Property Hunt 2013 Update

As the property hunt continues we are feeling more and more frustrated.. Nothing seems to be going our way. Twice in the last two weeks we have driven to almost the California border looking at listings all through the state (spending money we are trying to save). We have been doing this in hopes to see the properties in their worst state. We want to see where water flows if any at all and how much, where the water accumulates, if there is pipes already built into the ground. Those sorts of questions are coming up when ever we look at a place. Most people would take someones word for it, but we want to see it for ourselves. A spectacular view is always a plus! Horses next door are a plus! Water rights are wonderful. Utilities already on site is almost a selling point though. I hope we figure out something very soon. Last week felt very unsuccessful, but yesterday was exhilarating! We felt accomplished. The zoning was right, utilities are on site, a home site has been approved, farm land is all around, it's in a valley, the area was beautiful.. So I will keep you posted. Things have been interesting. The original property we looked into was zoned as 'forest'. It's the perfect property, but we would have to purchase it to apply to have it changed as residential. It is a 4 month process with a price tag of almost $3000. There is no guarantee that we can even have it switched to residential. If we can't- then we can't build. That is just not acceptable for us. The whole thing was a bummer, but we have moved on. Our homestead will fit in next to all of the farm land so much better :)