Palisade Posh Property Search: Update
After our ‘enlightening’ experience in January, I’m happy to report we have an update! Months ago, I asked my friend Laurie how do you know when you’ve found the right property? Her response was “it will just feel right.” After this past weekend, I completely understand what she means! I think we’ve found the one! That said there are still some hoops that must be jumped before we make it ours. The first and probably biggest hoop is that the seller has to divide the property! It is 14 acres verses the two – five acres we can realistically manage.
That said, he is in the process of doing just that (meaning he is in the process of subdividing the land!) Dividing property in Mesa County must go through several steps which will take several months to complete. If the property hasn’t been subdivided before, the owner can divide the first parcel into two acres or less. Every parcel of land after that must be done in five acre increments or more, in some areas it is 10 acres or more. Our ‘potential’ piece of land will be approximately 2.2 acres – the perfect size! It has a main house which is in livable condition and water rights for the full 2.2 acres. It also has a small industrial cooler (not sure if it works) for produce, a small pole barn, and… eight Pecan trees! This means I would need to build the Airbnb (also known as an ADU or Accessory Dwelling Unit) from the ground up. I’ve started researching the various option and am currently leaning toward a company called Studio Shed. They are in Louisville, CO and can build a prefab ADU in the size and price range I’m targeting. Plus, they also offer financing! That said, we need to secure the property first.
Another step that needs to occur in the subdivision process is determining easements. If the second piece of land doesn’t have access to a main road and easement must be identified by the owner doing the subdivide – both properties must have access to a main road. In addition, two components of an easement include its sustainability, meaning can it support the weight of a fire truck? If you are wondering… fire trucks weigh between 19 – 30 tons! This means the easement (which is basically a road) cannot be dirt, it needs to be gravel or paved… most easements are gravel. So, in the case of our ‘future’ property, the seller needs to fortify the road that is there with additional gravel. In our case, to make the subdivision easier the seller is utilizing a pre-existing road that runs through a portion of ‘our future’ property. The other important factor in creating an easement is that a fire truck also needs to be able to turn around on said road! It is amazing the things we take for granted. Until now, the thought never occurred to me that there could be a situation where a fire truck couldn’t get to where it needs to go, too many years living in the city! The good news is both these concerns are addressed in the seller’s subdivision plan!
We have been fortunate, in that our realtor and this seller (who also happens to be a realtor) have a good working relationship and the communication between the two is ongoing. To this end, we have been privy to his proposed subdivision and able to offer our input. As the house on the property is currently an active Airbnb, we also had the opportunity to stay in it during our February visit! Our realtor reached out to the seller and helped make it happen. He allowed us to again walk the land and revisit all parts of the house. The first time we viewed the house we discovered we missed a whole section of it! This additional opportunity really helped seal the deal for me regarding it ‘feeling right’! It felt like home…it needs work, but it still felt like the one!
We are hopeful in this regard and God willing the subdivision will go smoothly and we will find ourselves one more step closer to owning our dream property in Palisade! As always, I will keep you posted and up to date with any new Palisade Posh property developments! Please send us positive thoughts and vibes for this next stage of the adventure!
