Bowman Base Camp is for sale

[peakbagger]

https://www.remax.com/nh/randolph/h...h-03593/5175543771580600313/M00000445/4865476

Here is your chance to relive the hazy days of the past. Its been vacant and ignored for 20 plus years so the wildlife that inevitably moved in are probably willing to make some room for you . Reportedly RMC had an engineer review the structure 20 plus years ago and his report was that it was built to no known code and its was best torn down for RMCs purposes. The big plus is its the trail head for Lowes path. The rail trail runs behind it so it will be busy with snowmachine traffic out back in the winter. Realistically the last 5 acre building lot in Randolph sold for 50K. There may be enough frontage to subdivide and end up with two lots and the price starts to be reasonable.

My guess is they are listing it for this price but may have some someone willing to pay a lower price so they can donate it to the town.


Its rare to see a lot this small in current use with structure on it.

 

[Tom_Murphy]

Its rare to see a lot this small in current use with structure on it.

Hi peakbagger,

I apologize but I have no idea what you are trying to say here.

? rare because the structure is non-conforming ?

I always appreciate your insights.
Thanks.

 

[peakbagger]

Current use status means the property is taxed at a lower rate based on its "current use" not its potential value. In this case I would speculate its taxed as unmanaged forest land, versus as a house lot. The rules are to get current use status there can be no improvements on the acreage. Taxes on a house or camp would be higher based on the structure on the property and what the lot would be worth as a house lot. House lots rarely sell in Randolph but my guess is it would be in the 50K minimum range (the lot doesn't have a view) plus the value of the structure. I did a quick look and Randolph's tax rate looks to be around $17/1000 so the regular property tax might be $850 a year for the land and some value for the structure. Lets use 20K for the structure which is maybe the value of a garage so that is another $340 or maybe $1,190 a year. So anyone buying it gets some immediate savings on property tax by being in current use. The trade off with current use is if you take a portion of a lot out of current use the owner needs to pay a penalty equal to 10 percent of the value of the parcel being taken out of current use. In this case a portion of the lot with the building on it in theory is already is out of current use so no penalty is needed to rehab the structure or do work on the area outside of current use. This means that 10 acres are always going to be taxed at current use (until its developed) while the 1 acre gets normal property taxes. I think Randolph has a 3 acre minimum for a new subdivided lot so compared to a new subdivided lot, the Base Camp lot should in theory always have this property tax advantage unless someone wants to expand out side of the acre.

If someone wants to buy it and subdivide it into 3 lots it would require a minor subdivision in front of the planning board and a zoning variance due to a need for a shared driveway and state regulations on curb cuts on major highways. They then would need to pay a 10% penalty for taking the remaining acreage out of current use and the land would be taxed at the regular rates.

So if someone is looking for a investment and place to stay in Randolph, this may be an option if the building is salvageable. Factor in the potential for a possible minor subdivision in the future. Generally people pay a premium for lots abutting the national forest which is another plus. Lowes Path is probably a plus but the Presidential Range trail (former Boston and Maine railroad right of way) is a mixed blessing, its a major snowmachine route in winter which is plus to some and big minus to others. This trail is open for non motorized use in the non snow season (no ATVs). The other aspect is RT 2 is loud (Raven from VFTT has similar lot so he may be able to comment) and the location is on the fringes of what is generally regarded as the desirable part of Randolph. If it was on Durand road east of Lowe's Store or Randolph Hill Road it would have snapped up the day it hit the market. What happens somewhat frequently is that people buy a less than desirable place just to get a place in Randolph and start participating in town and RMC activities, they eventually hear about a more desirable place soon to be on the market and end up buying it through private sale and then putting their original place up for sale usually with some improvements. Much of the older housing stock in Randolph were originally summer camps built on boulders and posts, people over the years have turned them into year round homes but they usually require ongoing repairs to keep them stable. If the Basecamp is built on a foundation that is major plus compared to many of the older homes in town. BTW, the prior use is not grandfathered and anyone wanting to reopen it as an Inn would effectively have to start from scratch to get a new inn approved.

The other option is discuss what was proposed with the forest service at one point to sell a portion of the lot to the WMNF to build a parking lot for Lowes path.

My guess is it probably will need a new septic system given its age and past use, it probably has a cess pool and possibly a drilled well. All bets are off on the interior, given its age and that it was abandoned for 25 plus years, my guess is new electrical service, new plumbing and heating. There have been a couple of "wrecks" of camps for sale in town in the last 4 or five years and they usually sell quickly as the entry price is low. Randolph has a small but steady market of people wanting to buy in.

 

[Tom_Murphy]

Thank you, I appreciate you taking the time to educate me.

 

[peakbagger]

Now that the real estate sign has been put up I took a quick peek at the camp. Sad to say its probably a lot more of a liability than an asset. I forgot how big it was. Years of neglect and decay are doing it in. Oddly the white cedar shingles are in fairly good shape but the actual building has signs of major structural issues. The rear roof which should be flat plane has significant depression in it that lines up with the second floor front wall leaning out well from vertical. Thats a pretty good indication that structural beams a have failed or were never installed.

Taking a peek in the windows at least some of the first floor deck is missing. Its built on concrete posts with a perimeter concrete wall. The access to the crawl space is open and its decidedly musty, My guess is the moisture from the crawl space has been openly getting up in the building for decades. About the only good thing is that it may not have things like asbestos in it so it may be something that could be burnt once the roof shingles were burn. Sure there might be wood to salvage but my guess is its nothing that could be reused for building.

The entire lot is mostly grown in, my guess was it was lot more open long ago but now the trees and canopy has taken over. I took some pictures but given how close the trees have grown in hard to get a long view. When I get a chance I will post a few.

 

[ChrisB]

Now that the real estate sign has been put up I took a quick peek at the camp. Sad to say its probably a lot more of a liability than an asset. I forgot how big it was. Years of neglect and decay are doing it in. Oddly the white cedar shingles are in fairly good shape but the actual building has signs of major structural issues. The rear roof which should be flat plane has significant depression in it that lines up with the second floor front wall leaning out well from vertical. Thats a pretty good indication that structural beams a have failed or were never installed.

Taking a peek in the windows at least some of the first floor deck is missing. Its built on concrete posts with a perimeter concrete wall. The access to the crawl space is open and its decidedly musty, My guess is the moisture from the crawl space has been openly getting up in the building for decades. About the only good thing is that it may not have things like asbestos in it so it may be something that could be burnt once the roof shingles were burn. Sure there might be wood to salvage but my guess is its nothing that could be reused for building.

The entire lot is mostly grown in, my guess was it was lot more open long ago but now the trees and canopy has taken over. I took some pictures but given how close the trees have grown in hard to get a long view. When I get a chance I will post a few.

Common Peakbagger, you know you want to buy it and own a piece of New England hiking history! Guy Waterman probably slept there!!

Start a gofundme page for materials and we’ll all pitch in on work weekends.

 

[peakbagger]

I have 83 acres with much a better view down road that is going to take up my time for several years.

 

[skiguy]

Common Peakbagger, you know you want to buy it and own a piece of New England hiking history! Guy Waterman probably slept there!!

Start a gofundme page for materials and we’ll all pitch in on work weekends.

I thought Sierra was going to buy it and turn it in to a hostel that served local craft beer.

 

[DayTrip]

I thought Sierra was going to buy it and turn it in to a hostel that served local craft beer.

Hah! I was thinking the same thing when I saw this.

 

[skiguy]

Hah! I was thinking the same thing when I saw this.

DayTrip time to quit the day job in Conn. and move North. This place has you written all over it. Although of course you'll have to live up to peakbagger's best places to eat after hiking reviews.

 

[Rhody Seth]

Sorry guys. I'm going to buy it and turn it into an alpaca farm.

 

[skiguy]

Sorry guys. I'm going to buy it and turn it into an alpaca farm.

Ought be fun watching them chase the Snow Machines during Winter.

 

[peakbagger]

Pictures
Note how well the white cedar shingles are holding up The place is quite large. I tried to take some photos inside the building through the windows with no luck. There is huge stone masonry fireplace inside.

Side View


Crawl space under building, no vapor barrier (photo is rotated).


Front Face, that is not lens distortion the entire front wall of the second floor in the area of the picture window is leaning out significantly


The problem with the rear roof is not as obvious from the photo. It should be flat but its not a flat plane, the center of the roof is pushed inwards. My guess is snow load has sprung the ceiling joists holding the front and rear wall vertical so the front wall is leaning out as a result. The ridge pole is definitely deflected down somewhat but its not at the point that the old timer call that its "back is broken" but my guess is its getting close.

Looks like the rear lower roof sheathing, fascia boards, soffits are all in need of replacement.

 

[peakbagger]

Looks like its off the market. The sign is gone and the realtor no longer lists it. Coos County put almost all the deed info behind a paywall so I cant get any more info unless I hand over a credit card or drive over to the registry.

 

[J&J]

It sold for $125,000 at the end of July. I don't remember what the asking price was.

 

[peakbagger]

Thanks, I think that was the asking price.

 

[StonyLonesome]

Pleased to virtually "meet you all". What the hikers/conversationalists here are quite correct about is that the building known as "Bowman Base Camp" cannot be saved - it will need to be removed down to the foundations (the engineer with the RMC was also a professional that made the right call way back in 2003). We did the checking and it has to go - it's heartbreaking. We are part of the extended backcountry hiking community, which is why we purchased it (some legacies are worth paying a bit more for even if 'book' values suggest it's too expensive - once the land corridor abutting Lowe's Path trailhead was gone, how could it be replaced?). Hope to meet you in person sometime should circumstances permit.

 

[skiguy]

Pleased to virtually "meet you all". What the hikers/conversationalists here are quite correct about is that the building known as "Bowman Base Camp" cannot be saved - it will need to be removed down to the foundations (the engineer with the RMC was also a professional that made the right call way back in 2003). We did the checking and it has to go - it's heartbreaking. We are part of the extended backcountry hiking community, which is why we purchased it (some legacies are worth paying a bit more for even if 'book' values suggest it's too expensive - once the land corridor abutting Lowe's Path trailhead was gone, how could it be replaced?). Hope to meet you in person sometime should circumstances permit.

Are you going to open a Microbrewery?

 

[peakbagger]

Randolph is a dry town , There is a microbrewery being built Gorham.

 

[ChrisB]

Maybe a nice big parking lot would be good. Ease the situation up the road.