Assessing the state of West Plains real estate

Having lived in Cheney in two far removed decades, and then choosing to return and do business here has given realtor Pete Baccarella a pretty good feel for the community.

The retired U.S. Air Force KC-135 pilot manages the Coldwell Banker Tomlinson West Plains office adjacent to Brucci's sub sandwich shop. He recently offered his thoughts on what made Cheney the place he both chose to finally call home and develop a second career.

He also spoke to what benefits Medical Lake and Airway Heights offer as alternatives.

Baccarella has voluntarily spent what he called two "tours" in Cheney while stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base. One came in the 1970s and a second from 1978-1984. He and his wife of 40 years, Jewel, moved back permanently in 2003. He's been in the real estate business since 1997.

"Why? I wasn't a realtor then, I was just a consumer, so what was my premise?" Baccarella said of the decision to originally live in Cheney. "I liked the town, I liked the convenience, I liked the community, I liked the drive."

He sells actively on the West Plains, an area Baccarella describes as, "West of Spokane, west of Pullman highway, west of the (Spokane) river."

"About a third of my sales are retired military, I do a lot with the vets and the V.A. (Veterans' Administration)," he added.

What made Cheney the destination for Baccarella, a Colorado native who liked it so much here from his Air Force days, following a career that spanned 22 years and included 29 refueling missions during Desert Storm?

Like a favorite piece of clothing, "It feels more comfortable here," he said. "You have the stores, the restaurants, pick something, it's all in where you'd rather be, the conveniences."

Both Medical Lake and Airway Heights certainly have their own selling points. The former is a quaint, quiet community a little off the beaten path. And Airway Heights, located along U.S. Highway 2, offers good access to Spokane to both work and shop.

It's the proximity to Spokane that is one of the key points to selling or buying a home anywhere on the West Plains. "Cheney, Airway Heights, Medical Lake, you can be downtown (on) Division in 20 minutes," Baccarella said.

"If it's about a job in Spokane you could really live in all three places; if you work at Fairchild, what's your priority, probably Airway Heights and Medical Lake?" he added.

With so many years living and working in the area, Baccarella also has a level of confidence in knowing what sells, what doesn't, and possibly why.

"I have also been doing this long enough to where I can walk into just about any house in Cheney and tell you within $5,000 of what it should sell for," Baccarella said.

Of the three cities, "A typical house that would sell for $200,000 here (Cheney) would sell for less in both Medical Lake and Airway Heights," Baccarella said.

How much less? "Maybe 5 percent," he said, adding the range could actually run 3-5 percent. The $200K base price is what he calls the "bread and butter" number, plus or minus either way.

"If you were living on Lake Coeur d'Alene or living on a golf course, we'd be talking a different price," Baccarella said.

The area real estate market continues to be brisk with inventory still at a premium. He sells anywhere from 30–40 homes a year and the key is setting the price right.

The key question for Baccarella is, "If you had $200,000 to spend in a West Plains community, where (are) you going to spend it?"

"What are the reasons you go to those places?" A selling point for ML and Airway Heights, Baccarella said, is that someone can likely buy more house there, meaning, perhaps more square feet or a bigger lot. When he works with a client, those are the questions he asks. "It's part of the interview."

A basic rule in real estate is the lender comes before the buyer, meaning what can that person qualify for in a mortgage loan. "You want to spend what you're qualified for or spend less," Baccarella said. "You can't spend more."

Coldwell Banker Tomlinson West Plains is located at 2640 First St. in Cheney. To contact Pete Baccarella, managing broker, call (509) 235-7400 or email [email protected].

Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected].