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Writer's pictureKelly McCallister

Undeveloped Land + Rural Land in Colorado



In an interview I had with 5280 - a great Colorado local magazine - I discussed the components of buying land in Colorado. Are you wanting to buy some land in beautiful Colorado? Always feel free to reach out and have a conversation about your real estate goals with me.


Here is a list of things to contemplate when considering land

Where to start... Start with your vision.  Really develop that vision but realize that you may need to be flexible as you work through the process of finding land. Allow for a lot of planning, and then more planning



Build your team...

  1. Speak with an architect, home builder, or will you do prefab, a log cabin kit. You will want to check with the county to see if the option you have in mind is permitted. Some counties do not allow log cabin kits, for example.

  2. Find a real estate agent (me) who is well versed in raw land.  Ask friends who have purchased land, call brokerages and ask who in their office has done land transactions.

  3. Cash or Financing - talk with a lender (construction or land loans) or seller financing

  4. Speak to a structural engineer along with the architect or builder, to evaluate the realities of building in Colorado


What to do and expect...

  1. Set up search with your real estate agent through the MLS. This will give you the purest data. A agent will have access to resources and details not seen in Zillow.

  2. Location - where do you want to be close to?  Rocky Mountain National Park, Winter Park, Granby Lake etc.

  3. Evaluate properties for useable acreage

  4. Access - how do you access the property? Is there a neighboring property easement.

  5. Walk the land

  6. Give plenty of time for due diligence process for under contract. On a typical home, the under contract period is typically 30 days. Give yourself 60-90 days for a land purchase.

  7. Under contract, be sure to review the Title and pose any questions to the title contact - property ownership, back taxes, liens, Water and Mineral rights.

  8. Is there an HOA? POA? Get the documents from the association. The title company can order these for you.

  9. Evaluate Property uses - in this order // county zoning, city by laws, HOA/POA

  10. Legal access - easements, if you need access -> get an access attorney.  In CO, an owner cannot be legally blocked from accessing their property HOWEVER, a buyer may need to jump through hoops to make this happen in some cases.  

  11. SEASONAL access only? You will want to verify.

  12. In Colorado, new homes are required to clear cut trees around home by about 30 ft.



What about utilities...

  1. Utilities evaluation - will you need to dig a well, install septic, run electric, get a water tap to city water & sewer, natural gas or propane tank?

  2. Distance from electrical - will you need to have the electric company come out and run electrical to your property? Get an estimate from electrical company - cost per pole is about $1000.

  3. Wells are about $100/linear foot.  One can approximate based on neighbors well depth.

  4. Septic is calculated per bedroom so you will need to decide up front how many bedrooms you would like in order to get more accurate quotes.

  5. Check with the county if they have a minimum septic acreage size.

  6. Tiny homes, RVs - a permanent residence of any kind still requires water & sewage for long term stays.


Call me to discuss your goals

Kelly McCallister, 8z Real Estate // Kelly.McCallister@8z.com

c // 303-517-5524



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