Pool, Creek, Acreage
Log Home, 13 Acres, Year-Round Creek, Pool, Mountain Views — $140,000
8
out of 10
HousesUnder150K Score
Property Merit 50% · Condition 25% · Price/Sq Ft 15% · Market 10%
| Category | Wt. | Score | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property Merit | 50% | 9 | Log home, 13.22 acres, year-round creek, pool, cathedral ceilings, mountain views, greenhouse |
| Condition | 25% | 6 | Generator-only power is a financing risk; systems otherwise described as functional but no update dates |
| Price / Sq Ft | 15% | 9 | Listing $117/sqft vs zip median $241/sqft (51% below); 1 comp, directional only — strong signal |
| Price vs. Market | 5% | 4 | $140K vs $146K median — nearly at median, but zip likely skewed by acreage/rural comps |
| Market Conditions | 5% | 8 | DOM 136 days zip median, sale-to-list 91.3%, 24.8% price drops — clear buyer's market |
Thirteen acres of California mountain land with a year-round creek running the length of it, a pool, a greenhouse, and a log home with cathedral ceilings — for $140,000. The price per square foot here is about half what comparable properties in this zip code sell for. That gap is worth sitting with before you read anything else.
The house is an engineered log structure built in 1980, 1,200 square feet across two floors. The main thing you notice inside is the two-story wall of windows looking out to the mountains. Cathedral ceilings, and the kind of vertical space that makes a small footprint feel larger than the numbers suggest. The layout splits the two bedrooms and bathrooms across separate floors, which makes it work reasonably well for two people who want their own space, or for a parent and adult child, or for anyone who needs a dedicated office on one level and a bedroom on another.
The land is the real story. Hall City Creek runs along the property year-round, which in the California mountains is not something you take for granted. Ferns and water plants in the pools along the creek bank. The upper section of the property has a greenhouse and a shed, already set up for a serious garden. There's also a pool, which on a mountain property at this price is genuinely unusual. You could run animals here, grow a substantial amount of your own food, or just have 13 acres of quiet.
The issue is power. The property runs on a generator. Propane handles the heater, refrigerator, and oven, and there's a wood stove as a secondary heat source. No grid connection on the property itself, though the agent notes utility lines reach the neighboring parcel. That single fact will end the conversation for most lenders, which is why this has sat on the market for months and why the price is what it is. If you can pay cash, or find financing that works for off-grid properties, that's the friction that's holding the price down.
What you get for pushing through it: a log home with a creek, a pool, 13 acres, and a mountain view, for less than a two-bedroom condo in most California cities.
