Most Affordable Land in Colorado? (Pueblo, Boulder: for sale, real estate market, rent)

[CGR22]

I moved here a year ago and I am wanting to buy some land to build on and develop a home on. I'd like anywhere upwards of 10acres but don't know what areas in the state offer the most affordable rates per acre.

I would like to be in or next to the mountains, being near power grid or utilities isn't so important because I've considered of late that I may want to build a self sufficient property solar powered, stream for water source, etc.

[debbie at bouontiful]

I would think the southern part say near Trinidad. At least I think it is reasonable in that area.

[sunsprit]

Be aware that having surface water on your property doesn't confer a use of that water.

You need to be sure that you have a water right if you are planning to rely upon that water for your domestic use.

As well, groundwater rights and availability are essential to your use. I know of a lot of folk who have purchased land for their dream "independent living" location and have drilled nothing but dry holes on their property. They have to truck in water which they store in a cistern for their domestic use. A garden is not possible in these situations unless you're willing to truck in substantial amounts of water.

"in or next to the mountains" in Colorado means expensive property anywhere that I know of that will have reasonable year-around access. "affordable" is a relative term; do you need to have access to employment?

[Josseppie]

You might want to look at Hatchet Ranch in south Pueblo county.

[20yrsinBranson]

Originally Posted by CGR22

I moved here a year ago and I am wanting to buy some land to build on and develop a home on. I'd like anywhere upwards of 10acres but don't know what areas in the state offer the most affordable rates per acre.

I would like to be in or next to the mountains, being near power grid or utilities isn't so important because I've considered of late that I may want to build a self sufficient property solar powered, stream for water source, etc.

Look in the San Luis Valley. There are many, many, many parcels there where you can purchase them for back taxes. The Sangre de Cristo development has the nicest lots be sure and check with the Rio Grande Water Conservation District in Alamosa to find out what the water use restrictions are before deciding.

also check out Cheap Colorado Land for Sale - Cheap Colorado Land Auctions - BillyLand.com

20yrsinBranson

[davebarnes]

Most Affordable Land in Colorado?

Land without any water or rights to water.

[coloradoalimony]

As pointed out, water is the #1 issue if you are in a remote area. There are several different types of well permits depending on when they were issued and how much land you have, and as pointed out, a well permit just gives you the right to dig a hole. Dry holes are common in many areas. Use of well water is dictated by the well permit. Do not assume anything - you must read the permit.

Year-round streams are rare in most areas of the state where land is cheap. Having a stream cross your property gives you the right to water livestock from it, and that is it. You cannot irrigate or even use the water for household use.

Some areas like the San Luis valley might have ditches to property that is relatively affordable. If a ditch crosses your property, you have *no* right to the water in the ditch, you must negotiate that with the water owners. You *must* allow the ditch owner access to your property to maintain their ditch, whether you can use the water or not. Words are cheap. A realtor can tell you shares of water are available on a ditch that crosses your property, but only if the *owner* of the ditch will sell you water *and* allow you a diversion to your property, will you be able to actually get the water. There are many places in CO that are high and dry, even though multiple ditches cross the property.

Another major issue is access. There are deeded lots in Colorado that have *no* access. In other words, you can buy the lot, but you can't legally even set foot on it. Yes, a realtor will sell you that lot, and they may even show it to you, but unless you have legal access, you cannot legally use the lot. You must ask the realtor point blank what the legal access is to the property. There are some beautiful inholdings in National Forests that have National Forest roads as access. The NFS can and most likely will deny you the ability to maintain the road in any way, or even plow it in the winter. They can also make it very difficult for you to build anything. There was a famous case in CO of a very rich owner of a wilderness inholding helicoptering in all the materials to build his house.

Then there is the issue that even if you have legal access to a piece of property, you need to know who maintains the road. There are a lot of cattle ranches that have been subdivided into lots, and the roads are maintained by an HOA. I use the term "maintained" lightly, because some of these areas have many miles of roads, and roads are very expensive to maintain. What looks like a good, hard dirt road in July may be snowed in Nov->March and an impassible muddy quagmire from March->June. For the maintenance you do get you may have to pay an HOA $1000/year.

Good luck.

[sunsprit]

I'd add to coloradoalimony's comments re buying water shares that a water share does not guarantee functional availability of water in a given year; ie, you may hold a junior water right share of no water. It's why folk who need water tend to buy more shares, and from multiple sources (if available), than they may actually need for their purposes ... to hedge their bets re having enough water from all the sources to meet their needs. In drought years, it is entirely possible that none of them will deliver enough water for your purposes. You'll actually see municipal water systems throughout the region have to restrict water use and still run out of water for their shareholders.

RE: San Luis Valley. We've got friends up that way who have to haul in all of their water over a poor road system and quite some distance from the legal source. The fellow who subdivided the property chose his showpiece 40 acre parcel only after drilling a bunch of dry holes and finally getting a deep well that produced 2 GPM maximum ... oft times, closer to 1 quart/minute of some fairly poor quality water which requires a reverse osmosis filtration system and filters to enable it to be acceptable potable water. After selling a bunch of adjoining parcels, not one of them has found water in any of their well drilling attemps.

This is a widespread problem in Colorado. I've friends up Boulder Canyon ... in the Nederland area ... with a similar problem. Drilled lots of dry holes, never have found water on their 60 acres. Another friend in the Bailey area ... hauls his water in for his domestic and equine use.

IIRC, it is not even legal to capture rainwater off your structures in Colorado, either. Although in some areas, that would be a relatively futile amount of functional water.

[jazzlover]

Unless the land was subdivided before 1972, any parcel less than 35 acres must be part of a platted subdivision in Colorado. So, there are relatively few smaller than 35 acre parcels out there that aren't in a platted subdivision. I would also strongly suggest that the OP read EVERY post in the "Colorado and the West is running out of water" thread, so that he/she might have some clue what is entailed in Colorado water rights law. Bluntly, the OP doesn't have a clue what he or she is doing and is a sheep ready for shearing in the rural Colorado real estate market--and there are plenty of crooks in the Colorado real estate game just looking for someone gullible like that. There is hardly anywhere in the country where the saying, "A fool and his money are soon parted" is more true than in the Colorado real estate market--especially in the realm of small parcels of rural vacant land.

[Colorado Rambler]

The property including the house where I now live was bought by a farming family solely for the water/irrigation rights that came with the land. They rent out this old farmhouse almost as an after thought for a little pocket change. Land without water is worthless, but that doesn't stop the con artists from taking photo shopped pix and claiming an area with parcels on the block is lush and green year 'round. A property with a stream running through it would go for a high price even if all you could do is water live stock with it.