Q. Desert Aire-City or town?

A. Desert Aire is a Planned Unit Development which began in the late 1960s. It is an unincorporated community consisting of approximately 1,600 lots with the nearest post office being Mattawa, 99349. It is estimated that of the total lots, 800 are built upon, of which half are full time residents, 300 are second homes used mainly in the summer months and the other 100 are owned by "snowbirds" who head south in the winter.

Q. What's the weather like?

A. Sun, sun sun!. Approximately 300 days of the year it is out for sometime during the day. With one of the lowest annual rainfalls in the state, about 6" (1/2 of which falls in November, December and January), it definitely is a place to "dry" out from the damp wet darkside. The extremes are 112 in July of 1997 and minus 12 in January of 1996. Average highs and lows in December and January are 40 and 26. The absolute best months are June, July, August and September when average temperatures are 83, 90, 93 and 80 respectively.

Q. What is there to do?

A. Get off the couch. There is a community park, pool, swimming area, tennis area. There is a championship golf course, driving range, putting green, miles of walking along the waterfront, a 3,600' public airsrtip, boat launch on an 8,000 acre lake for skiing, wakeboarding, jetskiing, sailing, fishing and cruising, tent campground, RV campground, an excellent active Senior Center, many wineries within 45 minutes, and several churches nearby. For dining out there is the Sandtrap Restaurant and for spirits there is the Sandtrap Lounge and the "R" Place Tavern.

A few miles north is the Beverly Dunes ORV Park just east of the town of Beverly on Lower Crab Creek Road. Fish for salmon in the Columbia River just south of Desert Aire, bass in Priest Rapids Reservoir off the mouth of Crab Creek, and in the small manmade lakes near the ORV Park.

Q. Is there a home owners association?

A. Yes. It is made up of all the lot owners and they are required to pay a yearly assessment which runs from July1st to June 30th. The charges can vary from year to year but a ballpark number is $300/year.

Q. Are there CC&Rs?

A. Yes. There are 3 governing documents; Bylaws, CC&Rs, and Architectural Regulations which can be found online at www.daoa.org . They deal with such items as building height limitations, setbacks and fences to name a few. You are required to submit an Architectural Application before building on or modifying your property.

Q. Can I park my RV on my lot?

A. During the first few years the developer was marketing the lots as perfect for your RV camping experience. Since 2002, Grant County has ruled that all lots are residential not recreational so the answer is no. Once you build a home, you may then store your RV on your property.

Q. How much are property taxes?

A. The county wide average tax rate in Grant County is about $15.18 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. Rates vary from area to area and from year to year, but multiplying the number of thousands of dollars of price or cost by $15.18 will provide a rough estimate of taxes. 

Q. What is the cost for domestic water?

A. The basic rate is $11.33 per month, billed quarterly for up to 1000 cubic feet. Water used over that amount is billed at $.68/100 cf up to 15,000 cf where, over that amount, it increases to $.78/100 cf. The charge for meter installation is $650 and lot owners must bear the additional cost to bring the water from the newly installed meter at the street to the residence.

Q. Who supplies power?

A. The Grant County Public Utility District supplies power in Desert Aire. The cost is relatively inexpensive due to the public ownership and the proximity of two dams. The basic charge consists of $.40 per day based on the number of days in the billing cycle added to an energy charge of $.03415 per kilowatt hour. The simple fee for a meter hookup is $300. Add to that your contractors charges for trenching and conduit to the home.

Q. Will my lot perc?

A. There is not a recorded instance where any lot was denied an on-site septic system permit. If a buyer has a concern the best course of action is to include in an offer to purchase a contingency stating that the offer is subject to approval of perc test results, which costs would be paid by the buyer. A typical system runs about $7-10K.

Q. When I buy property on the water do I own the waterfront?

A. No. The Grant County PUD owns the strip of land, 100'-300' wide, from the shoreline to the west boundary of Desert Aire. This land is public, meaning anyone can recreate on it. The public can walk over it, beach their watercraft anywhere along the strip and use the beach. But they cannot trespass over private property to access the strip. Properties that abut the PUD strip have direct access to the beach from their lot and, since it is a no-build zone-no permanent structures allowed, they have their lake views secure.

Q. How much time after purchasing a lot must I build?

A. There is no time limit after purchase for when you must begin construction. There is, however, a limit of one year after beginning construction to complete the exterior.

Q. Where is the nearest medical facilities?

A. The Mattawa Community Medical Clinic is located on the main street in Mattawa, Government Way. The nearest full hospital facilities are in Yakima, Tri Cities or Othello. 

Q. What about fire and emergency response time?

A. Mattawa and Desert Aire share a volunteer fire department, Grant Co. District 8. Desert Aire has an on-site fire station that has both fire fighting trucks and an aid car. Response time is excellent as many of the volunteers live within a few blocks of the station located at the main entrance to Desert Aire. The department was upgraded several years ago to a class six department which reduced fire insurance rates significantly. Many of Desert Aires permanent residents have taken EMT training and are fully qualified. In an extreme emergency, Northwest MedStar aircraft or helicopters can land at Desert Aire airport and load for transport to the nearest hospital.

Q. Where is the closest shopping?

A. There is a local grocery store in the Desert Aire Shopping Center for immediate needs. The town of Mattawa has several markets, hardware, auto supply, and a liquor store. Three larger cities, Yakima, Moses Lake and the Tri-cities are all about an hour away and provide everything you could want from a major area like Seattle or Tacoma.

Q. Is the golf course private?

A. The Desert Aire Golf and Country Club is an excellent private course open to the public. Current rates for the public and lot owners can be found online on the DAOA website. They offer a yearly rate as well. The number for the Pro Shop is 509-932-4439.

Q. What's the story with the Airstrip?

A. It is public. Information can be found in the DAOA website.

Q. Why do I have to pay to use the community boat launch?

A. The launch and waterside campground are owned by Grant County PUD but are managed by DAOA. The fees collected are a part of the operating budget of the HOA. It is illegal for the HOA to charge some and not others so there is a minimum fee of $5 per launch or $25 for a seasonal pass charged to all who use the boat launch. Passes are available at the HOA office located in the Multi-purpose Building located on Clubhouse Dr., a short distance away.

Q. Can I play golf year round?

A. You can sure try! There are some winters where its possible to play every day but usually there are consecutive days, usually in December or January, when frost or snow prohibits access to the course.