Dream Monastery

[Aggie]

Good thing you spotted that before you bought.

Good thing I spotted it before I wasted a weekend driving out there!  

I emailed the realtor; we are starting to get some professional help. 

With the land, not with the mental disorders driving us back to it. 

[Opsa]

 

So is the realtor going to try to show you other properties that may suit you?

[Aggie]

He's got nothing in his area (there are some creekside lots adjacent to these ones that may come on the market but may be more expensive).  I asked him to pass my requirements and contact info around to colleagues in other areas if he wants.  We have another realtor on the job from our end.

My list of key requirements is thus:

Necessary:
Minimum of 20 acres
Maximum price of $100,000 ($80K - $90K is ideal)
South exposure on a portion of the site - southeast is acceptable
Access to surface water or reasonable assurance that groundwater is easily available
Reasonable 3-season road access to property boundary
Level area on at least a portion of the site for building and gardening
Reasonable soil resources on a significant portion of site - i.e. not situated on bedrock

Preferred:
Year-round flowing creek or spring on site
Mature forest on part of site
Close proximity (<20 km) to tourist routes, major highways or recreational areas

[Opsa]

It's very good to know what you want. It shows how serious you are.

[Griffin NoName]

Hang on, if you are expecting to sell produce, don't you need to be near somewhere there are buyers?

[Aggie]

I'm not that set on selling produce as a primary income generator (it's a possible sideline, but I decided on back-to-the-land when I realized that I eat much less than $30,000 worth of produce).  The idea - say 5 years out - is that this will be developed into a retreat / guesthouse / hostel and the primary income will be made from people coming to stay (and maybe selling some handicrafts).  We are likely to be working winters in the 'real world' in the meantime to get money for development.  Both of us work in the oilpatch and can make a reasonable year's income in 4 - 6 months, if we work like dogs.  In the short term, the big 'money maker' really is to stop spending much of it - most of my out-of-pocket expenses are for rent and food.  I will be $20,000++ a year ahead of the game if I can provide those for myself.

If we're near a tourist route, we should be able to lure a few people in for produce sales, even if we're not near a farmers market.  The area we are likely to end up in also has a fairly significant mushroom industry, so mycoculture could be another angle to follow (and we could probably ship to market or work with a local mushroom broker).

[Opsa]

An off-the-grid rustic-style resort sounds very cool.

[Aggie]

Update on the site near Greenwood (not sure if I mentioned it before):

They just dropped the price on this one - could probably get it for 75k.   There's a good spring on the property, access is reasonable even in the winter (would require a plow, but only for 7 km), and it's Crown land on 3 sides.

The downside is there's no trees on it (surrounded by forests, but not on the property).   Good for farming and for growing bamboo, if the climate is cooperative, but bad for treehouses, so my associate may veto it.  Trees are a necessary resource for building, IMHO.  Otherwise, the exposure is perfect - southeast - and the surrounding land would let one build trails into the forest any which way.

I'm pushing for us to at least take a look.  Not too much else comparable on the market at the moment; we may have to be patient.

http://www.townandcountry4sale.com/Acreages.ubr/Details/323/details

I did notice that there may be a road running through the place, and suspicious that there may be some mining interests underneath it - bears more investigation.  I'll talk to the realtor again...

[ivor]

Were the trees harvested or is it just naturally open?

[Aggie]

It was logged, some time ago.  Looks to be generally re-vegetated.  I'm sure it'd grow a forest again, but that takes time.

I'm ideally looking for about a 70/30 forest/clearing ratio, if possible. This one's more like 10/90.  There might be enough trees on it to make it worthwhile, but tough to tell without a site visit.  I'm worried about the roadway - depends if it's on a proper easement or just happens to go through there.  If it's not a legal road allowance we could keep traffic out of there easily enough, but we may have to let 'em through.

[Opsa]

If you want to build and grow veg, then cleared land is great. Some trees can be grown rather quickly. A public thoroughfare seems like a downside, though.

[Aggie]

We are BC boys, so a proper tree has needles instead of leaves and is at least 50 years old.   Besides that, we need wood for building if we want to do it on the cheap.  A small portable sawmill is much cheaper than lumber.

Could be a mining claim on it, too - will find out today.   There are some other options showing up, but most are significantly more expensive.