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Newsletter from Montana
January 2007
We have a home in Red Lodge again! We bought a small house close to the High School at 620 S Word and that is where you can find me. Just drive through downtown, past the Yodeler Motel, there is a big arrow, which says: "turn right". So, turn right, two blocks up, turn right again, it is the first house on your right. Tanja is thrilled to be able to finish high school in Red Lodge, and I am thrilled that she can walk to school and even comes home for lunch! It is a small house and a far cry from the spectacular Victorian we owned before, but all a person needs is a bed a and a bucket, right? No? Well, if you are not into minimalism, you will love the home I just listed:
It is
four miles south of Red Lodge, on Rock Creek with a swimming pool, guest house, stable, small island, three fireplaces set into huge rock walls, stained glass windows from a church in England, oak paneling, two hot tubs by the creek, sauna, four car garage, oak, slate and tile floors, new granite counter tops in the kitchen, glass cast sinks, private bridge across the creek, electric gate and log ranch gate, paved parking area, cedar siding.... In other words to replace it, you would pay at least $ 200 per square foot - there are 10,000 sqft of living space! The 733 ft of Rock Creek frontage are valued at $ 1,000 per foot, so that is a $ 2,850,000 value right there. They are selling it for $ 1,650,000 an unbelievable value! My concern with having it under priced like that is that people, who are looking for large high quality living space, probably do not even look at anything for under $ 2,500,000. We will we see how it goes. At least you know about it, so spread the word! The present owners are running it as a vacation rental, but because they kept renovating it and sprucing it up, it was closed for much of the year, but even at that it grossed over $ 80,000. Being a fancy residence, it had an illustrious past with previous owners. Reaching from oil tycoons to big game hunters with a gold plated Ferrari. The last people just sold it because it needed cleaning up and they did not feel like doing it. Just like some people buy a new car, because the ashtray is full. Well, the present owners are responsible business owners and did a wonderful job updating it and the home is ready to move in or to be promoted as an executive retreat! What a place! I was always admiring it when I drove by. There is a big natural rock wall behind it, which is part of the property. The master bedroom was built like a commander's bridge with balconies to both sides of the home and one over the living room. It reminds me of the castles in Germany, so I translated the page into German, just in case. Click on the German flag under the header and read it back to me :-)
If you like to see more pictures of Red Lodge, the chamber of commerce just revamped
their website.
Doesn't that look like a place where you would like to live?
If you like to develop land, build spec homes or would just like to own
an old ranch that has been in the same family for 100 years with a whole mile of riverfront, here it is: 153 acres on the Clark's Fork (of the Yellowstone) River in Belfry. It is all level and buildable, out of the floodplain with excellent irrigation rights. 80 acres are already divided into 20 acres parcels if you would like to sell off some land. It is just 15 minutes from skiing and Red Lodge and an hour from Billings. The old farm buildings are not functional anymore but great for atmosphere. The corrals are still in working condition and so is the fence. Belfry is at about 4,200ft elevation, while Red Lodge is at 5,700ft. The summers are a little longer there and they do not get quite as much snow. $ 1,275,000.
Belfry is up and coming with new subdivisions being put in just south of Belfry. Rumor has it, nice homes will be built along the Clarks Fork there.
Because we moved into the little house by the high school, the living quarters at the
hangar are now vacant. It sure was a fabulous place to live, with unobstructed mountain views from the deck and the wall of glass. My daughter Tuula enjoyed the spacious kitchen with the granite counters while she was visiting over Christmas and cooked up a storm, Tanja and I had enough to eat for the rest of January. Tanja walked to school from there just about every day, because there is the nice little walkway from up there down the hill to downtown. The hangar is double re-enforced steel construction, so it held up fabulous during those severe winter storms we were riding through for a few days. If you are looking for a second home in the mountains and have a little plane to get around in, this is the place to be! Clearance for the tail is 13'8" - but you can always raise the nose to lower the tail with a ramp.
Are you in the market for a duplex or just a home in the country club close to town and all amenities? I have a
third of an acre/? in the country club for sale for $ 69,000. All you need is 5% down ($ 3,450) and Leo Hart at Home 123 Mortgage will finance the rest. 406.671.5751 Cell Leo.Hart@home123.com The 5% down applies for properties up to 10 acres. If you plan to build within 6 months, he can roll the land loan into the one time close construction/permanent loan. Actually this could get you 100% financing on the total package because the new loan will be based on appraised value not construction costs. Give him a call to get the latest rates.
Our ski mountain in Red Lodge is just four miles up the hill from downtown. When you go snow boarding (especially) or skiing, stay away from trees with snow laden branches. The tree branches shield surrounding ground and leave a hollow with very loosely packed snow (tree well). Once someone falls into that, the branches above will fill it up with snow and suffocate whoever falls into it. The chance that somebody gets back out by himself is very slim. These deadly accidents are on the rise as snow boarding becomes more popular. Tell your kids!
I told Tuula, my daughter, and she sent me a link to this spectacular panorama from the top of Mt. Everest. It was once published to honor Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay who were the first to reach the top in 1953. Since then about 1,500 people have made it to the top, while 140 climbers died on the way. On May 24, 1989 the Australian photographer and mountaineer Roderick Mackenzie reached the summit. He was number 271 since 1953. He made this
360 degree panorama from the top. Click and drag to move around (the menu in the upper right has more panoramas).
If you rather stay warm or your doctor prescribed "moist heat," you might want to get a large bag of white rice and pour it into an old pillow case, tie a knot and stuff the whole thing into the micro wave for 3-4 minutes. Then put it under your sheets to sooth your aching back or warm your cold feet at bed time. I would not go to bed without it in winter.
Of course, the best way to stay warm is with a nice gas fire place. When we moved into this little house, that was the first thing I had installed. Gas works even if your electricity is down. For under $ 2,000 you can stay warm and watch the flames dance. I bought the fireplace from Harold Heimer, who also cheerfully installed it, and he is a really nice guy! If you have a home around here in Montana, his email address is
harry@nemontel.net Cell phone 406/861 2049 and home number 406/328 6703
I hope you are enjoying the winter by a cozy fire until my next newsletter at the end of February!
:-)
Best Regards,
Dorothea Lowe, Broker
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