Jewel Basin

Montana Gateway to The Jewel Basin

Lincoln Log Homes Inc.

Whitefish830 Dakota Ave

Whitefish, MT 59937

(406) 756-1484

I always thought of Jewel Basin as a Pristine Wilderness. I went up yesterday for the first time in my life, though I am a Northwest Montana Native, and It was one clear cut after another and done very poorly.

This, on the way to our Northwest Montana Wilderness.

I guess there is quite a bit of logging on this road, I just
found it as a Surprise, having Never Been to the Jewel Basin.

I do Think this Could Have been done Better. More trees Left,
Better Clean up, shredding of debri and more.

Whitefish Real Estate

Whitefish Real Estate

Is Resort Real Estate Insulated from the Real Estate Recession ?

I believe that Recreational and Resort Real Estate is WAY different than regular real estate and that the market will Hold Strong for Resort Real Estate for the Most Part. However, I think recreational real estate with water, trees and real Montana recreation will hold value longer than Condos, Golf Resort Homes and the Like. The current real estate trend is Bigger than Local Real Estate and we cannot really escape it all. People, Buyers in other locations need to sell their homes where they are from in order to buy here, so that market needs to be stable more than just here.

Recreational Real Estate will always be attractive to someone, but if the nation, as a whole is in a Major transition, the way appraisals are done are changing forever, internet marketing is changine things and the mortgage industry is in a MAJOR transition, along with the Loss of Jobs - We cannot help but lose real estate values in Northwest Montana at some point. However, the Canadian Dollar is so good that they are still investing here in Northwest Montana and I do feel that recreational real estate will stay strong. However, the housing prices and the prices of lots has dropped, it is a fact.

I also don't believe that a LOCAL real estate appraisal
can really tell you for sure what the trend is. I believe, I know that
the MLS data is not monitered, sales data is not really an accurate home value and an appraiser can look at the data anyway he or she needs to.

When I get an appraisal, the Appraisor asks ME every single time, What I need it to come in at, some even want to see the buy sell (the purchase agreement). Why would an appraisor NEED to see a buy - sell to perform and appraisal, why can't they just simply give an appraisal value based on VALUE and not what is needed to make the sale. I am licensed in MT, Idaho and Oregon and this issue is not unique to Northwest Montana.

Whitefish Real Estate has always been a Unique and Expensive market
and has a different buyer pool than most other Northwest Montana
Real Estate Locations.

If you have Recreational Real Estate for Sale
in Northwest Montana, sell it Without a
Northwest Montana Realtor, they do not GET
internet marketing. Sell your Home yourself online,
and attract recreational buyers, and buyers that may want

real estate in other states, and they will be drawn to your
Real Estate for Sale.

Real Estate has Definately Changed Forever,
one day soon Real Estate Agents will be
a Thing of the Past.

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Wilderness Club Montana

Well, according to My Sources the Wilderness Club Montana GETS to Keep their Building. They finished the building, saying they had to in order to protect the foundation. Even though they were ordered to STOP construction, they knew that if they continued that there would be too much value in the building and the Judge would let them keep it. That is what they were banking on and that is what has seemed to of happened, according to my sources.

So what this means to you is that ANYONE with enough money can move in next to you, violate your covenants, cut down your trees, break into your home, shoot your dog, cause SEVERE property erosion on your borders, take the VALUE out of your property that you have worked a lifetime to build, harass you, violate your property rights and ignore a court order telling them to Stop. You may get some sort of damages but you WILL NOT get your life back. You will not get your dog back. You will never get the real VALUE out of your property.

I thought that if you violated a judge’s order that you were in contempt. I guess I am wrong on that. Joe Purdy and the Wilderness Club claim that the neighbors gave them permission to cut down their trees and build a giant road. It has been said to me that Joe said he was going to cut down the trees because he could. They were not given permission of any kind. They simply cut the trees down, took them away, and built a road to build a LARGE hideous building that violates the covenant and ruins lives.

The property next to the Commercial Building was once a place of sanctuary, with trees blocking neighbor houses and noise. Now there is a huge amount of dust, the trees have been removed without the landowners permission, there is constant light and noise, there is constant traffic, and the stress is absolutely unbearable.

The Wilderness Club has ruined the lives of hard working local residents and for what ?

For a Building, to house chemical fertilizers to keep a luxury, private golf course green. A building put here so as to ruin the adjacent landowners property values while keeping this “maintenance building” out of site of the homes in the Wilderness Club Resort, thereby making sure the NICE homes do not have to look at this building while making the landowner not part of their exclusive club, look at the building – suffer the noise and dust and 24 hour lighting.

Apparently the “High End” homes are given more rights to a good quality of life than those who have lived here a lifetime.

It is Simple Wrong.

Why can’t the Wilderness Club Montana just do the Right Thing.

And why doesn’t anybody seem to care? Is Eureka Montana so desperate for this resort because we need the taxes that we will literally ruin people’s lives to make it happen? I guess so.
IF You Buy a Lot or a Home in the Wilderness Club Montana than you are basically saying It is ok to ruin peoples lives, it is ok for Big Money to violate property rights and do whatever they please regardless of the law or what is ethically right.

If you have money than your version of the Truth seems to hold more weight than what actually happened. This is what seems to be true for the situation with the Wilderness Club Montana.


What Happens Next.

Starting April 1st there will be a trial to determine what damages the neighbors have suffered. They will never get their life, as they new it back. And they will never get the price for their real estate that it would have been worth had the Wilderness Club Golf Resort not ruined their property value. I personally would not pay a dime for that property and neither would any client, (real estate buyer). Why in the world would you want a home where you front yard is caving in because of a giant road to the back side of resort is to close and undermining your property, where a giant heating and cooling system is so loud you cannot here the crickets, where lights blare 24 hours a day, where you live in the woods but do not have any trees for a buffer between houses, and people are constantly in your front yard with machinery to maintain an elite resort. No Way, I could not sell this property for any price.

There is absolutely no doubt that what the Wilderness Club has done in this situation has severely hurt the property values of the adjacent landowners and all they seem to care about is their bottom line. As a real estate broker owner, I care about people’s property rights before – during and long after their real estate transaction. And what the Wilderness Club has done is inexcusable period.

Keep in Mind folks, Fair Market Value is different than appraised Value. Just because a property will appraise for a certain price does not mean that anyone will buy it for that price.

In Conclusion, ask yourself – Who Will move in next to you and Take away Your Lifestyle ? Lets hope it is not property that Joe Purdy of Montana Properties is in charge of or property purchased by the Norcal Group out of Calgary Alberta, or really any Big Business – you can bet you will have no rights.

John Muhlfeld - Whitefish Real Estate News

Well The Headlines of the Daily Interlake TODAY smells quite fishy.

Now we SEE for SURE why John Muhlfeld was bent on getting into the Whitefish City Council.

He has pushed a law through that will ensure he makes HUGE amounts of Money.

Even if JOHN and the River Design Group does not get the job of “site work”, which they will, but if not they would still benefit from the job going to friends of theirs and if the property owner has a choice it will have to be John Muhlfeld of the River Design Group, he has experience in GETTING paperwork through government officials, he is on the City Council and his Fiancé is a Realtor – Win Win.

The article said that it is unknown how much money whitefish property owners will have to spend before they can build.

To me this says that the flood gates of MONEY have opened up to Muhlfeld’s kind of work. And he directly benefits from the law.

Yes some developers in Whitefish have abused the waterways, built to close, and cut down trees along whitefish lake. They were given tiny fines and now every landowner must pay. Follow the Money folks.

I say to you Whitefish Real Estate Owners that YOU are being manipulated so that John Muhfeld can get rich and that you should take your development dollars elsewhere. This is not about protecting the waters. I have a whole lot of paperwork on the Grave Creek Project in Eureka Montana and what John Muhlfeld Designed ripped out every year and he did not care. The worse job he did the more he got paid to come back and fix it.

John Muhlfeld admitted, with several people present that he had already chose who would do the ground work on the project. These folks were friends of his, and therefore, the public notice and trainings for the locals were just protocol.

John Muhlfeld is not to be trusted. He acts righteous, like he wants to protect the waterways and it is NOT True. John Muhlfeld is out for a long term pay check. And NOT for what is best for water and fisheries. I mean wasn’t’ gas being dumped into the Whitefish River, how long did that take to clear up. The gas station is allowed on the river banks but houses are not.

Take a look at his past work, he never has cared about the rights of property owners.

He works for the government and will do as he pleases. He brings dogs onto your property when specifically asked not to. He has no regard to property rights and he is NOT good at his job. Is this Defamation ? Folks, get every single document from every single job he has done. Under the Freedom of information act you can demand copies of this paperwork. And when you read it all you will see that John’s work is not quality and is all about creating high paying jobs for himself and his friends and now he will have an inside connection and quite possibly his Realtor fiancé will make lots of money on Whitefish Waterfront Real Estate.

Open your Eyes Folks, Today’s Headlines is all about River Design Group and John Muhlfeld making MONEY.

I do believe waterways SHOULD be protected, but anything with Muhlfeld’s name on it is suspect of corruption, lies, greedy, faulty work and trampling of landowners rights.

All in the Name of Fun

Big Mountain and I go way back. I no longer make it up to the now Whitefish Mountain Resort but we do share a vivid history compiled of embarrassments and confessions. Paging through the Stumptown Historical Society's latest publication, the memories come flooding back.

In 1974 I acquired my first set of skis. I was far from the cutting edge in ski technology, donning me wood skis and poles and psychedelic flower print parka, which may have been bright enough to be identified through the pea soup of the mountain's fog. I never did ski on Little Mountain, which the Stumptown Paper described as a sort of initiation slope for beginning skiers located by the old roller rink on the south edge of town. I can recollect thinking I was better than that. Until I twisted a chunk of my long hair into the rope of the rope tow, was dragged up the slope twenty feet and dropped to the ground without the chunk of hair attached to my scalp. After that I stayed away from the rope tow. Five year olds are at least ready for the T-bar, even if they are too chicken to ski off the top of the mountain in a virtual white out.

By first grade, my parents enrolled me in my first season of professional lessons. At the end of the season we raced, showing off all our fresh talent to relatives, friends and instructors. I was sure that I had made it down the course the quickest. If it weren’t for the fact that I missed four gates, I am sure my time would have been near the top. That was the beginning and the end of my racing career. Free skiing was more fun anyways. By the time I was in junior high school, I was launching myself off of chair one. At the top of what is now called bad medicine, I was busy being bad: the chair lift lulled along with an average sixteen minute ride to the top. Sometimes me and my buddies would just jump off. When it was real cold, we would go into the Alpin-snack and start fires with the flammable non-dairy creamer: open and throw contents of pack into mid air while buddy throws match.

By high school, I was skiing out of bounds. Those days saw the longest run of my life, from the top of the mountain down to the head of Whitefish Lake where the road meets Hell Roaring Creek. It would be inaccurate to say it hadn’t been done before and it would be inaccurate to say it was planned. I ended up leaving my skis a mile or two up the creek in different locations. Thankfully a co-worker of my mom’s offered to search the area the next day and thankfully they were retrieved before the next snowfall.

Whitefish has grown up and so have I. The both of us have seen some folly associated with our growth. Some of the folly has been admitted and other folly is still in the making or gets swept under the rug. And thank goodness historical sites like the Hell Roaring lodge still stand: the dozing a tragedy narrowly averted. If it weren’t for the lodge I would get vertigo even on a sunny day: everything looks so much different up there! Other buildings have structural difficulties. I find it odd that after all these years that the Alpinglow’s precarious design would get called on. And I remember working in the old Mogul’s restaurant one unwelcome Christmas break of storms, wind and of course fog. The roof collapsed near happy hour. Luckily nobody was hurt. The same vacation, the road was closed due to vehicle pile ups. With the road now much improved and the architecture becoming smarter, the mountain is really growing up. I just wish the Kalispell Cost-Co would offer the same ticket prices as the Canadian Cost-Co. I don’t consider this very smart marketing, unless the dollar does take the plunge this winter, making it obvious that locals can’t afford a day or two on the hill.

Stumptown Old Timer really sums up the archaic Whitefish experience. In the process of becoming history, Whitefish and I have both made mistakes, broken rules, built on dreams, changed our names, improved our image and have learned that having fun is high priority. With Whitefish Winter Carnival around the corner, locals also get a chance to laugh at themselves. In the midst of the political soup of the day- the mumbo gumbo aka the Muhlfield conspiracy, Whitefish carnival participants poke fun and create a skit performed at the Great Northern Bar highlighting a town’s folly. This year, I hope to lighten up a bit and get in on some of the fun. Especially since I no longer fear the Yetis- even if at first glance through the fog they do look an awful lot like mangy moose that hang out in Canyon Creek. Carnival events are going on now. The “big day” (parade) is the first Saturday in February.

Reflections on Flathead Media

I first noticed the Beacon back in December 2007. Being familiar with Missoula’s Independent, I found myself constantly comparing and contrasting the two. First impression told me the Beacon was smart, the image I was seeing was sporty and sleek, like a celebrity. It wasn’t until later that I discovered the paper was owned by celebrities Maury Pauvich and Connie Chung, who own a home in the Flathead. The Independent, on the other hand, has been criticized by many as advertising sleaze. However you classify dirt, it looks like it takes dirt to grow a grass roots style newspaper.

But I like that the Beacon is clean and doesn’t advertise sleaze- no cigarette ads no matter how “organic” the tobacco and no dating services. And the size of the Beacon is slightly smaller to flip from front to back. And what looks like the quality of paper they print on (recycled or non-recycled) has that subtle glossy feel to it. Part of staying in the newspaper print game these days does take a tactile edge in the market place. Even if your paper is free. Internet news doesn’t hold the memories I associate of print newspaper: waking up at 6:00a.m. at my mother’s house in Whitefish, stoking the fire and reading the Daily Interlake that has already been delivered to her front door. You get the picture. The Interlake holds fond memories, even if I don’t agree with the editor on the topic of global warming. I am a connoisseur of news, no matter what the medium. I appreciate all the media in our area, even if I don’t agree with the many viewpoints that are shared or exposed.

I just don’t think Bucky Walford should have his mall, for instance. This is more than just a stoplight issue, it is an environmental issue. And I don’t think that the Whitefish city council is petty. Any small victory gained by Whitefish civil servants for the good of many should be applauded. For the most part, I like what Whitefish has grown into in the last thirty eight years (which being my age is about how long I have watched Whitefish grow). And if bureaucracy slows things down, maybe this could be viewed in terms of a speed limit on growth. After all, haste makes waste. All this was stirred in me the second day of the year, with my new Beacon issue as I sat with my feet kicked back watching the snow fall and contemplating the editor’s advice for the various towns in Flathead County. I liked the roust for local government, but the words were like a jagged little pill for this little local girl.

All this rousting going on, all this **it being stirred- and for what reason? The Interlake had a headline a few weeks back- something about Muhlfield- the Whitefish city council fellow who was guilty of sleeping at his girlfriend’s house- that made him sound like a criminal. When mountains are made out of molehills, one wonders what the intent is. Last week’s Pilot quoted Tim Gratten, an area developer in on the mountain-making (and mountain making in more ways than one if you know the Gratten family) as, “just wanting to stir things up.” Jeesh. Is it really worth the effort? This sounds like the escapades of a little boy on the playground. And it has the whole valley in a tizzy.

The Beacon will have its place at the news stand. It has the money to do so. I no longer compare it to the Independent, which has returned to- in my mind- its rightful position as the only independent newspaper. Meanwhile, the media players are kicking up the dust on the playground. Let just hope that our emotions stirred won’t cloud the view.

-Kris Neckermann