Buying Land/Building House in Colorado (Denver, Colorado Springs: transplants, for sale, chapel)

[thespykidinseattle]

Hey everyone!

My partner and I are looking into moving to Colorado in the next few years (less than 5 years)
Our plans are to buy land (we would love about 10 acres) and build a manufactured home and have a small farm (we have horses, we’ll be getting chickens)

We’re looking to find land that’s still nearby to a large city - as we do both have full-time jobs in a corporate business, but also secluded enough to be away from the city. We would love to have mountain views as well.


We are very into camping, hiking, kayaking, etc.

What part of Colorado would be suitable for us to be looking for land?


Thanks!

[interloper1138]

What you're looking for will be near impossible to find if every criterion must be met. (Especially the manufactured home requirement)

A few questions:

- Define 'large city'
- Define 'nearby'
- What is your budget?

[Mike from back east]

Western Slope, near Grand Junction, Fruita, Palisade, etc.

[davebarnes]

If you don't understand why 35 acres is a magic number, then learn why.

[Arrby]

Land in Colorado is either a large parcel or in a subdivision. The word "subdivision" connotates the root meaning - land that has been divided into smaller parcels.

There are 10-20 acre parcels for sale in and around all the major cities. You can start narrowing your choices by looking at what cities will work for you.

Your farming will be limited by (possibly) subdivision covenants and (certainly) county regulations. In almost no case will you be allowed to use well water (if available) to water livestock - even chickens. Property with a stream on it will be subject to water rights and few small acreages have any at all. Generally you should expect to have water trucked in for your animals. A single horse will easily over-graze 20 acres in most locations, so you will buy hay and feed for nearly their entire subsistence.

Building in Colorado is not easy. Getting electricity, septic systems, and a well are not a slam dunk even for those native to Colorado. Buy an existing house if at all possible.

Parcels 35 acres and larger have more flexibility. There are several threads on water rights which you should review.

[ponyupgrl]

As someone looking at land to build on... there are plenty of properties under 35 acres that allow for 1 acre ft of water for your horses and chickens. There are even properties under 35 acres that allow for over 1 acre ft of water for livestock use.

Make sure you work with a realtor who understands water + utilities when you shop for your land.

Check out Larkspur between 25 and 83 if you want lower cost rural w/ commutability to corporate life (Denver / Colorado Springs).

[Sunbiz1]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

Western Slope, near Grand Junction, Fruita, Palisade, etc.

Will be visiting this area next month, what aspects make it within the parameters for the OP?.
My hesitation is long-term drought on being able to effectively farm.

[Mike from back east]

You need to understand Colorado water rights and laws before thinking of farming in the state.

The western side is where you can find some great scenery, lack of crowds, affordable land AND camping, hiking, kayaking, etc.

Doing any "farming" in Colorado is tough, it's a dry climate with a short growing season. Vegetation is sparse meaning it takes a lot of acres to support each horse and most have to buy feed.

What you want to do is far more easily done back east, like the Shenandoah Valley of VA where you can get everything you're asking for at very affordable prices and few, if any, water laws.

[TCHP]

thespykidinseattle and Sunbiz1, you both need to look up "prior appropriation water rights" and understand how that impacts your property search. As newcomers, you are absolutely last in the water rights chain, unless you buy a property that grants certain shares or comes with transferable rights to allow you change your position in line for access to the water that will give you the ability to become a farmer.

This also applies to water that falls from the sky as you are limited in what you can collect and retain from that as well.

[HatchChile]

Originally Posted by thespykidinseattle

Hey everyone!

My partner and I are looking into moving to Colorado in the next few years (less than 5 years)
Our plans are to buy land (we would love about 10 acres) and build a manufactured home and have a small farm (we have horses, we’ll be getting chickens)

We’re looking to find land that’s still nearby to a large city - as we do both have full-time jobs in a corporate business, but also secluded enough to be away from the city. We would love to have mountain views as well.


We are very into camping, hiking, kayaking, etc.

What part of Colorado would be suitable for us to be looking for land?


Thanks!

Like everyone said, this will be really hard in Colorado. You should go east. I know people who moved from California to North Carolina (I am currently in Research Triangle area of NC, moved here from Denver) and they do exactly what you are describing. They are both highly educated professionals who wanted some acreage, live in a place with lots of professional opportunities (tech and bio-tech jobs are out the wazoo here, and AI + data jobs are growing thanks to Duke, UNC and NC State creating supply of STEM kids). You can get land for your horses and for farming. There are tons of cute small cities around Durham/Raleigh/Chapel hill. For example, Carrboro is super progressive (with a gay mayor) and the crunchiest granola type town. In their farmers' market they do not allow farmers who farm 50 miles outside of Carrboro -- that's not "local" enough for them. In general, the selection of produce is outstanding here because farming season is so long. Since I moved here I found great meat and produce CSAs; I even buy my flour directly from flour mill (I used to only do meat CSA in Denver -- shout out to Flying B Bar in Strasburg Co. Amazing people, amazing all grass fed beef!). There are seafood CSAs as well. Weed isn't legal yet, but it's been decriminalized and growing/selling CBD is legal, if that's important. NC is in the cusp of turning completely blue with all the growth and transplants from elsewhere, but mostly North. The gerrymandered maps were thrown out last year, so it should be very interesting elections this November.

The Triangle area is only 2 hours from the ocean (4 to Outer Banks), and you can sea kayak the Intercoastal waterways or paddle in the ocean. The Piedmont (the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill areas) are all forested and there are tons of greenways and trails. My partner and our two dogs moved here a year ago and haven't done all the of hikes around us. We live by Duke Forest and that gives us so many trails to explore right next to our house. Plenty of hiking in Smoky mountains, Black Mountain, Pisgah. There is Mountains-to-Sea trail if you are very adventures.