Looking for SOLID and SIMPLE advice

[destructoxvi]

Hello all!

Our count down continues. My family and I (Wife (6 months pregnant), 3 year old girl and a boy on the way) have a little less than 3 months before relocating to Kalispell, Montana. Any LHBA Members familiar with that area? We will be renting out our house in Tucson, Az and hopefully will be able to make ends meet with a good renter filling the void.

I am attending the June 4/5th class. My wife really wanted to go, which I wanted her to just as much but due to the pregnancy its just not possible at this time. I will have to take notes in her fashion to make sure we are on the same page, if that is possible. LOL.

Here is the dilemma. We have a small amount of cash available to find a place to live at our new location. We want to minimize housing debt and do it nearly or all with no loan. We do not want to throw money away being renters in the meantime but do not want to jump on the first piece of property we find. We have been searching for something comfortable (ie: modular/manufacture on acreage) to suit our needs while we build a modest sized log home (kitchen/dining, living room +2 bedrooms and maybe 1 1/2 bath). The log home will need to be warm, filled with natural light, energy efficient and comfortable enough to live in for about three years. We want to later expand but at this point we are dialed into the basics. I am very eager to get to that class and tackle this adventure head on.

Anybody around here have some solid recommendations for us or key features to look for in selecting a property?

[Basil]

It takes time. I know that's not what you want to hear, though. It took us 3 years to find the property I built on. The main things to worry about are
1 will the soil pass a perk test, or does it have sewer?
2 Is there a good building spot or spots?
3 How much will it cost to get electric, road, water (or drill a well) and phone service?
4 Is it close to where you want to live?

it's really not rocket science, and most pieces of property will be suitable, which means that in the end it will come down to your personal tastes anyway.

[rreidnauer]

Yep, it took me 3 years as well, and another 3 months to actually become the owner once I found it. But I had some pretty tall requirements I was looking for.
Some very basic rules.

* Water. You got to have it or you can't live there.
* Sewer management. Because we're human, and it's inevitable fact of life.
* Financial income. Since merely living costs money, and you need a source of it.

Some less critical things, but very good to consider:

* Build site slope. The steeper it is, the more PITA and cost to build the house.
* Exposure direction. Because living on the North face of a mountain in Winter is not fun.
* Natural risk. Threat of flooding, quake, fire possible?
* Distance to supplies. How far will you need to go for food, fuel, materials, entertainment?

[loghousenut]

Heck, you guys make me look sssooooooo lazy. I won't tell you how long it took us to start building our log home after we bought this place 18 years ago. I will tell you that it is a process. It is a change of lifestyle. It is life itself, and it may not go by the schedule you have planned. That said, I think most of us on this forum will agree that it happens in due time and the outcome is favorable.

Do it however it happens for you folks, but consider getting a bit settled, and then getting a bit more settled. Your plans will evolve during and after you take the class. Renting is not throwing money away at all when you consider it against buying the wrong property. There are a ton of banks who will gladly hold your money while you look for that one perfect chunk of heaven. When you do buy the right piece of land, it will be a blessing if it has water, septic, and some kind of barely liveable structure already on it.

It sounds like you may be transferring or following work to Montana. That won't hurt your future a bit but it'll still be doable if you have no security lined up, as long as you don't starve any of the kids to death.

I suppose the main thrust of my worthless advice would be "there's no real rush". You may think you are getting old and life is passing you by but you are wrong. Life is right now. It is playing in the back bedroom and kicking in Momma's tummy. Tomorrow will probably happen right on schedule. Take the class and it'll lead you right where you oughta go.

I really wish we had built this log home 15 years ago... No I don't... While it would have been nice to raise our Son in a log home built by his parents, it has been FANTASTIC watching him grow as He and I build it together. I really like the changes it is making in our lives right now. There's no wrong time to build your future... That means there's no hurry.


http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t55/loghousenut/Wow/Rafters9-2010068.jpg

[destructoxvi]

Yep. I guess no matter what it will happen. Those reminders are solid advice. It seems so easy to get caught up in rush rush here and hurry hurry there. Meanwhile the small details, ones not to miss, keep on passing by.

That is a really cool picture you put up of working on the roof. I look forward to that day myself. That log looks massive.

[B52Bohmer]

Why Kalispell?

[Scoutman]

Kalispell area is little, or a lot (been awhile since there), pricier isn't it B52?

[B52Bohmer]

Kalispell area isn't exactly "little" by Montana standards. It has been a lot pricier but the economy in the flathead is in the dumps lately. I do believe the codes for new building can hit the pocket book pretty hard there. I don't know everything though so I'm sure destruct has it figured out. Lots of logs over there though.

[B52Bohmer]

Oops I thought you meant little, like population wise.

[Scoutman]

Nope, meant more high dollar. I know it's been a destination for those with money to burn. Summer homes and such. So I imagine prices for land, etc, have skyrocketed since I was there in the 80s.

[destructoxvi]

Hello. Apologizes for the delay. I see all kinds of message traffic here and I started this message. I have been outside prepping our stucco home, argh, for 15 gallons of fresh paint. The heat is really starting to kick in too.

Kalispell? I will work in Whitefish, MT. Whitefish is pretty expensive from my research. Surrounding areas ie; Kalispell or Columbia Falls (Think Triangle) and south of Whitefish is approximately $20-50K cheaper. I am really striving to travel no more than 20 miles one way to work. Those two towns are just that. The outskirts or surrounding areas are much cheaper and offer bigger pieces of property. If we found the perfect piece of land then I guess I would be able to travel a bit more but my wife and I do not want that. I have been commuting 1-5 to 2 hours everyday for the last 6 years and I just don't want to waste time on the road anymore.

I have been doing preliminary research on septic permits in those areas. I read that Flathead County does not require a permit but the cities require them so the county adheres to their request. This is very new to me so bear with my ignorance. A single family home septic permit is $235. A friend here in Tucson said that is very cheap in comparison to our county here in AZ. Like I mentioned I am just starting to do the research on this. I don't know if that is cheap or not. Some other evaluation fee was $150 and some other small fees.

LOTS OF LOGs and bark beetles from what I understand. I will contact the USFS when I get there and get the low down on permits to go find logs. I just need to get to that class and learn what to look for in a good log. I know it needs to be straight though. LOL.

Anybody have some ideas on self log transport? I have an F350 4x4 Powerstroke and I think it has enough power/torque to pull a good log but need to find some kind of log skid/trailer to transport them to the building site. Maybe this is better for a new thread.

[B52Bohmer]

The septic permit may be cheap but the type of septic system required might be outrageous. I live in the neigboring county and have heard "little birdies" chirping. Economy is way down over there so the time to buy land may be right but other areas nearby may be even cheaper than Columbia Falls or Kalispell.

[blane]

We found property with road, well and septic already in place and electric. So that saved us a lot of money. The structure that was there was in bad shape but we decided to put a little work into it to make it barely livable. It is a 35 year old 2 bedroom singlewide and we have 5 children so we added on a makeshift bedroom. It has been a lifestyle change that has brought us closer together than ever before, in more ways than one. One thing I have learned is that the walls that surround us is not what brings us joy, it is who is in them with you that brings the joy. After we vacated all the snakes and mice that had made their home here it has not been so bad. And it helps to keep you working hard to get you out of the tiny living quarters faster.

This photo shows our setup
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eN6Vnega8e4/TYdNkDxr9JI/AAAAAAAABKw/j8YQbS5l3mI/s1600/IMG_4141.JPG

[loghousenut]

We found property with road, well and septic already in place and electric. So that saved us a lot of money. The structure that was there was in bad shape but we decided to put a little work into it to make it barely livable. It is a 35 year old 2 bedroom singlewide and we have 5 children so we added on a makeshift bedroom. It has been a lifestyle change that has brought us closer together than ever before, in more ways than one. One thing I have learned is that the walls that surround us is not what brings us joy, it is who is in them with you that brings the joy. After we vacated all the snakes and mice that had made their home here it has not been so bad. And it helps to keep you working hard to get you out of the tiny living quarters faster.

This photo shows our setup
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eN6Vnega8e4/TYdNkDxr9JI/AAAAAAAABKw/j8YQbS5l3mI/s1600/IMG_4141.JPG

That rascal Blane is doing it like we are doing it. Buy a place with a structure that is not attractive enough for most people to pay top dollar for, and then live right there on the building site as you build the REAL house. Nice to have electricity, well, and septic ready to go, and nice to be able to walk out and work for an hour or so on the house and then drop the tools and come in for a hot shower and off to work. etc.

[destructoxvi]

Man.......I thought I was the only one that had that idea, JK. Actually, Blane that is really what we want to do. Comfortable enough yet uncomfortable enough to keep us motivated to bust our butts when the weather will permit.

On the septic stuff, I downloaded several of the sample plans that Flathead County provided on a PDF and they really do not look that bad. When I was hearing my friend tell of when they did there septic it sounded very similar in the process.

On another note, the local Ace Hardware Store down the street had a "Rain Water Harvesting Seminar" today. I am sold. I went in to the get a sanding belt for my sander. I really wanted to stick around but gotta get this house of ours painted and the sun was full blast today. It wiped me out. I cannot wait to get up there and start.

[destructoxvi]

The photo in the bucket is awesome. That is so cool. How long you been at it? How far did you go for the logs?

[blane]

Our logs were cut local and hit my property in March of last year. We moved in here September of 09 and have been working on this every Saturday and and every evening weather has permited.

Here is my blog that has not been updated in a while. We just finished our walls today.
blanefowlerfamily.blogspot.com


The photo in the bucket is awesome. That is so cool. How long you been at it? How far did you go for the logs?

[destructoxvi]

I just finished viewing you blog.

I admire what you all are doing. You all inspire me. In a world filled with depressing images and events it is truly a blessing to see your progress.