Should I waste a lot of money?

[DVM gone riding]

wow, you found 11 acres on a lake within weekend driving distance of Seattle that can be built on for only 59k??? With traffic on oh say Fri afternoon of 4th of July weekend how bad is the drive??? That to me would be the kicker since getting out of Seattle to wherever is never fun!

Not only might it be fun for you it might actually qualify as a good investment!

[Peace Of Mind]

If it's been your dream I think you should do it, but I would definitely do your research on the land to make sure there aren't any building restrictions or environmental issues esp. for future if you want to sell. I would also ask the owner for permission to camp out there for a trial run.

That's similar to what we did two years ago.

We purchased 1.82 acres(we don't want a lot of upkeep and exorbitant property taxes) on a private spring fed ski lake that is approx. 45 minutes to an hour from our home. We have a shed, patio, canoe, gas grill, paper plates, napkins, etc. out there and just pack the food and drinks in a cooler. We also made a nice fire pit and we bought nice outdoor furniture with a table/fire pit in that too (for smaller fires). We just store the cushions in the shed when we aren't out there. We have tiki torches, Off bug spray, life jackets, tools... all kinds of stuff out there.

We put $20K down and financed the rest with our house refinance that we did last year. We only pay 4.5% on it. We have bon fires out there, or camp fires in the fire pit. We do projects like installing a fence... stuff like that.

We have no idea if we'll build a vacation home out there or bring out a 5th wheel one day or just camp and play until values go up and sell it - or retire out there and sell this place. But we have many options. It's in a subdivision with minimal rules and no HOA and we have access to the neighbor's well water that he piped on to our property back when they owned it.

ETA: My only concern would be how rural it is and if you'd be stuck out there by yourself. I wouldn't like that. I don't need or want a crowd, but I would at least want my DH and/or some friends out there with me.

[cronewitch]

I will just invite all of you.
Even the Canadians, we can learn to speak Canadian. You can bring kids and pets too.

[robbase]

this is a verrryyy bad idea. What about your heirs?

[olderburgher]

Go for it. In 1998 with an inheritance from my Mom we bought a cabin near a state park that we'd visit each year with our kids and rent a place for that week. We have never looked back and our grandkids now refer to our cabin as "Our Cabin" meaning theirs too. Yeah there is extra work, etc. But when you sit on the porch/deck and watch the birds and the trees and the clouds. It is worth every dime and the extra work.

[Deleted]

Jul 7, 2011 0:15:30 GMT -5 cronewitch said:

I will just invite all of you.
Even the Canadians, we can learn to speak Canadian. You can bring kids and pets too.

Then you should definately buy!!!! ;D

[Wisconsin Beth]

Jul 6, 2011 21:08:11 GMT -5 Havoc said:

Jul 6, 2011 20:39:27 GMT -5 @bonnap said:

Can you stay nearby for a few days to get an idea of what's going on in the area? Besides taking a look at the property itself I'd make a trip to the County planning dept and spend some time in the local diner.

Ding-ding-ding!!!! Winner!!!

I absolutely love shopping for rural land, and while most of it is for timber we do have a "recreation spot"... but you should definitely take some time to go up there and nose around for a few days. Land is not created equal, and an hour or two visit with the realtor or broker might enhance the magic of it, you should spend some time in the area (although it sounds as if you are already familiar with it from fishing?), coupling it with a few trips to the property (ask the realtor if it would be OK for you to pitch a tent for a night, spend a day there - might say "no" because of liability issues, but worth a shot). That will give you time to assess *How accessible the "private road" is to the vehicle you and/or the people who you would like to visit you drive. *What haapai said: is this in a particular area that is an absolute skeeter metropolis? *checking with development office to see how possible it is to get a building permit, sink a well & septic, etc. Rules can get a little funny when you're building new stuff close to water.... and lots more boring-but-pertinent things. Like don't you guys have a problem with some kind of pine beetle out there?

It might have been sitting on the market because there is something wrong with it... but it might just be the economy.... or the owner might be asking something outrageous in comparison to other marketed properties. I've got a piece near our farm that has been on the market for nearly FOUR years.... and while land prices have come up, he is still nearly 30% over market price. So checking out some other properties in the area, esp. other "water lots", would be good too.

But, financially, if you can swing it, and the pieces all fit - go for it!

Damn, where were you in 2009 when DH and I were buying land? We don't regret our purchase even though we're only used the land once since we bought it. We've got toddlers and I expect we'll be up there a lot in a couple of years but in the meantime, it sits. ;D

[973beachbum]

Jul 6, 2011 18:37:51 GMT -5 @rj said:

I say go for it, If you die with a bunch of money, you still die

You have the money. You should use it to enjoy your life. ;D

[hockeygrl]

I remember watching Mt. St Helens blow up in 1980. If I remember correctly, Spirit Lake was instantly flash boiled away when she blew. A friend of ours was up there camping in that area and died in the blast. I would say the memories of that blast are what is keeping that particular lot from selling. I haven't been back to Washington in years, but I hear the area around the mountain is absolutely beautiful now.

I would probably buy it because it is so lovely and, well, if you die in a volcanic eruption that is kind of a cool way to go. People up there have been ranting about Rainier blowing away the Puyallup valley for years, and most of my family decided they liked Enumclaw and Black Diamond more than they feared the idea of the mountain killing them. They have been saying the same about St Helens since 1980, too, and there hasn't been much activity there for a while.

[cronewitch]

Jul 7, 2011 6:04:20 GMT -5 @robbase said:

this is a verrryyy bad idea. What about your heirs?

My heirs will be old and might like the land. I don't have children or grandchildren so I only care about me . My ISO will probably inherit it if I died first and he is 64 now. I could leave it to him then leave my entire estate to nieces and nephews if I don't spend it all. But I intend to live to 100 or so and the kids are 38-41 now so will be over 80 when I die.

[Gardening Grandma]

I say, "Go for it" (as long as we are all invited, LOL)

Having built 5 years ago in WA state, the only thing I'd do differently is buy the land with a contingency on passing a feasibility study. It might not actually be buildable for reasons that are not obvious. The study would probably cost $1K to $2K, but would be worth it.

(We did not have that done at the time of purchase, and when we applied for a building permit, the county required a feasibility study. It passed, but with the stipulation that the foundation be built on native soil (not fill). I lost quite a bit of sleep until it passed)

[skubikky]

How about this? See if the owner of the property would let you rent the space for the summer? You can schlep some of your stuff up there and field test it? Along the lines of what Bonnap suggested. In the end, I think I'd rather rent than own at your stage of life....less is more..JMHO.

[skubikky]

Jul 7, 2011 9:58:21 GMT -5 hockeygrl said:

I remember watching Mt. St Helens blow up in 1980. If I remember correctly, Spirit Lake was instantly flash boiled away when she blew. A friend of ours was up there camping in that area and died in the blast. I would say the memories of that blast are what is keeping that particular lot from selling. I haven't been back to Washington in years, but I hear the area around the mountain is absolutely beautiful now.

I would probably buy it because it is so lovely and, well, if you die in a volcanic eruption that is kind of a cool way to go. People up there have been ranting about Rainier blowing away the Puyallup valley for years, and most of my family decided they liked Enumclaw and Black Diamond more than they feared the idea of the mountain killing them. They have been saying the same about St Helens since 1980, too, and there hasn't been much activity there for a while.

I remember flying out to San Francisco for a job interview my senior year of college(1980) and seeing the ash from Mt. St. Helens...crazy.

[Gardening Grandma]

Is Goat Lake that close to Mt St Helens?

I'm sorry for the folks who died in that eruption, but there were a lot of warnings. An old guy named Harry Truman had lived there for years. He was warned repeatedly to evacuate, but said he was going to stay even if he died there. He did.

[cronewitch]

The lake is near the visitor center for St Helens and Toutle is the town named after the river that was destroyed with ash.

I remember the eruption well we got gas masked in case the ash was too bad to breathe. We used panty hose over the carburetor in cars to keep the ash out. An eruption would be really bad there but they usually have warnings long ahead with quakes and smoke.

[Clever Username]

I married into a family with lake property. It can be very nice. But look into the rules and restrictions.

One uncle with a big plot of land which includes an entire lake (pond, more like) technically doesn't own the lake. The water district does. He can't build on it, swim in it, fish or anything. He's cool with it, but you'd hate to learn that in hindsight.

My inlaw's prop had a lake house, which was nice, but they were later outlawed, for those not grandfathered.

Read up on local easements, and rights of passage. Another property I know of becomes a snowmobile road in winter.

[debtheaven]

That is what I worry about, my brother and his daughter bought campsites 75 miles the other way. Everyone goes there.

Hmm. Could you find someplace closer to them, or at least in the same general direction? You're pretty close to your family. I'm all for you wasting that money! But I think you'd have much more fun wasting it to be in the same general vicinity as them rather than risking being isolated in the other direction.

[bring in the new year]

I would also look back at old newspaper articles to see what happened to the lake when Mt. St. Helen blew the last time.

It looks beautiful and I might say go for it.

But I'd also try and get a basic water test on the lake. You don't want to find out there's some seepage from somewhere else that means you can't eat the fish or use the ground water for bathing. (Truth be told, I'm think there's sometime issues with ground water near volcanoes but I could be crazy)

So the water's fine, there's nothing wrong the lot and no one disappears into the woods and ends up dead every Halloween. Before you buy it, act as if you own it. Plan to go out there on a Friday evening and come home on a Sunday. Plan to go when there's been lots of rain and when there hasn't been any. Try it for three months and see how tired you get of making the trek, and if the traffic makes you crazy or there's a horrendous odor after a storm or something.

And if none of that's true? Have a good time and post pictures.