12 Riverfront Vacation Lots in Elk City, Idaho. Enjoy American River from your slice of Idaho!

River’s Edge is accessed year round via paved Hwy 14, just 55 miles from Grangeville, Idaho.

If you want waterfront property, these lots each contain 50 to 200′ each of American River frontage.

Municipal sewer, power and phone is available for hookup at each lot.

Black Swan Development prepped this lovely property last summer and fall 2007 by clearing the lot of old debris and rocks, and moved in several inches of topsoil. The topsoil has been seeded and will produce an attractive grass covering the entire property, once winter decides to give up. Black Swan also planted over 100 pines and fir trees on the property, and lined the entire perimeter with attractive 3 rail fencing. Stands of timber on the west side of the river are home to abundant wildlife, often scene ducking down to the river for a drink. Elk, White Tail Deer, Bear, Moose and a host of bird life as well as other Big Game species, can be glimpsed in this semi remote region.

Rivers Edge Survey Map and Price Sheet

Protective covenants are available upon request. The terms are easy and comfortable, without being too restrictive, and meant to maintain the rights of property owners to keep River’s Edge a development that is attractive and marketable with substantial appreciation in value over the years, as discovery of Idaho progresses.

Although there is currently 1 to 2 feet of snow in Elk City as of this articles publish date, the roads are clear and are plowed whenever snow falls. Right now, the weekend warriors can be found lining the banks of the river fishing for steelhead as they make their way up river. World class fishing can be found along the entire stretch of the South Fork of the Clearwater River. Access the South Fork off Hwy 12 from Missoula, turning at Kooskia, Idaho onto Hwy 13 and following that stretch of road through Stites and Harpster before meeting up with Hwy 14, which will take you the 55 miles to Elk City and beyond.

Elk City Idaho’s sits among thousands of acres of remote wilderness and recreational trails that crisscross the public lands for 100’s of miles. No matter what you enjoy out of doors, Elk City has become a recreational paradise that invites sportsmen of all kinds, from fishing, to hunting, horse trail riding, ATV-ing, hiking, berry picking, photography, bird watching, mushroom picking, camping, snowmobiling, cross country skiing… well the list is endless. If you’re looking for a great investment in yet undiscovered back country America, Rivers Edge offers value and a beautiful atmosphere for outdoor enthusiasts.

RIVERS EDGE, Elk City Idaho

Another quality destination property from Black Swan Development

Grangeville Idaho Log Home + Acreage For Sale Outside of Town

You’re going to have to jump on this one.  Priced at just $306,600, these opportunities just don’t come along every day. Log Home on almost 11 acres was appraised at listing price in March 2008.

You get 10.93 Acres, a big 36′ x 36′ shop with large space on the second floor for office or additional guest quarters, Hot Rock Sauna, attached carport, Mature Fruit Trees, Ponds, Springs, Wildlife, and quintessential views for a place that might seem like heaven on earth.

The home is heated by a large wood stove, with electric wall heaters in several rooms, which are very common in residences in this area.  Their is a wood bin that makes it real handy to stack your fire wood from the outside, and then open the bin next to the stove on the inside.  Its cleaner and easier.

 The floorplan on the main floor opens first into the family room area and then leads to a spacious kitchen area with lots of counter space, and an eating area.  There is a cold storage/canning/mud room/laundry room accessed through a kitchen door.  A 3/4 bath is also accessed close to the kitchen with clawfoot tub.

Upstairs you’ll find 3 bedrooms, 2 which include a small balcony to enjoy the great outdoors from the second floor.  The upstairs bathroom has a shower.

Numerous mature fruit trees adorn the fenced garden area including 7 apple trees of different varieties, 3 plum, 2 peach, 3 cherry, a couple of walnuts, elderberry and even grapes.  You’ll find rhubarb in the garden area.

One of the two ponds is full all year long, spring fed, and stocked with fish.  a second pond is spring fed but dries up in the heat of the summer.

Septic system was pumped and inspected week of April 13, 2008. 

If you’d like to see this hot property, contact Mary Mangold, listing agent,  at 208-983-7602 or email realtor@marymangold.com  Appt is required.    Grangeville Idaho Log Home For Sale <Printer-Friendly Flyer

Idaho county real estate season around the corner

For those who like to keep track of various market data that can provide insight into the economic conditions of the real estate industry in the area of Idaho County, I’d like to share information I’m able to glean from the Lewis Clark Multiple Listing System. 

All but 3 real estate agencies in the Idaho county territory are members of the local board of realtors.  Harman Agency in Cottonwood, Solberg Agency of Grangeville and Wolfinger Land and Auction of Grangeville are the 3 that are independent agencies.  Data supplied as a economic indicator does not include the listings and sales of these three agencies, and therefore we are dealing with skewed results. 

The data I am providing is based upon the markets in Idaho County only, and does not include Orofino, Kamiah, Craigmont real estate activity, nor any other town that is not situated in Idaho County.

In tabulating information, I was able to enter all activities for the past 30 days and here are the current results:

SOLDS:  4 total in the past 30 days: Elk city vacant land (1), Grangeville homes (1), White Bird Manufactured home without land (1), and Kooskia home (1).   All the homes were sold at a price range between $75,000 and $92,700.  The Elk City land was a large tract of 70+ acres for a price of a bit over $400K.

In the past 30 days there were 32 new listings, 80% of those vacant land listings.

In the past 30 days there were approx 12 price changes on existing listings.  Most of these are corrections to make the listings more marketable and to match current economic conditions.

This is the end of this report.  in my opinion, our real estate season will be stable but buyers are savvy and new listings should be priced according to the market to get action. otherwise the homes and land - with some relevance to location and neighborhoods, will sit while other more appropriately priced properties and motivated sellers, will attract buyers and a sale will result. 

More marketing reports next month.

Idaho State Fiddlers Contest coming to Grangeville Idaho in April

Idaho State Fiddlers contest will draw about 500 people to Grangeville ID in April 2008.  Friday, April 4th through Saturday April 5th at Grangeville Elementary / Middle School multipurpose room and cafeteria is the place to enjoy this knee tapping, foot stomping festival of fiddle.    Admission ranges from $3.00 to $7.50

For more information, you can visit www.iotfa.org or just plan on being there.

While you’re in town on Friday, stop in at Windermere Real Estate for a real estate guide and to inquire about listings.  We’re located at 320 East Main Street, next to the city park.  Call Mary for questions at 208-983-7602.  Have fun in Grangeville.

Super Snow Bowl Weather

The temperatures were mild today.  Highs of upper 30’s.  Around 10am or so, it began to snow.  Little tiny flakes in a mist like snow, fell and continued to fall all day, throughout the evening too. 

I just opened the window for a peek, and did not detect any wind, breeze nor snow fall.  Its quiet, soft, and cold enough to remain as light puffy snow.

Tomorrow is another day.

Sunshine, some clouds, and the possibility of more snow on the way

Waking up to a blue sky with lots of sunshine was a plentiful gift from Mother Nature.  But will it last?  Probably not.  For now though, the outdoors looks inviting, and the snow plows can take a rest. 

This has been quite the dramatic winter.  I’ve lived in Grangeville since 1999 and I’ve not seen a winter like this one, so full of the elements that the word “WINTER” conjures. 

Living several miles to the east of town, we’re actually a couple of hundred feet lower in elevation than the town of Grangeville.  But I would venture to say we’re about even when it comes to the cumulative snowfall to date.  We’ve measured approximately 52 inches that has fallen since November. 

Our average snowfall is about 25 inches from Fall to Spring. 

Temperatures today should hover in the low 30’s.  I’m off to put some signs up and take care of errands in town. 

Have a great Saturday!

PS:  visit www.marymangold.com to see new video posted for the interior of a Custom Log Home listed in the Elk City area.  Or just click this link to go straight to the post:

http://marymangold.com/2008/01/24/red-river-vacation-cabin-near-elk-city-idaho/

Listing Season is in Full Gear

There aren’t many real estate sales that closed in January.  7 or 8 pending transactions on the books.  The 3 sales from the past 5 days involved vacant land deals in the region.  72 Acres did sell on Red River Road, same location where my new listing for a custom log home resides.  The 72 Acres was listed for $699K and closed substantially lower to a non-resident of the area.

This winter has been especially healthy in the amount of cold and snowfall, replenishing are drought ridden acquifers and will help when fire season returns.   Once better weather begins to appear more readily, folks who want to escape the cities to a simpler existence, or to search for a vacation getaway, will return with funds to spend. 

As most seem to agree, we are somewhat insulated here in the region of Idaho County from the fraud and foreclosure pony show going on in other states, and even in densely populated cities of Idaho.   Nonetheless, there are those even in our midst who will suffer from the seeds sown in the markets of yesterday. 

I spent a few minutes this morning catching up on the last 60 minutes segment that spun the story of complete and utter mortgage fraud.

The whole story is downright disgusting, from the words of the consumers all the way to the impacts to our world economy.   The Global Economy needs an INTERVENTION.  Reality TV may be able to shake some sense into the world.  But of course, its someone elses fault.  Lets blame it on Sadam Hussein.  He’s dead, so he won’t care.

New Grangeville Idaho Weather Post

Years ago I kept a weather log at www.grangevilleidaho.com and I learned later that alot of people from outside the area were following that log.

Since I’m blogging several times a week, I will resume the weather notices. Visitors to this site can click on the “weather” category to pull up the most recent weather notices easily.  When possible, I will post photos to show the appearance of the weather from my vantage point 6 miles east of town.

Today of course, the weather conditions are poor.  I heard from a friend in town they are calling it BLIZZARD CONDITIONS in town and Hwy 95 has been closed all morning.  Blowing snow and drifts are the real hazards, including high wind.

Schools are closed today in the Mountain View School District 244.  Check their website for other notices pertaining to school closures. www.sd244.org

Best thing to do today is to stay put inside safe and warm.

Breaking News :: Mortgage Fraud and Now Foreclosure Recovery Fraud

Wow, the news is full of ripe news (or is it “overripe” news) about the investigations of mortgage fraud sweeping the country by the FBI, the SEC, the DUMB, the CONS. 

As a real estate agent, I put my trust in the banks who qualify buyers for loans.  But things just don’t add up for many of the lending practices.

The big tip off that something was awry in the mortgage banking industry came for me in 2006.  I was working with a gal and her significant other we’ll call Samantha and Dale.  Both essentially unemployed, they had purchased a home in another state based on some sort of income producing endeavor 2 years previous, and now they were ready to move to Grangeville Idaho to buy a new home.  They sold the home in the other state, providing a means for sustaining their lives for a time, and producing a handsome downpayment on the new loan in Grangeville. 

Both talented in their own entrepreneurial spirit, Sam and Dale found the home of their dreams and set out to buy it through one of the larger traditional banks in the country, known for its strict guidelines.  Who was I to question the loan of $200,000 to a single borrower who had credit and stated income enough to purchase a $275,000 home.   What bank in its right mind would lend that much based on W2’s for a couple appearing to ”not work” at all.   Without question, there was no real solid business base to effectively show a consistent income stream.    Sams credit not worthy, the couple pursued the purchase of their home based on the Dales credit worthiness alone. 

Dale closed on the new home and they moved in, setting up their new lives, in a new town, with new people to meet.  

In the meantime, I continued to question the banks sanity in the endeavor to lend such a big chunk to a couple who didn’t seem to be in a real big hurry to secure jobs.   A year later, refinancing was the game plan, and the home was used as a cash cow to extract equity that could be used to purchase lots of new fun toys.  Cha-ching. 

Next story:  Banks hiring appraisers to inflate values on homes for refinancing.

Windermere Real Estate Opens New Office

Main Street Grangeville is welcoming a new office location for Windermere Real Estate.  On the East end of Main Street next to the City Park and Hannah’s Closet, Windermere is embracing the real estate market with new offices and a new face.

Sue Schumacher has recently joined Windermere in Grangeville as an active agent and new team member.  She will be specializing in Grangeville, Cottonwood, Craigmont and all areas in between.  Sue is a very friendly knowledgeable agent with a high standard for integrity and hard work.  Call 208-983-8000 to speak with Sue or Mary, your professional Windermere Agents.

If you’re in Grangeville, stop in at our new office for a visit.  We’re located at:

320 East Main Street
Grangeville, ID  83530

Telephone:  208-983-8000
Fax:  208-983-0536

For assistance with buying or selling real estate, turn to the professionals who will provide the service you can count on with professionalism, integrity and honesty and good old fashioned hard work.  Windermere ALL STAR Realty - Grangeville Idaho.