NOTE: Clicking on any of the photos in these posts will bring up a much larger version of that photo!
If you go to my AppleAttic Home Page you will find a link to a Fall Colors page. Take a look at it and try the link that takes you to my Fall Colors gallery if you are interested in seeing more fall color photos.
The big news deals with out Dream Land hunt. We have found a place we like! Here is how it went down.
I took a solo trip to Cripple Creek to view properties with a realtor from Spring Creek Realty. (I’ve mentioned them in previous posts.) Jim and I went to look at a few properties, including one named the Bonita. The Bonita, and several of the parcels Pam and I have looked at, are old patented mining claims currently zoned A-1 (agricultural) land. While the Bonita had some advantages, access was poor and the lot was not as level as I would have liked. Still, it did have a mix of pine and aspen and a view:
View from the Bonita Lode looking NW
Here is the realtor, Jim Hammond, a little lower down on the lot:
Jim Hammond on the Bonita Lode
Jim and Pam walk the Bonita parcel
While there were attractive elements, the poor access and steeper-than-wanted lot put the Bonita into a less-desireable category. We went on to take another look at a lot we had seen previously, but had little information about. Turns out it is known as the Martha A. Lode.
In a previous post I mentioned we had seen 3 parcels that could be contenders. One was taken off the market. The second one, right off Hwy 61 with a view of the back of Pike’s Peak, turned out to be not the parcel I had walked on, but one further north. It consisted mostly of a ravine. We were disappointed. However, the 3rd parcel, 10 acres with a small storage shed on it, turned out to be more than we expected.
We had walked only 1/2 of the Martha A, which is bisected by a BLM access road, on our first visit. The southern part is where the small storage shed is located. We thought that section was the complete lot, but we learned the other half of the parcel lies north of the BLM road. We had not walked the northern half. There is a nice building spot on a knoll that rises on that side. As a bonus the parcel is bordered on 2 sides by BLM land. Here are a few photos of our last visit:
Pam and dogs on the Martha A storage shed
View from knoll looking east
Realtor photo. Access road to the Martha A Lode
BLM road bisects the Martha A Lode. Knoll is at right.
We are excited about this land, and plan to make an offer on it shortly. I had to do some research, calling the county, the BLM, a local well driller, and just getting some background information about buying unimproved land.
This much we have found out: Buying an old mining claim in Colorado is not a straight-forward deal. In this case, the access road crosses BLM land. There is no permanent easement granted by the BLM, but you can sign a Road Permit Agreement that gives you year-round use of the road, provided it is privately maintained. The day we were there the road had been plowed out by one of the residents who apparently does this so he can get to work. Mineral rights are not included, but are available for about $50.00 per acre. To keep the land zoned Agricultural until we could build a house, a grazing rights contract needs to be negotiated with a local rancher. This is what the current owners did, so it does not seem like a big issue to get it done again. There are no power or phone lines to the lot; power and phone are up the road a bit and would cost an estimated $6,000.00 to extend them to the property line. Wells in the county average around 400 feet deep, or about $7,000.00 to put in. Septic system cost about the same, although the decomposed granite underlying the top soil perks out real well. Property taxes run $1.49 per acre per year.
The views are good, not great, although a house would offer a bit broader view. The lot is heavily treed but does have a couple open spots, and a nice place to put a house. Plenty of firewood would arise from thinning and cleanup of the place. I didn’t check the mileage, but estimate the lot is about 1 – 1.5 miles from the county road, and is about 4 – 5 miles from Cripple Creek proper. In short, except for the size (10 acres vs the 5 or so we were looking for) the Martha A has everything we had on our wish list. Asking price is between 69 – 70K, but we will offer somwehat less to stay within our budget.
This tale sounds kind of dry, perhaps due to my nature. I guess it comes with working with computers so much! We like this lot because of its “feel.” The first time we walked the southern part of it, stood in the meadow, surrounded by trees, we knew it had potential to be our Dream Land. We formed ideas of where a house would go, where the decks would face, how much firewood could we harvest? This lot engaged us more as we walked around on it. Thats why we decided to make an offer once we have our financing arranged; this lot “speaks” to us. No other lot has.
We have started the loan qualification process, and hope to be able to make an offer in the near future. We are excited about this one! Wish us luck. I will update the blog when we move forward.
Here is a photo show of the Martha A Lode:[cincopa AcIAts6cb71G] Move your cursor over photos to activate controls, or click on any photo to bring up a larger image with extended captions.
Thats it for now. Thanks for looking in!
I had mentioned in a previous post, that I felt most comfortable (personally, for what it’s worth!) with this lot, though the Craig’s List Realtor photos didn’t do the lot justice (they were probably avoiding showing the BLM road).
The Fall views certainly looks different than the Summer view — the fallen aspen leaves open up distant scenery considerably. From (your) photos, I’d open up the East view from the knoll — looks like there’s a lot of “mountain” in the distance!
Too much to ask for the Martha A Lode to have had a producing mine?
All-in-all, a very nice piece of land with many possibilities. Given the location, no doubt you’ll share the property with all the local wildlife, and it appears to have fairly easy access to Cripple Creek (maybe not-so-much in Winter).
Good luck with your offer — the property has been on the market for some time, hopefully the owner is ready to sell…
larry:
No producing mine, probably better that way! There are a couple of prospect pits around, though. You are correct about the views. To the east is the way to go, also south. We have been told that an excellent view (mountains to the NW) can be had from the north end of the lot, but did not walk that far yet. Our idea was to build a path to that spot and put up a gazebo. We have lots of ideas, just don’t know if we can afford them all.
The land looks nice except for the snow 😉
Seriously, good luck with the buying process. It’s very cool that both of you felt something good about this property!
Becky:
One drawback to this area is that it is near 9,000 feet in elevation. That means snow comes early and stays late. Still, seeing it in the snow and in warmer weather gave us a better feel of how the access would be year-round.
We did like the lot the first time we walked on it. With the discovery of the northern half and the building spot the Martha A became our top pick.
wow!! i’m way behind here!
how beautiful–i LOVE it!
the shed is really cute too 🙂
sometimes you just gotta go on your feeling
fingers crossed all goes well!!