I just put a bid on a 1 acre parcel on a small lake near Hayden, ID. I low bidded with cash offer and we are counter offering now. I got them to drop price about 20 per cent from their high a month ago. There is electric and sewer already hooked up to property. And 13 k in sewer fees -hookup already paid by the seller.

There is timber to be cleared out and it slopes down to the lake. Front half of property 25 ft from road slopes about 5 to 7 feet in the general building area. So some extra costs in building. Thinking of a day light basement type build and a smaller 1800 to 2000 sq ft house.

According to all of the realtors in area there are a lot of inquiries in this area despite the economy. If I get property probably sit on it til next year until economy sorts outs out. Spoke to a few local builders and advised building costs are very high now.

Any input on buying property now?

The way Uncle Sam is throwing money about, inflation is bound to increase. If you think it's for you, I'd say buy.

You know what they say about free advice?

Yeh I know, I like having cash now but seemed like a decent opportunity to at least buy as an investment.
Right next to Hayden lake and many very nice homes in area

Buy now!

And water? Id want to find out about the soils, building dept may be able to help you (of course they could, question really is will they). Are thre ccrs youll need to comply wirh? If so there is probably an association, id look into them and any budget, plans, etc. (Copies if say last 3 meetings minutes).

Very little CCR's. No association, Just stick built home, no min sq footage. There are nice houses each side of property. I ve have had 3 different builders look at property. The county is shut down due to virus still waiting on inquiries from clerk. I can't find any hidden issues. The previous owner donated it to a non profit group when he passed so they are selling it.

County, water, sewer hook up, electric already ran too property.

Where does it fall to the comparable's in the area? What is the sellers motivation? What is the tax liability after the property is developed? You said it has a slight grade what is the actual water runoff looking like? Can you afford to sit on it a few years (more than a year or two) before building? Building Materials around here are very high! I am sitting on a piece of property now for that very reason. The thing about the materials cost is there is no reason other than demand right now. If you compare to other areas it is absolutely crazy. So I personally think if you want to pay fair value for materials you are either going to have to sit and wait or truck it in from another market area. Which I have looked at, but still inflates the cost. Another thing I didn't see you mention was if the well was in yet or not.

May be a wonderful opportunity, certainly seems you bid aggressively but correctly, i think you did very well there assuming you have checked what similar lots have sold for and you're happy with the price. I dont think anyone truely knows what the economy will do in the next 24 months. Im hoping a release of pent up purchasing once were back to normal

Its an established community community so no recent land sale comps

I can sit and wait a year or 2 to build so no hurry. There's one lot up the road 1/2 an acre about $40 k more. but sits on a near by golf course and is more level property.

is it waterfront as in on the lake? Or just in the lake neighborhood with access rights? I would dig deep for comparable's even if older or on another lake similar. But if you think that the price is right and that you can sit on it. Why not buy it?

If I find a piece of property I like at a reasonable price, I’m writing a check. Coronavirus be damned.

Chit is expensive right now, but the fed printing money at full steam. As long as you don't have less than a 3 year horizon I think you will be fine. Lumber and building prices have not dropped much, but I notice the mills are still closed here ( <- that's a hint).

State and local governments are going to be strapped for cash, what will that do to property taxes?

yes some of property has some water front. About 50 feet

I like general area as over 60 lakes in 50 mile radius plus lots of rivers

I kicked up about 20 turkeys on property yesterday and 3 deer bedding there while walking it.. There are elk in area too.

that's a plus

Taxes are low in Idaho and conservative govt. Economy is opening much quicker than rest of US.

I do not know if it is good / right input or not, but my thought is this .. it depends on your financial situation. I'm not going to second-guess yours. We have people on the forum from high school / college students living on student loans to retired entrepreneurs with "more money than God." Personally, I would not take on new debt unless my income were rock solid, but if I had "excess" cash in the bank or if my job were such that the market impacts of the virus can't touch me directly or indirectly, then I'd say go for it. Sort of hate to be parasitic / take advantage, but I think when the moratorium on rental evictions and foreclosures ends, there are going to be opportunities for people who have cash because others have fritter theirs away and won't be able to pay their bills.

Tom

This is spot on, opportunities will only get better and cash will be king. That said, and to the OP, this deal might be perfect for you now so you must act. Hard for us to say. But the deals are coming, and that makes me sad to say that but reality is a 20%+ unemployment rate!!

Vacant land, always. Residential, sure. Commercial....eh, I’d hold off. There’s gonna be bargains...

My thesis is the mills are not running because demand is low, not because they can't run. That being said retail lumber prices have not moved much, but I see more contractors advertising looking for work. So a cheaper time to build might be in our near future. The last few years getting sub contractors has been a goat rope in this area.

You can't go wrong buying that parcel. Anything near Pend Oreille, Hayden, or Spirit Lake will be gold. I wish I still had property there.

I normally would wait but this area is booming now despite the virus and many across the US are relocating here because of political environment and fantastic recreational opportunities. There's construction everywhere now ( it won't shut down like other states) and have contacted 5 area builders and are all booked up through summer. Maybe this is temporary ?

Thats my thought too

You going to be able to cut down those trees?

Yep. Not all of course . Have a local guy will cut for free to keep the timber.

Maybe this is temporary ?

No I don't think it is temporary, it has been this way for the most part from Bozeman West all the way to Spokane for the past 5 plus years. Reason I don't see it slowing is that most that have relocated to this area either work remotely or are independently wealthy. They don't care or need the local economy and they have driven up prices to prove that!

I think you know your answer, you know what the price is, you know the area, and you know what you want.

On most property I'd say wait because I think better deals will be coming. However, if it's a good piece that you want then you don't want to let it go. It's always the right time to buy if it's something you really want. I live in an old farmhouse that was on a 16 acre parcel that had been cut out of 200 acres that I already owned. I'm sure glad I bought it when it came up for sale 20 years ago, I've remodeled the house and have 220 acres surrounding it.

I've been hearing that for 20 years. In that length of time, land prices have increased TEN fold in my area.

Funny thing about Land out West is there is plenty of it and it has only gone up!

I looked at a 10 acre lot in Cedar City UT back around 1994. They were asking $12,000.00 for it. At that time I was still in the Corps and about to head out on the MEU so I passed. BIG MISTAKE!

I have bought and sold land parcels before, and always done fairly well with them.
The best, though, happened after I got divorced, and was renting a duplex on a lake in a golf course development. An acre lot next to the duplex belonged to a guy who was selling off everything to pay off big medical bills, and wanted only $20K for a quick sale of the lot. I jumped on it, and 5 years later, I was contacted by a guy wanting to know if I would sell it. He wanted to build a house on the lot. I ended up selling it to him for 6X my original price, and reinvested it in the purchase of a farm I presently own. Wish I could find a few more deals like that today!

You should not have bought that property. You are better off in Sawyer co. Wisconsin where we have a governor that doesnt want anyone to even go to a bar in fear of getting a virus. All kidding aside, land in Price and Sawyer county is really down a lot. It is just not selling. I was looking for land in Upper Michigan and for several years it didn't sell very well at all. In the last year it went up and many good parcels around Lake Michigan got sold. There were some really good deals and now wish I would have bought a chunk. Land seems to be going up all over except northwest Wisconsin and parts of Upper Michigan. Minnesota seems higher than us. I think you did very good. Land in the west has really went up. I have a friend in Livermore ,Colorado . Five yrs ago you could pick up some land for very reasonable. Now it is mostly gone and double in price .

A quick zillow search shocked me, 125 grand an acre being considered normal to low, that seems beyond stupid to me, I thought people moved to Idaho to get away from people, if its what you want go for it, but there are plenty of places that that kind of money will buy a whole lot more !

I love those deals! But they don't come up as often as people believe. But like you did, when they do you better be ready to pounce on it.

I would buy it. We headed to NW Montana (living in Calgary) fifteen years ago to look and looked at a number of nice places. We then headed over to north Idaho to look. We looked at a number there with the last one just clicking for both of us. Little did my wife know I had a pre-approved loan lined up, had sold some stock options and we had cash. "Let's buy it". "What, how can we do that"? I let the cat out of the bag and we bought the place, a recently built house on six acres. In 2008 we bought the five acres next door dirt cheap. One of the best decisions we have made as we really enjoy it up there and are booked for Spokane in a few weeks. We are located fifteen miles NE of Sandpoint at the base of the Cabinets.

I love spirit lake. My in-laws had a place there when I was stationed at Fairchild. always got ice cream In Rathdrum.

Zoning setback regulations would be one of my first concerns.

That is too easy to find out! And he has an acre so maybe not as close as he wants to build but I am sure there is plenty of room for what he is looking to do.

Only so much lake shore and it won't be getting cheaper. I say buy it if you either want to live on the water or flip it after putting up a building. I live on Lake Champlain and it was the best decision I ever made.

Thought about buying a 6 pack of craft cider at the gas station.

Wife gave me the malo ojo. She didn't know I had a couple 20s in my pocket from selling a knife.

Closed on 3.7 acres 150' on the Caddo River here in SW Arkansas last Friday. Land on the Caddo keeps going up since we first bought 20 years ago. Paid full price only because it was fire sale priced, 3 lots up for sale on a Wednesday and all under contract next day.

Bought as investment or to build on if we get to the point we can't keep up the orchards and gardens here.

My avatar is pic of me on our gravel bar just up river of the lot we just bought.

Ain't skeered of no corona.

congrats!! I love fly fishing white river down by you but I need elk, big mountains, and skiing where I live

Im renting a house now with land about a mile from the property. I see moose, small elk herds, deer, lots of turkeys almost every day hiking by house and fantastic fishing and skiing in area . Its worth it.


I guess good news is houses right by the property run 550k to over a a million six so should be decent investment . Golf course about 1/2 mile away. Downside no diversity in area and very low crime. Few mosquitos and ticks in area and 68 and sunny today and always low humidity which I love.

ribka great thing is you only have to please yourself and the wife! So when you closing?

I know cash is the prudent move but mortgages can’t get any cheaper and a few years from now those that locked in long term silly low rates are going to feel pretty good about that decision

My debt to assets ratio is extremely low. I’ve considered borrowing more just because rates are so silly. I can make the payments on whatever I borrow without a worry though

You are right about that. I have been looking for another place here to buy. If they are going to give away money I'll do my best to take what I can of it.

The banks, at least the ones Ive contacted, are not giving construction loans now due to virus so thinking to build it slowly with cash with sub contractors next year when costs are hopefully down then when finished get home appraised then get a loan because mortgage rates are so low now. I think with the virus they will have to stay low but who knows.

Then take out cash maybe on 70 per cent of it. Builders are quoting $220 to $240 a sq foot. I want to do for under $160 sq foot and do as much finish work myself.

Anyone done this?

Sounds like you've already decided it's a good deal, and you've done your due diligence. You already got him to pull his pants down, don't let someone come in there and benefit from all your negotiations. Like the old saying goes, they ain't making any more, particularly desirable stuff.

Hopefully in a few weeks . You can tell Im bored today lol

Awesome looking forward to seeing it. Post up pictures

Seems like something you like, and want, and can afford.

Or, you know, you could wait until the second time you live, and get it then.

Its a beautiful lake and a very nice neighborhood. Do they have discharge laws (firearm)?


Buy it.

Buy the damned thing!

Hayden is just down the road from me. Welcome to the neighborhood!
This area seems like it won’t slow down growing. Folks seem to still me heading here even more as they watch their state governments during this pandemic.
The first question for the county is if they will require a site disturbance plan if it is mapped as steep in their GIS layer.
https://www.kcgov.us/DocumentCenter/View/1459/Site-Disturbance-Application-PDF

You’re probably over 10% slope and within 500’ of water so you’ll have to have a plan. It’s not too difficult but there will be some extra hoops and costs.

I know a guy that bought 20 acres in Montana about 15 years ago. Was next to a significant trout river. Paid about $250,000 for it and dumped it last year at $100,000.

Thanks. The county courthouse is shutdown and the Kootenai County website is really lacking for research and the county not returning my emails.
Appreciate the help. I'll run this by a local builder tomorrow who is from this area.

I owe you a good bottle of whatever is your choice of drink

You should buy a knife from him as well they are pretty dam good!

I would like a new bird/trout knife. Will reach out

Thanks