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Newsletter from Montana - Minnesota
August 2008
Were you contemplating about maybe living independent from the world, somewhere in the boonies growing your own food, raising some animals and being self-sufficient for the most part? Do I have a deal for you! I just listed an
80 acres farmstead in NE Montana for $300,000 and that includes the tractor with attachments and the woodshop tools! The cozy little farmhouse has a brand new kitchen and wrap-around deck. The shop is a monster of 150'x50' with a 15'x75' finished area, which has a full kitchen, bath, office, conference room and woodshop. Part of the huge building is used as a stable for the horse and goats. The greenhouse is also a commercial size 88'x30' and comes with a brand new covering, still in the box. Right now pumpkins and watermelons are ripening there. The soil is excellent and the garden produces corn, potatoes and all kinds of other veggies. There are two ponds on the property and lots of trees, because the owners kept the tradition of planting new trees every year. There are three wells on the property, one for the house and garden, one for the shop and greenhouse and one for one of the ponds in case the water level goes down in late summer. There is a large garage by the house with two finished rooms in it (no plumbing though) and a shed, which doubles as chicken coop. 40 acres are growing wheat, 17 acres are in alfalfa and a good 10 acres are pasture for the horse. There are upland birds galore on the property! A big jungle gym in the yard will keep your kids amused and the school bus comes right to your doorstep!
When I visited this new listing I drove on I-94 from Minnesota and went north in Bismarck to Minot, then went west to go over to Williston, which is 85 miles from this Ranchette. As I spoke about in my last newsletter this is an area that is growing by leaps and bounds due to the oil exploration up there. So I thought it would be fun to drive through this area to see what is happening. I found that the state highway from Minot over to Williston is now being expanded to be a 4-lane highway, which looks very much like a freeway and is dotted with brand new gas stations! I stopped in Stanley, now a town of 1,000 people and talked to locals there, since my "oil man" in Williston had told me that this is the town were it is happening. They told me the prediction is that within the next five years this town will have 7,000 people. At any rate, if you get tired of living in the Boonies or you are running out of money, get an economy car and drive the 85 miles to Williston. Jobs and shops galore! As I drove across the land up there, it is all clean and neat, dotted with farmsteads. It kind of reminded me of Denmark up there, well that might be the reason that mostly Scandinavians settled up there in North Dakota and they all seem to have the same accent as I (which is German).
Electricity generation and demand are both low in North Dakota, (since hardly anybody lives there :-). Coal-fired plants provide nearly all of North Dakota's electricity generation. Most of the coal used for power generation is supplied by several large surface mines in the central part of the State. I drove by the Falkirk mine, an impressive and huge operation! State coal production is substantial, and North Dakota brings in only small amounts of coal from other States. Hydroelectric dams account for most of the State's non-coal-generated electricity. The Garrison Dam, located about 75 miles northwest of Bismarck, is North Dakota's fifth largest plant in electricity generation capability. The vast majority of the State is rich in wind energy potential, a dozen wind power projects are currently operational, and the State has plans for further development. Nearly three-tenths of North Dakota households use electricity as their primary energy source for home heating.
If you would like to know more about the energy sources in the rest of the US, here is a great site:
tonto.eia.doe.gov
Now if you are rather in the mountains in the quaint town of Red Lodge with a ski mountain and 4 million acres of National Forest and parks next door, the same amount of money (actually just $ 275,000) buys you a
two bedroom, one bath home with a double garage and roomy yard with a hot tub. This little home was built in 1900 in the original downtown, so there are no setbacks and the lot is larger than the regular residential lots in town. There are moose tracks in the sidewalk right in front of the house! During the coal mining years, at the beginning of last century, Red Lodge had ethnic districts, such as German, Italian, English, Yugoslav, Finnish - this little house is in the Yugoslav district. We put holes in the wall for the gas stove vent and the air conditioner and found the walls are 8" thick! The house is practically new inside and has a new metal roof too. The garage is big enough for a jacked up truck plus a regular sized car with room for the shelving along the side. It is a bright and sunny little house just a few blocks from downtown and from the park at Rock Creek, our roaring little mountain stream that runs through town. And yes, you can see the mountains from this downtown home!
In case you were wondering, this little house belongs to me and if you do not want to occupy it right away, I will rent it back. The home is in the south part of town and the wildlife is abundant. We have about 50 wild turkeys taking a hike a through the yard once a day. A small herd of four deer took up residence in the bushes along the north side and momma moose and her calf sleep by the hot tub on occasion. Our trashcans in the alley are now all bear proof, but you often see a teddy with their wobbly walk meandering through the yard or across the alley if you keep an eye out at dusk. We have a well in the backyard for irrigation and while I eat breakfast, I usually sit out on the back porch and watch the lawn sprinkler shoot water high into the treetops. I find that entertaining, because about half a dozen birds come to the very tip of the branches and take a bath in it. (I do not have television :-) If you bring this newsletter, I sell the house to you for $ 250,000 and rent it back for $1,000 a month. By the way, we have delicious mountain water directly from the city. In recent years they have been required to add chlorine, but we put a filter in the basement that takes it back out.
What is your city water?
Type in your zipcode and find out. Then type in 59068 for Red Lodge :-)
We also listed a
duplex lot up in the Country Club (NO fees!). It is a whooping 15,550sqft with all utilities along the lot line, including cable, water, sewer and phone and within the city limits. It costs around $150 per square foot to build in Red Lodge, but if you build a duplex, you can rent the other half out and have an income! Nice new homes have been built around it with nicely landscaped yards. $ 89,000
If you rather have some acreage and would like to build, take a look at these parcels:
14 acres with creek, 20 miles north of Red Lodge for $ 125,000
20 acres near Joliet on a hilltop for $ 135,000
40 acres 6 miles down a gravel road for $ 120,000
45.5 acres in Nye for $ 348,000
160 acres adjacent to the 40 acres for $ 450,000
This last parcel has financing at 6% for $ 125,000
If you need an architect, give Seth Capon a call 406.728.9522 ext. 1741, email
sethc@ctagroup.com - He works for
CTA ARCHITECTS in Missoula. Seth personally specializes in Rustic Mountain Homes as well as "green," more contemporary homes.
Now let us scuttle over to Minnesota, here I have a new listing I am very exited about. It is a
113 acres gorgeous parcel mostly forested with 1,770ft of lakeshore and access to 3,200 acres of lake surface! The whole package is available for $ 850,000 but it can also be sold in chunks and is already divided into five parcels with varying prices. The lakeshore parcel with 27 acres can be bought for $450,000 (it was appraised for well over $500,000!). This parcel has two functional cabins on it with well, septic, electric and an American Walnut grove! The property is hilly and the back parcel (23 acres for $145,000) borders another lake of about 90 acres, the middle parcel (20 acres $ 135,000) borders a lake of 40 acres, and a third lot (26 acres $ 110,000) has an 8 acres pond on it. A herd of Whitetail made the land their home and there is an abundance of upland birds and waterfowl! The cheapest lot (17 acres $ 95,000) has no surface water but many nice hardwood trees and a meadow.
The land is accessible year round, one mile down a gravel road and encompasses a private cove. On those 27 acres I would let the kids stay in the cabins by the lakeshore and build a nice home on the hill behind it, overlooking the water AND the kids :-) In recent years, the old homestead is being used as a private hunting camp, fishing camp, snowmobiling hangout and for ice fishing fun. There is hardly a property that can compete regarding privacy, access to thousands of acres of lake and is located within a few miles of hospital, box stores and community events and services. Fargo is only a 45 minute stretch, which is growing by leaps and bounds and has a nice University and commercial airport.
Our
place with the horse riding arena is actually located off the same County Highway a few miles to the east and just off the pavement. You could rent the arena out to locals. We had many calls to see if the arena could be rented. It would be an extra income. The farmer keeps the property groomed with crops of soy beans, corn and wheat. We have also lots of deer on the property and ducks and geese on the ponds and pheasants in the wetlands. With a variance from the county, you could put cabins around the ponds. The lakes suitable for boating are a paved mile from there. The swimming pool would be an attraction for your guests and so is Detroit Lakes with all its festivals and events. The farmer pays almost $3,000 a year to grow his crops there and you could rent the pasture to local horse owners. There are groomed trails on the property for ATV, hunting, riding, walking or snowmobiling, which is especially fun on those rolling hills where the crops grow in summer.
My favorite lender just sent me this note the other day: "Got an email today from one of our lenders and they are offering unheard of lines of credit on commercial real estate. 5% interest only for up to 5 years, and you can renew them for an additional five years after. If this of any interest let me know. Anything I can do, business related or otherwise, don't hesitate to contact me."
"My endless efforts, in exchange for your business"
steve.mccall@homesavingsmn.com
Steve McCall - Mortgage Broker - Home Savings of America
6040 Earle Brown Dr Suite 200
Brooklyn Center, MN 55430
Office (763)231-3101 x 106
Fax (763)231-3102
Cell (763)242-8890
Did you know the hardware store has higher concentration white vinegar? Most household vinegar is 5%, so go for 10% or higher and use it to spray the weeds in your garden. It will not harm your pets but it gets rid of unwanted plants. Actually, there is a whole
website devoted to the use of white vinegar.
You can just about toss out all the poison under your sink and replace it with a bottle of white vinegar, great if you have small children around and cheap too.
Have a wonderful month of September until my next newsletter at the end of the month!
:-)
Best Regards,
Dorothea Lowe, Broker
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