Buying Vacant Land/Lots in Prescott Subdivisions - BUYER BEWARE (Tucson: for sale, real estate)

[Bluebear1949]

If you are planning to purchase vacant lot/land to build a house in the unincorporated subdivisions (Highland Pines, Ponarosa Park, etc) of Prescott, be aware that the city of Prescott will charge a fee of $10,338.73 just to allow water to the property. This city fee only applies if the water pipes are not already at the property line.
In addition to the city fee, each subdivision has its own water district, and the water district will charge an additional $3,000 for the water meter plus the cost of running the water pipes to the property line.

The city of Prescott owns the water and each subdivision has its own water district that distributes the water to the property and is responsible for maintaining the water pipes in the subdivision.

The $10,338.73 Prescott city fee is not widely transparent to the buyer of the lot because when you ask about hooking into the water you are likely to be directed to the subdivision's water district. They will quote you the cost for the water meter ($3,000) and the cost of running the water pipes to the property line, but they probably will not mention the $10,338.73 city of Prescott fee.

I discovered this information while in the process of purchasing a lot in the Highland Pines subdivision, and thought I should share it. There is an odd mix of government entities you will be dealing with when purchasing property and building a house: the city of Prescott for the water, the subdivision's water district for distribution of the water to the property, and Yavapai County for building permits and inspections.

If you wish to verify the city of Prescott fee, contact the city of Prescott Public Works Department and ask to view City Ordinance No. 4721-1018 and refer to Section 3-14-13 Development Fees for Water Resources and Section 3-14-14 Fees for Water System Impact.

Below is a breakdown of what it will cost the buyer of a lot just to bring water to the property line.

City of Prescott Water Fees:

5,389.02 -- System Impact fee (Section 3-14-14)
$4,944.71 -- Resource Development fee (Section 3-14-13)
$5.00 -- Permit fee

Subdivision Water District Fees:

$3,000 -- meter fee
Plus cost of running water pipes to the property line

Total Fees: $13,738.73 + water pipes to property

[Kimballette]

I think "buyer beware" is a given for anyone buying anything, anywhere - particularly real estate.

[wretched wrench]

Blue Bear................Your numbers give me some comfort for what I spent to have a well dug and pump and tanks put in.

Fortunately, my wife is a water witch, so we found good water in a convenient location.

I don't remember exactly, but I seem to recall Prescott Valley was even worse than Prescott. at least in the totality of all the fees.

"Buyer Beware" can be translated into legalese, and becomes exercising "Due Diligence", and ultimately places almost all the burden of discovering these fees and problems on the buyer.

Brian?

[Steve Pickering]

The sytem development charges are why I went Composting Toilet, Gray Water Irrigation, Solar/Wind Electric and Rainwater Harvest for my 5th Wheel. The Solar 220volt 50amp system was only $15,000 complete delivered, and another $2,000 for the Wind Generator.

[BriansPerspective]

Nice information Bluebear! I was aware of the private water company but was unaware of the additional City of Prescott charge for water. We haven't sold vacant land in Highland Pines, so we never fully investigated the costs.

Yes, Wretched, Due Diligence is required with any purchase of vacant land or existing home. Ultimately the buyer is responsible for investigating anything that might influence the decision to purchase. The seller, however, is also require to disclose items that would reasonably affect a buyer's decision to purchase, IF known by the seller. In this case, it is possible that the seller was unaware of the additional cost from the City of Prescott. The seller might have just bought the land without thorough investigation and then sold the land.

If the land is in an unincorporated area and has not been platted into a subdivision, then the seller must provide a notarized Affidavit of Disclosure, which lists various questions about the land. If the subdivision has been platted, then the Arizona Department of Real Estate will have a Subdivision Report from the developer which outlines a host a disclosures about the land and the subdivision.

In the case of Highland Pines, the subdivision was platted back in the 60's and 70's, so there is a subdivision report, but it is of limited value since it's so old. There are also lots adjacent to Highland Pines, that any reasonable person would assume is within Highland Pines, but these lots are not part of the platted subdivision and therefore would require an Affidavit of Disclosure from the seller. If there is no lot number in the legal description, then it is not part of the original subdivision.

[BriansPerspective]

Originally Posted by Steve Pickering

The sytem development charges are why I went Composting Toilet, Gray Water Irrigation, Solar/Wind Electric and Rainwater Harvest for my 5th Wheel. The Solar 220volt 50amp system was only $15,000 complete delivered, and another $2,000 for the Wind Generator.

I'm assuming that you have some remote vacant land off the grid. You mentioned '5th Wheel'. This is ok if you only visit the property a few times per year to camp. Technically, living year-round (or even longer than a couple of weeks) in an RV is not allowed in Yavapai County. I'm sure that loads of people do this in remote spots, but readers should be aware that Yavapai County zoning does not allow this use.

[DebinSoCA]

BlueBear... appreciate your sharing this very much.

All this "Due Diligence" and Real Estate practices nothing more than a way to NOT disclose
info inmo....see it all the time like in house listed for sale, with additions and wording to the effect
that they don't know, (won't say) if permitted or not etc.

Why can't we just disclose up front....ah the good old days!

Anyway, thank you again for posting this -

Moderator cut: off topic

[Bluebear1949]

BriansPerspective - This property has a lot number so its definitly in the platted area of Highland Pines. Therefore, I would assume that the Affidavit of Disclose aplies for this property. Is this affidavit the same as the Sellers Disclosure Statement required from the seller to a potential buyer?
The sellers may not have known about the city of Prescott water fee; but they certainly know now. The property is now back on the market. I don't know if they are legally required to do so; but I would hope that the sellers will disclose the fee information to a future buyer. I will keep an eye on this property.

[Steve Pickering]

Originally Posted by BriansPerspective

I'm assuming that you have some remote vacant land off the grid. You mentioned '5th Wheel'. This is ok if you only visit the property a few times per year to camp. Technically, living year-round (or even longer than a couple of weeks) in an RV is not allowed in Yavapai County. I'm sure that loads of people do this in remote spots, but readers should be aware that Yavapai County zoning does not allow this use.

No. It is about a mile from the golf course in Sunsites. The cost to run the electric was $25,000. The sewer was another $15,000, and a well was quoted at $17,000. The county permits were $9,000.

The composting tank was designed for a 3 bedroom cabin and sits under ground. Cost $5,000 complete installed. It is solar and requires emptying about once every six months. It uses a Sealand toilet which is what we have in our 400 sq ft 5th wheel.

Gray water irrigation is not only allowed but encouraged in Cochise county and cities like Tucson.

We are erecting a 40 foot by 20 foot shed/barn with our equipment and solar panels which will also do our rain water harvest. Since we do not drink city water, we are used to buying our drinking water from filtered vending machines. Two 500 gallon tanks with a reverse osmosis, sand, and UV filter systems will supply about 3 months worth of rain water, and we can buy water in town for 1 cent per gallon in bulk. More delivered. The whole water collection system cost is around $2,000.

The 220 volt 50 amp electrical is a package with batteries, twin inverters, solar panels, and controller for both wind generators. The wind will keep the batteries topped in the evenings when we have a good breeze and no sun.

Because we chose to not connect to the grid our only fee is a driveway permit for $100.

Your county just like Cochise allows six months of RV living with a yearly permit. Also during construction.

In the past Yavapai county planning and zoning have approved use permits for 5th wheels for up to three years at a time. http://www.yavapai.us/meetings/files...PZ-Meeting.pdf and http://www.yavapai.us/meetings/files...PZ-Meeting.pdf are examples.

[BriansPerspective]

Originally Posted by Bluebear1949

BriansPerspective - This property has a lot number so its definitly in the platted area of Highland Pines. Therefore, I would assume that the Affidavit of Disclose aplies for this property. Is this affidavit the same as the Sellers Disclosure Statement required from the seller to a potential buyer?
The sellers may not have known about the city of Prescott water fee; but they certainly know now. The property is now back on the market. I don't know if they are legally required to do so; but I would hope that the sellers will disclose the fee information to a future buyer. I will keep an eye on this property.

Well, they should disclose it now. If the seller does not, then the seller's agent should. Maybe I wasn't clear on the Affidavit of Disclosure. If there is a lot number, then it falls within the platted subdivision and the Affidavit is NOT required. It is only required if the lot is in unincorporated county AND not in a platted subdivision. The Affidavit of Disclosure is not the same as the Seller's Disclosure Statement, although they contain similar questions.