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Help! To buy or not to buy?

 
Posts: 75
Location: North Idaho at 975m elevation on steep western slope, 60cm annual precipitation, zone 4
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http://cmbrewster.com/30-private-acres-with-a-great-cabin/

So here's my concern- it seems perfect except for the fact that the 1 mile access road is pretty rough off the forest service road. What's it take to remedy that situation? Obviously you can't do much without more details but you can drive therein summer, need a snow machine or walk in winter.

What are some things I should be thinking about with this one?
 
pollinator
Posts: 4715
Location: Zones 2-4 Wyoming and 4-5 Colorado
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Does the snowcat stay with the property?

Looks like a neat place.
The road can be maintained with a backhoe or bulldozer.
If there is a good rocky base to the road it should stay pretty good for a long time after getting it smoothed out.
Just have to be sure that runoff water gets off the road as soon as possible.
I would ask to talk with the owners and not just depend on the realtor to answer my questions.
 
steward
Posts: 1202
Location: Torrey, UT; 6,840'/2085m; 7.5" precip; 125 frost-free days
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Questions I'd ask (negative answers to which might not deter me, but I'd want to know):

is the structure insurable (esp that chimney configuration)
can you get permitted to rebuild/expand
is there fire dept service? How far away is an ambulance going to travel and are you comfortable with that (our minimum is 30 minutes; we took CPR/first aid this year)
can the home site be made somewhat defensible against forest fire?
condition/legality of culinary water and septic systems
who owns the subsurface rights
easements, in writing and implied by long-term use
any other restrictions, like a population of protected sage grouse, endangered tortoises or the last known habitat of the inland dolphin

Get a survey. Here it is customary but not guaranteed that the seller pays.

Looks gorgeous, hope it works for you.
 
M.R.J. Smith
Posts: 75
Location: North Idaho at 975m elevation on steep western slope, 60cm annual precipitation, zone 4
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Thanks for the thoughts. How would I know if it is defensible or not? This was in the sun dance fire in 1967 so I don't know if that's good because it's clean or bad.

The cat is included. It's steep though as we'll look at this!

image.jpg
[Thumbnail for image.jpg]
 
Ann Torrence
steward
Posts: 1202
Location: Torrey, UT; 6,840'/2085m; 7.5" precip; 125 frost-free days
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Here's some info on creating a defensible fire perimeter. Kind of cool that the zone concept overlaps with the permaculture zones.

Looks like the cabin has a metal roof. That is a key defense strategy right there.
 
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