Selling & Buying & Living Oh My!
Raven friend on the land
March 2021
Okay. So here’s the thing. The whole journey of selling our house, buying land, and what it looks like to live in the event we do manage to do both is like a can of worms. We tug on one thread and then suddenly we’re unraveling an entire tapestry. Let’s sell our house! Oh, wait. First we have to connect our old house up the city sewer. Oh, wait. First we have to locate whatever waste water system we have. Oh, wait. Let’s say we DO hire someone to come and find it; we then need the money to actually have the work done. Oh, wait…
This isn’t an anomaly. Being human involves regularly tugging on single threads that lead to the tugging on everything else. Like Carl Sagen said: If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.
Last week, Mike and I went and looked at a new piece of land for sale here in Missoula (see pics above & below). It’s just under 10-acres for $150,000. Bare land. No services yet on site. We’ve been calling it the “holy trinity:” water, sewer/septic, power. For the most part, this is what we’ve been most interested in scouting out and looking at over the years: bare land, no holy trinity on site.
This piece of land we looked at last week has two really great things going for it: good access & stellar privacy, both of which are ideal for what we’re looking for. It’s also super close by right here in Missoula. Bonus! The cons are: the terrain is pretty one note; the view is lacking; and there are very few trees. It’s mostly grass hillside (which surely has its own beauty but long-term living wise we’re not so interested in). The flat area prime for dwelling is also nestled down in a bowl of earth, sheltered from what view there is. There’s also been a failed perc test - translation: a septic system will not be allowed. And according to records in the area, digging a well might requires us to go 300 feet down (not cheap!).
So here’s where we are. We’re continuing to get more info about this piece of land, with the help of a good friend of ours who is also a real estate agent; we’re gathering more info about our waste water system and what it will take to hook into the city sewer (which the selling of our house is contingent on us doing); and through it all we’re dialoging about what it is we really want. (Insert big deep breath here.)
Slowly slowly we are making steps towards actualizing our long-held vision. Although where those steps will exactly take us, well, we’re not quite sure.
