I'm looking at properties because reasons (mostly because I don't have $350+ to buy something with a building on it) and I'm curious if anyone has done the RV->shop->house thing.

We're looking to stay debt free and cash flow as we go so I realize that it'll be a couple of years, best case. I realize that things aren't what they used to be and this isn't a great time to be doing things like this but I also think that it's not going to get any better in the future. (The best time to plant a tree is 10 years ago, the next best time is today)  I have to believe that you can be in a worse position than sitting on 5 acres that you own outright and having skills that people will pay for.

We're thinking that we should be able to at least get under a shop roof before the first winter.


Let's hear some stories!

I just had about a 3,000 word essay typed out and deleted before posting. I’ll just leave you this with IMHO choose your neighbors wisely!

My budget won't allow that situation. We'll be lucky to get a roof to park a camper under, water flowing and septic plumbed by winter.  It'll be a rough go for a couple of years, probably.

I'm looking at places that are 20-40 acres being split into 5 acre parcels. We'll not have a ton of say in who becomes the neighbors. We'll have the benefit of them most not likely not being the bad kind of "poors" because they won't be able to afford to pay $50k an acre for raw land.

what part of ID are you looking?

Sandpoint area

Are you looking to subdivide it or are you looking at parcels that are already subdivided? Check  the CC&R's. Any subdivision (regardless of lot sizes) probably have at least a rudimentary set of CC&R's. The first thing they put in them is how long you can stay in a trailer during construction (typical is one year). Just do your homework.

Yeah Sandpoint, if you plan on living on one of the parcels try to get a feel for who your existing neighbors are! If you are a developer and just splitting it and selling it then I guess whatever… You might be stealing someone’s dream.
There are some complete nut jobs here and some of them are LEO - at least one LOL!

Based on a 10 year historical window I could only tell someone why they shouldn’t try this in Sandpoint from our experience. Maybe someone else here has an opposite story???

Also, if you are looking at a particular piece of property that needs wells call a driller to look at it and let us know how that goes

I'm looking at properties that are already subdivided into the lots. I'm focusing on Properties that have a well and power on the property already, plus no CCR. we'll be stuck in the trailer for a year or so, hopefully not more because we'll be spending the bulk of our budget on the lot.

I’m still hearing it’s a 3 year wait for contractors here so you’ll have some time to save money. Even sub’s unless you really overpay….
On a side note we love where we are but just really lucked out time wise - we ended up just buying.

Our main goal is to stay debt free so I'm going to have to be pretty hands on unless I hit the lottery. Lol

In some ways I'm more concerned about the availability of materials and the prices inflating to unaffordable levels by the time we need to buy things.

Our hope at this point (hope isn't a plan, but there's a lot of unknowns between here and there) is to get a solid place to park a camper, running water to it and septic on sight(hopefully with an RV dump in a convenient spot close to the trailer) and electricity in enough to have power in the trailer and maybe an outbuilding besides the well shed. If we're really lucky, some kind of RV shelter to keep the weather off the trailer as much as possible over the winter.

Next year will hopefully bring a pole building big enough to do what we want workshop wise and be able to build a kitchen/bathroom and bedrooms in. It won't be as nice as the house we have now but it should be comfortable enough. We're not interested in winning awards or anything for our house, just to be on land we own and are free to do what we want on it.

Judging from what we saw driving around, anything on the right side of a clapped out school bus with a wood stove in it is going to be good to go. Lol

I bought land outside of Parma, cleared it, figured out where stuff was gonna go, put in driveway for access to build areas.
Put in power (from pole to 200ft trench to hand hole)
Temp power pole was installed a few feet from hand hole.
Drilled well.
Begin shopping for builder, negotiated, signed contract.
Started permit process.
Started building.
Trenched 300ft for natural gas from road.
180 days later moved into a house.



Get the most recent map of the property lines, markers, etc.
You should get a measuring wheel, 100ft measuring tape, some wood stakes, and pick your color plastic ribbon.
Verify your makers, and stake it out.
These will also be handy when figuring out where things will be.

Find a good operator for excavation....the longer he has lived in your area, the better.
Even better if he has a septic cert.
He'll know how to get stuff done right, do it quicker/better, and will have local connection for everything else....like gravel, concrete, etc.

Learn about, and understand set-backs and distance restrictions for driveway, well, septic, structures, ag water/streams, etc.
This is a big factor in deciding your building locations, and your utilities layout. (power/well/septic, etc)
Know where you will need to trench for utilities.

Also ....think about this....you may need a temp power pole installed for your camper.....and for construction.
This also made it way easier for long-term stays....cheaper than propane or a  gasoline generator.

I lived in a 2009 26ft Thor w/ single slide....used an electric heater to save propane....ran the AC all day
Ran the fridge on it too. Only the water heater required propane.
Most important for me was fresh water fill and blackwater removal once a week or so.
Think about how you will fill and drain the camper.  So have a reliable water source for freshwater, and a place for the blackwater.
For me it was the local fairground....free dump....free water.
Winter makes this much harder, so plan for it.

Start to  learn about the permit process on the county website to get the building permits.

In Canyon County, I was required to have my driveway approved by the fire dept.
They want it a certain width, ability to turn around, materials used, etc.

I had to have a 12" culvert under the apron where it meets the county road and had to be approved by the local hwy dept.

During construction, expect to see various city/county/state inspectors looking over the various stages of construction.
Have a  large plastic weather tight tote  box onsite with copies of the plans, copies of the building permit, and copies of any other docs you may need during construction.
Helps to chain it to a pole for the windy weather.

It's not too bad of a process to get through.

Just educate yourself to the things that require permits, keep a notebook/folder of everything you are doing, and get a good tractor guy.

That's awesome!  One of the cool parts about the county I'm looking in is that everything seems pretty relaxed as far as building codes.

There's basic sanitary stuff like a minimum distance between the well and septic and I think there's a basic electrical rough in inspection and that's pretty much it.

I'm a ways away from the house building part though.

Makin us famous
https://apnews.com/article/business-lifestyle-idaho-sandpoint-ade4fb13d865eb9f9b4dce6c4d944309

OMG the white supremacists are coming!  Lol

I remember reading that Idaho was home to white supremacists in the 80s. Lol

I understand about not wanting people to move there and to limit growth though.

I live in a small town that's been growing up.

First offer wasn't accepted because a developer came in and bought most of the remaining lots in the neighborhood.

We're putting in another offer on a 5 acre place near priest river.