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If you have the capital for a crop lot like pecans, I understand them to be a fairly good investment - if you can find one priced reasonably. You do have to irrigate and mow or weed regularly and trim the trees yearly, but if you had orange trees before this is probably no surprise. If treed land works for your dog training, that could be a much nicer solution than a residential lot.
It may be a little tricky to find a small orchard for sale, but not impossible. Most orchards down here are large, on the order of 100 or more acres at a guess - I don't recall ever seeing a "for sale" sign on one either - as opposed to the several dried up and dead vineyards around.
If you have the capital for a crop lot like pecans, I understand them to be a fairly good investment - if you can find one priced reasonably. You do have to irrigate and mow or weed regularly and trim the trees yearly, but if you had orange trees before this is probably no surprise. If treed land works for your dog training, that could be a much nicer solution than a residential lot.
It may be a little tricky to find a small orchard for sale, but not impossible. Most orchards down here are large, on the order of 100 or more acres at a guess - I don't recall ever seeing a "for sale" sign on one either - as opposed to the several dried up and dead vineyards around.
I've come across some pieces in the 10-20ac range and they already had productive pecan crops and irrigation in place, with various "possible homesites" so I think maybe people are possibly splitting off part of their land to sell off. Not on the big residential web sites, but the rural acreage/farmland marketing sites. It's a possible option. I could put my Agility area on one of the possible homesites after clearing it, and then keep the rest as crop. We'd have to look into the logistics of tending and harvesting, of course.
Another crop I've considered is onions, and I did see a perfectly sized onion farm available- 11 or so acres for $210K asking. There are lots of facets to consider, and we'd look at each one. Hay/alfalfa is a very familiar crop to us, but I am not sure it is the right choice for a small acreage in the desert. Something more productive on smaller space (like onions, or pecans) would be better. I think the pecans do REALLY well in the climate if you can get a nice property with water rights and sophisticated irrigation all set up already. I'd also prefer orchard crop, I think, since it is longer term.
I'd agree a nut crop is a better bet. Onions are a popular crop in the LC area, but any annual crop like that or hay is going to require more attention and equipment from the owner.
Alfalfa and grass hays are popular crops even in the desert - it doesn't pay to truck it far so people grow it all over. It does require irrigation though, and lots of mowing and bailing equipment that you have to own and run unless you lease to another farmer.
It was founded to teach agriculture in 1888 as the Las Cruces College, and the following year became New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. It received its present name in 1960.
Quote:
Researchers with the Agricultural Experiment Station are located on campus and at 13 research centers across the state. In addition to improving New Mexico's agricultural industry, researchers strive to sustain our natural resources and improve the quality of our lives.
To find the house AND the amount of property together, in/near the city, is extremely expensive.
If you want to live in/near LC then definitely check out the cost of land closer to town. The size of parcel you need isn't that big really. There are many houses for sale with 2+ acre lots and they aren't expensive (I just checked zillow).
Adding an unnecessary significant drive is false economy 99.9% of the time. Consider what it costs to drive (~$0.50/mile) and your time. You could as easily buy much better digs closer to town. As an example let's say you drive back and forth to Demming from LC 3 times a week. That's 60x2x3x52= 18,720 miles. At 50 cents a mile that is $9,360 yr. If your time is worth say $10/hr then we can add 10x2x3x52= $3,120. What could you buy in LC for an extra $1,000+/mo? And that would be property that potentially would appreciate, ie... you'd get that back when you sold. It wouldn't just disappear like the expense of driving.
I feel like you didn't read my post(s) on this thread at all, which is unfortunate because I sincerely value your opinion as an experienced member of the forum. Maybe if you get a chance to take another crack at it? I'd greatly appreciate it. :-)
I did read them. You posted, I put your post in my queue to reply to, then you edited your post, and I replied to your original unedited post... That was my bad.
d) Accessible by car. Dirt roads are more than fine, but they should at least EXIST and be passable for a car.
I would not bother with that land unless you can drive out there and see it... A common problem is finding survey marking on that land that was parceled in the 60's, roads buried in sand. That land is in the Rio Grande Estates, NM
You could probably find a house with a few acres to take care of your agility training for the $200,000 you mentioned in your post.
Nothing siting in the desert (or the Everglades from experience) is safe...
Deming is a bit hot for me. But my 14+ years here in NM, North side of ABQ, the temperatures are not the issues. We had wind alerts today "WIDESPREAD WIND GUSTS OF 45 TO 60 MPH."
I considered retiring in the LC or Deming area in the 80's, but we like were we are at.
I think some options may open up to us too if we revisit the idea of buying a lot and then having a house built by a builder. We considered this when we lived in Alberta, and it was possible to get a very accurate estimate of cost and you knew what you were getting so it was a pretty simple process. Or even buying a house that's at the built and lockable stage but hasn't been finished yet. That way nothing's been done to the yard yet. We do want a pool, but we can choose a different size/shape to meet our needs than someone who may already have put a pool in, for instance.
Something like this (which is even finished) has a house we'd like, in an appropriate price range, in (I think) a suitable location... And the backyard is raw for us to do with as I please. It measures approximately 100'x100' behind the house as far as I can crudely measure on my iPad in Google. I don't think any neighbourhood covenants would prevent me from doing stuff like I plan to do in the backyard...
I don't think we're going to be ready to buy yet, but I am going to keep my eye out for options like this. Might be the most sane and simple way to go. ;-) LOL
That subdivision has very large lots, which is surprising in view of the jammed-together nature of newer subdivisions in the area around it. That large pecan orchard to the north looks to be a great asset too. The price of the house on the web site seems reasonable considering you can pay that much for smaller places on minimal lot sizes in the new subdivisions in the foothills.
I live near Gallup. land for 900$ an acre in some places.
But you ain't near nothing!
But if you're an isolationist, like to hear the wind blow all day, or partake in spectacular sunsets and star gazing, (and not too much else) it's great.
That's the tradeoff.....location location location.
Not stopping me from buying some expensive land (a whopping $2000 an acre!) before I leave this earth. Not sure what the hell for though other than to have an acre or two (camping maybe?) Truly some pretty places out here.
Having spent a long time exploring all these vacant places, I agree that water and accessibility are two of the biggest problems. Some of the desert scam-communities that have been selling lots for years to folks back east are not accessible except in someone's dreams and might be full of trash and other things. It is a four-wheelers paradise out here in Rio Del Oro and Rio Grande Estates. If you even find your lot, can afford to actually have it officially surveyed, and try to leave anything there, it will be gone soon. Metal recyclers and others continually comb through the trash and take away what they can sell. Some vacant land here still has restrictions on septic and usage. Hauling your water and living on solar required a strong commitment or everyone would be doing it out here. The dirt trails are not actually the roads in most places, and a 4x4 would be recommended or even required in some places. Desert critters with 2,4,6,8 and no legs abound and you will have to live with them, keeping in mind they were here first.
I strongly recommend if you want to live the simple life to pick a small tiny town, get a cheap house or land in/by it and then live how you want. It is nice having at least a gas station or general store somewhere close when you need a little something.
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