For $575,000 you can buy a whole town.

Town for sale
http://www.nwcn.com/sharedcontent/northwest/nwbackroads/stories/NW_BR191ranch_3townforsale.211d4e70.html
02:31 PM PDT on Friday, September 14, 2007

Northwest Backroads

For $575,000 you can buy a whole town. It may be a bit of a fixer-upper, but the whole town of Monse, Wash. is on the market.

"It's an opportunity to be the mayor, the police chief… you can be the dog catcher, if you want to," said Juli Doty, realtor.

Northwest Backroads

Would you like to be mayor? Just buy the town!

The price includes 60 acres, 90 plated lots, an apricot orchard, six homes, an old store that has a debatable floor, a schoolhouse that needs a lot of attention, and one great fishing hole.

Monse's current owners bought this town along the Okanogan River lot by lot over the years, but they decided to move on to Wenatchee. Only seven residents remain.

Realtor Juli Doty has the listing. She grew up just a few miles from Monse.
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Town for Sale

"There's no crime, there's no shopping, no malls, no car dealer intercom systems blaring for a block away," she said. "It's just a town where you can go jump in the river, you can fish, you can play in your own orchard, you can build your own houses… do whatever you want… in a safe, serene lifestyle."

81-year-old Cub Crossland has lived in the Monse area all his life. He hope the town's new owners will restore some of the buildings.

"That's the only thing I regret about it is to see it go to hell that way," he said.

He thinks it would make a good location for some business.
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Experience Washington

There was a time when Monse was an important stop on the steamship route, a bustling spot for homesteaders, the site of lively dances. Now life there is pretty simple.

Monse is about an hour from Wenatchee in Eastern Washington.

on the east and west coasts.

I'd love to have sixty acres and a fixer upper town. I'd never have that kind of cash though unless I won the lottery.

DU-ville.

be cool. I'll grow organic veggies and hubby can be the communes physician if he gets to fish several times a week. I'll help him with nursing duties when I am not weeding the gardens.

Why would anyone want to do that? Six families yammering at you to fix the damn potholes and complain about mail service.

I get the feeling that if anyone young is left there it would be a miracle. They probably have moved on.

In the audio, it sounds as if one family bought up all the land, and is selling the whole thing.

and the only "livable" buildings are probably being used.. :)

check out the cool school in the $49K link :)

I could see some internet-based types loving a place like that..and there's fishing & winter sports galore there :)

or an artists' colony:)

:bounce:

That just sours the whole deal from my point of view. All of my followers will expect houses to themselves, and neighbors will just object to our nude fertility rituals, so what's the sense of buying a town if I have to clear out the locals? I'm sure as hell not buying them out; I'd have to empty out my fortified compound fund...

Wenatchee is pretty much central and Monse is north of that on 97 near Fort Okanogan State Park. That whole region looks amazingly sparsley populated, almost as much as Western Kansas.

http://www.barbbernhardt.com/riverdaleschool.htm



City: Riverdale School - "TERRIFIC OPPORTUNITY FOR CAMP GROUPS, RETREAT, HUNTERS LODGE, BED-N BREAKFAST, OR BUSINESS"
Price: $49,900

LOCATION: This wonderful building was built in Riverdale, North Dakota in the late 1940's by the "Army Corp Of Engineers" during the construction of "The Garrison Dam". 51 graduating classes passed through the doors of this building during the time that it was functioning as a full time school. Riverdale is a beautiful city which includes many mature trees and well kept homes many of which were built in the era that The dam was constructed. It is in a famous area for week- end campers and seekers of recreation on Lake Sakakawea, also fishermen, and hunters. It is also a peaceful environment in which to reside year around. It is centrally located to both of the larger cities of Bismarck and Minot, North Dakota.

BATHS: There are three sets of girls lavatories and boys lavatories in this building. There is also locker rooms for each gender. all of them are quite pleasantly maintained.

FEATURES: This is a wonderful opportunity for people with a vision who would like to preserve part of the history of Riverdale while making use of a well maintained spacious building with all kinds of potential. Included are functioning rest rooms, locker rooms, stage area, class rooms and very well equipped and spacious kitchen and cafeteria area. There is a very well maintained gym and also a weight lifting room. The building is very stable and is constructed of a variety of materials including brick and wood. The Riverdale school was built in the 1940's and was in use for a total of 51 years as a school. It is currently being used for public recreation and various groups use it for sport and church camps and other activities. It would make a great hotel, hunting lodge, camp or retreat, restaurant or night-club, or a manufacturing site. This is a great location near the dam and lake Sakakawea in a peaceful city near fishing, recreation and hunting. Sale of this property is subject to City Commission approval of proposed use of buyer.

SQUARE FOOTAGE: This building includes a total of 32,328 square feet. There are 7,124 sq; ft. on the 1st floor, 7,124sq. ft. on the 2nd floor, 9728 sq. ft. in the gym and stage area, 2,982 sq. ft. in the weight room, 2,789 sq. ft. in the kitchen and cafeteria area 1,240 square feet in the boiler room, the halls and maintenance room contain 1,840 square feet.

LOT DIMENSIONS: The lot upon which this building sits contains 122,901 square feet or 2,82 acres give or take. The former elementary school building is not included with the sale of this property.

HEAT SOURCE: This building is heated by steam heat boilers.

TAXES: The taxes will be determined as this has been a tax exempt property. There are special assessments including installments of $435.47 per year and a balance of $786.42.