West Michigan: 10 Cheap Homes With Land (From $59,900, All Verified)
Sticks N Bricks
19,942 views
Say Michigan and most people picture the Upper Peninsula or Traverse City, where a cottage costs what a house costs anywhere else. Go to the west side of the mitten instead, into the Manistee National Forest and the river country where the Pere Marquette and the Little Manistee run, and the price tag comes off. Ten verified homes across Lake, Osceola, Manistee, Mecosta and Missaukee counties, every one on an acre or better, every one under $300,000, counted down to a house, a cabin and a garage across the road from a national forest for $59,900. Along the way: 37.5 acres with 12,000 acres of state land along the entire east property line, an off-grid cabin with state land on three sides, a homestead with the chicken coop and garden already in, a four-bedroom that used to be the town store, and a bungalow sitting on 23 lots in Idlewild, the resort town they called Black Eden.
THE LIST:
#10 Lake, Osceola County (20 groomed acres with established food plots and cut trails, 3 bed / 2 bath, 1,334 sq ft, Generac generator wired in; Cadillac 30 minutes) - $280,000
#9 Remus, Mecosta County (18 acres, a 1938 ranch with 998 sq ft up top and a full unfinished basement under all of it; Big Rapids and Ferris State 25 minutes) - $279,900
#8 Wellston, Manistee County (21.3 secluded acres, 3 bed / 1 bath, 1,200 sq ft, attached garage fitted with workbenches and cupboards, new overhead door, new washer, dryer and refrigerator; year-round home, family retreat or hunting camp) - $230,000
#7 Baldwin, Lake County (OFF-GRID on 20 acres of mixed woods with state land on three sides and across the street; large pond by private trail, food plot sites, a standing tower blind, loft cabin, roof and septic both under 10 years old) - $219,900
#6 Sears, Osceola County (30 acres, 3 bedrooms, over 1,400 sq ft, listed as a family compound and hunting camp; US-10 through town, Evart 10 minutes, Ludington and Lake Michigan about an hour) - $199,000
#5 Leroy, Osceola County (37.5 acres at the end of a quiet dirt road with 12,000 ACRES of state land bordering the entire east side; fixer-upper cabin plus a 2019 Cherokee Wolf Pup camper that stays, 100+ miles of snowmobile and ORV trail at the doorstep) - $194,000
#4 Evart, Osceola County (9.8 acres set up as a homestead: chicken coop built, large garden worked, prime hunting on the back; 2 bed / 2 bath move-in ready, newer well, newer septic, 200 amp service run to the pole) - $149,900
#3 Irons, Manistee County (a four-bedroom built in 1900 that was once the local store, on 2.4 acres; new roof, new siding and all new windows in the last four years, garden with irrigation run, county maintained paved road) - $145,000
#2 Idlewild, Lake County (a bungalow on 1.75 acres made up of 23 separate lots, nearly the whole block; 1 bedroom, 580 sq ft, appliances included, fireplace unused for years so have it checked) - $95,000
#1 Irons, Lake County (ONE ACRE directly across a paved road from the Manistee National Forest, with a home, a separate cabin and a detached storage garage; all of it needs work, and the location cannot be recreated) - $59,900
BONUS Lake City, Missaukee County (a rustic LOG HOME, 3 bedrooms, 2,280 sq ft built in 2003, on 20 wooded acres a quarter mile off the road) - $189,000
WHY THERE IS NO TAX NUMBER ON A SINGLE CARD TONIGHT:
Michigan does not work like other states, and quoting the seller's bill would have been actively misleading.
While one owner holds a property, the taxable value can only rise by the lesser of 5% or inflation. Hold it twenty years and that cap saves a fortune.
The day it sells, the cap comes off. The taxable value uncaps the following year and resets to roughly half of what the place is actually worth. The buyer starts from there, and often pays substantially more than the seller was paying.
A principal residence is exempt from up to 18 mills of school operating tax. A hunting camp or second home is not. Same house, same road, and the person living there full time pays less than the person who comes up in November.
Ask the assessor what the taxable value becomes AFTER a sale, before you make an offer. Not after.
Not tax advice, confirm your situation with a professional.
All listings were live and verified against the full listing text and the county record at time of recording. Out here, add the northern Michigan questions before you offer: when were the well and the septic last tested, how does the roof carry lake effect snow off Lake Michigan, and is your road county maintained year-round or is it a seasonal road the plow does not touch from December to April. That last one is a very different life.
Aerial footage used under Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY):
"Phantom flies Hodenpyl" by Gordon M - Phantom flies Hodenpyl
"Cadillac, Michigan: Nature Reserve, Lakes, and parks" by Joshua Stafford - Cadillac, Michigan: Cadillac, Michigan: Na...
Satellite imagery: Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics
6 Comments
Great vidwos and descriptions.
Can you do one for the north east side Michigan's mitten,
Please?
West Michigan: 10 Cheap Homes With Land (From $59,900, All Verified)
Sticks N Bricks
19,942 views
Say Michigan and most people picture the Upper Peninsula or Traverse City, where a cottage costs what a house costs anywhere else. Go to the west side of the mitten instead, into the Manistee National Forest and the river country where the Pere Marquette and the Little Manistee run, and the price tag comes off. Ten verified homes across Lake, Osceola, Manistee, Mecosta and Missaukee counties, every one on an acre or better, every one under $300,000, counted down to a house, a cabin and a garage across the road from a national forest for $59,900. Along the way: 37.5 acres with 12,000 acres of state land along the entire east property line, an off-grid cabin with state land on three sides, a homestead with the chicken coop and garden already in, a four-bedroom that used to be the town store, and a bungalow sitting on 23 lots in Idlewild, the resort town they called Black Eden.
THE LIST:
#10 Lake, Osceola County (20 groomed acres with established food plots and cut trails, 3 bed / 2 bath, 1,334 sq ft, Generac generator wired in; Cadillac 30 minutes) - $280,000
#9 Remus, Mecosta County (18 acres, a 1938 ranch with 998 sq ft up top and a full unfinished basement under all of it; Big Rapids and Ferris State 25 minutes) - $279,900
#8 Wellston, Manistee County (21.3 secluded acres, 3 bed / 1 bath, 1,200 sq ft, attached garage fitted with workbenches and cupboards, new overhead door, new washer, dryer and refrigerator; year-round home, family retreat or hunting camp) - $230,000
#7 Baldwin, Lake County (OFF-GRID on 20 acres of mixed woods with state land on three sides and across the street; large pond by private trail, food plot sites, a standing tower blind, loft cabin, roof and septic both under 10 years old) - $219,900
#6 Sears, Osceola County (30 acres, 3 bedrooms, over 1,400 sq ft, listed as a family compound and hunting camp; US-10 through town, Evart 10 minutes, Ludington and Lake Michigan about an hour) - $199,000
#5 Leroy, Osceola County (37.5 acres at the end of a quiet dirt road with 12,000 ACRES of state land bordering the entire east side; fixer-upper cabin plus a 2019 Cherokee Wolf Pup camper that stays, 100+ miles of snowmobile and ORV trail at the doorstep) - $194,000
#4 Evart, Osceola County (9.8 acres set up as a homestead: chicken coop built, large garden worked, prime hunting on the back; 2 bed / 2 bath move-in ready, newer well, newer septic, 200 amp service run to the pole) - $149,900
#3 Irons, Manistee County (a four-bedroom built in 1900 that was once the local store, on 2.4 acres; new roof, new siding and all new windows in the last four years, garden with irrigation run, county maintained paved road) - $145,000
#2 Idlewild, Lake County (a bungalow on 1.75 acres made up of 23 separate lots, nearly the whole block; 1 bedroom, 580 sq ft, appliances included, fireplace unused for years so have it checked) - $95,000
#1 Irons, Lake County (ONE ACRE directly across a paved road from the Manistee National Forest, with a home, a separate cabin and a detached storage garage; all of it needs work, and the location cannot be recreated) - $59,900
BONUS Lake City, Missaukee County (a rustic LOG HOME, 3 bedrooms, 2,280 sq ft built in 2003, on 20 wooded acres a quarter mile off the road) - $189,000
WHY THERE IS NO TAX NUMBER ON A SINGLE CARD TONIGHT:
Michigan does not work like other states, and quoting the seller's bill would have been actively misleading.
While one owner holds a property, the taxable value can only rise by the lesser of 5% or inflation. Hold it twenty years and that cap saves a fortune.
The day it sells, the cap comes off. The taxable value uncaps the following year and resets to roughly half of what the place is actually worth. The buyer starts from there, and often pays substantially more than the seller was paying.
A principal residence is exempt from up to 18 mills of school operating tax. A hunting camp or second home is not. Same house, same road, and the person living there full time pays less than the person who comes up in November.
Ask the assessor what the taxable value becomes AFTER a sale, before you make an offer. Not after.
Not tax advice, confirm your situation with a professional.
All listings were live and verified against the full listing text and the county record at time of recording. Out here, add the northern Michigan questions before you offer: when were the well and the septic last tested, how does the roof carry lake effect snow off Lake Michigan, and is your road county maintained year-round or is it a seasonal road the plow does not touch from December to April. That last one is a very different life.
Aerial footage used under Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY):
"Phantom flies Hodenpyl" by Gordon M - Phantom flies Hodenpyl
"Cadillac, Michigan: Nature Reserve, Lakes, and parks" by Joshua Stafford - Cadillac, Michigan: Cadillac, Michigan: Na...
Satellite imagery: Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics