Arizona - Trip 2

November - Week 3

We were able to look at most of the properties on our list. It started raining while we were out there which turned out to be a plus because our car wasn't able to handle un-maintained dirt roads so those properties were crossed off the list.

We dug test holes on each property to see the rate of drainage. Unfortunately it was slow for all properties. Things were looking very bleak for us when we visited a Century21 office that was right across from our hotel to see if there were any new listings on the market. They suggested one additional property to look at in Concho that was 2 blocks down from a property that we had previously looked at. The Realtor told us that this property had water and sewer to the lot. We visited the property and later found out that it didn't have sewer but it did have water and electricity on the road. The lot we looked at previously, was just out of range of electricity and water.

This is a picture of us at the property. The sun was setting when we got there.

The next day we called a perc/septic company, recommended to us by Apache County, to give us his assessment of the area. He drove over there on his lunch break and told us that he's pretty confident that this area will pass perc. He also told us that the properties we were looking at in Show Low were more questionable because it's a lot more rocky up there and it wasn't the safest place to live anyway. That was good news to hear which made us more confident on proceeding with the purchase of this property.

Back to the drawing board

November - Week 2

We have almost tripled the list of properties we plan on viewing during our 2nd trip to Arizona. The drive is 8 hours each way. We don't want to make any additional trips out there to look for properties so we want to consider all possibilities.

There are 15 properties in Show Low that we plan on looking at: 12 on the west side of Highway 61 and 3 on the east side. Then there are an additional 4 or 5 properties up in Concho.

Here is a picture of the list of properties; researched, indexed and ready!

Where We Are - So Far

This is the November update on the progress Zaynab and I (Hawa) have made in buying and living on land.

During the last week in October, we took a trip out to Arizona to check out 8 properties. These properties were:

• not in a flood zone
• $5,200 and under (we adjusted the price to fall within our current budget)
• clear of liens
• seemed relatively flat
• electricity was available

After viewing the properties, only two seemed livable. As for the others:

• 1 was covered with cactus
• 1 had a lot of debris
• 2 were too far to commute
• 1 was just out of range of available electricity (when out of range, the cost is about $3,000 per pole to bring electricity to the property)
• 1 was extremely rocky, bushy and requires a lot of excavation to make a level clear area to build on

As for the 2 properties we considered, we were concerned about their rate of percolation. We dug test holes on all of the properties and for these 2 properties, the water did not drain. We talked to a couple of soil testing companies about this and their response was that some areas on a property may drain faster than others and since they did 6 feet during their test, the soil may be different.

We decided to put in an offer on one of the properties on the condition that it passed a percolation test for a conventional septic system which is required for building. On November 2nd, the company that performed the percolation test informed us that the property didn't past the percolation test. The cost was $750. We decided not to pay for an additional perc on the 2nd property because the water also didn't drain in our test holes.

Now we're back to the drawing board. We did a lot of research and covered a lot of area before narrowing down those 8 properties. But we haven't given up.  New land is continuously coming up for sale and we are just as determined to find land to live on and raise a family.

Making an Offer

November - Week 1

After reviewing all the properties, we settled on the 2 acre parcel on Cedar Rd.

• The cost is less than all the other properties
• The area is twice as big as any of the other properties
• There are clear, level areas that do not require tress/bushes to be cut down
• It's not covered with stickies, cactus, anthills or rocks
• The roads are dirt maintained and it's only 10 to 15 minutes from the freeway.

The listing agent selling the property was also the registered owner. We signed an agreement with him to purchase the property on the condition that it passes perc.

Apache County has a list of soil testers on their website and we arranged for Karstetter Construction to perform the perc test on Wednesday.

We're really hoping it passes perc!

A Trip to Arizona

October - Week 4

We went to Arizona this week to look at 8 properties at $5,200 and under. Each property is at least an acre. Here is a short clip from the trip:

Here are the notes we took of each property:

KERREN DR. - $5,000
Very rocky. The trees are actually big bushes. Not much shade. There are no stickies. It has a slight slope. There are both soft and hard areas. Water drains medium to slow. It has 2 easy to clear areas. There is a marker on adjacent lot. It offers privacy. The road to the parcel is a maintained dirt road - 1 minute away from paved road. Electric pole is 200 feet from property.

HILLSIDE RD. - $3,997
This property has rocky but maintained roads to parcel - about 10 minutes to paved road. Not so rocky. Clear view of neighbors so there is less privacy. It has a large clear area. Power line is on road. Three huge anthills. Dirt is more sandy. Marker across road.

TRAIL ENDS RD. - $4,000
Electric is over 700 ft away. Rocky maintained dirt roads - 15 minutes from paved road. Taller trees/bushes. Privacy with clearings. Water drained at a medium pace. Slight slope. No markers found. No reception.

STRAWHORSE RD. - $4,700
Marker found across the road is 24. There is a lot of cacti. A lot of clearing. Rocky surface. No shade. Water drains very fast. Electric is close but not at property. Good maintained dirt road.

CEDAR RD. $1,700
Lots of debris. Taller trees/bushes. Clear areas.

CEDAR RD. - $3,000
Two parcel. Nice clear areas. Big bushes. Water drains very slow. Not rocky. Lots of short weeds. No stickies. Level. Maintained dirt roads. Electric at 300 feet.

PONDEROSA - $4,800
Parcel marked at all 4 corners. 700 to 800 feet from electric. Water drains slowly. Level. Road onto property. Bushy trees don't provide much shade. Area cleared for building.

LEIGHTON RD. - $5,200
Very rocky. Slopes. Very small bushes. Lots of stickies. Next to electric. Dirt road. No markers found.

Gathering more info on properties

October - Week 3

Now that we gathered data on the parcels, I started calling the Realtors of each parcel to learn more about the properties. I asked the following questions:

1. Why was the owner selling? This gave insight into how eager the owner wanted to get rid of the property and if there was any type of improvement done to the property.
2. Are the roads to the property maintained?
3. What's the nearest water haul location?
4. What are the utility companies that service the area?
5. Has any perc-test been performed for the parcel?
6. Anything else you can tell me about the property?

I also made calls to the utility companies to verify if electricity or water lines were available near the property. I found out that:

• APS electric will extend lines for free up to 700 feet or $10,000.
• Navopache will extend electric lines for free up to 100 feet.
• Liveco water company charges $600 to install a water meter.

Most of the properties we're looking at doesn't have access to a water utility company. APS was able to verify 7 or the properties with electricity nearby. They're going to call me back about the properties that have only a lot and parcel number.

Re-analyzing our budget

October - Week 2

Alhumdulillah (Thank God) we were able to raise a few hundred dollars but not enough to afford land in the price area of $9,000 to $15,000.

So we have adjusted our budget and priorities. We are now looking at land $5,000 and under. Even at $5,000, we can negotiate paying a lower price and eliminate monthly payments.

Zay did the initial search for properties that were:

• Under $5,000
• Had the availability of electricity
• Not in a flood zone
• Near some form of civilization. It's likely that we would have to haul water and we don't want to drive far.

Zay found 12 properties that appeared to meet these standards and I added 4 others that I came across while doing further research on the 12 properties.

I initially started entering the information in an Excel spreadsheet but found that using index cards were a lot easier to manage and reference to.

Each card contains:

1. Price of land
2. Address, Lot Number or GPS location
3. Acreage 
4. Zoning
5. Flood Zone rating (we only collected land zoned as X or D which is minimal flood areas)
6. Parcel number
7. Owners name and the length of time they owned the property
8. Taxes
9. Distance to freeway or main center
10. Realtors name and number
11. Small map of parcel and nearby streets

 We gathered this information from the listing, County GIS maps, County Assessor online, google maps, and FEMA flood zone website.

I also drew larger maps of each county to show the relationship of properties to each other and any nearby freeways and amenities.

Finding Land

October - Week 1

We found land between $9,000 and $15,000 that has a septic, well, and/or electricity on the parcel. This seems like a good idea since it can cost $30,000 to get a well drilled, $6,000 to get a septic installed and $3,000 to get an electric pole on your property. Also, owners allow payments to be made over a 3 year period with a down payment.

The problem is that - after paying the down payment, our pockets would be empty and we wouldn't be able to afford the monthly payments. So we are starting a campaign to help raise some funds.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-us-live-on-land--2/x/15189448#/

Decision to get land in Arizona

I created this blog to document the progress of my sister (Zay) and I, in buying land to develop and live on in Arizona. We chose Arizona because:

• The land is very affordable
• We live in Riverside County California and Arizona is the closest affordable area to us
• Cheep land in and near Riverside is barren desert, void of any vegetation or inspiration. Arizona offers land with trees and more vegetation.
• Much of Arizona supports sustainable buildings which is awesome because I want to try my hands at building an earth dome.