready to be out of CA.

[RonLingle]

Originally Posted by Freebird52

Would like to learn more about life in Oregon Shores - Unit 2 Agency Lake area. I'm living in Santa Monica right now - have a small business that will keep me here for awhile. I would like to invest in a lot in OR and develop it with a one bedroom house on it eventually for retirement purposes or even resell it. Oregon Shores has a homeowner's association and they pretty much deal with the trash, water, road maintenance and all. The lots need septics and range in price from 10K - 30K (for a lake front lot). It looks gorgeous from the pics online. Was wondering if anyone is familiar with this area and can help me out with some feedback before I sign on any dotted lines and exchange any monies.

I think you would like Oregon Shores on Agency Lake. I have a lot there with power and electricity. They have a recreation center, RV part and boat dock for residence who live there or are visiting.

I also have 20 acres 1/4 mile outside of Sprague River Oregon. It is beautiful and close to the small town of Sprague River.

Ron