Searching Colorado land (Meeker, Cripple Creek: how much, houses, landscaping)

[jim9251]

Try Delta County or Montrose County. Be prepared to fight over irrigation rights. You might want to visit first, in winter.

[Mike from back east]

Selling all or your other properties just to invest in one COLO venture risks the old adage of "how do you make a million dollars in Colorado?" and the answer is "start with two million."

If I wanted mountain views with a fish pond I'd head to southwest VA along the I-81 corridor, from Staunton, VA or further south, or Lexington, VA. Awesome country, winters that aren't too severe, lots of water and a V.A. hospital in Salem, VA (Roanoke, a good sized city).

You can probably find an existing property with a pond or lake and you can take it off grid at your convenience.

When over in Grand Junction the other year we saw a woman's setup where she raised Tilapia in large plastic vats in an oversized garage, filtered the water, used it grow vegetables hydroponically in a small building.

[MsMetal]

Some of your criteria are conflicting. I have a 35 acre property that we are probably going to sell, in the "banana belt of Colorado" (Canon City, Penrose, Pueblo area), but along with the cool nights, have some pretty hot days. That's the area I would look in. There's a VA hospital in Colorado Springs & Denver, the Springs is only about an hour away. Actually I'm not sure if the Springs one is a full fledged hospital or more of a day clinic. I know Denver has a full hospital, but that's 2 hrs away.

However, you still have not answered your budget for a property. I know you listed your income, but that really doesn't tell us your budget for a property & knowing that is important to be able to help you, as others have stated.

Also be aware that the water situation here varies widely by county & by property. I had 4 different acreage properties here, 2 were on city water even though they were somewhat rural, 1 was a we tell you what aquifer to dig in for your well, how deep to dig, etc & you are good to go & another is dig a well & water is where you find it, which may be VERY, VERY deep (I have neighbors who have dug 1200 feet). Also in the water-is-where-you-find-it, locale, the local government requires you to attempt to dig a well before it will allow you to haul in water to a cistern.

Sooo, the point is it's really, really important to know the water situation of any property, but particularly rural property you are considering buying & if you have to dig a well, be aware that depending on what state you're coming from, said well, may be deeper than you dreamed possible. Also, many areas or ranchettes have restrictions on what size house you can build, what type house you can build, if campers or trailers are allowed, etc. Be sure to check that out to know that is aligned with your desires.

Ponds aren't very plentiful, but there are plenty of properties with streams or creeks.

[pikabike]

If the land has water rights it will be expensive.

Warning: The cute little ponds referred to in RE Speak are almost always muddy or algae-rimmed festering pools used for watering livestock. And you know what livestock do anywhere they go...they GO, if you get my drift.

If they are glowingly described as fishing grounds, get ready for an extra-big ka-CHING! Really, REALLY expensive.

CO is not a good state to get the things you listed. Mild summers with mild winters does not describe anywhere in the state. Pick one mild, or look elsewhere.

[Colorado Rambler]

Originally Posted by papitohead

Excellent!!! Thank to everyone willing to help.

Budget? At 71, I don't work. In fact, my ex employer offered me a super package to work South America since I live half the time there because my wife is Colombian, but thanks but no thans, lol. I live with a $2K a month SS plus my stocks which have been doing just fine. All will be cash because will sell one property in Havelock, NC, Two in Puerto Rico where we spend most of the time and my little farm in near Cartagena, Colombia.

Temperature? I know there will be cuddleling nights but would not like to see below 15-20 F for a long period of time. Summers would be nice at the mid to lower 80's. I can handle 20's F during the day because I would be outside very few hours during the day. Summers I would like to see cool nights because in Colombia and Puerto Rico we have air conditioning but hate it. I rather have just the cool nights.

Land? I will have a small backhoe type kubota for mowing, land shapping and snow removal. Also would like to have a large pond to keep fresh fish.

Please, bring in comments. This is fun reading and then searching the net for your suggestions.

VA hospitals seems to be abundants in Colorado so when I decide to buy, I will keep in mind the nearest one. In Puerto Rico my VA hospital is about 75 minutes away. That distance is fine with me.

Be blessed.

I don't know of anywhere in Colorado where the winter temps don't go down to 20 and below for days at a time - sometimes weeks. There are towns in the mountains that have the lower summer temps you are looking for, but they also have long stretches of time in the winter when the temps are below 20. Would you consider some place like Santa Fe, NM or Flagstaff, AZ?

[papitohead]

Thank you all for your good points. I did not know Colorado was like a desert with little water. I have seen many mountains with a lot of snow, so where does it go when it melts? back to the clouds?

I appreciate all the good comments here.

Actually I want to have a house built, not buying someone's headache. If someone is selling a house, most of the time is because it is not so good.

I will buy the land cash and build with cash. No financing at all. Who wants a mortgage at 71?

I can keep looking as some of you have mentioned. I have seen land and lots of properties for sale with good views. Oh well, will keep looking. It is fun anyway.

[davebarnes]

1. The melted snow goes to California and the Front Range of Colorado because that is who owns the water.
2. You have still not told us what your budget is.

[sunsprit]

Originally Posted by papitohead

Thank you all for your good points. I did not know Colorado was like a desert with little water. I have seen many mountains with a lot of snow, so where does it go when it melts? back to the clouds?

Colorado is mostly a desert. Water is a very limited resource here and a very valuable commodity. Because Colorado is a "headwaters" state, all of the water is very closely controlled for distribution within Colorado and then delivered out of state in accordance with interstate compacts. Colorado is ordered to deliver a lot of water to those downstream states even if it means that Colorado will have a shortage.

Actually I want to have a house built, not buying someone's headache. If someone is selling a house, most of the time is because it is not so good.

There are many reasons for a house/property to be for sale. Lack of use of a recreational property or to capture the appreciation for other uses are but two common reasons.

But keep in mind that building a house in many mountain areas of Colorado that are desirable properties can be an expensive proposition. With even "average" quality of construction and finishes, it's not uncommon to spend $400 psf. In and around resort areas, $650 psf would be a very common cost ... that's just the house with good construction and finishes, not necessarily "high end". That's not including site prep, driveway, landscaping (even if you leave the property "natural" as much as possible, you still need to deal with fire fuels around the house structure ... your insurance company will be very sensitive to this issue in view of the substantial fire losses in the mountain areas of Colorado in the last decade or two).

Don't forget that a water tap (if muni water available) and sewer can run into mid-5 figures. While that may sound expensive, compare it to the costs of a well and septic system if you're in an off-grid area.

There may be a number of dry holes drilled before finding any water, too; each of those wells still has to be paid for. (I've friends with a parcel in the San Luis Valley ... never found any water on their property after drilling 5 wells. Yet a couple hundred yards from their property is a good producing well for their neighbor's house. My friends get to truck in 500 gallons of water to a cistern every couple of weeks,
year 'round from 25 miles away over fairly rough dirt county roads.)

I will buy the land cash and build with cash. No financing at all. Who wants a mortgage at 71?

Cash player, OK. Can you give us an idea how much money you're willing to spend on the land?

I can keep looking as some of you have mentioned. I have seen land and lots of properties for sale with good views. Oh well, will keep looking. It is fun anyway.

Do be aware that there are a lot of land sellers in this area with parcels that have nice views but may be lacking in access, utilities, and water. Do your due diligence before spending any money on a property here. Know in advance that many land marketers here will post pictures of gorgeous scenery that may be in the area ... but not necessarily from the property that they are offering you. Best to visit any parcel before signing any paperwork.

Be especially careful with "contract to deed" sales where the seller does a finance deal with you. Many of these properties are badly misrepresented and folks make payments for a long time before defaulting on their note. They lose everything they've put into the deal because they never held title to the land. The seller keeps all your money and the land which they can sell again (and again ...). The resale marketplace for such properties is almost non-existent, somewhat like timeshares when you want to get out from under those contracts.

[boulder2015]

Originally Posted by davebarnes

1. The melted snow goes to California and the Front Range of Colorado because that is who owns the water.
2. You have still not told us what your budget is.

He also thinks people only sell houses that are bad houses. Not the sharpest tool in the shed, methinks.

[pikabike]

Originally Posted by papitohead

Thank you all for your good points. I did not know Colorado was like a desert with little water. I have seen many mountains with a lot of snow, so where does it go when it melts? back to the clouds?

I appreciate all the good comments here.

Actually I want to have a house built, not buying someone's headache. If someone is selling a house, most of the time is because it is not so good.

I will buy the land cash and build with cash. No financing at all. Who wants a mortgage at 71?

I can keep looking as some of you have mentioned. I have seen land and lots of properties for sale with good views. Oh well, will keep looking. It is fun anyway.

Really? Somebody built that same house new at some point. In many cases, they took excellent care of it, and they or someone else might have upgraded it. The only "not good" thing to watch out for is poor build quality. The fact that it is not a just-built house has nothing to do with its quality. There are new-new houses that are shoddy shacks. Very old ones that are very high quality.

BTW, CO rural areas don't have either a lot of houses OR much small-acreage land with ponds. It is a dry state.