Valid concern. We are in a desert after all. The real problem is the water problems much of the nation will be facing soon. There are now deserts across the country that have been made due to poor land stewardship.
Just wait until you call a planning department for questions about building something. It's a pay for play shakedown everywhere, so pick a cheap place to live.
@@JohnDoe-id9hi seems everyone you need ( perk test, survey, etc) are affiliated with the gov Permits dept and inspectors etc. New people are to be fleeced
@solosailorsv8065 I was told that the 10ac of pasture area is in fema floodplain and "I'm not allowed to disturb the soil" but for a fee and a permit I can build a structure there. It teaches you to fly under the radar and work nights.
@@christopherfisher128 I bought a 5 acre parcel in Cochise County without ever seeing it in person, and I sold it to someone else that had never seen it in person (I have never been there) I didn't have any kind of "affidavit of disclosure form" and even if the buyer requested one it would've only been the same information that I included in the ad listing.. So what I'm saying is, don't think requesting some form from a seller is going to protect you. I literally have no idea what this form is.
@@michaelcohen9363 Sadly that is standard practice these days, but just because most people do a thing doesn't make it right, or legal. As far as "protection" that isn't really the intent. If a person buys a property from someone that has never been on the property that should be noted. If someone knows there is a toxic waste dump on the land that should be noted. If the seller knows something is wrong with the land and sells it without disclosing, they are liable for any damages to the buyer. Every State has variations of this.
We live in southeastern Arizona. we have some areas that have salt water because of underground hot water spas, which produce salty tasting water. Also when we bought 5 acres, we stayed away from the farming areas because of chemicals used on the cotton. also in Arizona you need to beware of flood zones, because in monsoon seasons you can have flash floods..
All good stuff! I build custom homes here and here are some things I would add, to look at the property uses. Some areas you can not build a home on. Others restrict what type of home you can put on that land AND how quickly you must build a home once you buy it. I would also confirm the utilities. You might be thinking of putting a septic tank on your land but some places will only allow you to tap into the sewer. I had a home last year that this happened to and it cost them almost $200,000 to get sewer to the lot. Now, as others build in that area, they have to pay a portion of that cost and it will go back to my client but that was almost a deal breaker. Also, get an engineered stamp on what type of soil you have. This will (can) restrict what type of home you can build or how you build it. Look to see if there are back owed property taxes. In Arizona, the new owner is responsible for all back taxes. (Im not sure how other states do that) ?
I am actually moving to the state this summer and I have ben looking into state laws. The state actually let you do composting toilets for toilet waste and you can to aquaponics for you grey water. I already have the paper work drawn up and submitted. The state has approved this plan from many of friends of mine that live in the state previously. So I don't know where you heard this maybe you had someone that was trying to push something like a home owners association, but the state laws are not like that at all.
All about control of you and anything you want to do. RESTRICTIONS. Grrrrrr. Some places I understand but these city, county and state laws are really Stepping on our FREEDOM.
Agree. I’m in Mohave county and was looking to buy. My excellent credit score, being employed at the same job 8 years, and having $7000 is not sufficient to buy a “normal” home. Land is cheap but the regulations are surprisingly restrictive! I can purchase land fairly cheap in the county. BUT…I would need to buy a permit…EVERY…SINGLE…YEAR to live on land that I own in an RV. Make it make sense. They do allow shipping container homes, but only if you go to the expense of hiring an architect to design and build the shipping container. Makes zero sense. It’s already designed to be water and air tight and strong to transport cargo. If I’m off grid I don’t need an electrical or water system. So what exactly is an architect designing? Nothing. Just a way for the local government to collect money. Where in this country has no land restrictions? If I buy property and want to live in a cardboard box I should be free to do so. As long as I’m not having garbage blowing around why does government have the right to tell me how to live. I just want a place for me and my two dogs and one truck to live in peace and be left alone.
The major reason for leaving Arizona is the weather. Mind canyons, which tend to act like wind tunnels. I lost a number of good fruit trees to 20+mph winds for days on end. Pay very strict attention to average highs and low. There are places you can die of the heat in the day and freeze to death at night.
Yes, plants and trees really need to be protected from the wind until they get established. Our night time temperatures can be as much as 20° colder than the town nearby which was a big surprise!
@@RedandAprilOff-Grid Not a whole lot of thermal mass. Down in the sierras, my ex, son, and his family have a cave house. Open air year-round. In winter, the sun lays in there and heats everything up. Summer, cool, with good breezes only a quarter of a mile above the canyon floor.
@@GratefulOverlander We've had 40 MPH winds, bad lows and now over 100, which isn't normal but can happen. 40-50 degree temp swings are common in a 24-hour period. You must be from someplace well outside the desert not to understand it.
Your rundown is really great. I’m down in Cochise County about 12 miles from the Mexican border. We have opt out here so there are fewer restrictions on what we can do with our property. About the only advice I could add is just go through a title company. Land is cheap down here so it may not seem like you need it, a few hundred dollars is worth the peace of mind.
Thanks for the additional notes and insight GL. Hoping we can save a few heartaches and heartbreaks with this episode. Wish we would have know some of these before our first land purchase nightmare!
Cochise County's opt out is an EXTRA SPECIAL and UNIQUE opportunity. I've been meaning to call the county to see if that was still available. I heard there is talk of the powers that be, eliminating it.
Great information. I would add checking to see if you can stay in an RV while you build your house. In Pinal County that is a no-go unless you apply for and pay for a temporary use permit to stay in your RV while you have an active building permit. You need the active building permit to be granted the temporary use permit to stay in an RV. Also, if there is an existing well on the property, you may not have the GPM limits.
So after trying to uncalifornia California, done with all the garbage. Looking in Arizona and I see people saying don't California, Arizona, is it just me or has it already been done. I'm seeing the same garbage there.
I looked in Wittmann quite a bit and have a whole spreadsheet dedicated to land and costs. Most were knocked out of the running by the auxiliary base crash zones and a lot were limited by flood zone restrictions as well. Also, some of the cheap land across the big wash is west Wittmann seems doable. But the crime way out there is crazy high for how few people are there. And thinking of kids and emergency services.
Hey Brandon. I can tell by your notes, you spent some serious time looking at Wittmann. I agree with you on skipping Whispering Ranch out West. Not only is most of it off-grid, but you can't actually reach it when the Hassayampa river is running. A few years back it was running for over a week, so that's a heck of a long time cut off from civilization. And yes, the crime is a challenge out there as well. The saving grace for us finding this property was already living out here and being able to actually visit properties whenever we found one. We spent many an evening driving down washes and dusty roads trying to find land markers!
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm Oh yes! the drives! After one unsuccessful trip out to Whitman after work at night, I started tagging them with their GPS lat/long on google and downloading the map offline, so we could find our way there. Also, what looks like roads on the map usually turned out to be sand washes. I didn't mind it, but we were thinking about emergency services and the kids. We ended up on an acre a few miles east of you but the new builds were a mile away and now I can hit them with a stone. Oh well. I still have my slice of land and no HOA. Keep up the great content!
I was born and raised in Arizona and you did a excellent job and explaining ups and downs I always tell people to check with the county recorders office when it comes to needing to know rather they're in county or city in the outer areas Believe It or not sometimes they don't even know and make sure a surveys been done on the property and done properly we found this out looking for a place last year here in Casa Grande it can get down to 23 F And there is many washes here in most areas you can find out how often the washes run.
I live near Sierra Vista. Elevation is a big thing here when it comes to growing. At almost 5000ft. (Some areas are at 5000ft) the temperatures changes are brutal. In the last few years we are definitely getting hotter in the summer. In past years, we had a few days each summer over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Lately, we have a few days each summer under 100 degrees. The winer temperatures drop into the high teens and low twenties on a regular basis. However, as an example, during the summer the high temperature we’ll say is 101 degrees Fahrenheit. The low will be in the fifties or sixties. In winter months the high may be in the 70’s or 80’s but the lows are low twenties or high teens. Rainfall has also been really poor for the last ten years or so. Many of the old wells that are only a few hundred feet deep are drying up. I know a couple that had to go 500ft just to hit water, then another 100ft to get to clean, clear water they could use. That varies depending on the land, but unless you have city water or an existing well, you have no idea if, where or how deep the water is. And the price of drilling has gone up substantially in the last ten years or so. After 9/11/2001 we had a huge build up of military and federal officers. That led to our “housing boom”. But federal employees make far more than the median income for the area. All the new housing has been focused on their paychecks, not the local economy. Most new housing around here are veritable mansions on teeny, tiny little lots with HOA membership required. But because housing has gone up so substantially and forced the median income folks out, there is a serious shortage of “affordable “ housing. By affordable I mean anything under $1000 a month, and that’s an apartment. But because existing home prices went up, raw land prices went up as well. Raw land generally has NOTHING on it. No power, no water and no septic. Twenty years ago it was $100 a foot to run power. I have no idea what it is now. Expect $50,000-$80,000 for a well. (If you find water). Then another $25,000-$30,000 for your septic. Also even though we are fairly close (30-60 miles) away from I-10, it’s much more expensive for shipping. The area does not really have natural building resources anymore. Brick, lumber, rock and other materials for home building need to be special ordered out of Tucson and then you have to pay for the transportation to your property. Also, I if you buy a manufactured home, which is most likely because materials are so expensive, tack on an additional $10,000-$20,000 in transportation fees over that of Tucson. Speaking of transportation. Reliable, rugged transportation is a MUST. If you do not live in the “downtown” area of Sierra Vista, there is no public transportation. If you are not living in Sierra Vista, you are driving on a dirt road to your house. As Duane said, when we get rain, it comes hard and heavy. The ground is to compacted to absorb it and it runs off into washes. More than likely you will have to cross a wash to get to your property. On paved roads, washes are annoying, but as long as you’re not stupid (see Arizona Stupid Driver Law) not dangerous. However, on a dirt road the water can cut out a huge amount of dirt and gravel in very little time. This causes big crevasses in the road making it possible to drive right into a three foot hole when you thought you were driving into six inches of water. Also when the road is torn out from the rain, it needs to be repaired before access to or from your property. Speaking of repairing the roads. Most dirt roads outside of Sierra Vista are not maintained by anyone in authority. Most dirt roads are maintained by a “road committee “ managed by the surrounding property owners. You pay into a “road fund” each month for road repair and grading. How fast repairs happen depend on the management of the road fund and how close the guy with the grader lives. The terrain is very diverse, but almost all of it has major washes running through it. The land is great for cattle, but hard to farm. It’s hard to find a decent size property that is reasonably level. The proximity to the border of Mexico is also something to be aware of. If you live within five miles of the border, you will have federal agents and illegal aliens on your property at all hours of the day and night. Most of the time it’s just inconvenient and annoying, but it is common for your plants to be trampled, your water left on and stuff to be stolen. Speaking of federal agents….there are ports of entry in Naco and Douglas. They employ customs officers and agricultural inspectors. There are also border patrol stations in both towns as well. If you live south of Interstate 10, you cannot leave the county without going through a border patrol checkpoint. The border patrol agents will not and cannot by law allow you to transport your Az state legal marijuana through the checkpoint. Also on that note, there are only two dispensaries in the county. The quality is low and prices are high. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying don’t come here, but know what you’re getting into if you do. God Bless
Wow, that is a TON of info on Sierra Vista! Thank you for taking the time to give all the nitty gritty details on that part of AZ. To your point on well drilling costs. We put our well in just over 3 years ago at a cost of about $35k (total including drill, pumps, etc). Our new neighbor to the SE of us is getting quotes for the drill alone at $120k! Not including pumps, etc.
Due diligence from multiple sources, 😢 governmental, professional and from neighbors. Excellent, detailed account of what to look into before buying! Look before you leap!!
Thanks so much for this amazing information and for also encouraging all the Arizona folks to provide their great inside info in the comments. We really need and appreciate all the info that we can get at our phase and are definitely valuing and absorbing it all :)
I wish I knew more about HOA’s and local restrictions before we bought our home in Paradise Valley but I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else in our great country. Great info and thank you for sharing.
I own 5 acres in west Surprise AZ just a few miles south of Wittman, so basically the same area. The huge aquafer we are in, 600ft down, has actually gained 30ft of water level in recent years, my land is grandfathered in as a farm and my private well is also a grandfathered water source, so I don't foresee any problems with water. My biggest challenge have the wildlife, gophers in particular coming up into my raised beds and also eating fruit tree roots, then there is the prairie dogs and rabbits, and then the birds. I'd say one needs to be prepared for a war if they want to maintain a garden, but I like my desert land and it appears that I am beginning to be win the war after learning from many battles which I did not win.
Hey neighbor! Thanks for chiming in. Hopefully that aquifer of ours continues to stay strong with all of the growth. Oh and yes, we are right there with you in that war with the varmints!
You could use a lot of the methods they are using in India to retain water from your rain storms. I absolutely love that you're doing everything the natural way. Keep it up
I do quite a bit of scenic offroading and totally agree Google maps is basically useless to determine the condition of dirt roads in the desert. Out of towners seem to think of it as a very static landscape when it is actually very dynamic...much more so than anywhere I have lived.
Looking in CO, much the same. Where I grew up (3 different states), landlocked property was illegal (ie. you could not sell it, literally). Not so in most Western states. Keep an eye out for HOAs as well, yes way, way out in the middle of nowhere...to maintain the roads, esp. in Winter. Sometimes they have other restrictions as well (like number of livestock, etc).
I'm surprised you didn't mention digging berms or pond areas as a way of capturing the rain, during the Terrain section of the video when you were talking about washes---Capture the water, instead of letting it "wash" away! But thank you for the video---I've been taking notes for what I want to find.
Good point here. I was trying to be as general with this one as I could. I know some of the washes are designated flood plains and require permitting for grading in them, but I don't know if that changes by county or not. Sounds like you have more insight into this than I do.
He did mention to be observant with the terrain and How they can cause flooding in a short period of time during a downpour Yes very general explanation indeed 👍
I was wondering about the same myself, I think if a catch and recharge basing is constructed in the property there is a possibility of getting water credits , meaning depending of the size of the basin ,water limits restrictions might be lifted . worth looking into .Thanks.
Just found your Channel great video and content I was born and raised in Phoenix Arizona currently live in Guadalupe Arizona I’m in the process of buying 5 acres of land in Maran Arizona with my wife and kids so we can begin our off grid homestead journey always glad to see people spreading knowledge and helping educate those of us who are looking to become more independent and sustainable making the world we live in a better place! Just got a new subscriber!
Hey there! Glad you found us and are enjoying the content. We have a lot of episodes documenting our farming/homesteading journey here in the AZ desert, so if you have any questions as you go, please shoot them over!
I love this video! I’ve always wanted to buy land or a house that has at least 2 - 5 acres. I’ve always wanted to do homesteading. I love the out doors and planting crops and such. It’s something to teach my kids where food comes from and stuff. I’ve been looking around and it is so expensive. I’m the only one working and my husband stays home with the kids. I know how to preserve food and stuff. I don’t want to live too far away from my job since i work at a warehouse. But i want to keep my options open on where to live and such. Thank you for the awesome video.
Hey there Manami! We know just how you feel having lived in the city most of our lives. It took us almost 15 years of saving to get the opportunity to do this, so I would encourage you to save where you can and learn as much as possible, with the plan to find that perfect piece of land for you guys.
1. Price is also going to be a starting point for buyers. But the tradeoff is usually access to amenities. So don't get suckered into thinking that $500/acre is a good deal. 2. Permit Fees go along with restrictions. Pima county has the highest impact fees in the State and nothing to show for it. You can actually pay more in fees then the cost of the land. A single family home construction impact fee is $6818 for 2021 and going up! That's just to buy the privelege to build and don't include any actual permit fees that are assessed in addition to it. 3. So you can't say government fees without maybe saying political climate. You may not want to hand your tax dollars over to a local government that doesn't hold the same values in distributing those taxes. So figure out how you lean and search there. 4. Cell phone reception. Being able to connect to the world maybe important to some. Others may want to completely disconnect. AZ has land with both no cell phone coverage and land with great cell phone coverage in the middle of nowhere. 5. Part of the access is also easements. When buying raw land many don't disclose who else can drive across your land to get to theirs. Arizona state statute doesn't allow for properties to be landlocked. That means there's an easement somewhere and it could be across your property, so get a SURVEY! Too many people buy flat Arizona land with nothing the the four corners marked.
The restriction I ran into was 'no legal access'. It is hard to imagine that when the division of property occurred that easements for passage to the next lot were not planned.
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm Back in the late 1800's when they just did stuff without thinking ahead. They had no clue so many people would come this way only a hundred years later. Hey let's just draw these lines here and lay out a few sections......
There is a piece of land that I want to buy on seligman az but that's the problem with that piece of land do you know what problems will bring in the days to come if I buy it like that ?
There are literally thousands of acres of land planted in alfalfa in and around Phoenix. It's common for the main road we live off of to have truckloads of hay bales for sale from local farmers each weekend.
I purchased flood irrigation property in Queen creek unincorporated area back in February. Between Building permits taking forever and builders over charging it's a real challenge right now. literally 18 months prices were reasonable. 3 months ago to build a 2000 sq ft home went up 100k taking many people out of their price range. not sure where home builder costs are at now with lumber prices dropping but it's challenging times to create your dream.
My goodness, that is just frustrating. Our new neighbors to the East of us are running up against that now. They signed their docs at the end of 2019 and just had their pad build up completed last week. On top of that, they had a rider on the building contract that allowed for price adjustments before start of construction and had to come up with additional funding to get started (one reason they delayed was to wait for lumber to come back down). To say they're upset would be an understatement!
So happy I found your channel! It looks like you're doing what i also have in mind, and there are so many questions. Going to check out more on you channel and see what I find.
Hey there! Glad you found us and are enjoying the content. We have a lot of content out there, so we have most of it broken down into specific playlists that may help. If you have any questions in the meantime, please reach out!
What a great name for your channel. This was very informative as we see so many folks moving to off grid properties in Arizona. We follow severance of them in show low area. Hi from Canada.
That tempreture difference between Phoenix and Whitman will be due to the city being like a heat synch. All the roads will just store the heat and the buildings will do the same. Having more greenery would lower the tempreture.
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm There is a fringe movement for green buildings in cities where they have plants growing on the outside of the buildings. Seen one in New York on TH-cam.
@@gm2407 I'd like to see more of that. From garden beds on rooftops, to food forests in backyards, it would be good for all of us to be surrounded by more green!
i wish i watched this before i bought my land in eloy off the i 10 would love for u to give me some tips off line thank u brother i will sharde the shannel lol will be driving up there this week wish me luck
Ah yes, we know right where you're at having driven through Eloy several times. We have another long time viewer who used to own land there, but I believe they sold it a couple of years back.
Loved this video, buying land is a huge deal and needs to be researched. Going by the county clerks office you can usually find out what restrictions exist.
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm may I also ask where should I go for city restrictions ? I am looking at the williams, AZ city aka the "Coconino" county ? Any information to help me would be great .. I am looking for a homestead lifestyle
@@SunnyDays09 You can usually find any city ordinances on that city's website. You can also call the city to get a listing of their ordinances which are where you find most of the restrictions most of us are interested in when it comes to land (I.E livestock, building, etc). If there's something specific you're looking for a call to the city office can usually take care of answering it.
@@SunnyDays09 Williams as of 2024 has a "no building ordinance" something to do with wastewater control. I am NOT an expert, but this is WHY I found out Williams city was a bad place to build. Also... North of Williams, if you want cheapish land (all things considered) that is best and nearest to a town but NO NO NO WATER even at 2,000 feet down. Beware or be ready to pay for hauling, I hear it is 8 cents a gallon delivered, 3 cents if you move it yourself.
@@VCOOGAN with that much space you'll have LOTS of options. Cattle would definitely be on our list as you'll have the space for a few head without any problems. Good luck!
Lived south of Tucson for years. Originally from the southeastern US. What I remember the most about south AZ is that it seemed like you could not take a step in the desert without stepping on rocks of all sizes.
Depends on the land. I have no rocks on my land, none. I actually have to get them from the quarry. It's truly beach front property...you know, without the water.
I hear you on that. I actually intended on discussing that very thing, but wound up skipping over it. We don't have any issues with rocks here on this property, but there are spots in AZ where they are simply everywhere!
Hopefully you'll get some suggestions here from other folks as I don't know that area well personally. The one thing I would find out is access to water. Williams residents are hard pressed to dig wells with depths for water well over 1,000 feet. Ash Fork is not far from there, so it's worth investigating.
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm You reminded me- indeed, south of Williams the wells are NOT 2,000 feet deep- just north ones are IF you get to water at all. The building moratorium owing to wastewater issues is probably still in effect in Williams proper.
Magnificent grapevine you have there but are there any grapes? Talking to an exPat American friend about water conservation and permaculture etc, etc and climate change, I mentioned your farm and to prove my point I sent her your vlog. And then we went water sourcing and discovered that AZ had something like 7 lakes ? She was amazed at what you were achieving there, in Phoenix, Az. having made a short visit there 30 yrs ago and telling me , "but it's all desert there." Just goes to show, doesn't it. The pioneer spirit.
The grapevines are coming along really well and even though we tried to stop grapes from forming this year, we actually picked some Zinfandel grapes this past week that were actually ripe! Thank you for sharing the content. Our goal is to show folks what can be done here, in challenging conditions, to encourage them to do the same. Can you imagine if we had this happening all over the world? It would be a different place, for sure.
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm" Zinfandel"! You sure like to go for the "exotic" varieties! I always think of Austria and a friend who's a Zinfandel fan. What I didn't realize was that zin is"Primitivo! How about that even though Zinfandel is originally from Croatia.
@@carolleenkelmann3829 I can see how Primitivo and Zin can get mixed up. We were very surprised with how dark the skins were on these grapes from a baby vine.
Lived in az for several decades plan on a green house if you move there and like vegetables even in summer nites can be cold and the wind will tear up plants
I assume you're talking about areas up North when it comes to the greenhouse in the summer. Down here greenhouses are only used for storage during the Summer months, but can be beneficial for early starts in the later Winter/early Spring.
In Sierra Vista we are within minutes from the border, but stay about 20 degrees cooler than the Phoenix Valley. The terrain change view just from the highway changes drastically from Phoenix, to Casa Grande, to Tucson and then to Sierra Vista. It really is a an ever-changing landscape in that 3ish hour drive and quite different than in many places.
If you live near Tucson we have Hudbay copper mine from Canada trying to strip our hills where we have lots of houses and wildlife. They're going to use millions of gallons for nothing while all of our wells dry up.
I lived in Phoenix in 1959 -1961, have relatives in Surprise (still) and I can't remember the temperature range your talking about today - especially night temps. I hated summers but otherwise not bad. I'm also Amazed @ the tangled web of rules & regs you speak of. I know its true / still mind boggling. I spent 36+ yrs in CA (owned many places) and thought it a bit complicated at times however can't compare to what I'm reading now about owning land in AZ.. I live @ 6,000' elevation in NM mountains / last 22yrs. Interesting comparing growing season / temps information, building codes, zoning ect.. We are so limited as to what we can grow due to elevation & cold dry climate And limited water. I find you video & also comments section very interesting. I think it takes a lot of determination to live & grow crops in AZ not to mention abundance water needed And Money, not necessarily in that order 🤔 Great informative video. Happy Trails from NM
Hey there Ella. It sounds like you have some similar challenges to what we're facing here. Temperature extremes and a lack of significant rainfall! I'm glad you're enjoying the content and also the comment section. We learn so much from interacting with everyone here!
I’m so glad to have stumbled upon this video. So much to consider. I want to purchase less than 3 acres in Arizona before I retire, and definitely don’t want to make a mistake. The comments are also helpful. I am adding this to a playlist so I can refer back to it.😊
Hey Alan! I know just how you feel. I remember dropping off your pork this past summer and seeing how well your vines are growing along your house. As you know, they do really well once they get some roots in the ground!
Hey Alan! I know just how you feel. I remember dropping off your pork this past summer and seeing how well your vines are growing along your house. As you know, they do really well once they get some roots in the ground!
@@theklawclippers310 great question and we're still trying to decide on the back half of the property. We have irrigation lines stubbed up at the back half, so we can put in 48 more fruit/nut trees. More livestock coming this Spring, but we're going to use temp housing for them until we know for sure what we're wanting to dive into. Lots of options for sure!
Did or are you all trying water capture landscaping. I understand you all are do the water catching and storing but, working with the land would speed up the process of have a more fertile living soil. Like you said water is essential for life. Would be labor and or cost intensive on the frontend but, would be very rewarding once it's implemented. Super-charge your composting also! Getting the organic matter back into the soil would make the soil softer/ workable, absorb the water (instead have washoff), maintain higher levels of moisture (for longer), get higher yields and create a eco system that would build off of itself. Those two things alone would lead to you all eventually having pasture for you livestock with no extra water being taken away. Actually, you would be increasing the ground water. Lot of success in India, Lebanon and Australia! Best of luck out there!
You have some great suggestions here and that is on the plans..eventually. We were focused on the heavy infrastructure and fruit trees for this first 2 years and are still chipping away at the last few details there. Working on additional water capture/retention is still part of our future and you make a great point that it would really help with some natural, desert pasture in the long run.
It depends on the area you're working with. We don't have any restrictions on digging those here, but a few hundred yards away, in a flood plain, you'll have restrictions.
It's amazing how cold it gets at night here during the winter. I (Duane) was shocked the first time I saw snow while living in Phoenix back in the late 90's. Being from Southern California I assumed Arizona was always a hot desert.
It's amazing how different ground water is as you range around the state. My understanding is Williams is one of the areas where ground water is basically unreachable and folks haul water!
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm it varies drastically. I'm near concho and we have a great aquifer up here. But not far away, near Holbrook theres not much. I have neighbors that have it trucked in also, rain catchment up here works great though. Especially when the snows add to it
After watching the water part: "soooo, dont buy here in AZ?" lol Water is really the beginning and end conversation for homesteading. I really don't want to move to another state, but I've been getting more concerned with the way things are going lately and feel it may be a good idea to be a bit more self-reliant. I wonder if cochise may have enough rainfall to support a homestead with aggressive water catchment. I know they are super lacks on property restrictions. I just get a little nervous that close to the border with all the cartel stuff rising south of us. uggh. Oklahoma (throws up in mouth a little) here I come?
Cochise county especially around Sierra Vista is an... "immigration" corridor. I wanted to buy there because Don of Affordable Desert Living seems to like it. But as a single woman I'm not moving there.
If your buying raw land in the desert, water should definitely be your primary concern. I live on 15 Acres with no government service and no well. We just went through 18 months of drought. I had to resort to water hauling. I hauled in ~12,000 gallons until we started getting rain again in July 2021 which turned out to be the 2nd wettest monsoon season in the history of our area. Have to prepare for feast and famine.
@@CringePanda all of Arizona is an immigration corridor. I live west of Tucson and have had dozens of migrants walk across my property, and had a Guatamalan knock on my door asking for medical help. I gave him 1st aid and called border patrol. Took them about 45 minutes to arrive. So, yeah, your going to need to be able to at least neutralize situations until someone can officially help.
@@GrumblingGrognard Haha, I have lived there (on for still) for over a year, it isn't the worst ever jokes aside. But its better than saying in the sesert of ether "immigration influx" or dehydration.
My husband and I rent in Surprise, Arizona but I would love to buy property for a bigger garden and fruit trees....just found your channel today...good information :)
Glad you found the channel Faith. Thanks for joining us on Livestream too! There is a lot of land out there, hopefully you can make that happen one day.
I live in Midtown Phoenix just north of downtown. You dont need alot of land to grow fruit trees. Many people here do it on small properties. Planting them closer together helps with water evaporation and creates microclimates to shelter each other and small livestock animals. I know a guy in the downtown area who has a guava orchard the space of a back porch and it thrives. My land is 2,900 sq feet with a house, guesthouse and a long concrete driveway yet I have a food forest with jujubes, dragonfruit, bananas, oranges, grapefruit, 3 guavas, 2 mulberries, pomegranates, peaches, avocados, figs, starfruit, jaboticabas, turmeric, ginger, barbados cherry, jamaican cherry, apricot, peanut butter fruit, muscadine grapes, mangoes, date palms, sugar cane boysenberries and giant bamboo.I also have a greenhouse, raise chickens , rabbits and quail. I still have room for more trees if I want and a vegetable garden. You dont need a lot of land. Its actually easier if to manage if its smaller.
Now there's government in action for you. We were driving by all the new distribution centers going up along the 303 freeway and recalling our first property we bought back in 2012. It was in the same area and we were told by the county that we would never be able to build a house there because of building restrictions in place to stop people from living in the Noise Contour and Accident Potential Zone of Luke AFB. Now there are 1000's of people working there 24/7.
We have micro swales at each tree to help hold water in and allow penetration when rainfall runs between the rows. You can definitely add more of them on contour depending on the slope of the land and how you have your trees planted.
I too watch these wonderful TH-cam videos and day dream of farming. But they are only day dreams. How do I know? A person who wants to be a farmer, will find a way to grow something regardless of where they are, how old they are, if they have money or not. They will grow stuff, even if it a bunch of 4 inch pots on a table by a window full of lettuce and radishes. They will grow what ever they are able, where ever they are located. I have an acre of land. What am I growing? Weeds and mesquite trees. Yes, I would like to have my little acre planted with a garden and a few small animals, but still I have weeds. I have lots of excuses. It is hot, it is cold, it is raining, it is sunny. Reality is, I am NOT a farmer. At best I am playing at hobby farming, but I don't put in the work, and farming is a lot of hard work even on a hobby level. A true farmer will find a way to farm on the level possible given them. So if you want to be a farmer, but currently don't grow anything, what is your excuse? Target, Walmart and Amazon have everything you need to begin. Grow something.
I think this resonates with so many of us. Growing something is how it all starts and that can be done on a fire escape in the middle of the city or in an empty lot down the street. By the way, our harvest of weeds has been FANTASTIC this year! :)
Watching this in July 2022. Now for cattle owners and small farmers for cattle the food is ridiculous costly and some can’t afford the feed anymore. I swear the government will burn destroy and make the feed impossible to afford. We are near white tank. Praying that we get land soon. Praying for others to be able get land as well.
It really has been getting ridiculous to source feed. We're working on our bulk meat programs for next year and the pricing we'll be charging is mind boggling with those increases! No doubt, "The Man" has had a hand in this.
One word: RATTLESNAKES! Probably the only thing I'm not okay with, everything else I can work around. Here in Tucson they're everywhere starting when the weather gets warm. Must get to emergency services within 20 min, but it's 30 min for us to get there. For me that's certain death.
I install solar water pumping systems and showed up on a customer site who had just drilled a 600 foot deep well. I installed the pump and the only thing we did was pump out the water in the casing and then the pump shut down for about 24 hours. So in the end, the well produces about 25 gallons per day. Ouch!
We have not had any issues with ticks and scorpions are few and far between. However, they are here and we keep that in mind whenever we're working outside.
What would be really nice is to see a map at the same time? Do you have to be where you're at? And the surrounding places I'm looking at 1. But it was just make it easier just to suggestion
I'm not certain what you're asking, but we have integrated livestock here on our farm and their waste streams are critical to the health and nutrition of our soils.
Just stumbled upon your channel and little farm. We currently live on a small little piece of HOA-run suburb with a tiny yard in Goodyear, AZ, about 45 mins from you. It's been a good starter home, and we've got a beautiful garden taking up half of our small back yard, including fruit-trees, which we've been cultivating since 2020. But it's starting to feel cramped, busy and not so rural here as it did when we first moved in in 2019. This area is building up so much, and if i see one more warehouse or industrial building I'm going to vomit. Our dream has always been to have land - a bigger garden, more fruit trees, chickens and goats, and room for our wild little boys to roam free without restriction. I am looking in your area, and also nearby Wickenberg area. Im wondering if theres much advice you can offer about buying property in the Wickenberg area. Im not mecessarily looking for a blank plot of land, but something with a house already, but plenty of acreage and no HOA. Im also concerned about the i-11 super freeway theyre planning on building. Seems like no matter where i look there is some sort of unnatural development and killing off of natural resources occurring. Its quite discouraging.
First off, we know EXACTLY how you feel. It's one of the many reasons we ended up choosing Wittmann. That being said, Surprise is right up against us now and sooner or later we'll be surrounded by the city as well. I'm not too familiar with Wickenburg when it comes to regulations with land, but the water table it very stable there. Both Wickenburg and Wittmann are on the same aquifer, but it's shallower in Wickenburg from what I understand. The one thing I will say is the new construction you'll see in Wickenburg probably has an HOA involved. Those are planned communities and designed for the retiring crowd that wants to be slightly outside of the city.
@EdgeofNowhereFarm Thanks for your response. Super helpful. I may be slightly limiting myself when looking for land, but I just LOVE living in zone 9b where we can grow all sorts of things all year without a greenhouse. Im a garden addict and only being able to grow half the year would depress me. Lol. So I'm hoping to stick around this area. But man... the housing developments are so annoying. The closest organic farm to us just lost most of its growing land to a housing development.
Used to be able to get irrigated land for a small hobby farm property at a reasonable price now prices are off the chart here. 1960's trailer in Clifton AZ near a copper mine that sold for $40k on 1/2 acre in 2019 is up for $280k now prices are still abnormal for Arizona. Not sure how the real estate market gets corrected but like myself stuck in the house I have in Phoenix even though like to buy land.
Hey Christa. I'm not sure if you're referring to the shallow washes we have on our property or the larger washes around town. For the shallow washes we have we do plan on capturing some of that rain as it passes over the property. At least we will slow it down a bit before it leaves the farm. We also have plans for some "dry ponds" towards the back of the property as water naturally flows from North to South (Front to Back). For larger washes it would be very difficult to capture much of the water, as when they do run they are more like rivers and the water runs in torrents as it passes through. I imagine a professional would need to be involved if you were to try and do much with that.
@@kennhurt5636 I don't believe that's legal here in Maricopa county. My understanding is you have to have a permit to modify a designated wash. That being said, there are very shallow "washes" that are not designated flood plains that you may be able to work with depending on the county regs.
I've seen a few folks doing that in some of the more remote areas, however it's very rare. Most counties have building restrictions that might put a damper on that.
Yeah, the city limits push right up against the main road we travel down to get to the farm. The closest housing development that's going in right now is about 10 miles away.
I don't think I could get usto the lack of water. I know from watching yall that what farming knowledge i have would be about useless there. Like the hay/winter grase we just broadcast the seeds before a expected rain and let the rain get them started.
It really is the biggest difference here. Everything we do is planned around the need to get water to it. Whether it's trees, veggies, grass or livestock.
I wish I could say I had a good contact for you, but I don't have one specifically for land. We found this property searching on our own and just used our house agent to close the deal. Hopefully someone else here will see this comment and have a suggestion for you!
Cochise County is a double edged sword. On the one hand, few restrictions. On the other, few restrictions. Big corporations are coming in and doing as they please. They are drilling deeper wells, pumping as much water as they like and planting no groundcover as they rip up the top soil to plant pecan trees. It has become a windy dustier place in the 8 years we have lived here. We are hoping our place sells and we we will be looking at Arizona in the rear view mirror.
Wow, that is just a travesty! The one thing we have going for us here are our water restrictions that stop the big corporations from sucking the aquifer dry. The challenge is, the city of Surprise is edging further out and putting 8+ homes per acre with no restrictions on residential use.
I have a couple acres on the Coconino Plateau up around The Grand Canyon. 4,500' water table, 0° in the winter, 100°+ in the summer, & my closest neighbor is 1/4 mile away. I love it, but it's not for everyone.✌️
Hopefully a few other folks will have some suggestions here for you, but I can only speak for AZ and it's a challenge. As usual for government agencies, they have their hands in almost everything and none of it is consolidated or consistent. For example, there are regulations from the ADEQ (AZ department of environmental quality) on how often you need to clean up pig manure without being cited. Never would have thought of it and only found out when we were trying to see how many pigs we could keep on our property! We have "water districts" that have arbitrary boundaries and limits that are different from one to the next. That being said, your zoning laws cover most of what you can/can't do with property, at least when it comes to buildings and the like. Speaking with locals to the area can help as well, as most of us figure these things out as we go. I will say, being within a city makes things much more complicated as they pile regulations on top of the state and county laws. If you can find county land you're only dealing with county and state regs which tend to be less restrictive. Sorry I can't be more specific for you here.
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm Zoning should be abolished. Read farmer Joel Salatin's book "Everything I Want to Do is Illegal." It's highly recommended and very funny. Sad, but true. You either HAVE property rights or you don't, in the "land of the free."
The temperature sways hurts as a farmer wishing to grow tropical plants. As far as the restrictions go, could you make a good living off of your harvest? Or are the limitations that debilitating?
Tropical plants are very difficult in Arizona which is why we shy away from them. That being said, stone fruit, pome fruit, mulberry, figs, pomegranate and citrus all do FANTASTIC with our weather. We do make a decent income from what we are growing. It includes livestock which has a rich history in Arizona.
Yes, we've grown all of them here in the Phoenix area and I imagine that's the same for most parts of the state. It might get a bit dicey in some of the higher elevations with Tomato, but there are varieties designed for very short growing seasons and greenhouses can work wonders to extend those shorter seasons!
Very good information for potential buyers in the future like me. I have heard that in Cochise County there are very few restrictions. But before taking any steps I will look at all the options following your advice. Thanks !!
I'm looking to buy here now. I live in Seattle area now and 45-60 minutes anywhere just due to traffic so cruising to Tucson from Cochise for any wanted amenities is completely doable. Any good land for sale in Benson??
@Keyzer Soze i just had an offer of $38K excepted for 40 acres there so our dream is underway! This was our plan here is the Enumclaw area but just so expensive!! Best of luck and let's stay in touch about our advances!
@Keyzer Soze I'm in Kent right next to the raceway. This lot has power and phone/DSL internet at the line. On hwy 181 with so paved County maintained road to the lot line! We have to drill a well and install septic but planning to build an ICF home for multi generational homestead.
I'm surprised you didn't cover electrical costs . I've heard that running air conditioners because of the heat makes your bills extremely high and should be factored in.
Good point. That really varies quite a bit based on where you live and what you're trying to cool. Our average electric bill is about $150/month and we are on electric everything, including the well. Compared to the average electric bill in CA it's pretty similar.
That's a great question and I don't know. There are several regulations in the cities that limit or outright ban certain animals (pigs are a no-go in most incorporated cities), but the head count on livestock is not something I've seen in un-incorporated areas.
The only restrictions I've seen are in and around the air bases. The main Luke base and the auxiliary bases like we have here in Wittmann. We used to have a contact at Luke that would verify land for us, but she is now retired and we have not needed to reach out since then.
I’m really surprised with people who know so little about purchasing property and although they live in a restrictive society with many requirements think just because they own a particular piece of property that means the can do what ever they like.
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm I was a homebuilder in a rural area of the northeastern states. The mentality you find is amazing. First, here everything is highly regulated, and has been so for decades. That said, I repeatedly had to unwind expectations of folks who bought rural property, often small lots in very restrictive communities, and announced to me that they were planning on doing something absolutely bizarre, with the thought that they have every right to do so, as it's "out in the sticks" . "Yea, we want you to build us a house on this lot. We also bought another lot down the street, and we want to use it as a storage yard for our boats and old cars. We need a price on clear-cutting that, property, installing a pole barn, and a five foot chain-link fence around the lot, OK?" Wait, you think you can essentially build a private junkyard in a tightly regulated HOA community, after you clear-cut a totally wooded lot? LOL, no that will not be happening.
@@kerrykerry5778 I can only imagine some of the regs you would find in the NE. California has some pretty strict regulations as well, especially in areas with higher population densities.
I just moved tp Benson & plan on purchasing some property under Cochise Counties Owner Builder Amendment so I can live off-grid.. What is the advantage off purchasing land through a title company?
Hey Ron. We have always used a Realtor and title company when purchasing property. The main reason is to avoid issues with the transfer of ownership and ensure there are not any issues with the legality of the purchase. It worked out well for us as the first land purchase we made several years ago wound up settling with the title company because we were not informed we could not put a livable structure on it. The settlement came from the title company who did not find the restriction during the closing period. Saved us over $50k!
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm What kind of communist nitwit in the United States decided that you could not be "allowed" to live on your own property?! Our ancestors would have revolted, tarred and feathered them.
Just read today some zones in AZ do require a meter on your rural well, something like a conservation zone. Ask County have the address or parcel number ready for them.
We live in Phoenix on the north-side just off of I 17 and the CAP canal. We currently live in a manufactured home that is over 50 years old on an acre and we are in the process of replacing that home with a new manufactured home where we are running into a lot of restrictions. Even though our zoning is S1 which is farming and we are limited to one livable structure, they are trying to make us follow the same rules as residential zoning. In other words, they want our house to face the roadway, they want us to have covered parking, they want us to have certain landscaping and certain walls around the property even though we are not residential zoning and should not have to abide by those restrictions. We are going on three years trying to fight, the city of Phoenix to get the proper permits to bring our already built and in storage manufactured home. It has been an absolute nightmare.
Wow Tamra, that is REALLY frustrating. The number of restrictions in and around the city is just out of control and getting worse every year. I'm praying for a break through for you guys!
Your state needs a commercial water line and pump system coming from out of state somewhere all the way into your state and manmade reservoirs made there. Enough to change the weather there and possibly create more rain. I believe it rains more over lands that have more bodies of water on it. It needs to be in some kind of government plans to do.
Hey Kelly! We do have a few that are potted from the air layering we did, but want to wait until after they come out of dormancy in the spring before having them available.
IMO, if I haven't bought land a few times, and the price is low, having someone on my side (buyers agent) is worth it, if they are worth their salt, anyway. The market is in flux as sellers no longer must pay for buyers agent fee.
The water issue will always be my biggest concern as a lifelong/current resident of AZ.
Valid concern. We are in a desert after all. The real problem is the water problems much of the nation will be facing soon. There are now deserts across the country that have been made due to poor land stewardship.
BIG mistake having sheep pigs both no bueno goats will stand on hind legs an eat on fruit trees.....goats will eat most anyything.
The more i learn about "owning" land for a self sufficient homestead, the more i think our storms at Sea are less dangerous than beauracracies
I think there's definitely something to that statement.
Still... Could be worth a try.
Just wait until you call a planning department for questions about building something. It's a pay for play shakedown everywhere, so pick a cheap place to live.
@@JohnDoe-id9hi seems everyone you need ( perk test, survey, etc) are affiliated with the gov Permits dept and inspectors etc. New people are to be fleeced
@solosailorsv8065 I was told that the 10ac of pasture area is in fema floodplain and "I'm not allowed to disturb the soil" but for a fee and a permit I can build a structure there. It teaches you to fly under the radar and work nights.
All land buyers in ARIZONA please ask the seller/sellers' to submit an ' affidavit of disclosure' form. This will protect you immensely.
Great suggestion Kirit and thank you for sharing!!
What's that
@@pumaoutdoors It's a legal document stating that they tell you everything they know about the restrictions/limits on a property they are selling.
@@christopherfisher128 I bought a 5 acre parcel in Cochise County without ever seeing it in person, and I sold it to someone else that had never seen it in person (I have never been there)
I didn't have any kind of "affidavit of disclosure form" and even if the buyer requested one it would've only been the same information that I included in the ad listing..
So what I'm saying is, don't think requesting some form from a seller is going to protect you. I literally have no idea what this form is.
@@michaelcohen9363 Sadly that is standard practice these days, but just because most people do a thing doesn't make it right, or legal. As far as "protection" that isn't really the intent. If a person buys a property from someone that has never been on the property that should be noted. If someone knows there is a toxic waste dump on the land that should be noted. If the seller knows something is wrong with the land and sells it without disclosing, they are liable for any damages to the buyer. Every State has variations of this.
We live in southeastern Arizona. we have some areas that have salt water because of underground hot water spas, which produce salty tasting water. Also when we bought 5 acres, we stayed away from the farming areas because of chemicals used on the cotton. also in Arizona you need to beware of flood zones, because in monsoon seasons you can have flash floods..
Excellent notes here Freddie. I was not aware of the salt water issues, but that definitely makes sense!
All good stuff! I build custom homes here and here are some things I would add, to look at the property uses.
Some areas you can not build a home on. Others restrict what type of home you can put on that land AND how quickly you must build a home once you buy it.
I would also confirm the utilities. You might be thinking of putting a septic tank on your land but some places will only allow you to tap into the sewer. I had a home last year that this happened to and it cost them almost $200,000 to get sewer to the lot. Now, as others build in that area, they have to pay a portion of that cost and it will go back to my client but that was almost a deal breaker.
Also, get an engineered stamp on what type of soil you have. This will (can) restrict what type of home you can build or how you build it.
Look to see if there are back owed property taxes. In Arizona, the new owner is responsible for all back taxes. (Im not sure how other states do that) ?
Great information Kylan! It's amazing all the restrictions out there and most people would not even think to look into it. Thank you for sharing this.
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm thank you guys for all the content and being so ooen and down to earth! Im sure we'll meet up someday!
@@kylanve we'll meet you one of these days!
I am actually moving to the state this summer and I have ben looking into state laws. The state actually let you do composting toilets for toilet waste and you can to aquaponics for you grey water. I already have the paper work drawn up and submitted. The state has approved this plan from many of friends of mine that live in the state previously. So I don't know where you heard this maybe you had someone that was trying to push something like a home owners association, but the state laws are not like that at all.
Do you take emails with questions?
All about control of you and anything you want to do.
RESTRICTIONS. Grrrrrr.
Some places I understand but these city, county and state laws are really Stepping on our FREEDOM.
Totally agreed Thomas. VERY frustrating for most of us freedom lovers.
Agree. I’m in Mohave county and was looking to buy. My excellent credit score, being employed at the same job 8 years, and having $7000 is not sufficient to buy a “normal” home. Land is cheap but the regulations are surprisingly restrictive! I can purchase land fairly cheap in the county. BUT…I would need to buy a permit…EVERY…SINGLE…YEAR to live on land that I own in an RV. Make it make sense. They do allow shipping container homes, but only if you go to the expense of hiring an architect to design and build the shipping container. Makes zero sense. It’s already designed to be water and air tight and strong to transport cargo. If I’m off grid I don’t need an electrical or water system. So what exactly is an architect designing? Nothing. Just a way for the local government to collect money.
Where in this country has no land restrictions? If I buy property and want to live in a cardboard box I should be free to do so. As long as I’m not having garbage blowing around why does government have the right to tell me how to live. I just want a place for me and my two dogs and one truck to live in peace and be left alone.
@@tailsof1leo180 Terlingua TX
The major reason for leaving Arizona is the weather. Mind canyons, which tend to act like wind tunnels. I lost a number of good fruit trees to 20+mph winds for days on end. Pay very strict attention to average highs and low. There are places you can die of the heat in the day and freeze to death at night.
Great advice Martin! Thank you for sharing.
Yes, plants and trees really need to be protected from the wind until they get established. Our night time temperatures can be as much as 20° colder than the town nearby which was a big surprise!
@@RedandAprilOff-Grid Not a whole lot of thermal mass. Down in the sierras, my ex, son, and his family have a cave house. Open air year-round. In winter, the sun lays in there and heats everything up. Summer, cool, with good breezes only a quarter of a mile above the canyon floor.
Mar, you're way to extreme. Chill
@@GratefulOverlander We've had 40 MPH winds, bad lows and now over 100, which isn't normal but can happen. 40-50 degree temp swings are common in a 24-hour period. You must be from someplace well outside the desert not to understand it.
Your rundown is really great. I’m down in Cochise County about 12 miles from the Mexican border. We have opt out here so there are fewer restrictions on what we can do with our property. About the only advice I could add is just go through a title company. Land is cheap down here so it may not seem like you need it, a few hundred dollars is worth the peace of mind.
Thanks for the additional notes and insight GL. Hoping we can save a few heartaches and heartbreaks with this episode. Wish we would have know some of these before our first land purchase nightmare!
Cochise County's opt out is an EXTRA SPECIAL and UNIQUE opportunity. I've been meaning to call the county to see if that was still available. I heard there is talk of the powers that be, eliminating it.
@@mondavou9408 as usual, government trying to impose on individual liberty. A shame.
@@mondavou9408 it is not being eliminated. It is slowly being chiseled away but not yet. For example, they are increasing costs for it.
What is opt out please?
Great information. I would add checking to see if you can stay in an RV while you build your house. In Pinal County that is a no-go unless you apply for and pay for a temporary use permit to stay in your RV while you have an active building permit. You need the active building permit to be granted the temporary use permit to stay in an RV. Also, if there is an existing well on the property, you may not have the GPM limits.
Thank you for the great information! That is definitely something I would not think about.
So after trying to uncalifornia California, done with all the garbage. Looking in Arizona and I see people saying don't California, Arizona, is it just me or has it already been done. I'm seeing the same garbage there.
Most places have rules like that. Some require septic and water before you can temp occupy with RV during owner build
I know never to buy in HOA area.
They are one of the most oppressive things we as a people have come up with. As if Federal, State, County and City laws were not enough!
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm bunch of dictators . Should be when you buy property it's yours. Not theirs.
@@larryhutton8776 Get on the Board They are mostly volunteer positions.
I looked in Wittmann quite a bit and have a whole spreadsheet dedicated to land and costs. Most were knocked out of the running by the auxiliary base crash zones and a lot were limited by flood zone restrictions as well. Also, some of the cheap land across the big wash is west Wittmann seems doable. But the crime way out there is crazy high for how few people are there. And thinking of kids and emergency services.
Hey Brandon. I can tell by your notes, you spent some serious time looking at Wittmann. I agree with you on skipping Whispering Ranch out West. Not only is most of it off-grid, but you can't actually reach it when the Hassayampa river is running. A few years back it was running for over a week, so that's a heck of a long time cut off from civilization. And yes, the crime is a challenge out there as well. The saving grace for us finding this property was already living out here and being able to actually visit properties whenever we found one. We spent many an evening driving down washes and dusty roads trying to find land markers!
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm Oh yes! the drives! After one unsuccessful trip out to Whitman after work at night, I started tagging them with their GPS lat/long on google and downloading the map offline, so we could find our way there. Also, what looks like roads on the map usually turned out to be sand washes. I didn't mind it, but we were thinking about emergency services and the kids. We ended up on an acre a few miles east of you but the new builds were a mile away and now I can hit them with a stone. Oh well. I still have my slice of land and no HOA. Keep up the great content!
If you don't have one buy a gun and train yourself and your family in it's use. 😉
I was born and raised in Arizona and you did a excellent job and explaining ups and downs I always tell people to check with the county recorders office when it comes to needing to know rather they're in county or city in the outer areas Believe It or not sometimes they don't even know and make sure a surveys been done on the property and done properly we found this out looking for a place last year here in Casa Grande it can get down to 23 F
And there is many washes here in most areas you can find out how often the washes run.
Thank you so much for the information Pamela! Great information.
I live near Sierra Vista. Elevation is a big thing here when it comes to growing. At almost 5000ft. (Some areas are at 5000ft) the temperatures changes are brutal. In the last few years we are definitely getting hotter in the summer. In past years, we had a few days each summer over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Lately, we have a few days each summer under 100 degrees. The winer temperatures drop into the high teens and low twenties on a regular basis. However, as an example, during the summer the high temperature we’ll say is 101 degrees Fahrenheit. The low will be in the fifties or sixties. In winter months the high may be in the 70’s or 80’s but the lows are low twenties or high teens.
Rainfall has also been really poor for the last ten years or so. Many of the old wells that are only a few hundred feet deep are drying up. I know a couple that had to go 500ft just to hit water, then another 100ft to get to clean, clear water they could use. That varies depending on the land, but unless you have city water or an existing well, you have no idea if, where or how deep the water is. And the price of drilling has gone up substantially in the last ten years or so.
After 9/11/2001 we had a huge build up of military and federal officers. That led to our “housing boom”. But federal employees make far more than the median income for the area. All the new housing has been focused on their paychecks, not the local economy. Most new housing around here are veritable mansions on teeny, tiny little lots with HOA membership required. But because housing has gone up so substantially and forced the median income folks out, there is a serious shortage of “affordable “ housing. By affordable I mean anything under $1000 a month, and that’s an apartment.
But because existing home prices went up, raw land prices went up as well. Raw land generally has NOTHING on it. No power, no water and no septic. Twenty years ago it was $100 a foot to run power. I have no idea what it is now. Expect $50,000-$80,000 for a well. (If you find water). Then another $25,000-$30,000 for your septic.
Also even though we are fairly close (30-60 miles) away from I-10, it’s much more expensive for shipping. The area does not really have natural building resources anymore. Brick, lumber, rock and other materials for home building need to be special ordered out of Tucson and then you have to pay for the transportation to your property. Also, I if you buy a manufactured home, which is most likely because materials are so expensive, tack on an additional $10,000-$20,000 in transportation fees over that of Tucson.
Speaking of transportation. Reliable, rugged transportation is a MUST. If you do not live in the “downtown” area of Sierra Vista, there is no public transportation. If you are not living in Sierra Vista, you are driving on a dirt road to your house. As Duane said, when we get rain, it comes hard and heavy. The ground is to compacted to absorb it and it runs off into washes. More than likely you will have to cross a wash to get to your property. On paved roads, washes are annoying, but as long as you’re not stupid (see Arizona Stupid Driver Law) not dangerous. However, on a dirt road the water can cut out a huge amount of dirt and gravel in very little time. This causes big crevasses in the road making it possible to drive right into a three foot hole when you thought you were driving into six inches of water. Also when the road is torn out from the rain, it needs to be repaired before access to or from your property.
Speaking of repairing the roads. Most dirt roads outside of Sierra Vista are not maintained by anyone in authority. Most dirt roads are maintained by a “road committee “ managed by the surrounding property owners. You pay into a “road fund” each month for road repair and grading. How fast repairs happen depend on the management of the road fund and how close the guy with the grader lives.
The terrain is very diverse, but almost all of it has major washes running through it. The land is great for cattle, but hard to farm. It’s hard to find a decent size property that is reasonably level.
The proximity to the border of Mexico is also something to be aware of. If you live within five miles of the border, you will have federal agents and illegal aliens on your property at all hours of the day and night. Most of the time it’s just inconvenient and annoying, but it is common for your plants to be trampled, your water left on and stuff to be stolen.
Speaking of federal agents….there are ports of entry in Naco and Douglas. They employ customs officers and agricultural inspectors. There are also border patrol stations in both towns as well. If you live south of Interstate 10, you cannot leave the county without going through a border patrol checkpoint. The border patrol agents will not and cannot by law allow you to transport your Az state legal marijuana through the checkpoint. Also on that note, there are only two dispensaries in the county. The quality is low and prices are high.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying don’t come here, but know what you’re getting into if you do.
God Bless
Wow, that is a TON of info on Sierra Vista! Thank you for taking the time to give all the nitty gritty details on that part of AZ. To your point on well drilling costs. We put our well in just over 3 years ago at a cost of about $35k (total including drill, pumps, etc). Our new neighbor to the SE of us is getting quotes for the drill alone at $120k! Not including pumps, etc.
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm Wow! Talk about inflation! Lol
@@edwinbowling7457 I know, right? We were shocked to hear that.
Due diligence from multiple sources, 😢 governmental, professional and from neighbors. Excellent, detailed account of what to look into before buying! Look before you leap!!
Edwinbowling, you sound like you are suicidal!
Thanks so much for this amazing information and for also encouraging all the Arizona folks to provide their great inside info in the comments. We really need and appreciate all the info that we can get at our phase and are definitely valuing and absorbing it all :)
I think you guys will get some really good advice from everyone! I'm really glad this was helpful.
I wish I knew more about HOA’s and local restrictions before we bought our home in Paradise Valley but I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else in our great country. Great info and thank you for sharing.
I agree with you on those HOA's! Our first house in Phoenix had one and we would get a notice if there was a single weed visible from the street.
You bought in Yuppie Valley....what the hell did you expect??
F...HOAs!
HOA's should be banned from lots larger than 1/2 acre.
I own 5 acres in west Surprise AZ just a few miles south of Wittman, so basically the same area. The huge aquafer we are in, 600ft down, has actually gained 30ft of water level in recent years, my land is grandfathered in as a farm and my private well is also a grandfathered water source, so I don't foresee any problems with water. My biggest challenge have the wildlife, gophers in particular coming up into my raised beds and also eating fruit tree roots, then there is the prairie dogs and rabbits, and then the birds. I'd say one needs to be prepared for a war if they want to maintain a garden, but I like my desert land and it appears that I am beginning to be win the war after learning from many battles which I did not win.
Hey neighbor! Thanks for chiming in. Hopefully that aquifer of ours continues to stay strong with all of the growth. Oh and yes, we are right there with you in that war with the varmints!
You could use a lot of the methods they are using in India to retain water from your rain storms. I absolutely love that you're doing everything the natural way. Keep it up
Absolutely correct. There are projects throughout the Middle East and Africa that would suit this environment well also.
I do quite a bit of scenic offroading and totally agree Google maps is basically useless to determine the condition of dirt roads in the desert. Out of towners seem to think of it as a very static landscape when it is actually very dynamic...much more so than anywhere I have lived.
That is so true! It takes Google awhile to update as well... We have been in our house for 2 years and still does not even show up, just desert land.
Looking in CO, much the same. Where I grew up (3 different states), landlocked property was illegal (ie. you could not sell it, literally). Not so in most Western states. Keep an eye out for HOAs as well, yes way, way out in the middle of nowhere...to maintain the roads, esp. in Winter. Sometimes they have other restrictions as well (like number of livestock, etc).
Thank you for sharing, great advice! There are some HOA's out in Wittmann as well which I don't think people realize.
Just don't pay your HOA dues. If they put a lean on your property They have to renew it every 2 yrs
I'm surprised you didn't mention digging berms or pond areas as a way of capturing the rain, during the Terrain section of the video when you were talking about washes---Capture the water, instead of letting it "wash" away! But thank you for the video---I've been taking notes for what I want to find.
Good point here. I was trying to be as general with this one as I could. I know some of the washes are designated flood plains and require permitting for grading in them, but I don't know if that changes by county or not. Sounds like you have more insight into this than I do.
He did mention to be observant with the terrain and
How they can cause flooding in a short period of time during a downpour
Yes very general explanation indeed 👍
I was wondering about the same myself, I think if a catch and recharge basing is constructed in the property there is a possibility of getting water credits , meaning depending of the size of the basin ,water limits restrictions might be lifted .
worth looking into .Thanks.
Same thought on that. A pond would be a great idea; however, the amount of rain that we have in AZ might not optimal.
Where I am at in AZ you need permits you likely won't get to do berms, etc
Just found your Channel great video and content I was born and raised in Phoenix Arizona currently live in Guadalupe Arizona I’m in the process of buying 5 acres of land in Maran Arizona with my wife and kids so we can begin our off grid homestead journey always glad to see people spreading knowledge and helping educate those of us who are looking to become more independent and sustainable making the world we live in a better place! Just got a new subscriber!
Hey there! Glad you found us and are enjoying the content. We have a lot of episodes documenting our farming/homesteading journey here in the AZ desert, so if you have any questions as you go, please shoot them over!
I love this video! I’ve always wanted to buy land or a house that has at least 2 - 5 acres. I’ve always wanted to do homesteading. I love the out doors and planting crops and such. It’s something to teach my kids where food comes from and stuff. I’ve been looking around and it is so expensive. I’m the only one working and my husband stays home with the kids. I know how to preserve food and stuff. I don’t want to live too far away from my job since i work at a warehouse. But i want to keep my options open on where to live and such. Thank you for the awesome video.
Hey there Manami! We know just how you feel having lived in the city most of our lives. It took us almost 15 years of saving to get the opportunity to do this, so I would encourage you to save where you can and learn as much as possible, with the plan to find that perfect piece of land for you guys.
1. Price is also going to be a starting point for buyers. But the tradeoff is usually access to amenities. So don't get suckered into thinking that $500/acre is a good deal.
2. Permit Fees go along with restrictions. Pima county has the highest impact fees in the State and nothing to show for it. You can actually pay more in fees then the cost of the land. A single family home construction impact fee is $6818 for 2021 and going up! That's just to buy the privelege to build and don't include any actual permit fees that are assessed in addition to it.
3. So you can't say government fees without maybe saying political climate. You may not want to hand your tax dollars over to a local government that doesn't hold the same values in distributing those taxes. So figure out how you lean and search there.
4. Cell phone reception. Being able to connect to the world maybe important to some. Others may want to completely disconnect. AZ has land with both no cell phone coverage and land with great cell phone coverage in the middle of nowhere.
5. Part of the access is also easements. When buying raw land many don't disclose who else can drive across your land to get to theirs. Arizona state statute doesn't allow for properties to be landlocked. That means there's an easement somewhere and it could be across your property, so get a SURVEY! Too many people buy flat Arizona land with nothing the the four corners marked.
Great advice Mc Rod! Thank you so much for sharing, this is great information.
I appreciate your comments on Pima County.....
The restriction I ran into was 'no legal access'. It is hard to imagine that when the division of property occurred that easements for passage to the next lot were not planned.
I've heard of this happening before. I can't imagine what would be going through a planner's head approving subdivisions without access. Ridiculous!
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm Back in the late 1800's when they just did stuff without thinking ahead. They had no clue so many people would come this way only a hundred years later. Hey let's just draw these lines here and lay out a few sections......
@@WoutervanTiel that definitely makes more sense. These days easements seem to be a focus whenever you're subdividing land.
There is a piece of land that I want to buy on seligman az but that's the problem with that piece of land do you know what problems will bring in the days to come if I buy it like that ?
@@pumaoutdoors are you saying the land you're wanting to buy does not have legal access?
Where do you get hay or grass for cows, pigs or sheep unless they chew sand?
There are literally thousands of acres of land planted in alfalfa in and around Phoenix. It's common for the main road we live off of to have truckloads of hay bales for sale from local farmers each weekend.
Thank you for sharing information about buying property in Arizona.
You are welcome David! Hope it was helpful.
I purchased flood irrigation property in Queen creek unincorporated area back in February. Between Building permits taking forever and builders over charging it's a real challenge right now. literally 18 months prices were reasonable. 3 months ago to build a 2000 sq ft home went up 100k taking many people out of their price range. not sure where home builder costs are at now with lumber prices dropping but it's challenging times to create your dream.
My goodness, that is just frustrating. Our new neighbors to the East of us are running up against that now. They signed their docs at the end of 2019 and just had their pad build up completed last week. On top of that, they had a rider on the building contract that allowed for price adjustments before start of construction and had to come up with additional funding to get started (one reason they delayed was to wait for lumber to come back down). To say they're upset would be an understatement!
So happy I found your channel! It looks like you're doing what i also have in mind, and there are so many questions. Going to check out more on you channel and see what I find.
Hey there! Glad you found us and are enjoying the content. We have a lot of content out there, so we have most of it broken down into specific playlists that may help. If you have any questions in the meantime, please reach out!
What a great name for your channel. This was very informative as we see so many folks moving to off grid properties in Arizona. We follow severance of them in show low area. Hi from Canada.
Hey there! Glad you enjoyed this one. I imagine your view from your back porch is quite a bit different from ours right now!
That tempreture difference between Phoenix and Whitman will be due to the city being like a heat synch. All the roads will just store the heat and the buildings will do the same. Having more greenery would lower the tempreture.
That totally makes sense G M. Time to increase the greenery out here!!
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm There is a fringe movement for green buildings in cities where they have plants growing on the outside of the buildings. Seen one in New York on TH-cam.
@@gm2407 I'd like to see more of that. From garden beds on rooftops, to food forests in backyards, it would be good for all of us to be surrounded by more green!
i wish i watched this before i bought my land in eloy off the i 10 would love for u to give me some tips off line thank u brother i will sharde the shannel lol will be driving up there this week wish me luck
Ah yes, we know right where you're at having driven through Eloy several times. We have another long time viewer who used to own land there, but I believe they sold it a couple of years back.
Loved this video, buying land is a huge deal and needs to be researched. Going by the county clerks office you can usually find out what restrictions exist.
TBH I would go as far as having a lawyer look over and confirm everything. ALL zoning restrictions detailed and in writing ect.
Great advice on going to the county clerks office! Thank you for sharing.
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm may I also ask where should I go for city restrictions ? I am looking at the williams, AZ city aka the "Coconino" county ? Any information to help me would be great .. I am looking for a homestead lifestyle
@@SunnyDays09 You can usually find any city ordinances on that city's website. You can also call the city to get a listing of their ordinances which are where you find most of the restrictions most of us are interested in when it comes to land (I.E livestock, building, etc). If there's something specific you're looking for a call to the city office can usually take care of answering it.
@@SunnyDays09 Williams as of 2024 has a "no building ordinance" something to do with wastewater control. I am NOT an expert, but this is WHY I found out Williams city was a bad place to build. Also... North of Williams, if you want cheapish land (all things considered) that is best and nearest to a town but NO NO NO WATER even at 2,000 feet down. Beware or be ready to pay for hauling, I hear it is 8 cents a gallon delivered, 3 cents if you move it yourself.
Just bought 36 acres!! So happy. 3 plus years of research.
Woohoo!! That's exciting.... Where did you buy it? Are you planning to do livestock?
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm Apache County. No plans yet. 6 to 10 years away.
@@VCOOGAN with that much space you'll have LOTS of options. Cattle would definitely be on our list as you'll have the space for a few head without any problems. Good luck!
Lived south of Tucson for years. Originally from the southeastern US. What I remember the most about south AZ is that it seemed like you could not take a step in the desert without stepping on rocks of all sizes.
Depends on the land. I have no rocks on my land, none. I actually have to get them from the quarry. It's truly beach front property...you know, without the water.
I hear you on that. I actually intended on discussing that very thing, but wound up skipping over it. We don't have any issues with rocks here on this property, but there are spots in AZ where they are simply everywhere!
Yall know theres 4 types of desert right?? Stop stereotyping
@@GratefulOverlander Whoa, did you stand on a Rattler or what ?..........calm down GO - just discussing deserts in general.
Looking to buy land up near Ash Fork. Any advice?
Hopefully you'll get some suggestions here from other folks as I don't know that area well personally. The one thing I would find out is access to water. Williams residents are hard pressed to dig wells with depths for water well over 1,000 feet. Ash Fork is not far from there, so it's worth investigating.
Water table is deep.
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm You reminded me- indeed, south of Williams the wells are NOT 2,000 feet deep- just north ones are IF you get to water at all. The building moratorium owing to wastewater issues is probably still in effect in Williams proper.
@@MindFusion-ij1xl good to know, thank you for the input on this one!
depending the area!
there are theives who think ur stuff belongs to them even if you are gone long periods of time
mi shed was (stolen) in sun valley
Now that is just frustrating. Hopefully one of these days if they keep it up they'll find out what Southwestern justice looks like out in the desert.
The Scottsdale "gated communities" have had a rash of home invasions and burglaries by whole TEAMS of Biden's Venezuelan gangs recently.
Magnificent grapevine you have there but are there any grapes? Talking to an exPat American friend about water conservation and permaculture etc, etc and climate change, I mentioned your farm and to prove my point I sent her your vlog. And then we went water sourcing and discovered that AZ had something like 7 lakes ? She was amazed at what you were achieving there, in Phoenix, Az. having made a short visit there 30 yrs ago and telling me , "but it's all desert there." Just goes to show, doesn't it. The pioneer spirit.
The grapevines are coming along really well and even though we tried to stop grapes from forming this year, we actually picked some Zinfandel grapes this past week that were actually ripe! Thank you for sharing the content. Our goal is to show folks what can be done here, in challenging conditions, to encourage them to do the same. Can you imagine if we had this happening all over the world? It would be a different place, for sure.
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm" Zinfandel"! You sure like to go for the "exotic" varieties! I always think of Austria and a friend who's a Zinfandel fan. What I didn't realize was that zin is"Primitivo! How about that even though Zinfandel is originally from Croatia.
@@carolleenkelmann3829 I can see how Primitivo and Zin can get mixed up. We were very surprised with how dark the skins were on these grapes from a baby vine.
Lived in az for several decades plan on a green house if you move there and like vegetables even in summer nites can be cold and the wind will tear up plants
I assume you're talking about areas up North when it comes to the greenhouse in the summer. Down here greenhouses are only used for storage during the Summer months, but can be beneficial for early starts in the later Winter/early Spring.
Yes
In Sierra Vista we are within minutes from the border, but stay about 20 degrees cooler than the Phoenix Valley. The terrain change view just from the highway changes drastically from Phoenix, to Casa Grande, to Tucson and then to Sierra Vista. It really is a an ever-changing landscape in that 3ish hour drive and quite different than in many places.
Thanks for the notes on Sierra Vista. We know a lot of homesteaders that live down that way and love it!
I bought an acre in sunsites arizona hoping the area is going to blossom the road i am on is unkept so far
I have not heard of that area. What part of the state is it in?
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm near cochise south east 30 miles
@@edwardcold7431 ah ok, so you will be a bit cooler than we are here I imagine.
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm 4500 elevation could be
@@edwardcold7431 that will definitely be quite a bit cooler. Lots of options with that cooler weather!
Arizona has Monsoon seasons.. So your best bet is to get water rain barrels or a system going to catch water.
We catch water from all of our buildings here as well, but we use passive catchment directed into our growing areas as opposed to storage.
If you live near Tucson we have Hudbay copper mine from Canada trying to strip our hills where we have lots of houses and wildlife. They're going to use millions of gallons for nothing while all of our wells dry up.
Now that is just FRUSTRATING!
Is there any copper in your house or car?
That's such a strawman argument. @@davidb2206
I lived in Phoenix in 1959 -1961, have relatives in Surprise (still) and I can't remember the temperature range your talking about today - especially night temps. I hated summers but otherwise not bad. I'm also Amazed @ the tangled web of rules & regs you speak of.
I know its true / still mind boggling.
I spent 36+ yrs in CA (owned many places) and thought it a bit complicated at times however can't compare to what I'm reading now about owning land in AZ..
I live @ 6,000' elevation in NM mountains / last 22yrs. Interesting comparing growing season / temps information, building codes, zoning ect.. We are so limited as to what we can grow due to elevation & cold dry climate And limited water.
I find you video & also comments section very interesting.
I think it takes a lot of determination to live & grow crops in AZ not to mention abundance water needed And Money, not necessarily in that order 🤔
Great informative video.
Happy Trails from NM
Hey there Ella. It sounds like you have some similar challenges to what we're facing here. Temperature extremes and a lack of significant rainfall!
I'm glad you're enjoying the content and also the comment section. We learn so much from interacting with everyone here!
I’m so glad to have stumbled upon this video. So much to consider. I want to purchase less than 3 acres in Arizona before I retire, and definitely don’t want to make a mistake. The comments are also helpful. I am adding this to a playlist so I can refer back to it.😊
Glad you found this one useful and good luck with your land search!
Good video for those looking to invest in land…..im sure many wish they saw this earlier lol
Hey Eric! We have had a lot of people ask about buying land and we have been wanting to do this video for awhile. Just pray it is helpful for someone!
great info my husband wanted to move there when we retire, but I'm against it. good luck in your journey
Hey Dina! Hopefully this gave you guys some info on what it's like here in AZ. If you guys have any specific questions, please reach out!
You have such a beautiful farm! Thanks for this video, full of very educational information!!
Hey Martha! Glad you enjoyed the episode and thank you for the kind words!
Great video. I just discovered your channel today and now I’m binge watching and enjoying your content. Thank you for sharing your journey.
Hey Baker! Glad you found us and are enjoying the content. Any questions, shoot them over!
The grape vines are looking so beautiful. I had to re-watch that portion because I was checking out the vines and wasn't paying attention.
Hey Alan! I know just how you feel. I remember dropping off your pork this past summer and seeing how well your vines are growing along your house. As you know, they do really well once they get some roots in the ground!
Hey Alan! I know just how you feel. I remember dropping off your pork this past summer and seeing how well your vines are growing along your house. As you know, they do really well once they get some roots in the ground!
You have such a beautiful property your layout is so cool well done
Thank you so much! We put a lot of time and energy into planning it. Now we need to just focus on the expansions lol.
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm how do you plan on expanding?
@@theklawclippers310 great question and we're still trying to decide on the back half of the property. We have irrigation lines stubbed up at the back half, so we can put in 48 more fruit/nut trees. More livestock coming this Spring, but we're going to use temp housing for them until we know for sure what we're wanting to dive into. Lots of options for sure!
Did or are you all trying water capture landscaping. I understand you all are do the water catching and storing but, working with the land would speed up the process of have a more fertile living soil. Like you said water is essential for life. Would be labor and or cost intensive on the frontend but, would be very rewarding once it's implemented. Super-charge your composting also! Getting the organic matter back into the soil would make the soil softer/ workable, absorb the water (instead have washoff), maintain higher levels of moisture (for longer), get higher yields and create a eco system that would build off of itself. Those two things alone would lead to you all eventually having pasture for you livestock with no extra water being taken away. Actually, you would be increasing the ground water. Lot of success in India, Lebanon and Australia! Best of luck out there!
You have some great suggestions here and that is on the plans..eventually. We were focused on the heavy infrastructure and fruit trees for this first 2 years and are still chipping away at the last few details there. Working on additional water capture/retention is still part of our future and you make a great point that it would really help with some natural, desert pasture in the long run.
Regarding restrictions, are you allowed to dig ponds or swales to catch some of the rainwater when it falls?
It depends on the area you're working with. We don't have any restrictions on digging those here, but a few hundred yards away, in a flood plain, you'll have restrictions.
i WAS STATIONED AT THE MARINE BASE IN UMA IN THE MID 70-S AND I WAS SHOKESD HOW COLD IT GOT AT NIGHT.
It's amazing how cold it gets at night here during the winter. I (Duane) was shocked the first time I saw snow while living in Phoenix back in the late 90's. Being from Southern California I assumed Arizona was always a hot desert.
Wells have to be dug deeper for the most part in southern Arizona then in NE Az.
It's amazing how different ground water is as you range around the state. My understanding is Williams is one of the areas where ground water is basically unreachable and folks haul water!
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm it varies drastically. I'm near concho and we have a great aquifer up here. But not far away, near Holbrook theres not much. I have neighbors that have it trucked in also, rain catchment up here works great though. Especially when the snows add to it
@@GratefulOverlander what I would give for a bit of snowfall...heck, I would take any moisture at this point!
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm Confirmed. North of town, very deep if any groundwater, to South, better luck.
My wife and I bought a little over two acres outside of Tucson a few years ago. We're hopefully going out there next year to live/make our homestead.
Woohoo!!! Here's to a very successful move to that new property soon!
Can you share on why you choose the area? We are thinking of Vail but still trying to figure this all out.
Congrats! Whats the update on the move/land??
After watching the water part: "soooo, dont buy here in AZ?" lol
Water is really the beginning and end conversation for homesteading.
I really don't want to move to another state, but I've been getting more concerned with the way things are going lately and feel it may be a good idea to be a bit more self-reliant. I wonder if cochise may have enough rainfall to support a homestead with aggressive water catchment. I know they are super lacks on property restrictions. I just get a little nervous that close to the border with all the cartel stuff rising south of us. uggh.
Oklahoma (throws up in mouth a little) here I come?
Cochise county especially around Sierra Vista is an... "immigration" corridor. I wanted to buy there because Don of Affordable Desert Living seems to like it. But as a single woman I'm not moving there.
Oklahoma!?! Lord man, nothing can be that bad.
If your buying raw land in the desert, water should definitely be your primary concern. I live on 15 Acres with no government service and no well. We just went through 18 months of drought. I had to resort to water hauling. I hauled in ~12,000 gallons until we started getting rain again in July 2021 which turned out to be the 2nd wettest monsoon season in the history of our area. Have to prepare for feast and famine.
@@CringePanda all of Arizona is an immigration corridor. I live west of Tucson and have had dozens of migrants walk across my property, and had a Guatamalan knock on my door asking for medical help. I gave him 1st aid and called border patrol. Took them about 45 minutes to arrive. So, yeah, your going to need to be able to at least neutralize situations until someone can officially help.
@@GrumblingGrognard
Haha, I have lived there (on for still) for over a year, it isn't the worst ever jokes aside. But its better than saying in the sesert of ether "immigration influx" or dehydration.
Thank for your very informative channel!
Glad you found this one useful!
My husband and I rent in Surprise, Arizona but I would love to buy property for a bigger garden and fruit trees....just found your channel today...good information :)
Glad you found the channel Faith. Thanks for joining us on Livestream too! There is a lot of land out there, hopefully you can make that happen one day.
I live in Midtown Phoenix just north of downtown. You dont need alot of land to grow fruit trees. Many people here do it on small properties. Planting them closer together helps with water evaporation and creates microclimates to shelter each other and small livestock animals. I know a guy in the downtown area who has a guava orchard the space of a back porch and it thrives. My land is 2,900 sq feet with a house, guesthouse and a long concrete driveway yet I have a food forest with jujubes, dragonfruit, bananas, oranges, grapefruit, 3 guavas, 2 mulberries, pomegranates, peaches, avocados, figs, starfruit, jaboticabas, turmeric, ginger, barbados cherry, jamaican cherry, apricot, peanut butter fruit, muscadine grapes, mangoes, date palms, sugar cane boysenberries and giant bamboo.I also have a greenhouse, raise chickens , rabbits and quail. I still have room for more trees if I want and a vegetable garden. You dont need a lot of land. Its actually easier if to manage if its smaller.
Family was going to buy a “suburban ranchett” .. county said we could build a 500 room house but could only have 1 kitchen sink .
Now there's government in action for you. We were driving by all the new distribution centers going up along the 303 freeway and recalling our first property we bought back in 2012. It was in the same area and we were told by the county that we would never be able to build a house there because of building restrictions in place to stop people from living in the Noise Contour and Accident Potential Zone of Luke AFB. Now there are 1000's of people working there 24/7.
Can you implement Swells along your fruit Trees?
We have micro swales at each tree to help hold water in and allow penetration when rainfall runs between the rows. You can definitely add more of them on contour depending on the slope of the land and how you have your trees planted.
You did a great job explaining about access. It happened to me bought the land and couldn’ t and the restrictions they don’t know about
Sorry to hear about that Kenn. We have fallen victim to that as well, so we're hopeful this can keep a few folks from making the same mistake we have.
I too watch these wonderful TH-cam videos and day dream of farming. But they are only day dreams. How do I know? A person who wants to be a farmer, will find a way to grow something regardless of where they are, how old they are, if they have money or not. They will grow stuff, even if it a bunch of 4 inch pots on a table by a window full of lettuce and radishes. They will grow what ever they are able, where ever they are located. I have an acre of land. What am I growing? Weeds and mesquite trees. Yes, I would like to have my little acre planted with a garden and a few small animals, but still I have weeds. I have lots of excuses. It is hot, it is cold, it is raining, it is sunny. Reality is, I am NOT a farmer. At best I am playing at hobby farming, but I don't put in the work, and farming is a lot of hard work even on a hobby level. A true farmer will find a way to farm on the level possible given them. So if you want to be a farmer, but currently don't grow anything, what is your excuse? Target, Walmart and Amazon have everything you need to begin. Grow something.
I think this resonates with so many of us. Growing something is how it all starts and that can be done on a fire escape in the middle of the city or in an empty lot down the street. By the way, our harvest of weeds has been FANTASTIC this year! :)
Watching this in July 2022. Now for cattle owners and small farmers for cattle the food is ridiculous costly and some can’t afford the feed anymore. I swear the government will burn destroy and make the feed impossible to afford.
We are near white tank. Praying that we get land soon. Praying for others to be able get land as well.
It really has been getting ridiculous to source feed. We're working on our bulk meat programs for next year and the pricing we'll be charging is mind boggling with those increases! No doubt, "The Man" has had a hand in this.
One word: RATTLESNAKES! Probably the only thing I'm not okay with, everything else I can work around. Here in Tucson they're everywhere starting when the weather gets warm. Must get to emergency services within 20 min, but it's 30 min for us to get there. For me that's certain death.
Rattlers are no joke. We see them from time to time, but not as often as we see the non-venomous ones.
I’m originally from FL looking at AZ, so used to venomous snakes. It’s the wolves and cougars I’m a bit worried about!😬
You'll be ok. Drive fast
I install solar water pumping systems and showed up on a customer site who had just drilled a 600 foot deep well. I installed the pump and the only thing we did was pump out the water in the casing and then the pump shut down for about 24 hours. So in the end, the well produces about 25 gallons per day. Ouch!
Oh my goodness, that is frustrating!
Yep i got 5 acres Cochise county AZ
5 acres is a solid piece of real estate. We have 6, but only utilizing about half of that and have plenty of open space still!
How are the ticks & scorpions?
We have not had any issues with ticks and scorpions are few and far between. However, they are here and we keep that in mind whenever we're working outside.
What would be really nice is to see a map at the same time? Do you have to be where you're at? And the surrounding places I'm looking at 1. But it was just make it easier just to suggestion
Great suggestion. The documentary producers are much better at this than we are, they would definitely have had several more references.
Pull water from the air with moses west machine😀
There is no water in the air either. Haven't your heard, "it's a dry heat"? ;). Ok, during monsoons it can't get ridiculously muggy.
Or Warka water tower...
Hey Elliot. Ok, I've never heard of a Moses West Machine. Off to Google I go....
Love this what kind of nutrients you using? Regenerative ag??
I'm not certain what you're asking, but we have integrated livestock here on our farm and their waste streams are critical to the health and nutrition of our soils.
@ I saw orchard, I have seabird guano fertilizer and seaweed fertilizer OMRI
Just stumbled upon your channel and little farm. We currently live on a small little piece of HOA-run suburb with a tiny yard in Goodyear, AZ, about 45 mins from you. It's been a good starter home, and we've got a beautiful garden taking up half of our small back yard, including fruit-trees, which we've been cultivating since 2020. But it's starting to feel cramped, busy and not so rural here as it did when we first moved in in 2019. This area is building up so much, and if i see one more warehouse or industrial building I'm going to vomit. Our dream has always been to have land - a bigger garden, more fruit trees, chickens and goats, and room for our wild little boys to roam free without restriction. I am looking in your area, and also nearby Wickenberg area. Im wondering if theres much advice you can offer about buying property in the Wickenberg area. Im not mecessarily looking for a blank plot of land, but something with a house already, but plenty of acreage and no HOA. Im also concerned about the i-11 super freeway theyre planning on building. Seems like no matter where i look there is some sort of unnatural development and killing off of natural resources occurring. Its quite discouraging.
First off, we know EXACTLY how you feel. It's one of the many reasons we ended up choosing Wittmann. That being said, Surprise is right up against us now and sooner or later we'll be surrounded by the city as well. I'm not too familiar with Wickenburg when it comes to regulations with land, but the water table it very stable there. Both Wickenburg and Wittmann are on the same aquifer, but it's shallower in Wickenburg from what I understand. The one thing I will say is the new construction you'll see in Wickenburg probably has an HOA involved. Those are planned communities and designed for the retiring crowd that wants to be slightly outside of the city.
@EdgeofNowhereFarm Thanks for your response. Super helpful. I may be slightly limiting myself when looking for land, but I just LOVE living in zone 9b where we can grow all sorts of things all year without a greenhouse. Im a garden addict and only being able to grow half the year would depress me. Lol. So I'm hoping to stick around this area. But man... the housing developments are so annoying. The closest organic farm to us just lost most of its growing land to a housing development.
Used to be able to get irrigated land for a small hobby farm property at a reasonable price now prices are off the chart here. 1960's trailer in Clifton AZ near a copper mine that sold for $40k on 1/2 acre in 2019 is up for $280k now prices are still abnormal for Arizona. Not sure how the real estate market gets corrected but like myself stuck in the house I have in Phoenix even though like to buy land.
That is just ridiculous for a 1/2 acre property with what amounts to no house on it. I can't imagine this is sustainable.
Are you able to do anything with those washes you talked about in order to collect some of that surface run off?
Hey Christa. I'm not sure if you're referring to the shallow washes we have on our property or the larger washes around town. For the shallow washes we have we do plan on capturing some of that rain as it passes over the property. At least we will slow it down a bit before it leaves the farm. We also have plans for some "dry ponds" towards the back of the property as water naturally flows from North to South (Front to Back). For larger washes it would be very difficult to capture much of the water, as when they do run they are more like rivers and the water runs in torrents as it passes through. I imagine a professional would need to be involved if you were to try and do much with that.
Would it be or is it illegal to damn up a part of a wash? Just asking if that is acceptable?
@@kennhurt5636 I don't believe that's legal here in Maricopa county. My understanding is you have to have a permit to modify a designated wash. That being said, there are very shallow "washes" that are not designated flood plains that you may be able to work with depending on the county regs.
What about building earthships in the rural areas around Phoenix?
I've seen a few folks doing that in some of the more remote areas, however it's very rare. Most counties have building restrictions that might put a damper on that.
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm thanks. Yeah I was kinda worried about that.
I noticed the city of Surprise creeping closer to Wittmann with the housing tracks. Are they close to you?
Yeah, the city limits push right up against the main road we travel down to get to the farm. The closest housing development that's going in right now is about 10 miles away.
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm I dont live to far from you guys. The backup on grand from the 303 gets annoying.
@@OurNotSoSeriousLife boy is that the case. Coming home from work on Fridays is ridiculous!
Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed this one!
I don't think I could get usto the lack of water.
I know from watching yall that what farming knowledge i have would be about useless there.
Like the hay/winter grase we just broadcast the seeds before a expected rain and let the rain get them started.
It really is the biggest difference here. Everything we do is planned around the need to get water to it. Whether it's trees, veggies, grass or livestock.
How do we find a agent that helps us find good raw land, iv called a handful and they say “we don’t specialize in raw land smh
I wish I could say I had a good contact for you, but I don't have one specifically for land. We found this property searching on our own and just used our house agent to close the deal. Hopefully someone else here will see this comment and have a suggestion for you!
Cochise County is a double edged sword. On the one hand, few restrictions. On the other, few restrictions. Big corporations are coming in and doing as they please. They are drilling deeper wells, pumping as much water as they like and planting no groundcover as they rip up the top soil to plant pecan trees. It has become a windy dustier place in the 8 years we have lived here. We are hoping our place sells and we we will be looking at Arizona
in the rear view mirror.
Wow, that is just a travesty! The one thing we have going for us here are our water restrictions that stop the big corporations from sucking the aquifer dry. The challenge is, the city of Surprise is edging further out and putting 8+ homes per acre with no restrictions on residential use.
Very informative! Thanks!
Glad you found this one useful!
I have a couple acres on the Coconino Plateau up around The Grand Canyon. 4,500' water table, 0° in the winter, 100°+ in the summer, & my closest neighbor is 1/4 mile away. I love it, but it's not for everyone.✌️
You are a trooper with those challenges. Kudos to you my friend!
what govt entity should I check with what I can do with land in AZ or any state? The state, county, or city? Or does it depend on what I want to do?
Hopefully a few other folks will have some suggestions here for you, but I can only speak for AZ and it's a challenge. As usual for government agencies, they have their hands in almost everything and none of it is consolidated or consistent. For example, there are regulations from the ADEQ (AZ department of environmental quality) on how often you need to clean up pig manure without being cited. Never would have thought of it and only found out when we were trying to see how many pigs we could keep on our property! We have "water districts" that have arbitrary boundaries and limits that are different from one to the next. That being said, your zoning laws cover most of what you can/can't do with property, at least when it comes to buildings and the like. Speaking with locals to the area can help as well, as most of us figure these things out as we go. I will say, being within a city makes things much more complicated as they pile regulations on top of the state and county laws. If you can find county land you're only dealing with county and state regs which tend to be less restrictive. Sorry I can't be more specific for you here.
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm no, thank you for responding. It seems I just need to stick to county land and do research before buying.
I hope I can find property I can live in my motorhome here in Arizona
I am boondocking right now
I cannot figure out how to find RV friendly property
I would call the city or county to find out@@carolmaplesden916
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm Zoning should be abolished. Read farmer Joel Salatin's book "Everything I Want to Do is Illegal." It's highly recommended and very funny. Sad, but true. You either HAVE property rights or you don't, in the "land of the free."
The temperature sways hurts as a farmer wishing to grow tropical plants.
As far as the restrictions go, could you make a good living off of your harvest? Or are the limitations that debilitating?
Tropical plants are very difficult in Arizona which is why we shy away from them. That being said, stone fruit, pome fruit, mulberry, figs, pomegranate and citrus all do FANTASTIC with our weather.
We do make a decent income from what we are growing. It includes livestock which has a rich history in Arizona.
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm that’s good to hear … thank you for the response
Keep up the quality content 👍🏾
Can you grow crops ...tomato, corn, peppers etc ❓
Yes, we've grown all of them here in the Phoenix area and I imagine that's the same for most parts of the state. It might get a bit dicey in some of the higher elevations with Tomato, but there are varieties designed for very short growing seasons and greenhouses can work wonders to extend those shorter seasons!
Very good information for potential buyers in the future like me. I have heard that in Cochise County there are very few restrictions. But before taking any steps I will look at all the options following your advice. Thanks !!
Few restrictions and few amenities.
Glad to hear this one was useful for you. That was our intent with this, so folks can avoid some common pitfalls we face here in AZ.
I'm looking to buy here now. I live in Seattle area now and 45-60 minutes anywhere just due to traffic so cruising to Tucson from Cochise for any wanted amenities is completely doable. Any good land for sale in Benson??
@Keyzer Soze i just had an offer of $38K excepted for 40 acres there so our dream is underway! This was our plan here is the Enumclaw area but just so expensive!! Best of luck and let's stay in touch about our advances!
@Keyzer Soze I'm in Kent right next to the raceway. This lot has power and phone/DSL internet at the line. On hwy 181 with so paved County maintained road to the lot line! We have to drill a well and install septic but planning to build an ICF home for multi generational homestead.
I'm surprised you didn't cover electrical costs . I've heard that running air conditioners because of the heat makes your bills extremely high and should be factored in.
Good point. That really varies quite a bit based on where you live and what you're trying to cool. Our average electric bill is about $150/month and we are on electric everything, including the well. Compared to the average electric bill in CA it's pretty similar.
Evaporative coolers are much cheaper.
Wow good info
Glad you found this one useful!
I know some areas of Arizona have a “heartbeat” limit per acre. Do you know what livestock animal/size this applies to?
That's a great question and I don't know. There are several regulations in the cities that limit or outright ban certain animals (pigs are a no-go in most incorporated cities), but the head count on livestock is not something I've seen in un-incorporated areas.
I want to buy land just to hunt it when I feel like it draw in some small game and get to shooting haha
Ah yes, I can understand that completely. I have to admit, dove and quail hunting just off our property is awfully nice.
Where could you find restrictions near an airport port location land
The only restrictions I've seen are in and around the air bases. The main Luke base and the auxiliary bases like we have here in Wittmann. We used to have a contact at Luke that would verify land for us, but she is now retired and we have not needed to reach out since then.
I’m really surprised with people who know so little about purchasing property and although they live in a restrictive society with many requirements think just because they own a particular piece of property that means the can do what ever they like.
It's so true. The vast amount of regulations is just mind boggling and most folks don't realize they're even there.
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm I was a homebuilder in a rural area of the northeastern states. The mentality you find is amazing. First, here everything is highly regulated, and has been so for decades. That said, I repeatedly had to unwind expectations of folks who bought rural property, often small lots in very restrictive communities, and announced to me that they were planning on doing something absolutely bizarre, with the thought that they have every right to do so, as it's "out in the sticks" .
"Yea, we want you to build us a house on this lot. We also bought another lot down the street, and we want to use it as a storage yard for our boats and old cars. We need a price on clear-cutting that, property, installing a pole barn, and a five foot chain-link fence around the lot, OK?" Wait, you think you can essentially build a private junkyard in a tightly regulated HOA community, after you clear-cut a totally wooded lot? LOL, no that will not be happening.
@@kerrykerry5778 I can only imagine some of the regs you would find in the NE. California has some pretty strict regulations as well, especially in areas with higher population densities.
I just moved tp Benson & plan on purchasing some property under Cochise Counties Owner Builder Amendment so I can live off-grid.. What is the advantage off purchasing land through a title company?
Hey Ron. We have always used a Realtor and title company when purchasing property. The main reason is to avoid issues with the transfer of ownership and ensure there are not any issues with the legality of the purchase. It worked out well for us as the first land purchase we made several years ago wound up settling with the title company because we were not informed we could not put a livable structure on it. The settlement came from the title company who did not find the restriction during the closing period. Saved us over $50k!
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm What kind of communist nitwit in the United States decided that you could not be "allowed" to live on your own property?! Our ancestors would have revolted, tarred and feathered them.
If someone subdivided land you cannot land lock anyone there has to be access to your parcel or it can’t be sold your neighbor is full of it.
Mmm, we've had several folks who have shared that issue, so maybe they're all fibbing, but there must be some validity to it.
@@EdgeofNowhereFarm check it out seriously you cannot sell land that you have no access to.
You mean your county meters your private well, or is this city water?
We're in the county, but there is not a metering requirement. The county assess how much of your property you're irrigating and that is the cap.
Just read today some zones in AZ do require a meter on your rural well, something like a conservation zone. Ask County have the address or parcel number ready for them.
We live in Phoenix on the north-side just off of I 17 and the CAP canal. We currently live in a manufactured home that is over 50 years old on an acre and we are in the process of replacing that home with a new manufactured home where we are running into a lot of restrictions. Even though our zoning is S1 which is farming and we are limited to one livable structure, they are trying to make us follow the same rules as residential zoning. In other words, they want our house to face the roadway, they want us to have covered parking, they want us to have certain landscaping and certain walls around the property even though we are not residential zoning and should not have to abide by those restrictions. We are going on three years trying to fight, the city of Phoenix to get the proper permits to bring our already built and in storage manufactured home. It has been an absolute nightmare.
Wow Tamra, that is REALLY frustrating. The number of restrictions in and around the city is just out of control and getting worse every year. I'm praying for a break through for you guys!
A few dozen inches? Average is less than 10 inches
I was referring to non-desert areas further North like Flagstaff that averages just under 23 inches.
Your state needs a commercial water line and pump system coming from out of state somewhere all the way into your state and manmade reservoirs made there. Enough to change the weather there and possibly create more rain. I believe it rains more over lands that have more bodies of water on it. It needs to be in some kind of government plans to do.
Re-establishing the water cycle, much like you're suggesting, is sorely needed here in AZ!
Get a clue.
is that everbering mulberry ready for pickup?
Hey Kelly! We do have a few that are potted from the air layering we did, but want to wait until after they come out of dormancy in the spring before having them available.
How can i get entirely around realtors, investors/land flippers, to find a fee simple parcel?
That's a good question Willard and I'm not sure on this one. Hopefully someone will see your comment and have some advice.
Probably not possible in Arizona. Pick another state, like North Dakota or Mississippi.
IMO, if I haven't bought land a few times, and the price is low, having someone on my side (buyers agent) is worth it, if they are worth their salt, anyway. The market is in flux as sellers no longer must pay for buyers agent fee.
What about Mohave county area
I'm not familiar with that county, but hopefully somebody here will be able to give you some tips!