Frequently asked questions in regards to our recreational listings.

 Wells: 

“Can I drill a well?” 

Yes.

You can drill a well pretty much anywhere in the State of Montana; a few counties require a permit prior to drilling.

“How will I know where to drill?”

We always recommend hiring a witcher to walk the property and give a well location determination many times we make the purchase contingent upon the buyers approval of the well witcher’s findings.

“How much will it cost?”

Current cost of a well is around $33.00 per foot of depth. Additional expenses would be the installation of a pump, pressure tank and the excavation of the water line to the cabin, typically this total about $3500.00.

 

Survey(s) 

“Will the property be surveyed?”

No.

It is very rare that the seller is going to pay for a survey. Our job as Brokers is to do our best to determine where the corners/lines are. You are always welcomed and encouraged to hire a surveyor, however most of the time your property lines will be fairly well defined.

“How much is a survey?”

There appear to be two types of survey, the cheaper one is if any of the adjacent properties already have a survey, you can hire the surveyor to just “Locate” to the best of his ability where the corners are based on the adjacent parcels corners. This should run about $1000.00 on a standard 20-acre piece. The other is a full survey, I had an estimate from a local firm to do a full survey on an 80-acre parcel last fall, and the estimate was $7500.00. The buyer chose to proceed without a survey. I would recommend talking to a local engineering firm to see what their pricing would be.

“Isn’t a survey required in order to sell the property?”

No.

Not in Montana.

“How can the sellers be sure where the corners are without a survey?”

 

Access:

“How’s the access?”

There are two things to consider when it comes to access: Physical and legal.

We have a couple of properties that have no physical access, in other words you have to walk the last ¼ of a mile or so to get on it.  It would be up the new owner to negotiate with USFS or whomever the road would cross to build a road to the property.

Legal access is where we spend a lot of our time, there are many of our listings that have a good road going right to them but someone else owns the road or part of the road prior to the property. You need to decide ahead of time if you’re ok with a property that has no legal access.

Water Rights/Timber Rights/Mineral Rights.

“Will the water/timber/mineral rights be transferred at closing?”

As a rule, whatever rights the current owner has will be available to transfer to the new owner, mineral and timber rights would transfer automatically. Water rights need to be filed by the buyer after the purchase is complete. The buyer will get a form at closing to fill out and send to DNRC along with the appropriate fees for transfer.

It is not uncommon for some of the mineral rights to have been sold off typically to the Anaconda Mining Company back in the 1880’s. For an additional fee the Title company will perform a mineral rights search if you have a concern, fee is around $200.00

Patented Mining claims.

“Your listing says this property is a patented mining claim, what does that mean?”

Back in the days of the gold rush, miners were allowed to file for a patent on a property that they have proved to produce whatever mineral they were looking for. The government would issue a title to the land to those properties. A patented mining claim is real property; you have all the same rights on it as you would any other piece of real estate. Patented is just a description for how the parcel was created. 

Seller financing

“How does seller financing work?”

Very well.

We have a number of sellers that are willing to sell their properties with them acting as the bank, this is a good deal for both parties.

As a rule, there is no credit check or employment verification for the buyer. Most sellers feel that if you are willing to put up the down payment then your probably committed and qualified enough to buy the property.

The standard process is the buyer will pay for the contract for deep preparation by an attorney; the seller pays the Title Company to setup an escrow account.

Typical down payment is 20%-25%.

Average interest rate is around 8.5%

Normal length of the note would be 20-25 years, with no pre-payment penalty.

There is a $10/ per month escrow fee paid by the buyer.

Standard deal:

If you bought a property for $50,000 your down payment would be $10,000

Closing costs total $650.00

Interest at 8.5%

On a 25-year note your payment wound be $322.09 plus the $10 escrow fee.

The title company will have you sign a quitclaim deed transferring the property in the event that you were to default; they keep this in the file and give it back to you once you have the property paid off.

We use seller financing on the majority of our recreational transactions. Most banks are leery of loaning on these types of properties and when they do, their fees are typically quite a bit higher that with seller financing. They absolutely will not loan on a parcel that does not have legal access.

 

Usable land/ Value per acre.

“What’s the per acre average value in this area?”

This is a frequent question, and it’s difficult to explain that we do not price our properties by the acre. I currently have a 160-acre parcel in a great area for $48,000. The issues with this property are two-fold, it has no legal or physical access and it has almost no usable area on the entire parcel, it is almost entirely hillside. I also have a 107-acre piece for $295,000 in the same area; it has access, several building sites and River Frontage.

We base our land values on several important factors.

1. How much usable land is on the property?

2. Is there any usable surface water?

3. Access?

4. Location?

Per acre values are applicable to ranch and farm ground. Trying to price our stuff by the acre is like trying to price a car by the pound. 

Showing procedure.

“When can you show me this property?”

Short answer, once you found it on your own.

We have so many areas we deal in that it is best if someone new to Western Montana drives around on their own and figures out for himself or herself which part is going to work for them. I get lots of calls every year from folks that have no idea how big Montana is, a frequently asked question is ”Do you have any listings around Billings/Great Falls/Plentywood?” Nope, we deal anywhere in Central Western Montana, Everything South of Thompson falls and West of Butte to the Idaho line. Our typical day of showing will take up 200+ miles and we will be lucky to show 2 or 3 parcels. If your not positive that our area is where you want, you should spend some time exploring the whole State then determine which portion will best fit your dreams. Hopefully it’s in our area.

Once you find the area you like and have tripped across a couple of our signs, then we will gladly schedule a time to find corners, run property lines and help you with your decision bring your hiking boots and a lunch. 

Office Hours.

“I’ve called you office a couple times and never get an answer, what are your hours?”

Short answer: We don’t have office hours.

Please, please, please always call our cell phones, we are frequently out showing or listing properties, we don’t have a receptionist as we like to keep our overhead down and we always want our clients to deal direct with us.

  

Twite Realty’s Market area.

“What is your market area?

Short answer, pretty much anywhere we can round trip on a tank of gas from Missoula.

Long answer, all of Sanders County, Lake county Missoula County Mineral County, Granite and Powell counties, Ravalli county and the southern half of Flathead County and Lincoln county. We are very familiar with almost all of the recreation opportunities of each of these areas as well as most of the properties offered for sale in each area.

 

Hunting/Fishing

“Can I hunt on my property?”

Probably, unless there is a deed restriction against hunting on your land.

We have had many clients fill their freezer every year on their own property.

Resident deer and elk tags are available over the counter in Montana, non-resident tags are available through drawing only, applications are due in March.

Please contact MTFWP 406-542-5500 for any detailed questions.

“How about the fishing?”

A few of our properties have fishing right on or within walking distance of the property.

Most of the time, you’ll get in the truck and drive down the road to your favorite spot or to a boat launch and float or wade from there.

My favorite fly-fishing shop is the Kingfisher in Missoula (406) 721-6141. Matt and Jim are a wealth of free information and can set you up with the best gear at the right price.

If your dream is to come here and fly-fish and you’ve never done it before, do yourself a big favor and go on a full day guided trip. You will learn a ton and by the end of the day should be self-sufficient enough to go on your own with confidence and success. Remember to always check their hatch report before you head out:  http://www.kingfisherflyshop.com/missoula-fishing-report

Bears and other toothy wildlife

Should I bring bear-spray/gun/chain-mail?

Short answer: Maybe.

I have seen exactly one bear in all my years of showing property. If you plan on camping out in the woods then by all means bring whatever you need to help you sleep through the night. I’ve never bought bear spray mostly due to the fact that every bear spray story I’ve ever hears had nothing to do with a bear and everything to do with someone trying to pull the bottle out of the bottom of their backpack and spraying themselves of their camping buddy. All make good stories but not very good for getting a good nights sleep.

There are plenty of wolves around here too, I’ve only seen a few but never anywhere near the properties we have listed, but they are out there.

Mountain lions are always in the back of a persons mind while in the woods, any attack would be front-page news as they are very, very rare.

All offers must in writing.

Can I make an offer over the phone?

No. State law mandates that all legal offers must be in writing and on our State approved forms. We can easily go over the offer with you on the phone and e-mail it to you. 

Off the grid: Def

“What does off the grid mean?”

Short answer: No power available to the property.  

How much to bring in power?

It isn’t cheap. I have had quotes anywhere from $10 to $19 per foot

Thus 1 mile of power line would run anywhere between $50,000 to $100,000 per mile. 

What about solar?

Most of our clients end up with solar panels and battery bank systems. There are a number of reputable solar dealers in our area. Your welcome to call us for a list of dealers.

Hydro?

I would contact Canyon Hydro Inc. in Deming Washington. Their number is 360-592-5552. The are the best.

How much do you charge the buyer?”

Nothing. As a rule the seller pays all the commissions. 

Listing your property with us.

Give us a call and we can discuss your property. Please understand that the average market time for recreational properties is about a year. We work in a price driven market, if you want to sell it faster, you need to sell it cheaper. Whatever your situation is, we can make it happen. We sell more recreational property than any other office in our market, period. 

Cell reception

Do these properties have cell reception?

A surprising number of them do. Most of the time you may need to drive a little ways to a cell pocket. FYI Pizza-Hut won’t deliver to most of these spots, we’ve tried. 

Definition of “Recreational Property”

Recreational property typically means it has seasonal or very rough access.

There are no real rules to these types of properties, you can build pretty much anything you want and live on it year around.  

No sales tax

That’s right Montana has no sales tax.