Getting Ed-u-cated

Wisdom doesn’t always come with age.  Sometimes age just shows up on it’s own.

This was the most gorgeous property.  However, if you can't keep things dry you might put on it, it probably wouldn't be a good thing to own.

We found the most fantastic property.  It was not far off the freeway but far enough.  It had a gorgeous running creek.  In addition to the creek the property had 5 acres of trees and looked fantastic.  We walked the property and then went back and walked it again.  Then, it was time to dig a little deeper.  It was time to research county records from the auditor and from the assessor.  It was also time to talk to the neighbors.  Not long after that we put the brakes on.  This creek can become a full fledge river and not just overflow the banks but flood a good portion of the property.  We weren’t pleased to walk away but we did.

The Pacific Ocean -- less than a mile from most places we looked at.

Having looked at numerous pieces of land and talking to gobs of real estate agents, I’ve come to the conclusion that the only way to get answers about listed property is to do the research yourself.  I’ve been very surprised how long it takes an agent to call you back or give you information on a property they have listed …. if they do at all. 

One parcel backed the canal --  putting in a septic on that parcel may not be possible due to set-backs and water level.

Having a home base to us just means we can have a little dirt to play with. It’s not that we’ll use or even stay much. It’s just that piece of ground. We have decided we definitely don’t want any acreage. Golly, that’s way too much work and it’s just not our thing to end up with a big plot of vacant land and having to deal with bringing in a road, electricity, a well and a septic system.  Like I said I’ve certainly gotten educated on this subject.

We both really liked this lot.  It was good-sized parcel but the building on it certainly was a dive.  It was a dive with potential.

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 Maybe we don’t need a home base.  Maybe we don’t need that plot of dirt even though I think we do.  I don’t want a house ~~  been there, done that.  I just want a little dirt.  Once you leave snowbird country, regulations are a little different.  You have to either be in an RV park or pretty much out in the country if you want to develop a small plot of land for an RV.   There are RV communities throughout the country that sell memberships in a type of co-op.  Most folks are familiar with SKP parks.  There are many similar parks selling these memberships.  The difference with the SKP parks is that they have long waiting lists of folks wanting to buy in.  Other places have long lists of folks trying to sell.  These type of parks have been around for many, many years.  You purchase the right to use a specific parcel in an RV community. Your parcel is still recorded with the county treasurer and you still pay your portion of taxes at some of the parks.   Those RV sites can range from a few thousand $$ to several hundred thousand $$ depending on location, view and what’s on the property. 

We love this place!!

What are we going to do?  We're not sure. Our intention is not to live some place.  We still love our RVing lifestyle.  We're just looking for that little piece of dirt to call our own.  However, we're also a little disappointed with everything we’ve discovered.  We have been educated for sure.  I’m really thinking we goofed in selling our little cabin that fast. Replacing it isn’t that easy.  Oops. We can't roll the clock back though so forward we go.

Nummy chowder

Fabulous crab sandwich

One good thing about all the trips we’ve made to the beach is that we did get another chance to stop at Dooger’s.  I LOVE, LOVE their clam chowder.  Terry LOVES their fantastic oyster stew!  We absolutely took advantage of being close and I'm sure we'll do it again. 

‘Tis life on the road.