Property Search Enlightenment and Lessons

I thought I’d approach this blog post like I did when writing about the adventures of selling our house. This will be an ongoing lesson update until we successfully secure a property, so buckle up and enjoy the ride!

In my previous post about beginning our property search, I listed our criteria for the property. After our first official search took off in January, that criteria pretty much went out the window! Reality set in and we were tasked with scaling it back – big time!

We tried to keep an open mind, looking at five very different properties and what they had to offer. We discussed the pros and cons of each property as we drove to the next property, listening to each other and determining what were soft ‘no’s’ and which were hard ‘no’s’, sometimes we agreed and sometimes we didn’t.  Two lessons were learned from this first property hunt.

Lesson one: Communicate

As some of you may know, I can be a force to be reckoned with when it comes to my determination.  What I learned from this trip is, when going into a property purchasing adventure with a partner, be it a husband, significant other, family member, etc… make sure you talk, listen, and convey how you feel about the pros and cons of each property!

Even though the driving force for our Palisade property search is Palisade Posh and the business, Andy and I are both going to be living on the property and working as a team to get the business up and running. Therefore, the property needs to work for both of us. Respecting each other’s personal criteria and needs for space was super important and could not be disregarded. Taking this approach brought us closer together and further solidified us as a united team. It also made the adventure even more enjoyable. By the time we were finished with round one, we had a clear picture of what we could live with and live without when it comes to making an offer. This leads me to the next lesson!

Lesson two: Prioritize

When property is limited, you need to take a hard look at what is most important to you, what can you live without (in the short term) and what can you not live without (both short and long term)? Using our communication strategies above, the conclusion we came to after viewing and walking all five properties was this:

• Location

• Acreage 

• Water Rights

• Livable Main House
  

These four points were the key criteria that the property must have for us to purchase it! 

Location:

All five properties were located outside Palisade city limits, which was a definite must for us to get the business off the ground. There are fewer Airbnb/Guest House restrictions if the ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit) is located outside of Palisade city limits. One property ticked all the original boxes/criteria, but it was located off a busy street and next to the train tracks. We figured we could probably get past the train noise as it only goes through town 10 times a day (I researched the train schedule before we ventured over the mountain). The constant traffic from cars, trucks etc… at such close range was a deal breaker. I note ‘at close range’, because we discovered, from another property that was a few blocks from I70, that distance does make a difference. At that property, the noise from the highway was only a low hum which after a while was just a bit of white noise.

Acreage:

Ideally, we are looking for 2-5 acres of land that would allow us to grow the business and give us enough elbow room from the neighbors. After this adventure, we’ve concluded we could if we had to, scale that down to one acre, anything less than one was just too tight! After living in the city for the last 30+ years (three actually – Chicago, Columbus and Denver), having space and not feeling claustrophobic has become REALLY important to me. Andy too although he’s only lived in two of the cities I listed above. I’ve always said I love Colorado because of the wide-open spaces… I’m realizing just how truly important that is! 

This fact became very clear to both of us after viewing two properties that were a little over half an acre. Both had buildings from the neighboring homeowner’s right next to the property line. That made the properties as a whole feel tight and constricted and reminded me too much of city living. Of course, the challenge with acreage is the more land you have, the higher the property price. I was talking with our realtor last night and she noted that an acre of land is going for about $60,000. Dry land is a little less, which leads us to our next bullet point!

Water Rights:

With the Colorado river in crisis thanks to climate change, water rights will become more and more important for the agricultural community. Even as Boutique farmers, it is an important thing to keep in mind and to respect. Four of the properties we looked at had enough water rights to support the acreage, one did not. That one ticked our two-acre criteria but only one could be watered, that would be problematic because without water one can’t grow a garden, orchard, or a Boutique farm! So with limited watering rights combined with the noise of the busy street, that property was a hard no in the end. 

Livable Main House

Our last bullet point focuses on living quarters, more specifically… where Andy and I will live on the property. You might be wondering… what does a “Livable Main House” mean exactly? Well, we were asking ourselves this same question! What it comes down to is this, what are we willing to live without in the short term so that we can get what we want in the long term. Answering it requires some serious self-reflection! Currently we are bunking with our daughters in their two-bedroom 900 square foot apartment. The last two houses Andy and I owned were new builds which means everything was brand new, the floors, walls, appliances, floor plan, bathrooms, etc.… It made living very easy. However, the first house we bought together was a 100-year-old home. We did some renovation on it. But because we were both starting our careers, we didn’t have much money to do the renovations that would have made the house a dream home. 

These three different living experiences have helped us see what we can live with and live without, at least temporarily. We have concluded that whatever property we purchase the main house will need to be renovated. In order to renovate, there has to be a foundation. If the house doesn’t have a foundation, it cannot support the weight of the materials used to renovate, for example, hardwood floors, drywall, and tile not to mention upscale appliances. Ideally and perhaps romantically, I’d love an old farmhouse (with a foundation) that I could renovate. 

However, I’m discovering a good many of the houses in Palisade are prefab homes. I’m not necessarily opposed to them if they were fabricated after 1974 as that is when HUD building codes came into being for these types of homes. If we went the prefab route, I’d prefer something that was made within the last five years. In our property search, we visited one home that was pre 1974 and one that was post (it was built in 2020), the second one met the “Livable Main House” criteria, the first one did not!

One of our original criteria points was to have additional outbuildings on the property, for example a detached garage, barn or workshop-like structure. The idea was that if we had these on the property, we would have something to work with regarding the Airbnb and Art Studio for the Artist Retreat. If the property doesn’t have these structures, then we will have to build them and that will cost money. So, if the main house is livable (for the time being) then we can focus our funds on building and or renovating the Airbnb without taking out additional loans. Given the raising interest rates, this is a practice point we must bear in mind. 

For me, this is where some serious self-reflection came into play. How long can I live with an outdated kitchen and or a home that feels tired and rundown? How would I feel inviting friends into a less then stellar homestead? Both are hard questions that I don’t have concrete answers to yet. What I do know and have realized is, that both are also motivating factors that will push me to get the business up and running as quickly as county permitting will allow! Motivation no matter the form is not a bad thing! Yes, there is that nagging fear that relates back to our first home and not being able to afford to do all the renovations we wanted to do.  BUT, I’ve never been one to let fear stand in my way and stop me from achieving whatever I set my mind to doing. I believe it was Winston Churchill who once said “…never surrender… Never give up!”, or something along those lines. These are words I often take to heart when confronted with a fearful challenge.

After we finished our round of property searches, our realtor assured us that the market usually picks up in February. So, we have the third weekend in February penciled out for another trip over the mountain. Of course, if something comes up before then, Andy and I have both determined that day trips, although not ideal, are always a possibility. As always, I will keep you up to date on our property adventures!