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I bought my home on the southern shores of Lake Pend Oreille near Bayview in the fall of 1975 after graduating from the University of Oregon in Economics and Marketing. GO DUCKS! My family vacationed many summers in a row at the location of my home as it was a small, fun, funky, paradise resort.

I grew the Northwest Territory for Western Graphics Corp out of Eugene, Oregon into their highest producing territory in the nation, setting up and servicing poster display bins to major retail and gift stores like Fred Meyer. Blacklight, love sayings, sports, scenic, rock and movie stars. None came close to the demand for Farrah Fawcett posters.

Growing up in the country outside Astoria Oregon, I worked a couple college summers at the local fish canneries. I saw the boats come in with their catches to unload. I had friends and classmates who fished commercially for salmon in the Columbia river and more productive Alaska salmon districts.

In the late 70’s, I became interested in the up-and-coming Bristol Bay salmon fishery. I would visit my best friend, George, when I would go to Alaska to service my poster accounts. New management was “maximizing profits” (i.e., cutting territories and commissions etc.) Time to move on!! George had bought a Bristol Bay salmon drift permit, so I did too in the spring of 1978. Thus, started a 35-year commercial gillnetting herring in the Togiak District of Bristol Bay in May. Then followed by the salmon season. Bristol Bay has the largest wild sockeye salmon runs in the world . A lot of work, adventure, great fishing, friends, and stories!

In the early 1990’s Bayview received grant money to put in a sewer district. Bayview is on the southern end of AWESOME Lake Pend Oreille. It is part of the underground river that supplies water to the Rathdrum Prairie aquifer , CDA metro plex Spokane Valley and beyond The second largest aquifer in America. Water samples were showing quality decline. Commercial fishing in Alaska went from May thru July so I had lots of time on my hands. I bought 2 chunks of land with help from my friends and developed Summer Cove and Reflection Ridge in conjunction with the sewer project. In those days Bayview was too far for most realtors to be interested in. Probably more like no demand, but I had to sell lots.

I started putting up for sale signs on my lots and friends who wanted to sell. After a bit of success, a summer cabin neighbor from Spokane turned me in to the Idaho Real Estate Commission. My wife Lorraine was partners in a CPA firm in Hayden and CDA . She had real estate brokerages as clients and friends who suggested I get licensed and work as I wanted under their firm. Thus, began my legal real estate career starting around 1995. The price for herring collapsed in the early 1990’s, so I just fished salmon in June and July. The farmed salmon industry also had a significant impact on wild salmon prices for a number of years. Education on the health benefits of wild vs farmed salmon slowly turned wild salmon prices higher. The reason I mention this is I bought a nice new state of the art gill-netter, had development costs and a lot of debt. I put my nose to the grindstone, back-to-back 16-hour days and weeks and real estate took off. Lorraine got her license around 2002 . Her paperwork skills were fantastic, and she was also a good realtor with her CPA sphere of influence. Lorraine was a top CPA and community supporter. We became top producers Lorraine’s health started to slip, so I retired form Alaska around 2013. Lorraine passed in late 2015.

Real estate is in my blood! I love to help folks find “their right home or property.” I have sold folks commercial property and businesses. I knew Linda from going into Panhandle Health District where she would help me with septic drain-field permits and research for my rural customers. For rural properties water and sewer availability, in my mind are the 2 most important land requirements followed by roads. The towns with infrastructure are easy. Anyhow, Linda and I got together after learning both our spouses had passed about the same time

We are a great team as Linda is smart with the technical stuff, friendly, happy and helps everyone. We both know our way with the governmental agencies and get along well with them. With low inventory and high demand competition has never been greater. We still view other realtors as teammates when needed to get the job done for you, not competitors. Linda and I are here to help with your real estate questions and needs. Who knows… maybe we will become good friends like so many of our clients? North Idaho is a wonderful place to call home!

 

Doug Landwehr