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SLV Real Estate
Rio Grande River Ranchos (above)
It has been said that there is
somewhere around 40,000 subdivided and undeveloped lots in the
Southern part of the San Luis Valley which typically range in size
from 1/4 acre (which would require several to build on) to 5 acre
parcels. You can see a sample of the subdivision road patterns on
this link to
Google Maps - Mesita,
Colorado in Costilla County. Much of the
land belongs to absentee land owners who have invested in Colorado
real estate, often being from out of state and having never even
seen their property. Often with such investments, taxes do not get
paid on a timely basis (even though they are very low in this area)
and the land ends up reverting back to the county ownership. Besides
the incredible bargains you can find from private
individuals, the counties can be another good resource if you have
time to do the research and make the correspondence. With Colorado's
economy and development running rampant in Denver, Colorado
Springs, Fort Collins, Vail and even as far South as Grand Junction,
it is only a matter of time until more developers discover the San
Luis Valley like the huge Forbes Trinchera Ranch which you pass by
on Colorado Highway 160 between Walsenburg and Alamosa.
Surviving in the SLV would
require water in the warm, dry high valley summers. It happens that
under the San Luis Valley is perhaps the largest water resource in
the state of Colorado, what has been described as a huge underground
lake. Other parts of the state have been battling to try to tap this
valuable resource and it has been the subject of much debate with
many local government agencies. Well drilling is costly and your
only other option would be hauling water from one the many small
towns scattered across the SLV. If you do drill a well at a cost of
around $5,000 or more, you will most likely have a very good one.
The climate lends itself to alternative energy sources such as solar
and the now readily available wind generators (they even have kits
to build your own). Some developers are running in power, but
self-sustaining homesteads are much more desirable and seem to be
popular across the valley.
This is one place in Colorado
that the common man can still afford to build his dream (or you
could consider Alaska). Over-regulation seems to be the trend in the
front range area near Denver, but not so in the SLV. It requires so
much to build in the Denver-metro counties that, unless you have
extensive resources, you might as well forget it. In the SLV the
"average joe" still can afford to do-it-himself. People are even
using alternative construction methods such as tire homes,
straw-bail homes and of course the classic adobe construction that
has been used in the Southwest for many years. The soil there I am
told is ideal for adobe as well.
One home that really caught my
attention is in the town of Antonito and appears as a statement to
all who venture by. It looked rather old and reflected character
which seems to have been lost in the huge and over-regulated
metropolises ( see
pictures ). It is nice to know that freedom
is still alive and well in Colorado, and not all reserved to the
privileged, with mega-bucks to spend on housing. If you are tough
enough and love nature, this could be an option for year around
living. As a summer vacation hide-away, the SLV is great. Some
people park their campers on small lots and keep it as a peaceful
place to escaped to from life in the big city. Perhaps we would have
a lot less stress related problems in the cities if more people
could find escapes such as this to restore inner peace. Fishing,
camping, mountain biking, go-kart racing, ATV trail riding, river
rafting (the Rio Grande runs through the SLV and one to Taos, New
Mexico) and best of all, none of the crowds that have in recent
years taken over everything in a 100 mile radius of Denver (Mesita,
deep in the valley clocks about 230 miles from Denver via Interstate
Highway 25 to Walsenburg, then West over La Veta pass on State
Highway 160).