Affordable Oregon home for sale

A fall view from our patio in the Upper Applegate Valley of Southern Oregon.

My wife Peggy and I are preparing to hit the road fulltime in our new RV. That means that our home of the past ten years in Southern Oregon’s Applegate Valley is now on the market for sale. This post on my blog is designed to give potential buyers an in-depth look at our five acre property and house. For buyers from outside the region, I have also included information on recreational and cultural opportunities in the area.

If you are looking for an affordable home that features forests, rivers, lakes, and wildlife, this may be for you. The house is ideal for a mountain retreat. It backs up to over a million acres of national forest. The beautiful Applegate River is located out front. Our living room, patio, and sunroom all provide gorgeous views of the Siskiyou Mountains. Fast internet makes this house ideal for remote work.

I’ve divided this post into three sections: 1) Property, 2) The house and out-buildings and 3) The surrounding region.

FIRST: THE PROPERTY

The view from our living room is constantly changing throughout the year. Here, mist is filling the canyon between our home and the Red Buttes of the Siskiyou Mountains.

For the most part, our house is situated above the fog of the Rogue River Valley and below the snow of the Siskiyou’s. When it does snow 2-4 times a year, it melts off in a few days. In the meantime, we enjoy the beauty.

We live on five wooded acres that include white oaks, Ponderosa pine, red cedar, Douglas fir, big leaf maple, madrones and manzanita. There are hillsides, flat areas, and a canyon with blackberries where wildlife likes to hang out. We also co-own property with our neighbors on the Applegate River directly across the road from our land. The upper section of our property borders on the Rogue River – Siskiyou National Forest.

Trees range from this madrone that provides our porch with shade…

Big leaf maples add a touch of color in the fall.

The Applegate River is just across the road. This is a view from the property we co-own with our neighbors.

Walking up our road in the opposite direction will bring you to this sign.

I’ve built a mile long trail up through the forest following old miners’ roads and deer trails. It is designed to provide year round poison oak and burr free access to the forest. And exercise. Some maintenance may be required.

One fun fact of the national forest behind our home is that it was an historic mining area from the 1920’s and 30’s. Test holes can still be found on our property. You can see where miners built their cabins, there is a small cave, and what is left of a 1920s car. I think of it as a sculpture.

There are two access roads: One directly from Upper Applegate Road; the other from a neighborhood shared road. While GPS brings people to our direct access, lower road, it is fairly steep. We recommend that visitors use the shared road. Turn left at the mile 13 marker on the Upper Applegate highway, drive up the road, turn right at the top and drive down the road just past the pole barn and turn right on our upper driveway. It will bring you directly to our house.

A view of our upper road. Off to the left, our property drops into a small canyon with a small, seasonal creek when there is ample rain. On the right is an oak covered hill.

A view of our lower road leading down to the Upper Applegate Road out of Ruch.

An attractive, gated fence, separates our property from Upper Applegate Road.

Given that our property backs up to the National Forest, wildlife is abundant. Deer live on the property, as do squirrels. Raccoons, fox, a skunk, and possums come by to visit and occasionally set up housekeeping. We’ve even seen a bobcat a couple of times. Bear come down off the mountain on occasion. Coyotes and cougars live in the area but are rarely seen. Bird life is abundant. There is even a bald eagle family in the area.

Given the National Forest and the Applegate River, our property is great for watching wildlife. One of the true joys are the fawns that hang around outside our house in the spring.

They usually come in pairs. The one on the left is still trying to figure out how his long, gangly legs work.

They regard our back porch as the ideal place to take a nap.

Naturally, the fawns have to come from somewhere. This is Floppy. She has been bringing her babies by for several years. Note the grey hairs. She likes apples. When her ears aren’t alert, they tend to droop.

Here’s one of the dads. They tend to disappear after all the fun.

Of course you have to win fair maiden/doe’s love, be it ever so brief. We watched many a duel. Hint, the scrawny guy lost.

This youngster sniffs a lavender flower. Was it taking time to stop and smell the flowers? Nope. She was checking its edibility. Deer are known for their voracious appetites. It’s taken us a while, but most of the plants the new owners will find growing on our property are more or less deer proof! You can never be 100% sure. Peggy has worked hard to plant the most resistant.

I can just about guarantee the lavender. I have never seen a deer nibbling at it. Therefore it is planted all of the way around our house. It is also relatively fireproof, always a good thing in this age of global warming. The real plus is that the bees love it. Hundreds, even thousands come by to harvest the nectar.

We planted lavender behind a retaining wall. Sunset Magazine suggested Gabion cages were an attractive alternative for the wall. The wall, the lavender, a wire fence and strategically placed metal flowers are almost enough to keep the deer away from the honeysuckle that grows behind the lavender.

Poppies are another flower that the deer leave alone. They don’t even like to walk through them. It was a struggle for Peggy to get these flowers going but now they are taking over our hillside which was once dominated by star thistle.

Another flower the deer tend to leave alone are Irises. Peggy has planted them around the garden.

Birdlife is also abundant. This male California Quail was on lookout duty for his hen and her brood.

Turkeys are abundant some years. Once I found them carrying out a Conga line in our back yard. Several had lined up and were twirling along following each other. I never did figure out what that was about.

My brother Marshall decided that a bird bath needed to be added next to our bird feeder. A number of different birds were soon lining up to use it, including this flicker and his small friend.

Rowdy Stellar Jays are among the frequent users.

But here’s the thing, during the dry summer months, the birdbath becomes a watering hole for all the wildlife, including grey squirrels.

And, of course, deer. This young fellow is just beginning to grow his first set of antlers.

A pair of Jack rabbits stopped by for a visit one day.

They hightailed it out when the neighborhood fox showed up.

They would have been more worried about this handsome coyote we found wandering the woods in the National Forest above our house.

SECOND: THE HOUSE

The front of our house with patio and sunroom

The home is a modern three bedroom, two bath, 1500 square foot manufactured house that sits on a cement block foundation. It has a living room, family room, kitchen (with a skylight), dining nook, breakfast counter, three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, and a laundry room. We have modified one of the bedrooms to serve as an office with a built-in wood desk, file cabinets, drawers, and book cases. (It can still be used as a bedroom or craft room.) Each of the bedrooms has a closet with the master bedroom having a walk in closet. There is also a coat closet. The house has a peaked ceiling and the living room has a modern, open floor plan with the kitchen and the dining nook, all of which give the house a larger feel than its 1500 square feet would suggest.

The house comes with central heating and air conditioning, a heat pump and an attic fan. It also has an energy star rating reflecting how well it is built. Combined with energy efficient appliances, this means our monthly bill for our all-electric house averages out to $109 per month over the year. The water heater was replaced last year. The refrigerator, washer and dryer, stove, microwave, and dishwasher will remain with the house. All of the appliances except the stove have been replaced in the last five years.

Starlink Internet provides the house with fast internet service which, as the Starlink site says, “enables video calls, online gaming, streaming, and other high data rate activities that historically have not been possible with satellite internet. Users can expect to see download speeds between 100 Mb/s and 200 Mb/s and latency as low as 20ms in most locations.” Arrangements will need to be made to transfer the service but the satellite dish, router, and modem are already in place. Combined with the separate office, the house is ideal for working from home.

A patio, cedar deck and a 140 square foot sunroom are located in front of the house. A covered porch is located at the side door entry next to our parking area. There is ample parking for vehicles and an RV as well. There are three sheds on the property: What we call our garden shed, a tool shed, and our pump house, which also includes good storage space. The total space for tools and storage between the three sheds is 250 square feet. Each shed includes metal shelving units that we are leaving. The pump house has a loft and the tool shed a work bench. An attractive pole barn sits on the upper property.

Water is provided by a well which includes a 2,000 gallon storage tank. Sewer and waste water are handled by a two tank septic system with a leach field.

We have painted the house and added new carpets in the past two years. We added Leaf-Filter gutter covers this past year, which eliminates the need to clean the house gutters. We have also replaced the HVAC’s duct system under the house.

Normal entry to the house is through the porch.

We utilize the first room as our library. Normally, it would be considered a family room.

The bedroom and the office/bedroom are located off of the library.

As noted, we have converted the second bedroom into an office. You will have to forgive Eeyore. He likes to photo bomb our pictures. We think he is trying to compensate for the fact that he is constantly losing his tail.

Another view of the office. All windows in the house have attractive outdoor sights. When guests come, we convert the office into a second bedroom. Peggy also uses the office as her craft room.

The view down the hallway. The peaked roof and open floor plan make it feel more spacious than its 1500 square feet would suggest.

A second perspective. The TV is covered with a mola cloth when not in use.

The kitchen as seen across the breakfast bar.

A view out from the kitchen. Ample storage space is provided in the kitchen.

A final view of the kitchen. The laundry room is through the door.

A second view. His and her bookcases. The bathroom includes both a shower and a large, spa-like bathtub with jets. (The second bathroom, near the library and other bedrooms, is a full bath including a bathtub/shower.)

A view of the house and garden shed from our shared river property across the Upper Applegate Road. The ditch is where the utility lines are buried.

Our garden and garden shed. The plants around it are the irises featured above. They come in a multitude of colors. Note the high fence to keep the deer out.

We had a carport in front of our tool shed which we have taken down. The structure now sits behind the shed and will be left for the new owners. A new cover is located in the shed.

The back of the tool shed has a seating area looking down into the canyon. We used it for our smoker. The metal structure for the carport can be seen behind the chair.

The pump house includes substantial storage as well as the pump. The 2000 gallon water storage tank is in front.

A pole barn is located at the top of the property. A deck provides a place to work outside or simply enjoy the view and wildlife.

We also used it as a carport to keep our small RV.

Our sun room provides great views of the surrounding country.

THIRD: THE REGION

The Applegate Valley is one of Oregons primary wine growing regions. This photo captured the vines in the fall.

Scenic, recreational, and cultural opportunities abound in the region.

Whether you are a hiker, runner, backpacker, bicyclist, kayaker, boater, whitewater rafter, downhill or cross country skier, snow boarder, fisherman, hunter, or even paraglider— you will find opportunities to pursue your sport within a few minutes to just over an hour from our house.

Or maybe your idea of recreation includes wine and/or beer tasting. The Applegate Valley is one of Oregon’s premier wine growing regions with some 20 vineyards available to visit. A number of brewpubs exist in Medford and Ashland as is typical of the Northwest. Both Jacksonville and Ashland are delightful walking towns. Jacksonville is a quaint historic, goldrush town. It also features the summer outdoor Britt Festival that attracts nationally renowned performers. Ashland is home to the Southern Oregon University and the world famous Ashland Shakespeare Festival. A variety of restaurants are found in Jacksonville, Medford, Ashland and other surrounding communities.

Medford, which is 45 minutes away, serves as the regional shopping center for Southern Oregon. In addition to stores to meet all of your shopping needs, it has two major hospitals and the Rogue Valley-Medford International Airport with direct flights to Portland, Seattle, the Bay Area, Los Angeles and Denver.

Farther afield, Crater National Park, the Redwoods National Park and the beautiful Oregon Coast can all be reached in a 3-4 hour drive.

Squaw Lake, which is 9 miles away, is a beautiful area for kayaking and camping.

One of Oregon’s historic covered bridges, McKee Bridge, is four miles away.

Bigfoot is said to roam the area. In fact the world’s only Bigfoot trap is a 3 mile drive and a 30 minute walk from the house. It was built in the 1970s and managed to catch a couple of bears but not Bigfoot. The photo is of our nephew Jay and a friend.

If you enjoy backpacking or would like to try, there are numerous options including the nearby world famous Pacific Crest Trail where you can hike a few miles or 2650. I backpacked 750 miles of it three years ago to celebrate my 75th birthday, and Peggy hiked sections of it with me.

Applegate Lake, Jackson County’s premier recreation area, features camping, swimming, boating, and fishing. It is two miles from the house. The lake fills up in the spring and lowers in the summer. (The photo is from Wikimedia Commons. All other photos on this blog were taken by Peggy and me.)

Historic Jacksonville is a great walking town with fun shops and good restaurants. It’s also part of your address. We think of it as our town.

The Applegate River above Applegate Lake provides miles and miles of free camping, picnicking and swimming.Here, Peggy and I were sharing a picnic lunch a half hour away from the house.

Within an hour and a half you can be white water rafting on the Rogue River. It also has a beautiful 50 mile hiking trail along the river that Peggy and I have backpacked.

Or, during the winter, an hour and a half in the opposite direction will have you skiing at the Mt. Ashland Ski Resort. This photo is of our son and his family.

We go up to Crater Lake National Park in the Cascades as a day trip, but it’s also great for longer stays.

Farther afield for a quick weekend getaway you can reach Redwood National Park in 3-4 hours.

Or in the same 3-4 hours you can get away to Oregon’s beautiful coast.

Peggy and I hope you have found this overview of our home, property, and region valuable. We are located at 13975 Upper Applegate Road, Jacksonville, Oregon. For details on our property and costs and/or to schedule a visit please contact our realtor Kelly Quaid (541-941-8056) or Olivia Garrison (458-212-4460) at Ramsey Reality in Ruch or Jacksonville, Oregon.