posted by iclfan2

There are some big lakes an hourish away from here, or the Mountains of Asheville are 3 hours. I go back and forth on if I'd rather be on a lake with a boat or just away from everything. There is also a private beach an hour away with condos below $200k that always intrigue me.

Love the Asheville area. Will probably move to a smaller town in that area in a year or two. Really like Brevard. For a second place, will probably get a small house somewhere in west-central Ohio where both of us have friends/family.

I'd go international, if I could. Unfortunately, I am staying close enough to family so my kiddos can have great relationships with their grandparents.

I love Northern Ireland. If it was stateside, probably around Green Bay or near a place where I can watch a lot of soccer and have a nice view.

Ski in / ski out at a prime mountain. Big Sky, Whistler, Beaver Creek, Jackson Hole.

I'll go with any.

Most likely on the southern Outer Banks, anywhere from Cape Lookout inlet down toward Bogue Inlet or even to Southport/Oak Island area, but I could be enticed to a lot of great areas.

I've had decent luck finding stuff that fits the bill in North Central Michigan. Thanks for the tip, Laley.

posted by justincredible

I've had decent luck finding stuff that fits the bill in North Central Michigan. Thanks for the tip, Laley.

No problem. Its fucking beautiful up there all 4 seasons. Decent skiing in the winter as well, if you were so inclined. Best part about the Au Sable, the current is so strong it doesnt freeze. Can take canoe trips (just dont tip) in the winter and fish year round.

posted by justincredible

I get the desire to own another piece of real estate every now and then. In the past it's been a rental property, but I could never pull the trigger. Given covid and the way society seems to be going, I'm now looking hard into a second property for us to get away to whenever we want. It looks like my job is going to be remote 100% of the time in the near future, and I'm considering negotiating 100% remote forever as we're considering a permanent move to another state or city in the relatively near future. 

I'm currently looking at larger properties (5+ acres) with a small house or cabin on it near water. My current search is in Northern Minnesota (Ely, specifically) as I'm familiar with the area and go there every year for my wilderness trip anyway. I'm also considering Michigan since it's closer. But I'm definitely looking for something wooded and private, and not really close to any big or even midsize city if I can help it.

If you could buy a property to "get away" where would it be? 

I know S&L said they have a cottage in Indiana a while back. How often do you guys go there?

Ely is amazing. I have never been anywhere else so secluded and beautiful. Seeing the northern lights from a campsite in the boundary area is unmatched. Have you been going there long enough to have been able to drink at Chainsaw Sister Saloon. We came out right by it and I was 18 and they let me buy a beer after 12 days of canoeing. I still have a tshirt from that place. 

My in laws have a place in Crested Butte, CO. They bought it 6 years ago for less then 200k and it’s valued at almost 500k now because Vail bought the ski mountain. While it’s nice to go out there I would prefer a beach house. Summers are okay out there and winters are great but you have to fly into a regional airport with only 2 flights in a day and then driving from there can be hell in the winter depending on the weather that day. The 45 min drive to the airport to mountain and back during a storm can almost ruin a relaxing trip. The first time we went out there they got 26” of snow in the first 24 hours we were there.

posted by sportchampps

Ely is amazing. I have never been anywhere else so secluded and beautiful. Seeing the northern lights from a campsite in the boundary area is unmatched. Have you been going there long enough to have been able to drink at Chainsaw Sister Saloon. We came out right by it and I was 18 and they let me buy a beer after 12 days of canoeing. I still have a tshirt from that place.

I’ve only been going since 2014, but I’ve heard stories of that place. Ely is an awesome place. 

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/3143-Ruffed-Grouse-Trl_Grayling_MI_49738_M98916-44860

I wish we were a little more baller and could afford this as a second property. Damn.

posted by justincredible

I wish we were a little more baller and could afford this as a second property. Damn.

Here's one that might actually be attainable.  If you search, there's a surprising number of places in decent climates (TN, NC, etc) with 100+ acres for about $1-$2k per acre.  As a prepper, though, I'd guess the soil and hunting might suck for that price.

https://www.survivalrealty.com/listings/dry-fly-east/

And one that's a little more baller ($1.5M in NC for 140 acres).  Scenic-wise, I love how this one rolls.  But I wouldn't want to be paying too much for existing buildings

Both properties are sweet, but I'm definitely looking for something with some sort of livable structure on it, even if it's just an A-frame or small cabin. 

That second property is awesome, but holy shit that price tag.

posted by justincredible

Both properties are sweet, but I'm definitely looking for something with some sort of livable structure on it, even if it's just an A-frame or small cabin.

Why not just build what would work for you?  Heck you could even dump a single-wide on there for like $30k.  Or just camp out until what you want is built.

The problem is you're most likely truly off grid as you probably don't have any public utilities that could be connected at an affordable price.  But a sistern and well for water.  Solar panels and generators for electricity.  Septic tank not a huge deal.

I guess the deal breaker on one of these properties would be if you could get a decent cell signal anywhere that you could build a house/cabin.

That Grayling place you posted is pretty new. We watched it be built over the last 5ish years. About 30 minute canoe ride down the river (which is probably less than a mile from our old cottage).

The pricing on those river properties tends to be the privacy as well as — obviously — being on the river. There are tons of public access points though, if you wanted one off the water, but has lots of wooded land/field.

posted by gut

Why not just build what would work for you?  Heck you could even dump a single-wide on there for like $30k.  Or just camp out until what you want is built.

The problem is you're most likely truly off grid as you probably don't have any public utilities that could be connected at an affordable price.  But a sistern and well for water.  Solar panels and generators for electricity.  Septic tank not a huge deal.

I guess the deal breaker on one of these properties would be if you could get a decent cell signal anywhere that you could build a house/cabin.

If it were just me, a single wide or camping would be fine. But my wife has much higher standards than I do.

posted by Laley23

That Grayling place you posted is pretty new. We watched it be built over the last 5ish years. About 30 minute canoe ride down the river (which is probably less than a mile from our old cottage).

The river looks awesome.

posted by justincredible

The river looks awesome.

It’s fantastic. Not sure what type of fishing you prefer, but the forest fire in the 80s took down a lot of trees near the banks, but didn’t burn them. So now they are sweeps that create fantastic fishing pools on the opposite side of the current. Natural damns, so to speak.

Deepest it really gets is just over waist. Obviously a few exceptions. Never freezes, as I mentioned, which makes winter time much more beautiful and can still fish.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/Triangle-Lk_Ely_MN_55731_M77324-50486?view=qv

Gotdamn.

In laws just bought this place...

https://www.trulia.com/p/ky/nancy/641-beechwood-dr-nancy-ky-42544--1150212093

posted by sportchampps

In laws just bought this place...

https://www.trulia.com/p/ky/nancy/641-beechwood-dr-nancy-ky-42544--1150212093

They got really lucky bought a condo in Colorado in like 2014 for about 175k. About a month ago someone offered them 600k for that condo. So they sold the ski house and bought a lake house. 

posted by sportchampps

They got really lucky bought a condo in Colorado in like 2014 for about 175k. About a month ago someone offered them 600k for that condo. 

Woah. That house is pretty sweet.

Absolutely at a lake, no more than 3 or so hours away that one could hope on over quickly and on a whim,

Do they own the property up until the water? First thing I noticed is not only no water access, but doesn’t appear to be much of a view either? That’s a lot of coin to spend if you can’t clear/chop down 70% of those trees. Next question is the local laws on building a deck...?

posted by Laley23

Do they own the property up until the water? First thing I noticed is not only no water access, but doesn’t appear to be much of a view either? That’s a lot of coin to spend if you can’t clear/chop down 70% of those trees. Next question is the local laws on building a deck...?

They own most of the land (until about 10-15’ from the water) but there is no water access anywhere on Lake Cumberland. There is a path (right beside the house with a parking lot) for the neighborhood that you can easily take a kayak and rafts in but that’s about it. There’s a community dock about 5 mins away we will use for a jet ski and then they will have a boat docked about 20 mins away. Luckily the boat dock is pretty cheap only about 2k for the whole year. They plan to add a pool in the backyard next year. 

They got the house for a good price because it needed sandblasted and stained which is going to cost about 70k to get all the black off the wood. 

posted by sportchampps

They own most of the land (until about 10-15’ from the water) but there is no water access anywhere on Lake Cumberland. There is a path (right beside the house with a parking lot) for the neighborhood that you can easily take a kayak and rafts in but that’s about it. There’s a community dock about 5 mins away we will use for a jet ski and then they will have a boat docked about 20 mins away. Luckily the boat dock is pretty cheap only about 2k for the whole year. They plan to add a pool in the backyard next year. 

They got the house for a good price because it needed sandblasted and stained which is going to cost about 70k to get all the black off the wood. 

Gotcha. I’d assume if they wanted to clear a little bit for a view, they could. 10’ is pretty close, and anything down there probably isn’t growing quite as tall after the bank goes down.

My grandma had a place on the Maumee river and got a great price on it because it was completely overgrown. She cleared it out of brush and lower branches keeping a decent amount of trees. So, so much better now.