Bored Yet?

 Continuing on with my mental math and musings, the valuation of the building is totally different than how much it's actually going to cost in materials, time and equipment. That is a harder number to come up with since you have to pay the company that made the plans to see a cost estimate. I've got a generic list that I can pick through and look on home depot and other places for cost. That doesn't include all the other stuff as well as paying for the labor. Jon and I can't do the big stuff but get the electrical wired, all the other stuff in and we'll take it from there. 

I have a friend in SL (Second Life aka the Original 'Metaverse') who is building a new house from his old one. He's having to demolish his old house, had to get all the permits and fees and stuff and so far to this point it's taken him three years where it would normally only take one. Because ya know... Covid and all that. He also lives in the Midwest so they're having issues now with weather so from that and seeing other projects like that I know that even if I were to miraculously win the lottery this weekend with enough money to do this, it may be another four years before we actually move in. Maybe longer. If we're still alive and can move.

I looked at what South Bend is like, how big it is, all that jazz... according to the 2010 census... their population was 1,637. Yes... less than 2000 people in this tiny town. It's known for oysters and scenic views. Wow. Not a Costco within 50 miles, major grocery store is also a good drive, apparently a lot of older people settle down here to retire. There's a golf course, a casino, local museums and landmarks...hooboy. REALLY small town! Remember this is South Bend WA not Oregon which has  100,000 more people.

So Jon and I don't like dealing with people but when you look at the demographics of such a small place it's rather... scary? 83% of the population is white. Moderate conservative is the political leanings and let me tell you folks... that is even more frightening. But then we would only be making a trip to go shopping maybe once a week, not hang out around the pot bellied stove in the local store all day. So that's not really a factor but it is to be considered. Also the average temperatures in the summer get maybe into the low 70's. Winter of course is almost half that but as long as it doesn't snow too much, a good heating system and a tight house, we're good. Yearly rainfall is around 80 inches with most of that happening in January.

See all the stuff I know to look at for a location? It's not just land and how much it will cost. The weather is a huge factor and of course how close any stores and such are. One of the reasons why the weather is this way is due to being almost right on the ocean, which is again a big factor. The reason why I wanted to move to Washington was because of the trees and mountains. I've lived near the ocean most of my life and I love the smell of an ocean breeze but I also love taking walks through redwoods or big trees. It is also very very flat. I've also been near mountains/hills all my life and the idea of seeing mountains in the distance only is not ideal.

So maybe South Bend WA is not a good location as far as I'm concerned, I know Jon will go wherever I will go as long as he has gravel and cement and buildings somewhere near he's good.

I considered looking at land on Anderson Island where my friend Miki lives initially because I'm familiar with it and would be close to her farm.

Issues are multiple, first off the ferry is the only way to get there the other is it is in itself a very tiny town smaller than South Bend. Most of the land parcels are in the 'Riviera Community Club' which is the retirement/HOA governed area. They have limits on what you can build, mostly no tiny houses or mobile homes. Miki was lucky that she got a property that is independent of that and has worked that farm so well over the past five years it's incredible. Anyway.

The island has it's own fire department and electricity junction. When I visited once and woke up to the sound of a helicopter idling I didn't think anything of it but after a minute my eyes flew open. This is an island in the middle of Puget Sound not San Diego!  Turns out someone had a medical emergency during the early morning hours before the Ferry was running and had to be airlifted. 

So it's isolated, surrounded by water, snows more now than it did five years ago but it's still sheltered though it does have windstorms. Back up generator and alternate heat source is highly advised. 

Back in 2007 a company bought up hundreds of land lots for very cheap, 4,000-7,000 and sold them to investors, mostly in California who then sold them for quadruple the price. Most of these lots are undeveloped land. Trees and brush that need to be cleared as well as land that needs to be leveled and such. Now some of those plots are anywhere from $14,000 to $135,000 depending on where it is.

So let's say I want to settle on Anderson Island instead. Jon has issues with being on a boat and the only way to get to 'town' is on the ferry otherwise there's a little general store/post office where the locals get supplies. 

I found a reasonable piece of land, mostly level and has power and water but unknown about sewer. As parcels go and location this isn't bad. The price is nice too, only $16k! Now, why is it so cheap???

8817 Johnson Rd #64, AI, WA

From the listing: (almost identical for all of them)

  "Large and level 8,988 sq ft lot on cul de sac. (The white lines on the picture tell me it's not exactly level). Lightly wooded with low brush (still needs clearing) and perfectly encapsulated (very isolated from neighbors as you can see where the other buildings are) for your future home site. Perc test completed in 2020 with water and power in street (Still needs to be connected but at least it's there!. Follow excavator tracks to walk through the property! (no driveway or path other than that)"

 

Lightly wooded means it still may need some clearing, sewer needs to be spec'd out and done, because it's in a wooded area there are other fees that need to be paid for possible wetland mitigation, clearing, all that jazz so the cost of actually making the lot usable is a bit more expensive. 

Most of the parcels on the island run about the same size, a little over 8,000 sf. More than enough for what we need. According to the google topo map it is mostly level.

Okay so will start working on the numbers for this site tomorrow.