Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A M A G A Z I N E • F A L L 2 0 2 1 20 The inside of their house is modest but beautiful—rustic chic, with antlers, antiques and, as John describes it, laughing, "more feathers than we know what to do with." He adds, "If you ever see Gina, make sure to ask about her collage wall! She's really proud of it!" John also utters the one thing that you shouldn't say as a freshly minted Montanan when he tells me he almost looks forward to being snowed-in during the Paradise Valley's notorious winters. The roads overlooking Livingston can make getting to town difficult. "I'm sure, to many, that might be a drawback, but to us, we em- brace it. We'll light a fire, spend time in the shop, watch the wildlife, drink coffee, play in the snow, who knows. I see it as a forced shut- down from the world and reality." In short, it's a perfect work and living space for a young couple in love, who aren't afraid of having to share close quarters. Ordinarily, we Montanans are skeptical when out-of -staters make claims like that, although we might allow that if anyone can handle Montana's capricious winters, it'd be a fireman/UFC fighter. Still, he adds that a snowmobile is a future purchase in the event of an emergency or a much needed run down the mountain to belly up to a favorite local bar. Another benefit of the property is the century-old Yellowstone log cabin, moved onto the property around the year 2000. After buying the acreage, he says, "I went right to work restoring the old cabin, which included adding plumbing, running electricity, and an 8' x 20' addition which is now the bathroom." Now they rent it out as an Airbnb, entertaining visitors from all over the country. "We've had great feedback on the cabin. People seem to enjoy it so far. It's been a really cool experience meeting people from all over, and they seem to appreciate the design and simplicity," he says. Plus, the additional revenue doesn't hurt. For that matter, the property itself is an investment piece, one which is almost guaranteed to build equity for John and Gina. John says, "It's really cool to be able to call this property and house mine, a dream come true." And it's also nice to know that the beautiful, wild property will only appreciate in value as he lives there—not that he intends to sell it any time soon. We all have dreams, so I asked John what advice he might have for those of us who want to replicate his success. His advice is pretty simple: "If anyone is in search of a new property, you'd be doing yourself a great disservice if you didn't choose to work with Yellowstone Brokers. Jackie and Trecie have been incredible to work with. They stuck with me for many months on the seemingly end- less hunt to find a property that worked for me. They've been so helpful throughout the whole process and were really fun to work with." Would he recommend them? "Yes," he says. "A thousand times over." Trecie Wheat Hughes BROKER (406) 579-5416 treciewheathughes@gmail.com Jackie Wickens BROKER (406) 451-3485 jackiewickens@gmail.com www.yellowstonebrokers.co Jackie and trecie Jackie and trecie HAVE BEEN INCREDIBLE TO WORK WITH. THEY'VE BEEN SO HELPFUL THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE PROCESS AND WERE REALLY FUN.

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