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Alright thanks you guys, I'm more Into rural living and not urban areas..I dknt need an airport for work, I travel with my fifth wheel camper so I don't need anything fancy just a rural area, small for 2 people that's it...what other places have mountain views with heavy snowfall in the winter for cheaper?? States nearby? I'm just here for some help from you guys since you all know more than I do about these kinds of things
Perhaps look at some of the windswept small towns that have no real tourist value such as Walden, Oak Creek, Kremmling, etc
You can get unimproved 3 acre lots, one hour from Breck for 65K+ in Park County.
But no way in hell do you want to be towing a 5th wheel when a storm kicks up. 100+ mph cross winds and ice packed roads. Two hours after you plow you can get 4ft+ snow drifts. Unless you own a serious 4 season camper like an Arctic fox (North Wood Trailers) with double insulated windows and heated holding tanks, you'll freeze your butt off and your pipes will burst.
Last edited by Colorado^; 02-27-2014 at 01:22 PM..
You can get unimproved 3 acre lots, one hour from Breck for 65K+ in Park County.
This is true. You can also get ~ 1 acre lots < one hour from Breck for around $10k or less in some places (check out RedHill Forest). But it comes with some catches:
1. Wind, wind, and more wind.
2. Unimproved, as previously mentioned
3. Often on a steep hill with no real level spots
#'s 2 and 3 could be worked around, but it will cost you. #1 cannot and believe me, it;s really windy out there. There's also the risk of vandalism and theft, but I was just out there looking at property and saw lots of 5th wheel's and RV's stored just like how you're thinking, some with hookups and a pad, others just sitting there. It's a risk, but so is parking it in a storage lot.
If you're serious about it, you need to come out an look around, there are plenty of realtors in towns like Hartsel and Fairplay that often deal with such properties and will show you around if you're serious enough. You bette rona on paying cash or have some other way to get credit for it (like a HELOC against your current place) because it's really hard to get a bank loan for just land, especially if it looks like an unimproved piece of nowhere. It is pretty out there though. I'll likely pick up a piece of my own someday if/when I find the right place at the right price.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jazzlover
Bluntly, as an apprentice lineman, any of the mountain resort areas will be well out of your price range.
He said he is an apprentice lineman now, which means he could be a lineman within a few years (or less) if he does well in his apprentice-ship, which, why wouldn't he? Linemen make good money, especially at the journeyman level, certainly enough to afford some modest property off I-70 in rural CO. Ckoceja4, one of the first rules of the CO forums is don't listen to Jazzlover whenever he speaks bluntly. He is occasionally a good source of info at other times though. Looking in NM, WY, MT and even KS or NE is certainly a good suggestion and will prove to be worth your while.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sunsprit
"I don't want to spend a ton of money"
You've just ruled out Colorado when it comes to "snowboarding within 1 hour drive".
Not realistic, financially.
This is just not true, have you looked? There are lots of affordable properties left in CO within that range of various ski resorts. Even along I-70 there are some, though they're harder to find. And they won't be 'turnkey' in either case without paying serious $$.
I wish people would not give advice without at least doing a little research first. But I guess that's just an inherent hazard to seeking free advice on the internet. You need to contact a good realtor, which is also free, at least for a while. Just take his/her words with a grain of salt and be sensible.
Last edited by otterprods; 02-27-2014 at 05:11 PM..
Pulling a 5th wheel in colorado from october/november to march/april is not the best idea. I ran into a huge mess with my 5th wheel on Raton pass all the way to Colorado springs last year. That was in mid april....
Otterprods thanks a lot for all that information you've given me and you kinda cleared up that I will be a journeyman lineman in a couple years! Glad you know where I'm coming from and to everybody else thank you also, I will look forward to visiting and hopefully finding a nice piece that won't get me killed driving back and forth to it when I'm not working...everybody that is about all I've got for questions but if you have anything else you want to tell me I will look forward to learning more about it!! Thanks again
This is just not true, have you looked? There are lots of affordable properties left in CO within that range of various ski resorts. Even along I-70 there are some, though they're harder to find. And they won't be 'turnkey' in either case without paying serious $$.
I wish people would not give advice without at least doing a little research first. But I guess that's just an inherent hazard to seeking free advice on the internet. You need to contact a good realtor, which is also free, at least for a while. Just take his/her words with a grain of salt and be sensible.
Seeing how Sunsprit has owned ski area property for decades, I'd say he's a about as good as source as any.
I'm not getting what you are saying so help me out. You say there are lots of affordable properties left in CO within range of ski resorts yet they are not "turnkey" without paying serious dollars. That seems to be an oxymoron.
And that is the problem with people and Colorado mountain real estate. They think they can get a cheap lot in some isolated area but you have to factor in the total cost to make it livable. If a $30,000 lot needs $150,000 in water supply, utilities and road access or more before you can stick a structure on it, then you don't have a $30,000 lot.
Mobile homes and living in RV's has never been big in Colorado because of the wind and the cost in heating them. Anyone that wants to go that route good luck.
Consider the OP is less picky about being near civilization that might help some with the cost if one buys an existing structure.
This is just not true, have you looked? There are lots of affordable properties left in CO within that range of various ski resorts. Even along I-70 there are some, though they're harder to find. And they won't be 'turnkey' in either case without paying serious $$.
I wish people would not give advice without at least doing a little research first. But I guess that's just an inherent hazard to seeking free advice on the internet. You need to contact a good realtor, which is also free, at least for a while. Just take his/her words with a grain of salt and be sensible.
otter ...
I've been an active Colorado real estate investor for almost 50 years, starting in the mid 1960's ... when real estate was realistically affordable. I have several very qualified real estate agents that keep my name in their "buyer" file, and when properties that meet my requirements for prospective investment/cash flow show up ... I know about them pretty quickly, oft times ahead of an actual listing contract and subsequent marketing in the multi-list.
Mountain properties that present difficulties for winter time access are a priority for me to avoid. Why? because that's when the mountain areas generate most of their annual revenue. If my renters or leasholders can't get realistic access, then I've got an unrentable property. It doesn't matter if it's a gorgeous view site, gots lots of woods, domestic water, utilties to the site ... if they can't get in and out, it's a no go situation.
But here's where this applies to the OP on this thread, especially where he's looking for places on the cheap for infrequent use: he won't be able to access many of them, either. Other posters have also mentioned this factor and the difficulties presenting with utilities, towing a 5th wheel trailer in inclement weather months, and so forth.
I've been looking at the "inexpensive" properties in the mountain resort areas (that's the places that are close to the ski resorts) for a long time. I have good reason to believe that I know the marketplace, and the reasons why some properties are on the market for very low dollars. It's all about being able to use them, it's all about access to them from roads & public transportation, and their location/access to the ski resorts. The era of "cheap" mountain properties without serious defects in them is long long long gone in the Colorado marketplace. When you see a property that's way back of the prevailing price points, there's a reason ... especially if it's been on the market for a long time. There's a huge backlog of qualified investors with lots of cash in the marketplace today ... as I posted on another thread, one of my agents in Vail recently posted her quarterly sales, and a reasonably nice house near one of mine sold in 4 days at mid $500/psf for a 3bed/3ba house ($850+K price point). Another one of her well priced listings sold for more than that in a little over a month.
Please keep in mind that the market demand for livable, useable mountain properties within an hour or so (even more!) of the ski resorts is very high among those folk who have chosen to live there and make a living employed in the ski resorts. These are folk with a vested interest and committment to the areas, and they would snap up a viable property ... even one to put a 5th wheel camper on ... in a heartbeat. So when you see a "cheap" property that is on the marketplace and not being sold readily ... there's reasons why it's not been sold. The "locals" trying to live on the cheap know what they're looking at and they're typically vultures when it comes to fighting over anything that remotely resembles an affordable good deal on wages that are typically less than a lineman will clear.
I've got 2nd homes in Vail and a number of other real properties in Colorado, my most recent based areas were Ken Caryl Ranch (where I was one of the first buyers in the pre-build/pre site prep time frame), and in Erie with acreage before this area got "discovered" in the last few years. They're all paid for, too. NO mortgages in my portfolio anymore. I've looked at well over 1,000 Colorado resort area properties over the years that met my initial criteria for potential investment; how many have you looked at with a serious ability to actually buy them, otter?
So, when you start lecturing me about "not give advice without at least doing a little research first", you might ... maybe just kinda' sorta' ... ought to know a little bit about what you're talking about. My bet is that other than looking at price, you don't know the first thing about the little details that can make/break a property for wintertime use in Colorado that are useable for 2nd homes/infrequent homes.
There are a lot of things that OP apparently really isn't thinking very hard about that he should be. Here's a few:
Driving costs. It doesn't make sense to live hundreds of miles from where one works. Fuel is only going to get more expensive. Pulling a 5th wheel trailer hither and yon is an expensive proposition. The OP has never said where he is going to be working, so it's difficult to even know whether or not Colorado makes sense for him.
Taxes. It appears the OP is living in Alaska, which does not have a state income tax. Those can be a issue, especially for wage-earners with few deductions. Where one works can make a big difference, as can where one lives. An example: Wyoming does not have a state income tax, but if you work in a state that does, you will have to file a state income tax return in that state, and pay taxes on any earnings that you make in that state, even though you are a Wyoming resident. If you live in Colorado and work in Wyoming--because Wyoming does not have a state income tax--you will have to pay Colorado income tax on the earnings that you make in Wyoming. Colorado also has pretty high vehicle registration fees, and the rules where you are considered a "resident" for purposes of vehicle registration are pretty easy to fall into. Colorado combined state and local sales taxes are also pretty high--topping 8% in some locales and vehicles bought by Colorado residents are also subject to those sales taxes. Overall, the two most "tax friendly" states in the Rocky Mountain/Great Plains region for people working for wages are Wyoming and South Dakota. Texas is also tax-friendly as far as having no state income tax, but has relatively high property taxes. Wyoming's only tax that is relatively high is motor vehicle registration fees.
Domicile. Colorado has become a horrible state in which to domicile if you marry there and then get divorced while you are a Colorado resident, especially if you earn a much higher income than your spouse. Colorado is also a very lenient state in calling you "common-law" married. Just living together or in any way purporting yourself to be married is often enough to be considered legally married in Colorado.
jazzlover hits on one of the main reasons why I moved to Wyoming (and just a stone's throw over the CO/WY border) for my primary residence: state income tax.
All Colorado nicks me for now is the income that I derive in Colorado. They can't touch my other out-of-state income anymore.
I'm not getting what you are saying so help me out. You say there are lots of affordable properties left in CO within range of ski resorts yet they are not "turnkey" without paying serious dollars. That seems to be an oxymoron.
Turnkey means lot is good to go, water, power, access and usually even some structures… no improvements needed, right? That's not what the OP is looking for. He can buy a lot for $10k, cut a little access road and RV parking pad for $2k (or less with a free summer week, some shovels & some friends) and then put up a solid storage port for < $5k. It's true that there are other costs to consider, but nothing too complicated.
If it works out, he can dig a well & septic, install solar or hook into the grid and build a little cabin later as long as he buys in the right place (which redhill forest is one of, and there are others). If it doesn't work out, he can sell it.
@ susnprit: Who's lecturing? Look how long your post was compared to what I said. You sounded pretty mis-informed, excuse me if that's not the case, but it is possible to buy affordable land in CO, depending on what your def. of 'affordable' is. No, you're not going to get the whole package for $30k, but with foresight, hard work, and time, you can end up with something quite nice for a reasonable price. Ckoceja4 will do fine, he just needs to take his time, save $$ and look around a lot.
Last edited by otterprods; 02-27-2014 at 08:44 PM..
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