Pocatello- S Mink Creek Rd area land? (Idaho Falls, McCammon: real estate, foreclosure)

[OurNextAdventure]

I'm heading to the Pocatello area a month from today, looking for a potential plot of land. I am most interested in the area off S Mink Creek Rd, or any of the forks, preferably with an Arbon address. I have searched every real estate website, as well as landwatch.com, and have found nothing. Is this particular area state or federal land? Or are the farmers and ranchers just not interested in selling?

[volosong]

Moved to "Idaho/Idaho Falls" forum, as Pocatello issues are usually addressed there.

[NW Crow]

There was a small fire there 2 years ago and a huge one a bit northwest of there last year. I think there are some private holdings closest to town then mainly or entirely national forest (and maybe BLM) for awhile and then some private again way out.


I saw some listings that were pulled. Not sure if prices are going up, prices were too high / no buyers or what. Check with some agents.


What are you looking for? Residence, hobby ranchette, working viable sized ranch? Acreage and price range?

[OurNextAdventure]

Residential. Preferably 2-5 acres. I'd like to have a home built with a total cost under $300k, to include an oversized garage, and maybe a 20x30 shop. I'm not wanting a Large plot, the same size of what we currently have where we live. Being rural, far outside the city limits is a must. We are not city folk, I refuse to raise my kids in the modern world.

As far as price range, I am hoping to stay under 15k/acre if possible. But if it's the right place, a bit more is doable, especially if 1 or more property lines borders BLM.

[NW Crow]

Alright. Easier to get responses with those specifics, probably. I was somewhat interested in that area years ago but I am not current. May poke around a bit more.

[NW Crow]

I didn't see anything right sized without house in that exact area either on quick search. The parcels I did see on south end were pretty pricey, higher than I remember. Might have to look pretty far out to stay within budget, but then parcels far out tend to be bigger. It probably will be a hunt. Pro help, some flexibility may be needed.


Would Inkom be a possibility? Would you consider as far out as McCammon or Lava Hot Springs?

[NW Crow]

Fwiw, right sized parcel in Inkom https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/T...91188320_zpid/


Further out & more expensive than desired.


Even further out but better priced https://www.zillow.com/homes/?search...n%22:%7B%7D%7D

[banjomike]

The Mink Creek area has been prone to catching fire, and range fires can move very fast in that area.

While I don't live in Pocatello, I'm not sure I would want to live in Mink Creek; while it's very close to town, it is actually more remote when it comes to access than a map would indicate. So it could be possible that all the safest homesites there are already occupied.

There are a lot of places like that in Montana. For years, lots of very high-priced trophy cabins were built in those places, and when fire broke out, the owners wanted their properties saved, of course, but the difficulty of saving one house was so great that trying to save one endangered many others.
So the state enacted a law that required such homes to build in some items that would allow some fire suppression right on the homesites, and required access roads that allowed the fire-fighting equipment enough room to fight a fire effectively.

With no access, the owners either had to fight a fire themselves, or watch their properties burn. Their choice. The law added major costs to new construction.

As far as I know, Idaho hasn't enacted a similar law yet. But when it comes to a fire threat here, the firefighters will not concentrate on the property most difficult to protect if there are more that are threatened.

So building a new home might be problematic to insure, mortgage, or whatever. If a person can't get any insurance, what matter does it make when the land is cheap to buy? The further out it is only means the more time it will take for the fire trucks to get there, if they show up at all.

Fire is fire. If a fire cuts an access road off, even if a homestead doesn't burn, life in the blackened ash in all directions isn't much fun any more. And selling that house is a much harder proposition for years afterward.

[OurNextAdventure]

I had considered the fire danger. However it comes with rural living in the high desert. Chapparal, pinion and pine burn very fast. We have that danger here at our current home. Being fire wise is an important part of living outside of the municipality limits.

I havent looked at Inkom at all. I don't have any desire to live close to the I-15, and being so close to town, I forsee the area blowing up with developments once the California exodus catches wind of the area, if it hasn't already happened.

I'm driving through Pocatello in a few weeks in route to Island Park. I'll just deviate from our itinerary a bit and have a look around this area, as well as the above mentioned places.