Well, the time has come. Wife and I are in a position to make the move We have been considering for years, not the way we wanted it to happen, but here it is. We want out of the rat race in W. Washington, and if we move back east of the mountains, may as well go a little extra and get out of Washington altogether. We have both lived in Spokane for many years and want to get back to the dry side.

Looking at the Bonners Ferry/Sandpoint area, 5-10 acres, not really too concerned about what kind of structures are on the property, as we will make the necessary improvements. I'm kind of thinking that as long as it has a dwelling on it, would mean there is a well, power and septic. Not too opposed to raw land if there is power close by, need to look into what a well would cost based on the location. I See an awful lot of off-grid places over there, as appealing as that is, I think I would like to start out on-grid, and work my way off. I'm thinking of having a pole building put up, and do an apartment in one end for starters. From what little research I have done so far, seems like some of the area's over there are pretty loose on the permit and code requirements?

My Wife works from home, will need to trek to Spokane for flights once in awhile. I will be looking for whatever I can find to make a buck.

Thinking about driving over this weekend to take a look around and see some of the area's we have been researching online.

That is where We are at for starters, any input or idea's would be greatly suggested.

From personal experience I can tell you it's difficult to shop real estate in that area from the west coast. We were in Gig Harbor, and loaded up the car and made that long drive across WA several times to look at properties that didn't live up to their billing. A pro photographer can make the county dump look appealing.

We're doing it differently this time...leaving NC and going to winter-over in a furnished rental both to check out what's available right now, and to be on the ground when the lion's share of the listings go live in spring. If that's not possible for you find a realtor you trust and give them a very specific laundry list of what you're looking for.

BTW, check the maps carefully for proximity to train tracks. The only real downside to Sandpoint (unless something has changed in the 3 years we've been in WNC) is the oil trains that transit the area five to eight times daily. Our "trusted" realtor took us to a house with a beautiful view of Sandpoint and the lake, assuring us the track we could see 150 feet below hadn't been used in years. She turned a little red-faced 15 minutes later when a train, horn blaring, passed directly under us.

I absolutely agree that a photographer can make a place look way better then in person. We may end up just renting something for starters as well. Maybe even in Spokane at first.

I hear you on the train thing, I have read a lot about that online as well. We will definitely be spending a lot of time in the area before actually buying a place.

Man, another Sandpoint thread. I obviously need a vacation.

OP, I can recommend a realtor who has treated us very well, seeing how we only come once a year or less, and wound up buying a very cheap piece of land (not much commission ). We will be using him for finding our "forever" land.

I've only been to Bonner's Ferry once. There's not a lot there. Sandpoint is built up a little more, but it also has many more amenities, and more importantly, it's closer to CDA or Spokane for convenience. (Medical, airports, specialty shops, etc.)

It it seems to me like land prices there are broken down into two or more blocks, at least when I search for acreage of approximately 20.

1. Stuff that is cheap, $3-5k per acre. Access is normally the big issue. Roads are unmaintained, and can be rough on vehicles, impassible in the winter, or simply cause your journey anywhere to be long. Our recreational land is a relatively short distance from the highway, but it takes nearly a half hour to get to it due to the road.

2. Stuff that is $10k+ per acre. This normally has good road frontage and is easy to access. Unfortunately, there is a bit of overlap  with proximity to the railroads, as they go close by some of the highways.

I really like the Colburn Culver area/Rapid Lightning and Gold Creek areas. Far enough out there, but still kind of close to town.

Dammit, had a long post going and backed out and deleted it. I'll try to retype tonite.

You get used to the trains.  Grew up on 56 acres and the northern boundary is the tracks.  It is coal cars coming through for the most part and only 22-24 oil trains coming through a week.  Nothing bad about them.  Also fun watching Boeing fuselages rolling eastbound.  Have done a study on coal dust and it is nill as they put a surfactant on them when loaded.  More dust from nearby Hwy 200.  Eco freaks are yelling and screaming about the trains but yet they still drive and heat their homes with petroleum.  
Find a place that is accessable during the winter would be the largest suggestion as we plow our 1/2 mile driveway and the county takes care of the county road.

I get your point, Saladshooter, and I'm far from an eco-weinie, but getting used to the trains isn't the issue. If I'm spending the money for a property, I'm going to find one that doesn't have the issue to begin with. I've stayed in Hope several times, and it's not something I want to get used to. Just my personal preference.

Never understood why Sandpoint hasn't pushed for a line to by-pass Pendoreille...

Thanks for the input! We are going to be in Bonners Ferry next Saturday and Sunday to look around.

We are going to be looking at a less expensive property that we can put some money into and make it what we want.  Don't really have any specific necessities except decent access and reasonable proximity to power.

Anyone who lives in the area know of areas they would recommend or know of any areas to avoid.  By Avoid we mean any low lying areas in the flood plain, inaccessible or crack houses stuff like that. We have been looking at some places up in the Moyie river area, Is the Moyie river road area prone to flooding, or is that more a concern down in the flats?

Also, if anyone know of a contractor, or a company that works in the BF/Sandpoint area that does pole buildings, I'd like to know who they are. I have almost got the wife talked into building a large pole building, with a large apartment in one end.
One possibility is buying raw land and building it up to what we want over time.

Bump because we're doing the exact thing down to the poll barn. Selling our homes now, and moving closer to family in priest river area.

One of my neighbors on my mountain initially moved up there with a big 5th wheel RV. Th y built a pole barn around it, starting with the bathroom and then the kitchen, and then living spaces. The only thing they still use the 5th wheel for is a bedroom.

He he said that they can pull it out, remove the garage door and frame it up, and they will have a complete pole barn house.

I can check with him to see who built theirs.

Well we found a place halfway between Sandpoint and Bonners Ferry.  We made an offer, they accepted it, we drove over looked at it today,  We are officially under contract.

So, We ended up pulling out of the deal We had. Some land issue's surfaced, and they were unacceptable to My Wife and I.

We are looking at a property in Sagle. Not as far north as I would like to be, but this is actually a better local for My Wife's work situation.

Anybody have any input on living in Sagle?

@ChevelleDave

Care to share what the issues were (in general) so the rest of us don't make the same mistake?

I don't know much about Sagle.  The good thing is that you're closer to CDA for all of the big stuff.  The downside is, there's not much else there, compared to Sandpoint.

A former friend (former, just to reiterate), used to live on the slough part of Lake Pend Orielle.  It has the advantage of having lake access while not insane prices.

JAG, it just turned out that the property was not as usable as was thought. Hill on the backside, swamp/creek all took up alittle more then we wanted. 5 acres with about 2 usable didn't leave room for what we want to be able to do down the road, possibly.

Beautiful property, house, garage, just no room for a shop down the road.

Looking at a property in Sagle that may be the complete opposite of that though.

So, Our offer was accepted today, under contract. Everything is pre-approved, and looking good to go.

Coming over this week to take care of some business, decided to load up some of Our stuff in the trailer. Figure may as well not waste a trip, start getting some of the bigger outdoor stuff out of the way. Need to find a place in Sandpoint or Bonners Ferry to rent some room.

Going to start calling around tomorrow, Anyone have any recommendations?

You've probably already discovered the same thing we did...every self storage place short of CDA has a waiting list. We went to Sandpoint Storage (on 200) and the manager found us a slot for our cargo trailer. If you rent a trailer slot with them - even if it's only for a month - you get priority as units open. We got a 10'x15' in just over a week. Talk to Dennis if you can, he's a good guy and will do whatever he can to help you.

We looked hard at Sagle. Most of what we saw was either on the water (at $1M+) or at a pretty high elevation with a lot of unusable land. Glad you found a place you like, guess we're going to keep looking.

Stopped by Wrenco Arms yesterday, and the guys in there were friendly and very helpful to a out-of-state transplant. Not sure what I was expecting, but it was a good experience and I'll be throwing some business their way. They're estimating the indoor range is going to open in January, which may be a serious bonus depending on the blizzard situation

Standpoint is turning into California.

I relocated this past year, on the water south of Sandpoint.

4BR, 2Bth with 30x45 shop on 10 acres is $350K, all day long for 60 miles around Sandpoint.

The Storage Station (Depot?) in Sagle has units available and are adding 100+ more. Good rates, $130/mo for 200SQFT sign for 6 get one free..

If you can swing buying unimproved land, at the end of a dirt road, go the 5th wheel/pole barn route, and build a house/shop/barn, you can get the same, built the way you want it, and for about $50K cheaper.

Off season rental is also a good place to start, but look hard to make sure it isn't someone's summer place. I've heard horror stories about heating/insulation/frozen pipe issues or snow removal issues.

I always figured that $350-450k was the magic number up there. Thanks for the confirmation.