UP as a 3-season home

[Don_P]

For those who live in the Upper Peninsula, I have an interest in purchasing a hobby farm for an eventual summer retirement home (2 1/2 seasons I think). We've visited the UP about a dozen times and love it. I'm from northern Alberta and really enjoy the extreme winters but will give in to my wife's desire for something warmer in winter (anywhere but Florida!). Criteria for us:

1) Needs to be within 20-25 minutes of either Houghton or Marquette (need airport - I'll still consult until I physically can't)
2) Very rural is a great thing
3) I want land, lots of land under starry skies above; minimum 20 acres, more is better
4) We'll likely build

I've been browsing listings on realtor.com for the last couple of years and see lots of listings with no easement, especially in the Lake Linden area. Some of those indicate the seller will pay for buyer to get an easement. Is this a hopeless or unwise process? We really need to get a realtor who's willing to talk us out of a deal if it doesn't make sense... Any suggestions? Any other forums / sites that have discussion on the topic?

Thanks,
Don

[Nick]

Don,

I've got a summer place in the eastern U.P. near DeTour Village and spend the summers there from May 1 - September 1. We are about 60 miles from Sault Ste. Marie and the Chippewa International Airport is about 40 miles away. There is also an International Airport in Pelston, about 1 hour away. We bought the place two summers ago and have 350 ft. on a point overlooking Drummond Island, St. Joseph Island in Canada, and the Potaganassing Bay of Northern Lake Huron and we love there is a lot of land available up there and the prices are rock bottom. I won't tell you what we paid for our place, but if we tried to buy it on Michigan's West Coast, we might have been able to afford about 6 feet of frontage.

The LeCheneaux area is nearby which is great for paddling. I-75 is 40 miles west and you can be in Detroit in about 6 hours. We love it.

If you are interested in looking around, let me know. Our realtor was fantastic. Believe it or not, it was two weeks from my first visit to the area and my offer on the cottage being accepted.

[Keweenaw]

Hi Don,

Having the seller pay for an easement won't do you any good if the person who owns the adjacent land will not allow an easement at any price. I would not put a penny down nor sign anything until the easement actually exists.

RE/MAX Douglass real estate is one of the reputable companies up here in the Keweenaw:

http://keweenawrealestate.com/

Make sure that your agent understands exactly what you want and that you will not be sold on anything less/different and you should be OK. Land used to be dirt cheap here (like $6,000 for 40 wooded acres with road access in the early 80s) and I suppose it still is by comparison.

If you are not going to spend winters here that will open up your options a bit since you will not need a plowed road or short driveway - make sure you mention that to the realtor.

Good luck!

Bob

[Nick]

Get an attorney review all the documents and make sure all is in order. It's worth the few extra bucks you will pay to save you a ton of headaches down the road. There are a lot of boundary disputes in the UP because much of the area was never properly surveyed. You'd get two landowners who agreed that their property boundary was the "big oak tree" and the "pudding stone" but the problem is trees die and stones get moved! So, an attorney, a survey, and title insurance are a must.