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Looking at Realtor.com, etc., we've found several properties from 3-60 acres maybe 30 minutes from town-mostly unincorporated County land, great views, 2 bedroom, 1 bath with passive and active solar, good private well and usually a garage/barn/large shop building as well for between 260-360k. Some are fenced. We are looking for an 'off the grid' or at least a well-insulated, relatively modern building with which to work equipping/retrofitting towards an OTG property. I'm a General Contractor with 20+ years of passive+active solar and wind design/build/retrofitting experience so hiring an outside Contractor is unnecessary.
Moving from a much more expensive state but with a very modest (for our goal of property and location) $300-350k budget. We want to be in a home on this type of property before August of 2017.
We don't mind a drive in and out of town but want to avoid the Eldorado-style communities. We've lived in VERY remote/rural areas in the West and Southwest in the past and are well acclimated to 'country life'. We want privacy, space, views and some distance from 'town' proper. Our child is 14 and will be attending one of two Charter schools- ATC (Academy of Technology and the Classics) or The Masters Program. A path into and out of town that doesn't last much more than 30 minutes each way is important.
We're looking at everything from Apache Canyon to La Puebla, Mesilla, Pecos, Chupadero, Lamy, Galisteo, Tesuque and Tesuque Pueblo, perhaps as far out as Cochiti Lake, etc.- something northwest of town would be great but the cost of even the rural unincorporated properties in that area tend to be pretty pricey.
A longtime and trusted friend of ours who lives just outside SF and who has deep roots in there advises us to take our time but she can see it eventually happening. She's helping us to look since we live 1200 miles away and can't do 'primary filtering' easily or affordably.
Any ideas? Should we adjust our expectations or do we have a decent chance of finding what we are looking for?
Thanks in advance, everyone... the folks who contribute to this site represent an AMAZING collective resource!
Last edited by Mirthquake; 05-08-2016 at 02:58 PM..
btw, checked out as per poncho _nm's suggestion from a related thread:
Madrid, NM
Madrid solar community
Madrid and Cerrillos
The part about old Subarus holding up well on some of the rougher non-county-maintained dirt roads is funny- if I can climb a road in an old Subaru it isn't a challenging enough road to be impassable at any time of year, which is a relief. I built roads both gravel and paved for miles into 50k acre properties, etc. and the trails we first used to get them built were OFF road indeed.
But unmaintained dirt roads not only get 'interesting' to use another amusingly accurate term from one of those threads- they eat up precious time. More than a few miles of these along 'to/from town' route and suddenly it's a 45+ instead of a 30 minute trip each way, WAY more in seasonal circumstances. Even with the modified 4x4 pickup we use. For example, we'll be bringing a 300 gallon Natural Gas/Propane tank to and from the property once a year or so (for redundancy- always a good idea) and will load, transport and unload it ourselves. Several places we've lived no vehicles except modified 4WD trucks can reach.
We're likely to be in that situation again living in SF County- wood, propane, trash, recycling, heavy equipment, building materials, water (as backup), livestock, medical emergencies, etc. requires 100% reliable access. Only way to supply that is with the properly equipped truck (and when necessary, trailer). We even have a folding transportable Army vehicle bridge for flash flood situations where an access road may be washed out- and we've used it more than once.
We are going to try balancing access to a County maintained road with privacy/solitude.
Internet and VOIP phone in the absence of cellular signal is no problem, either with a satellite dish- we've checked satellite service maps and there are very few places that is impossible to do in SF County.
Isolated properties are the only kind we are interested in. I've noticed that there are several 'clusters' of OTG properties in SF County that are isolated, for example via a lengthy unmaintained dirt (re:SLOW) road but not so isolated from each other. Not what we're seeking.
Last edited by Mirthquake; 05-09-2016 at 12:17 AM..
OK... anyone have any ideas about rentals? We are a ways off from moving to SF to rent, perhaps January of 2017... any ideas for the best area resources to find decent rentals out-of-town? Our budget for a 2 br stand alone house is sound $2k/mo and maybe 20-30 minutes from DTSF. This is our 'intermediate' step between moving to SFC and buying in SFC.
Yes, you should be able to find what you're looking for. In addition to the areas you've already mentioned, check out the Canoncito, Glorieta and Pecos/Rowe communities.
Thanks! I see Canoncito is much closer to Las Vegas, NM than Santa Fe... the Rociada area is amazing too, but other than (very slow and probably at least partially closed in the winter) East-West thru roads across SFNF to Santa Fe proper, if they even exist at all, it's probably between 60-80 minutes each way. Damn. That part of NM is absolutely stunning and in many cases MUCH more reasonably priced than inside a 20 mile radius of downtown Santa Fe.
Thanks! I see Canoncito is much closer to Las Vegas, NM than Santa Fe... the Rociada area is amazing too, but other than (very slow and probably at least partially closed in the winter) East-West thru roads across SFNF to Santa Fe proper, if they even exist at all, it's probably between 60-80 minutes each way. Damn. That part of NM is absolutely stunning and in many cases MUCH more reasonably priced than inside a 20 mile radius of downtown Santa Fe.
We'll keep looking, and thanks again!
Just to correct you on one point, Canoncito is just about 20 minutes from Santa Fe. From Canoncito it's at least 40 minutes to Las Vegas, NM.
There's a lot of absolutely beautiful country throughout northern NM, and you don't have to be too far from Santa Fe to take advantage of less expensive properties - but there are other factors than cost, so it takes some due diligence and the assistance of a Realtor who can guide you in making an educated decision.
The town of Canyoncito= close to SF, Canoncito=close to Las Vegas, etc... finally figured out my mistake!
We're now looking at Angel Fire for its beauty, it's slight savings on homes with land and most of all one of the best public high schools in the country (Moreno Valley High School). I work from home so all we need is satellite and broadband. Ski towns don't bother us and the broad range of outdoor fun is a real plus, as is less traffic. Taos and Santa Fe would be for extended shopping forays.
We also realize how much we miss forested mountains, lakes nearby and extremely severe high-altitude 'front range' winters lol.
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