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These Southern Colorado acreages for sale in Costilla County are located close to BLM land and the
Rio Grand National Forest. This wilderness area is a great secret in Colorado nestled in the Sangre De Cristo Mountains and
near the Sand Dunes National Park. Fishing, hunting, ski areas and other recreational activities are nearby. You can often
spot elk, deer, and antelope in the area.
Return to Reservation Form
Courtesy Reservation: If someone fills out the RESERVATION FORM and and
wants to reserve a property, we allow one week for their deposit to arrive. That is a "courtesy reservation."
Reservation: Once we have received their Earnest Money, we will
mail a signed "Earnest Money Contract" via US Mail. A potential buyer will then have 30 days to inspect the property,
arrange for financing, etc. During that period, the buyer may get their deposit back for any reason.
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Fishing in our Area
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Mt. Blanca is the 4th highest mountain in the state of Colorado and lifts up off the
valley floor to an inspiring 14,345 feet total. The SLVR properties are either located on the side of Mt. Blanca, or below
it with magnificent views of the mountains. The town of Alamosa is located 22 miles away and has a Walmart, K-Mart, Safeway,
restaurants, movie theatres, a hospital and a junior college. San Luis, is the county seat of Costilla County and is about
20 miles south. The towns of Blanca and Ft. Garland are nearby and have some services. We have several, wooded parcels available
in the Sangre De Cristo Ranches Area (SDCR) a few miles south-east of Fort Garland. We do like to point out that Costilla
County is economically challenged - having only about 60 small private employers and that job opportunities are limited to
mainly agricultural in Costilla County, but expands to more types of jobs in Alamosa and the surrounding area. Costilla
County's average income is less than half of the state average and it's population is increasing slowly. During 2006, about
100 new homes and cabins started construction. Most of the people moving into the area are retired people - people with
a reliable
pension income. The unemployment
rate remains much higher than the state's average. There are more construction
workers than jobs, and many construction craftsmen are under -employed . Because
of these reasons, we do encourage folks not to re-settle here without long-range job planning and it helps to have some marketable
skills, like nursing, mechanic, etc. It is still a wonderful area for families and visitors, but if you are doing long-range
planning to relocate to the area- do PLAN and make sure you know what to expect.
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SANGRE DE CRISTO RANCHES -- SDCR
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The Sangre De Cristo Area (SDCR) has covenants and a homeowners association to enforce them. These
covenants state: one family per dwelling, 600 square foot minimum size; horses require prior written permission; building
projects have to be finished within one year; no offensive activity, such as trash piles or junk cars-these are the major
features of these covenants. The SDCR Area is also zoned estate residential and the Land Use Code provisions apply. One discrepancy
is the set back requirements: The Land Use Code requires a minimum building setback of 20' from the road. The SDCR Covenants
require a minimum dwelling setback of 30'.
The Land Use Code or the SDCR Covenants can be viewed by clicking on the links below.
Costilla County Land Use Codes
SDCR Covenants
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SAN LUIS VALLEY RANCHES - SLVR
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The San Luis Valley Ranch Area (SLVR) is zoned "Estate Residential" and zoning restrictions are
spelled out in the new "Land Use Code." Campers, travel trailers, and RVs can usually be used on SLVR sites for recreational
purposes. Under the new code, they cannot be used for permanent residences. Mobile homes have to be 1976 or later models,
and require a permit and inspection prior to occupancy. Cabins and homes also require an occupancy permit. These inspections
and permits for permanent residences are required, "to protect the quality of life and promote the health, safety and general
welfare of the occupants". A safety inspection of propane systems and electrical wiring are included. Usually an approved
septic system will also be required before a occupancy permit is issued. The SLVR area has covenants that were recorded in
the 1970s, but there presently is no homeowners association to enforce these covenants. Under the Land Use Code, all buildings
must be set back at least 20' from the street. SLVR covenants
SLVR COVENANTS
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This land in Southern Colorado is has dry and hot days in the summer and the nights usually cool
down nicely, as you would expect at a 7500 to 8500 foot elevation. There are some rainy periods during June, July and August,
when a Monsoon system moves in from Arizona. During such periods, it can rain several inches on Mt. Blanca and that
is the time when the intermittent streams are flowing. The winters are sunny and the temperatures at Wolfgang's cabin are
usually ten degrees warmer than those reported in Alamosa. There is some snowfall in this area, and more in the higher elevations
on the mountains. In the last 32 years, Wolfgang only remembers one occasion, where snowdrifts closed some of the road for
up to three days.
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TAX -PROPERTY DISCLOSURE
Please Note: Only very few of our SLVR properties
are tax property.
All Forbes Park and Sangre De Cristo Ranch presently offered
are not affected. Properties that have been through foreclosure have been clearly marked as such.
On occasion, properties we offer for sale have been involved in a foreclosure
by the County for non-payment of taxes. Under Colorado Law (CRS 39-11-12), disabled, under age, and certain military
people have five to nine years to reclaim such foreclosed property.
To recover such property, a suit must be filed and the eligibility has to be documented.
If the suit is successful, the person(s) seeking to recover the property must pay all back taxes, fees, interest, and for
any improvements made on the property.
In addition, they have to pay 10 to 15% interest on all of these expenses.
This means that the sums to be paid usually amount to thousands of dollars. For that reason, this provision of the Colorado
Revised Statutes is very seldom used. Costilla County has 3,663 residents as of the 2000 Census, and they send out 75,000
property tax bills each year. It is estimated that out of these 75,000 properties, as many as 15,000 have had
some tax foreclosure action in the last nine years. Portions of the CRS 39-11 and 12 statutes have been on the books
for over 80 years, but according to the previous Treasurer of Costilla County who had been in his position for over 20 years,
none of his Treasurer's Deeds were ever challenged under this law. In the entire state of Colorado there are approximately
500,000 properties with recent tax deeds in the last ten years and we estimate that only 5 properties have been reclaimed
under the above law. Based on these numbers, the chances of losing a property through this process is 1 in 100,000.
If a purchaser intents to start construction soon and borrow money
against the property, we recommend selecting property that never has been through foreclosure. Another option would be
to" quiet the title" (see explanation below) . Mortgagors usually
require title insurance, and title insurance is not available for tax property for 7 years.
Neverthless, some purchasers will not be able to take the stress of having something
like this hanging over their property, so we suggest the following solutions:
1) We offer all purchasers a Warranty Deed, the best type of deed available in Colorado.
If the property ownership is ever contested in any way and lost, we offer an equal or better lot as a replacement or will
refund monies paid for the property. We will also refund all monies for improvements that we receive from the party recovering
the land.
2) If the purchaser(s) want a 100% assurance that the ownership will never be challenged
within that period lasting up to nine years, we suggest an "action to quiet title." This involves a new round of notification
and advertisement and a hearing date in County Court. This usually takes 4 months and if done by a local lawyer costs
$400-$1000.
3) A third option is to contact the previous owner(s) if you can locate them and
for a small fee they may perhaps issue a quit claim deed.
4) Finally there is the option of waiting out the period. After nine years,
the ownership can never be challenged.
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Return to Reservation Form
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Wolf Creek Web Cam
SKIING--There are several Ski Areas within a 90 minute
drive from our area.
Wolf Creek Ski Area averages 40' of snowfall
per season. As of April 15, 2007, they have received over 400" and they are still open on weekends..
Red River to the south across the
NM border and is a favorite with local skiers.
Santa Fe, Taos and Angel Fire are other
ski areas in northern New Mexico.
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ALL TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SOME MAPS, ARE COPYRIGHTED
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