For Sale By Owner: A secluded hand-built house with a spring-fed pool. Will trade.

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#Homes & Tours#eco-conscious#Idaho#real estate#weird houses#Western homes


My friend Rachel spends a lot of time fantasizing about houses. And stalking houses. She sent me this week’s Offbeat Real Estate dreamboat: an “artistic” house in Idaho, now up for sale or trade. It’s three floors off the grid, a 1/2 mile from the road, on 12 acres — with the middle floor set up as a tile cutting/stained glass studio, it’s perfect for someone who needs to get away and work for a while.

Imagining yourself in this home takes some work — the owner has a love of using flash and therefore, taking really unappealing photos. It’s okay. I’ll help you fantasize.

The entire home is handbuilt — much of it with stone and logs harvested right from the site. Two of the studio rooms on the middle floor are open air. Not feeling relaxed enough in your life outside of civilization? Maybe the wood-fired bath house/sauna will do the trick. Still not enough? How about having your own POOL in your own GROTTO filled with SPRING WATER?

This place is designed for self-sufficiency. It is off-grid, powered by solar electric with a backup generator, water comes from a spring-fed pond, phone and internet are from cellular service (broadband internet), TV comes from an antenna, and you maintain your own driveway. The house is an easily accessible, secluded mountain retreat.

Later on in the description? The owner talks about how you share your private drive with “one friendly but reclusive neighbor” who lives a half mile away. I cannot tell you the amount I want to go to there.

So what’s all this gonna cost you? $110,000, or you know, if you happen to have a boat lying around…

That’s right. You got a little cash and a big ass boat? That house could be yours.

About the Author: Cat Rocketship

I was the Managing Editor of Offbeat Home for a year and a half. I have a rich Internet life and also a pretty good real life. Hobbies include D&D, Twitter, and working on making our household more self-reliant. I also draw things.

Comments on For Sale By Owner: A secluded hand-built house with a spring-fed pool. Will trade.

  1. That’s a nice area. Looks like the owner really could have benefitted from the use of a plumb-bob during construction, though.

    The one thing that really stands out in my mind though is the fact that, if a wildfire went through the area, that place would go up like a torch. And fires do burn up there frequently enough that it is a legitimate concern.

  2. I second the plumb-bob idea. But you could come live near-ish to me.

    Re: wildfires, it clearly needs some defensible space but it’s close enough to town (only 1/2 mile off the road) that there will be an army of helicopters doing water dumps if fire comes ANYWHERE close to the Sandpoint area with the $$$ houses. (Of course that can happen though…look at Malibu).

  3. That’s only a couple hours away from where I live! If only I was in a position to buy a house right now I’d totally make an offer on that place.

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