The Slow Motion Retirement Plan

[dhagood]

my wife and i closed on 40 acres of land 16 miles east of kiowa, co and 4 miles north of highway 86. we will retire there in about five years or so. the aim is to end up retired, debt free, and with everything we need finished. the land has 4 strand barbed wire fence on the east and west sides; the north and south sides of the lot are open. there is a gravel road on the eastern boundary that is well maintained by elbert county. power is available across the road. other than the two fence lines, the land is completely undeveloped. we will thus have to create a driveway, drill a well, run power into the property, add a septic tank, and then build.

it's going to be a long road, but the journey started today. the obligatory picture:

 

[chopped]

CONGRATS
Debt free is the best way to be...Ive NEVER owed anyone anything except my wife.Good luck and perhaps keep us updated on the journey...

 

[TripleR]

Congratulations, nothing quite like owning your own land.:thumbsup:

 

[newbury]

Congrats.

However, I think in this day and age "debt free" should be used with modifiers. Interest rates are so low that it may be advantageous to have a mortgage loan which allows you to take advantage of significant deals. Especially if you get tax savings. With 30yr mortgages around 3.5% the money is there for many of us.

I could have done without buying my 50HP M4700, and done without clearing land, hauling lumber, making gardens. But since the bank loaned me money at 3.5% for 30 years I'm paying it off at about $45/month.

/edit - that's based on my mortgage of 30yrs at 3.5%, not a separate loan for the tractor.

 

[vtsnowedin]

I see the neighbors have built their houses down in the trees. Are there any trees on your fourty acres. Great view but must be windy as all get out.

 

[rbstern]

Awesome looking. Congrats and enjoy it for many years to come.

 

[dhagood]

vtsnowedin, yes, we have perhaps 100 trees on our property. unfortunately, all but 8 or so are 3 feet tall or less. i share a triangular enclosure with my northern neighbor that is packed full of what looks like ponderosa pine. i'd guess they were planted some years ago as they are densely packed into a small area. my wife and i are going to move the smaller trees around for windbreaks and the like. and yes, the wind has been known to blow in that area i've spent something like 30 days in that part of elbert county wandering around looking for property, and the wind was generally very calm, however i'll be springtime can be interesting.

 

[vtsnowedin]

vtsnowedin, yes, we have perhaps 100 trees on our property. unfortunately, all but 8 or so are 3 feet tall or less. i share a triangular enclosure with my northern neighbor that is packed full of what looks like ponderosa pine. i'd guess they were planted some years ago as they are densely packed into a small area. my wife and i are going to move the smaller trees around for windbreaks and the like. and yes, the wind has been known to blow in that area i've spent something like 30 days in that part of elbert county wandering around looking for property, and the wind was generally very calm, however i'll be springtime can be interesting.

I don't know as you can move estableshed trees without killing most of them. You'd need to take as large a root-ball as you could and keep it watered in it's new hole as long as possible. Someone with more local experience will know better. Sounds like a job for a good sized tractor though Looking forward to your updates.

 

[BobG_in_VA]

Looks, good...along with the tractor/attachments, etc. I hope you have a good 22-250 or an AR-15 for the occasional coyote.....BobG in VA

 

[Gary Fowler]

I don't know as you can move estableshed trees without killing most of them. You'd need to take as large a root-ball as you could and keep it watered in it's new hole as long as possible. Someone with more local experience will know better. Sounds like a job for a good sized tractor though Looking forward to your updates.

I would second the issue of transplanting established trees. Might be better to get some fast growing trees that will tolerate the climate and plant them where you want rather than kill the few that you have. The area looks like it might be high desert like terrain so choose the trees to be tolerant of the conditions.

 

[TripleR]

I don't know as you can move estableshed trees without killing most of them. You'd need to take as large a root-ball as you could and keep it watered in it's new hole as long as possible. Someone with more local experience will know better. Sounds like a job for a good sized tractor though Looking forward to your updates.

When my brothers and I were building and setting up our houses and different land projects, my brother bought a tree mover and mounted it on our Case 995 and it paid for itself with the money we saved. We got a lot of trees free for removing them from fence rows of local farmers. The biggest we ever moved was maybe 12'-15' or so. When we were finished, he sold it for what he paid; bought it used of course.

 

[Gary Fowler]

By the way, I did the same thing, bought some land, build a 30x52 shop on it to keep my tractor and other tools there that I worked with when I came home. Continued to work overseas in some pretty bad places to make the big bucks and put all that money into paying for everything including the land, shop, new 2308 sq foot house and 2 tractors with equipment. NOW after 5 years of not so enticing work, I have everything free and clear and only need money for taxes, insurance, utilities and food to survive. Of course there is the unexpected expenses that crop up like my computer crapping out on me and having the buy the new one for $800 that I am using now.

 

[mojoinco]

Congratulations!
We are a few miles West of you (West a few miles of Elizabeth).
You will want to to 2 things before settling on a house spot: get your well permit and get your water rights adjudicated (basically, that means you get your well drilling permission made into a true right; you will also need to learn about the various classifications of wells and what you can get). And you will need to figure out your septic system (perculation/perc test). That will drive your home location (or at least the cost).
Great view of Pikes Peak (wished we we could see it).

With 40 acres you can get a farm plate (much cheaper registration) for your pickup. There is a process to go through to get your agricultural zoning turned into a tax write off (IRS & the county). I know Douglas County likes to yank chains on this, but it is a simple game. You accountant can help you with what it takes to qualify. Hopefully we get a wet spring and some grass grows (especially since winter has been a disappointment so far). So far it looks a lot like last year (dry).

Also, pay attention to this: Revised 'Super Slab' proposal outlined - Denver Business Journal
And be very skeptical of what CDOT says. They want to move the RR tracks from I-25 eastward (they held a series of public meetings on doing it a few years ago). There is already Federal support (in general) for this. Surprisingly, it is related to NAFTA and creating transportation corridors from Canada to Mexico. Also, somewhere in the vicinity of Front Range airport there are plans for a 'mulitmodal' transportation hub: trucking/train/air transportation center. I presume that it just so happens that the rail and hwy are planned to meet there (gooolly, who'd O thunk of that). The press and public authorities have generally been very low key on putting all the pieces together. As long as the economy is low I doubt we will see much happen, but when the money starts to flow back, then we will the beast raise its head.

 

[MoKelly]

CONGRATS
Debt free is the best way to be...Ive NEVER owed anyone anything except my wife.Good luck and perhaps keep us updated on the journey...

Perhaps your parents as well?

MoKelly

 

[dhagood]

i was out on the property this week talking with the permit guy from elbert county roads and bridges. i need a permit in order to "attach" my driveway to the elbert county road network. they want to make sure that there is sufficient turning radius to allow emergency vehicles (fire engines basically) to turn off the road into the driveway. they also look at sight lines to the driveway from along the road, to make sure that water doesn't drain from my driveway onto the county road, and that there is enough space in front of the gate to get a good sized vehicle completely off the road.

i asked a bunch of questions, got a bunch of answers which led to more questions, etc. the roads and bridges guy has been around the block a couple of times. i can work with him, and he stated several times that he would work with me. this part of the puzzle will turn out ok i think.

i took some more pictures. the first one is looking at pike's peak west of colorado springs some 60 miles or so to the southwest. the next one is looking north from where our house will likely be located; the last one is looking northwest.

 

[TripleR]

i was out on the property this week talking with the permit guy from elbert county roads and bridges. i need a permit in order to "attach" my driveway to the elbert county road network. they want to make sure that there is sufficient turning radius to allow emergency vehicles (fire engines basically) to turn off the road into the driveway. they also look at sight lines to the driveway from along the road, to make sure that water doesn't drain from my driveway onto the county road, and that there is enough space in front of the gate to get a good sized vehicle completely off the road.

i asked a bunch of questions, got a bunch of answers which led to more questions, etc. the roads and bridges guy has been around the block a couple of times. i can work with him, and he stated several times that he would work with me. this part of the puzzle will turn out ok i think.

i took some more pictures. the first one is looking at pike's peak west of colorado springs some 60 miles or so to the southwest. the next one is looking north from where our house will likely be located; the last one is looking northwest.

View attachment 302382View attachment 302381View attachment 302383

Beautiful pictures. Good luck with your permit process, we recently went through installing a culvert to provide access to one of our fields and it was a nightmare.

 

[triangel]

Incredible view ,good luck on your project and don't take to long to retire in debt or not life is too short and being dead is too long.

 

[vtsnowedin]

Looks like a good place for a wind turbine power backup.

 

[Obed]

Congrats on your purchase! Beautiful view. And yes, planning to be out of debt is smart. Thanks for posting your project.

Obed

 

[Obed]

I find it curious how people in our microwave, have-it-now, culture have somehow managed to redefine debt. Somehow if the interest rate on your loan is low or zero percent, it isn't debt. If you have a 30 yr mortage, owe $40K on cars, but have no credit car debt you somehow consider yourself to not be in debt. In the mid-2000's before the banking and housing crisis, lots of people were claiming it was stupid to have no house mortgage. So now what do those people have to say about the millions of people who bought 0% down houses whose house prices dropped 20%, 30%, or 50%? Those people can't sell their houses and are trapped. Talk about a miserable position to be in without any good options!

A $100K mortage at 0% interest is still $100K of debt and still involves risk. When the great depression hit, the people who were in debt were the ones who lost their homes. The people without debt were able to manage and many of them prospered in the process.

End of rant.