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Buying or Building a Country Home in Modoc CountyThe following information will make your country home decisions easier! Will you choose a manufactured or mobile home? Is your heart set on a custom stick-built foundation-up custom? Here are some of your options. You’ve decided a country home is what you want, so you’ve got to research the real estate picture in the area you've selected to live. You’ve got to find that perfect house, land for sale or other rural real estate properties that will fit your family’s needs. If you decide to buy existing property,
There are no large subdivisions here that someone from larger metropolitan areas would identify with. However, there are homes available that would compare in size and construction with those in a suburban subdivision, many that could be described as a country home. Most of those types of homes are located in the county outside of a city limit and are on multi-acre lots, some as big as 20 acres each. Some areas of the county have been subdivided from large tracts of ranch land such as Modoc Recreational Estates (MRE) and California Pines (CalPines). These two areas are populated and have active homeowner organizations, both good locations for a country home that is not too isolated.
After conducting detailed research, my wife and I decided to move from southern California to Alturas in Modoc County for our retirement years. While still in southern California, we started shopping for a home in this area. Our search kept leading us toward buying land and building because the areas we were interested in living didn't have the country home we were looking for. One of the reasons for moving to this area of the state was to get some buffer space around us, so we decided to buy land and build our country home. We then started shopping for bare land, and after about 6 months of on-again off-again looking, we found it! Rather, I found the place while searching for property on the Internet. Our new country home was listed by a local Alturas real estate agent, Dean Neer Realty, on their web site. As I looked at the picture provided with the listed property, I had almost made up my mind that this was indeed our new country home! However, being reasonable people, we decided to take a first-hand look before committing to buy. We arranged to see the property and made the 11-12 hour trip from San Diego to Alturas. As soon as I stepped out of the realtor's vehicle onto the driveway, I knew that this was our new country home! My wife agreed and we made an offer that was accepted within a couple of hours with no haggling and no counter-offers! The agent with Dean Neer Realty was fantastic, and reflected the country charm of Modoc County. We were completely satisfied with Dean Neer Realty's no-pressure handling of our country home purchase, and the agent's helpfulness. We were also surprised and ecstatic that ouir offer was accepted as is, because it was $15,000.00 below the asking price! We soon realized we were getting 20 fenced acres with a dwelling, water, sewer and power for about the same amount as a down payment on small lot in the worst section of San Diego! The property we bought is what's considered improved property, as opposed to just bare land. It had a 30-year old 2-bedroom mobile home on it, with well and pump house, a septic system installed and electricity to the mobile. The property also had a small barn and a good-sized storage shed. The mobile home needed some work, but we made it livable until we built our dream country home. Our next decision was deciding on the type of country home we wanted and construction method to use. We had a few options. One of the more popular types of home in the area is a manufactured home. A manufactured home is basically the modern version of a mobile home built in a factory and then towed to the home-site. Another type of manufactured home to consider is a modular home, although that type is not really prevalent here. Mobile homes are naturally another option, and very inexpensive, whether in a mobile home park or placed on a home-site. Brand new mobile homes are almost exactly like manufactured homes in construction materials and methods, but differ in how they are set up on the property. Used older mobile homes are also available, but a buyer must be really versed in traditional mobile home construction and be very cautious. Naturally, another obvious option is a custom stick-built foundation-up home. We considered the stick-built home as well as a new manufactured home, and even considered remodeling the old mobile home we had. All options would have given us the country home we were looking for, mainly because of the setting. We ruled out building a stick-built home as too expensive and time consuming. We also decided that remodeling the existing mobile home would be too inconvenient and would probably cost as much as a new manufactured home in the long run. We never really considered a modular home. Our final decision was to purchase a new manufactured home. We made the decision for a couple of reasons: we would be in our new home quicker and cheaper and would suffer the least inconveniences. A little over four months after clearing a building site, we moved into our new country home! We've been in it for two years now, and are extremely happy with the decisions we’ve made. We continue to improve our property with landscaping and minor upgrades. We are becoming more accustomed to climate and weather and comfortable with the wildlife and environment. But, more on that later! Now, on to a look at more country home options! Click on Manufactured and Modular Homes for Your Country Home for more options. More Modoc Country Living...
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