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Old 02-10-2009, 10:34 AM
 
Location: FL
1 posts, read 2,829 times
Reputation: 10

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some back ground:
we want to move to CO - build something for retirement - probably be snow birding it for a while as real estate in our area sucks right now.

We have dogs (6) do a hobby called Dog Agility, travel alot so need to be within 2 hours of big airport, want land 10-20 acres with TREES

We plan on visiting and checking area out for a week in March

working with real estate agent he gave us these areas
Masonville, Ward, Central City, Bellvue, Fort Collins, Livermore, Pine, Loveland, Golden, Berthoud, Drake, Black Hawk, Conifer, Bailey, Nederland, and Red Feather.

prices are all over the range for pretty much just land - any suggestions on how to see what homes in that area are going for - in FL there is an online site to look up this information.

Can anyone tell me things to watch out for? water, sewer, electric verse solar. HOA, Convendants etc - HOA in FL suck but maybe not so out there.

Any plus/minus for these areas

Thanks
Kellie
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Old 02-10-2009, 12:02 PM
 
2,756 posts, read 12,936,837 times
Reputation: 1521
Utility-provided water/sewer isn't likely to exist in the foothills on a large lot. Think well/septic, with possibly some surface water rights attached. Ground water and surface water rights are a BIG issue in Colorado (in some ways the BIGGEST issue of them all), and you'll need to check and double check water rights on any property you plan to buy. Without water, the land is not worth much, but with water, the land can be worth a great deal.

Also consider access to your property. The foothills and mountains get a lot of snow. Who will maintain your driveway to your house? -- that could be expensive, if you are responsible. If your property is accessible by private road, then you need to determine what arrangements are already there for maintaining that road. County-maintained roads are best, of course, but even those are not always plowed as highest priority. Needless to say, a good high-clearance SUV will be a must with this type of property, as well as excellent winter driving skills.

Also, consider mineral resources. Most rural property is split-estate, meaning the mineral rights are held by someone else. That means that person could, in theory, mine minerals or O&G on your property. Sometimes, property comes with mineral rights attached, though you'll pay a hefty premium for that. Most land, of course, will have little to no value for minerals, but it's worth paying attention to this as many mountain property owners have received unpleasant surprises of late.

I noticed that you're considering quite a few places in northern larimer county, that makes sense, because it's still relatively cheap up there for large foothills property -- have you considered Wyoming, too? It may be quite a bit more affordable even than Larimer County and will provide a number of advantages when it comes to taxation, yet still be roughly 2 hours away from DIA. Although I'm no expert on Wyoming, there are some beautiful areas between Fort Collins and Laramie. Parts west of Cheyenne would also still be within 2 hours or so of DIA as well.

Also, have you considered southern Colorado? You could easily find some places within 2 hours of the Colorado Springs airport -- not as big as Denver but not insignificant either.
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Old 02-10-2009, 12:10 PM
 
Location: Mid-Atlantic
17 posts, read 55,984 times
Reputation: 20
Default Good Web Site for Colorado Real Estate

[quote= any suggestions on how to see what homes in that area are going for [/quote]

Kellie,
Try this web site. It's a great resource for looking at property in Colorado (or anywhere else).

http://www.realtor.com/colorado/nbselco.asp]Colorado Real Estate: Find Homes For Sale in Colorado - REALTOR.com

Best of luck in your search!
...WX Watcher

Last edited by WX_Watcher; 02-10-2009 at 12:13 PM.. Reason: URL came out funky in text
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Old 02-11-2009, 02:20 AM
 
565 posts, read 1,841,664 times
Reputation: 186
With the land you want you might want to try one of the many preplanned communities that are developing 20-40 acre lots with power/utilities. One example is the Red Rock Ranch area between Canon City and Colorado Springs - I had looked at property there. There is a realty site that does specialize in that type of development but I can't remember the name off hand. Here is one that specializes in 35 acre + Eagle Springs Real Estate
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