retzie

I once knew someone who had a cabin near Bear Valley, CA. Nice family-friendly area, with the national park keeping a lid on development. If you don't fancy living in the woods, Murphys is on the way and seemed very nice. Of course, not having been to Bishop, I really have no idea what you have in mind

Regarding insurance: plenty of people leave cabins uninhabited for months at a time. I would hope there is some sort of insurance for such arrangements...

Michael

Are you informing people or trying to convince people that the US and California is Hells Inferno?

Even in the bay area the drought hasn't affected me so I have doubts that it personally affected you in southern California

Michael

The heaping piles of snow that fell in the Sierra last winter and the paltry amounts this year fall within the realm of normal weather variability, he concluded.

Study: Sierra snowfall consistent over 130 years - SFGate

California Snowpack Measure Could Reveal Future of Drought

Steve_

Well there's one downside, it's in California, you might want to have a look around Lake Tahoe in Nevada. Because California has State income taxes if you're planning on renting it out.

Yes of course you can, if you want to stay longer than 90 days you'll want to get a B-2 visa though, tell the CO you have a vacation home. Sometimes they can be fussy about giving out visas to people who can get in under the VWP but then again, it depends on the CO you're talking to.

I can't see that you'd have insurance difficulties. You're going to want to read up on the taxes though. If you're in the US a fair bit you need to file an 8840 to claim a closer connection to wherever you live and if you have rental income you need to file a 1040NR and pay income tax on it and also claim a foreign tax credit in your home country.

Have a read of page 21 in IRS publication 519: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p519.pdf

Basically you have two options as it explains, either the renters do the withholding and give you a 1042-S which you use on the 1040NR (which is generally not practical) or you elect to have it treated as "effectively connected with a business" which is typically how it is done for short-term rentals. Although if they give you a 1042-S you don't have to file a 1040NR, it's usually a good idea for audit purposes to do it anyway and the actual tax might be lower than the withholding - so make the election by sending in the letter as explained in 519.

My understanding is that certain tax treaties actually require you to treat it as income effectively connected with a business although I have no clue about the US-Singapore treaty.

Sally Redux

What is the thinking behind buying a place rather than just renting one for holidays? I would suggest that it's worth really examining whether buying will deliver any benefit.

Sally Redux

Worth putting into the equation when buying though. Climate change will not be reversed. It will affect different parts of the world in different ways, some will see drought and some flooding. So it's about the future and not whether it has personally affected you where you live.

Beaverstate

Weather and climate stats for Bishop.
Climate Bishop - California and Weather averages Bishop
It is a high mountain valley desert.

Beaverstate

Water source for Bishop.
http://www.ca-bishop.us/PublicWorks/...idence2011.pdf

Sally Redux

Interesting.

Spencer14

Wow! I didn't mean to cause such a heated debate.

Our main thinking is to provide a place that our family and friends can use when we're not there. It seems like renting will be more hassle than it's worth but we would hope to have the place full about 6-8 months a year with our family and friends.

I'll look into Bear Valley and Murphys. We'll be heading out again early next year to have another 'final' look before putting some offers in. Does anyone else have any suggestions for places for us to explore with our requirements?

Also, this might be crazy but I've seen a few amazing patches of land available for decent prices. Would we be out of our mind to buy a piece of land and have someone build a home/log cabin on it for us?

Just a thought

Moses2013

Does it really have to be the US and then CA? The US isn't cheap when you consider property taxes and then the restrictions that you can't use the property whenever you want, would also make me think twice. Why not buy in Europe and with a budget like that, you'll get something really decent you can actually use.

Pulaski

Water supply may be an issue - you can easily pay $20,000-$30,000 for a well even at lower elevations. High in the mountains drilling a well for a water supply could cost twice that, or more, or it may just not be possible at all, leaving you with collected surface water/ run-off, rainfall collection, or water trucked in for your supply.

Beaverstate

Careful, amazing patches of land at decent prices often have hidden prices. Such as septic only, other utilities only to the property line (you pay to connect) no city water9Dig your own well) etc.. I am not saying don't do it just do due diligence. C.Y.A.

Sally Redux

OK -well that makes a difference, if you know the other people will want to keep going there and you all have the money and time to fly over.

Pulaski

That's not peculiar to homes high in the mountains, but is relatively common even in the suburbs, and is normal in rural areas, across the whole of the US.