No looking back now; It’s official (with only five days to spare before our final contract expired). The World Headquarters of eWillys has been upgraded from a cramped bedroom-sized office to a full-on shop on five acres (and of course a house, too .. well two houses and an apartment).
So, other than some videos and a few jeep listings when I have some time, I’ll be busy doing other things.
We are located just outside of Prosser, Washington, which isn’t where we were aiming (Walla Walla is where we’d hoped to land), but the layout and potential of this place should serve us well.
We won’t actually start moving into the house for a few days until the previous owners leave. They are painting their new place, so needed extra time to finish it up. The former owner of the Wilgus house was a life-long employee turned manager of Les Schwabs (and knew Les as well) and seems to know all kinds of goings-on about the area, so he’ll be a good resource.
But wait … I hope to have another, unexpected surprise for Monday morning. For now, here are a few pics:
Yes, it is only photoshopped onto the building (at this point).
The building to the right of the shop was a mother-in-law building house (requiring a special county variance). Now, it is considered a “shed” with a bathroom, thanks to a overzealous county employee (long story). Anyway, it will be Ann’s sewing retreat and guest “shed”.
Here’s an overhead shot. As you can see, we have a nice chunk of pavement for a meet-n-greet (or a really long game of basketball).
The back half of the property is full irrigated. Last year they grew hay. We probably won’t do much with it this year, except maintain it (and test out the jeeps back there).
We’ll have some better pics once as we get settled.
That’s awesome!! Congrats!!
Jay
It’s not a shed, it’s a Bunkie (yes, that’s a real term!).
Best of luck on the new digs!
That’s an impressive spread with lots of options. Tennis court in the front? Drag strip for Jeeps? Off-road course back yard? Seriously, quite an expansion and should serve you and Anne well for a wonderful future. Enjoy!
WOW ! LOOKS GREAT – BEST OF LUCK !
Great to see that it’s working out. That looks like a place where you all can do lots of fun stuff! Congratulations to you and Ann!
Thanks guys. We are very excited.
CraiginPA: I agree it isn’t a shed. However, the Benton County planning department doesn’t recognize a “bunkie” … but, they do recognize a “bunk house” as it relates to farming. Given we are deep in ag country, perhaps if we grew a small crop, we could have it rezoned as a bunk house or bunkie.
None-the-less, we will use it as a Bunkie. (https://www.housebeautiful.com/home-remodeling/interior-designers/a32604663/what-is-a-bunkie/)
Sweeeeeeeet! Very nice place! Liked the “World Headquarters eWillys”
Congratulations Dave and Ann!
This is just amazing. Looking forward to the first ever eWillys Roundup and hopefully we can attend …with an old Willys or 2 😏👍.
Wow, Dave and Ann,
Looks great and my wife and I would like to wish you and Ann all the best in your new abode !
Congratulations from SW Oregon,
Frank
Congratulations, Dave & Ann! Looks like a great place, and one with lots of potential for Jeep-related hobby activities. Hope your move into the house in a few days goes smoothly!
Maury
Congratulations Dave and Ann, you may want to keep some sort of crop in back, may help with property taxes if you have Agricultural Zoning.
EXCUSE ME ? — IT SAYS ” WILLYS ” ON THE BUILDING — SO WHERES THE JEEP ROADS ?? — 5 FLAT ACRES , HUBS DISENGAGED ?? — NO POWR-LOK ZONE ?? — OH MY , I FEEL A LIITLE — QUEAZY …
Congratulations Dave and Ann!!!!! Looks like a very nice place.
WOW……Congratulations !! Now we can see why both of you were sweating every last minute detail leading up to the closing! We couldn’t be happier for you and Ann and extended family.
And……”irrigated hay ground out back”……”agricultural tax exemption” ?? I can already see an agri-Jeep playground on that back 40……plowing……discing……harrowing…..mowing……raking……baling. Small high quality horse hay bales could be a great side hustle in that part of the country !!
Can’t wait to see more……but, take some time off …….we’ll still be here and even more excited about things to come.
Congrats and i am Jealous. Glad to see things worked out.
looking good keep up the good work
Property is awesome! congratulations
We are most definitely in Ag terrority. There are thirty wineries in the small town of Prosser, which is considered the birth place of wine in Wash State. I don’t envision us growing wine grapes, as I we aren’t big wine drinkers. We are considering growing Lavender, as it looks to be a good cash crop that requires less work than others, or so we are told. But, that’s a down-the-road decision.
Congradulations and Good Luck! See if the neighbors have any jeeps.
Congratulations! That’s awesome!
If you need any advice on lavender, my wife ran one of the earliest and largest lavender farms in Washington. We’re a short trip over the hills to the west.
Niiiice!!!! The kind of place I always wanted, but will never come to pass.
All the best in it. Remember, what goes wrong today, will be funny in the future.
Congrats Ann & Dave! Looks very nice!
I have a friend with a 100 acre family farm just outside of Washington DC. It’s been in his family for 150 years. Because of the development around him, the price of his land has grown from $3k an acre in the 1970’s to $50k an acre now. In order to keep the farm, he and his siblings applied for an Ag tax break. As long as they meet the requirements, the land is taxed at 1970’s levels. The requirements are that they need to engage in some kind of farm related income producing activity. He grows an acre of pumpkins and squash, which are sold wholesale after harvesting, and a half acre of gourmet (colored) potatoes which go to a fancy food wholesaler. These “cash crops” generate the amount of money he needs to show as income, and they don’t require a lot of work once planted. His sister, who is on an adjacent plot of land, has ducks and sells duck eggs in order to keep her Ag tax break. Apparently, duck eggs are prized for use in baked goods.
Dave and Ann, Congrats, and tho it entails a lot of work to adapt to the new surroundings, don’t let time and ‘zoning” catch you off guard by not ‘starting’ a “crop” of some kind to “maintain the AG zoning break”. Even if it doesn’t produce, you’re new at it, and it may save the local tax agents from rezoning and upgrading taxes on you “from now on”. They love to do that with “new ownership”. It is “revenue” for them, and then you may also get your “bunkie” approved too. Lavender sounds beautiful. Good Luck!
Matt… thanks! I will drop you an email.
SteveK: Between Ann’s disability (which gives her prop tax breaks), eWillys use of the shop, the ag component, and other new complexities of our finances, we’ll be hiring a tax accountant to wrangle the taxes going forward. The tax system is simply too complex with all those different vectors.
CraiginPA: When I lived in Boise I was able to buy duck eggs through the Boise Coop. Those were my preferred eggs there and I still prefer them to chicken eggs, but they’ve been more of a challenge to find in my current area. Most modern chicken yolks and whites are overly runny, though some home-grown chick eggs are much better. The duck egg yolks are thicker and less runny and the whites are clear.
Congratulations to you and Ann!! This has been a long time coming. You will love your new place especially being able to have all of your jeeps and stuff in one place. I foresee Biscuit will finally be getting some attention.
Congratulations on your new World Headquarters! It looks great! I know you will get everything worked out to the best tax advantages! Lots of room to spread out. You might think about renting out part of the back to a horse owner for someplace to board their horse.
This place looks great. Congrats!
Congratulations! Nice place for a Willys get together. Lots of room for camping out back. 🤔
Congratulations to you and Ann! An awesome property to call home!
Thanks Doug! We have finally assumed possession and have moved quite a bit of stuff over already. After another run this evening, we sat and watched the sunset from the back porch and listened to the leaves blowing in the wind. Faint sounds of cows mooing were blown our direction from our westerly neighbor, while the sounds of chickens clucking came from our southern neighbor. Very relaxing!
– Dave
Dave, how far a trip is from your old place to the new place. Are you going to have a moving company do some, or you going to do many trips?