Best AZ counties for off-grid and low/no regulations? (Tucson: apartment, houses)

[being1]

Thank you in advance for your help. I know the best thing to do is call the county offices to ask them. As a starting place however i am seeking feedback so i know where to start.

I am considering only northern AZ.
I am trying to compare: coconino, yapavai, navajo, and apache.

Goal:
Get land, get a large shed and convert the shed into a full time living cabin, OR build a simple cabin, or live in an RV or camper.. use solar, rain collection, composting toilet (but i am ok with installing a septic if that's a must), have a simple green house, and use a couple shipping containers for storage and as part of the dwelling compound.

Trying to lower my cost of living by going small, basic, and off grid in an area with a mild climate and good sun.

Which of these counties has the least regulations and limitations as far as things like building codes, need for permits, limitations that would stop me from getting a shed or camper and living in it?

If you had to pick a county, which one would it and why?

Thanks!!

[DAXhound]

Can't speak for the north, but Santa Cruz County requires trailers to be in parks, and houses must be a mi imum of 800 sf... Keeps the views quite nice. Nothing personal, but many of the off griders don't seem to have a basic understanding of the costs associated with private roads, and wells or trucking in water. 300 per month for water, or 15000 + for a well, and another 15000 for solar panels.. And the need to drive fifty miles round trip for the most basic items.. Nothing economical about that, at all.

[being1]

Originally Posted by DAXhound

...300 per month for water, or 15000 + for a well, and another 15000 for solar panels.. And the need to drive fifty miles round trip for the most basic items.. Nothing economical about that, at all.

You do make a good point. Driving, solar, and water .. expenses and not exactly in line with 'lowering the cost of living' .. I saw an article, i think it was Apache county, where someone built a couple sheds to retire.. it seemed like a very minimalist and affordable way to live. One must be careful about what they really want... lowering cost might actually mean a smaller house, but maybe not in the middle of nowhere, because being in a community where you can get what you need without having to drive 50 miles is another way to go small, minimize and lower costs.

[DAXhound]

I don't believe the IRS let's you deduct 55 cents per mile, because they want you to pay less taxes.

[rcarbuilder]

Coconino might be better than Yavapai for your project. Try looking in Ash Fork.

[cjseliga]

There's a YouTuber I follow called Handeeman, his name is Derek and he and his wife live in Cochise County near St. David.

They built a tiny house on a trailer while living in an apartment in Tucson, then bought land out in Cochise County and did solar, rainwater harvesting, etc. and are now building a larger home on their land to live it.

One of the reasons they picked Cochise County was because of how "lenient" they were permit-wise.

While you are focusing on Northern AZ, you might be able to get some ideas from his channel, here are the links to his channel and Instagram:

https://www.youtube.com/c/Handeeman/videos

https://www.instagram.com/handeeman.co/

You might need to go back 2-3 years to see videos when they first moved onto the land with their tiny house and he did the solar array and rainwater roof system. His more recent videos over the last year or so, have been devoted to his larger home he is building on the property.

He also installs Aquamate (steel water tanks) systems of varying sizes on the side and was a former electrician, so they helped him out tremendously, especially with the solar and doing all of the electrical on his various projects.

[being1]

Originally Posted by cjseliga

There's a YouTuber I follow called Handeeman, his name is Derek and he and his wife live in Cochise County near St. David.

They built a tiny house on a trailer while living in an apartment in Tucson, then bought land out in Cochise County and did solar, rainwater harvesting, etc. and are now building a larger home on their land to live it.

Thank you so much! Yes i saw one video by them a year ago and it inspired me to do this.. they had a tiny house and another tiny house or storage shed next to it, collected rain .. forgot what county they were in. I will look into Cochise. Didn't they end up building something huge, like a metal barn.. ? I will check out their channel thank you for the link I was having trouble finding their videos again.

[being1]

Does anyone know which counties (in the entire state) have the option to opt out of a building inspection?

[cjseliga]

Originally Posted by being1

Thank you so much! Yes i saw one video by them a year ago and it inspired me to do this.. they had a tiny house and another tiny house or storage shed next to it, collected rain .. forgot what county they were in. I will look into Cochise. Didn't they end up building something huge, like a metal barn.. ? I will check out their channel thank you for the link I was having trouble finding their videos again.

Yeah, Derek built a ginormous garage with an attached greenhouse on the south side of it, before he started his larger home he is constructing now, I forget the square footage of the garage, but it's huge!

Both him and his wife, Hannah, also a YouTuber, easily pull in high 5 figures or low 6 figures for an annual income, they have little to no debt, so they say. Their current "larger home" under construction is going to cost at least $200,000 they guesstimated.

Originally Posted by being1

Does anyone know which counties (in the entire state) have the option to opt out of a building inspection?

Cochise County lets you opt out.

[being1]

Very few of us are as fortunate financially as him then , haha

What county lets you live in an RV on your land as the primary residence?
Cochise seems to only allow that "while" you are building an actual large house.

BTW. I am not tied to northern AZ.. anywhere in the state is fine
Thanks