LakePlace.com in the News

Cabin Fever
WEEKEND MAGAZINE - Sept./Oct. 2005
By Joanne Kaufman

Miles from the nearest Starbucks, there's a sweet little house in the woods, waiting for you...

For some, Little House in the Big Woods is way more than just a favorite childhood story. It's their idea of a dream-weekend existence. Just picture it: a canopy of maples, spruces and your favorite tree type here with - depending on the time of day - the glorious filtered light of the sun or stars. Cue the clean fresh air; the four poster with the quilt; the braided rugs on the wide-plank floor; the flames dancing in the fireplace. but most of all, cue the quiet. 

That was certainly the lure for Gay Norton Edelman, a Middletown, NJ, writer and editor, when she and her husband built their upstate New York wood-frame cabin 20 years ago. "It provided a balance and it still does," says Edelman of the one-room structure that has absolutely none of the comforts - electricity, running water, indoor plumbing - of urban or suburban living. And that's just fine with her. "I take my favorite novels to read and my journal and I sit outside on my folding chair and look at the sky and meditate and remember who I am," she says. "It is delicious and delightful."

Of course, for some there is such a thing as a little too much quiet. Wait a second, what's that strange rustling sound? And did you just hear that thud?

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Although the northern Minnesota setting is truly the wilderness, the Caribou Cabin is part of a resort, so neighbors are nearby if security is a concern. Each cabin has a dock slip and garage space.

Lance Lavender, owner of Helen Battistoni Real Estate in Rhinebeck, NY, loves cabins in a sylvan setting, and during his years in the business has sold plenty of them. "But the first question I ask people who want to make such a purchase is, 'When was the last time you spent a few days alone in a cabin?' I've had many people say they want total isolation. I bring them to a property, they love it and we make the sale and after a year they say, 'I just can't be out here. It's too isolated.' Sometimes I suggest that people rent a place for a month or two to see if it's really their cup of tea."

But let's assume you know with absolute certainty that what you want is to be miles from your closest neighbor - and the nearest Starbucks. Remote just happens to be your favorite word. That's fine. Still, you need to be aware that remote in the spring and summer means something quite different from, say, remote in the winter. "We have some properties that are extremely far, and unless you have a snowmobile or snowshoes you won't get there in the winter," says Bob Sullivan, owner of Northern Michigan Land Brokers in Marquette. Even during the spring, summer and fall, in some areas, access roads can be so rocky and rutted that only an SUV is equal to the task of getting you home sweet cabin.

"You have to decide whether you want to be in a situation where you have to buy a vehicle to keep up there to deal with the terrain," says Barbara Kenyon, an associate with Real Estate of Jackson Hole, in Jackson Hole, WY.

After you've figured out the precise level of your remoteness tolerance, you'll have to decide just what you'd like in the way of rustic. Are you talking old trapper's log cabin, or a cabin that has pretty much all the comforts of your primary residence, up to and including Internet access? Nancy Foubert, a former physical therapist who owns a three-bedroom cedarwood cabin in Au Train, MI, has a nice blend of rustic and the right-up-to-the-minute: mallards and cable television. "I have wildlife, I have the woods, I have a river for my kayak, and I'm one mile away from a grocery store, the bank and a post office," she says.

Wherever your cabin, it's critical, says realtor Bob Sullivan, to check the house's foundation. He suggests giving a wide berth to cabins built on slabs or cement pillars. "I prefer a full basement," he says. "It seals off the bottom of the cabin from harsh weather and vermin and gives it a more solid base."

If you choose a cabin that's "off the gird" - in other words, without traditional hard line power - you're going to need alternative power sources: propane gas lights, kerosene lamps, a fireplace or a wood stove. Such was the choice of Edelman and her husband, who heat water over a wood stove and read by candlelight at night.

Whatever the cabin's amenities, you have to have water. Is there a well? Does it work? Has the water been tested? Is it potable? You should also have a sewage disposal system. If the cabin doesn't include one, you have to know whether it's in an area where local statutes allow for such an installation. While weekend use would put minimal strain on the system, "It's not as easy as plugging into the town sewer line and calling to complain if there's a backup," says Barbara Kenyon. 

At the risk of stating the obvious, being in the woods is, well, being in the woods. Yeah, sure it's hour home, but other critters got there first and they've been there longer. Accept it and accept them. "You should like wildlife," says Lavender, who advises cabin owners to expect an occasional raccoon on the premises. "A few months ago, my dog almost got trounced by a moose," says Kenyon. "If you have pets, you don't want them to be prey."

The real estate mantra, of course, is location, location, location. But the mantra's second verse ought to be maintenance, maintenance, maintenance. All weekend properties, whatever their locations, present special maintenance issues. "You may want to consider deputizing a neighbor to look in on the property," says Lavender. "If you've got a neighbor."

For Gay Edelman, at least, the long drive to the cabin and the long haul to the neighbor's spigot for water are a small price to pay. "When people ask where I'm going on vacation," she says, "I say I'm going up to the woods to look at my trees. I don't relax anywhere as well as I do there."