A PIECE OF THE MOUNTAIN

by Helene Bowen

A man had a dream of a mountain resort where families and friends could get together to ski, hike, golf, 

swim or just sit by the fire in the Club House. Little did he know that it would never be! During many years to follow, he and his team tried to accomplish this dream. Rocky terrain,sewer/drainage and switch-back problems halted production and construction of housing, etc.---- never to finish his dream of Mountain Run Resort in Shenandoah, Virginia!

In the beginning, our family had a dream of a vacation spot to enjoy the outdoors, the beautiful views of nature and life as well as hiking, skiing, swimming, photographing the gorgeous scenery and more.

We bought a lot on top of the mountain at Mountain Run Resort. We were excited as we explored housing styles, places to visit in the surrounds and waited for the owners to apprise us of continuing development. Little did we know our dreams were never to be!

We are still owners of a piece of the mountain! And a further kick in the pocket book, we're still paying property taxes!

What if....... hikers/hunters rented a plot in the forest, from current owners, as a camp-site, (an Open-Air-BNB) a place to set up their backpacks, equipment, etc. while they go hunting, hiking, photographing, etc. in the woods? What are your thoughts? 

Comments welcome:  artsidethebox@gmail.com

HB wrote:

A PIECE OF THE MOUNTAIN

by Helene Bowen

A man had a dream of a mountain resort where families and friends could get together to ski, hike, golf, 

swim or just sit by the fire in the Club House. Little did he know that it would never be! During many years to follow, he and his team tried to accomplish this dream. Rocky terrain,sewer/drainage and switch-back problems halted production and construction of housing, etc.---- never to finish his dream of Mountain Run Resort in Shenandoah, Virginia!

In the beginning, our family had a dream of a vacation spot to enjoy the outdoors, the beautiful views of nature and life as well as hiking, skiing, swimming, photographing the gorgeous scenery and more.

We bought a lot on top of the mountain at Mountain Run Resort. We were excited as we explored housing styles, places to visit in the surrounds and waited for the owners to apprise us of continuing development. Little did we know our dreams were never to be!

We are still owners of a piece of the mountain! And a further kick in the pocket book, we're still paying property taxes!

What if....... hikers/hunters rented a plot in the forest, from current owners, as a camp-site, (an Open-Air-BNB) a place to set up their backpacks, equipment, etc. while they go hunting, hiking, photographing, etc. in the woods? What are your thoughts? 

Comments welcome:  artsidethebox@gmail.com

From Snapdragon:

tiny house...glamping...sounds like a plan...all property/land owners pay property taxes...that is a given

For those who do not know, the "Mountain Run" mentioned here is the lost ski area near Mt Jackson. 

A couple things I think you would need to think about:

Is there a trailhead somewhere that people can park at for hiking in? 

Are there trails and game land nearby that will not require going back to vehicles and driving? A lot of hunters these days like having the use of an ATV to transport game (deer) is there access for those? 

You will probably have to carry some sort of property insurance, particularly for fire, but also if someone falls and hurts themselves while renting. 

Just some thoughts off the top of my head. 

 You have two choices.

1) Invest a certain amount of money to build a yert or get a small pe-fab house for about $200K. Run it through an LLC so you can deduct the losses and as a pass-through you might qualify for the QBI 20% deduction off of your members' K1. I don't know what do you for a living but if you can put your income through the LLC that would help.

2) Stop paying any real estate or other taxes on the land, let it go in to arrears, say goodbye and let the county auction it off. They probably would not do a lien it sort of sounds like more effort than the land is worth. Or sell it on eBay to some sucker for $500.

HB wrote:

I think that although I own just a half acre of land it can be a useful investment(?)   My lot has a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains and valleys.  If hikers, hunters, photographers, etc. want to camp out, with my permission, there could be a small rental income for me. Otherwise, this precious piece of the mountain goes unnoticed, unloved and unattended.  I've been wondering, all these years, how other owners of a plot of land in "Mountain Run" feel about such a proposition.