About to become New Mexico tax payers!

Property taxes, that is. We wrote a contract which has now been accepted on 5 acres of land not far from where we now live. It was accepted and ratified, and soon we will be landowners …homesteaders …estate-holders …indebted! No turning back, now – we’re tied to the land. Dirt under our fingernails. Alright, enough already.

We found a nice piece of ground that is – soon to be, was – part of a larger parcel that was not really on the market. Are you curious? Here’s the story – owing mostly to Nick’s hard work and our real estate agent’s willingness to ask questions. When we had looked at everything on the market without success, and after I mentioned a tactic I used when I myself was a realtor, Nick set out to explore the landscape in the areas we were most interested in living. He identified a number of sites that were appealing and then we asked our realtor, “Are you willing to approach a landowner and ask if they’re interested in selling, even subdividing and selling?” Then we took her for a ride and pointed out spots of interest, including, indirectly, the piece we now will own. She asked the right questions of the right people, and found that this 5 acre piece, part of a larger 15 acres, could be purchased for a very attractive price. It isn’t currently on the market, although the 15 acres had been surveyed into 5-acres lots and city water, power and telephone had been brought to the edges of each lot; obviously the owners had some intention of selling eventually.

Here’s are links to some still images on flikr :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonnie-in-silver/sets/72157621053683892/

Buying land here is a different experience. On another occasion, I told the story of needing a witcher to help locate water for drilling a well, and witchers here make a decent living; you wouldn’t buy land without one if you’re smart – or you have city water. So this time, no witcher for us. But there’s more to this purchase than a divining rod.

Today, Nick went to the Grant County offices (this property lies just outside Town limits) to explore a number of questions, including the ownership, restrictions and rights to the land. One thing we need to research is the mineral rights. The term used by the County staff was “tracing back the land ‘patent.’” A new term for us: it means “A land patent is evidence of right, title, and/or interest to a tract of land, usually granted by a central, federal, or state government to an individual or private company” according to Wikipedia. I gather that a patent was the first title to the land to be held in white man’s hands. Certainly the Native Americans, in local case, the Mimbres people or the tribes of the Apaches neither believed in or traded in land patents. In the East, we always just heard it called ‘title’ to the land, with ‘title searches’ and ‘title documents’ that went with the ‘deed.’ We need to check out mineral rights because if you don’t own the mineral rights under the surface of the land for which you hold the ‘patent,’ someone could conceivably show up and demand to drill your land because they, not you, have the mineral rights of extraction. On another piece of property we looked at, we discovered a small stone monument with a mining claim etched, going back to the time this area was first staked for gold, copper and other minerals. So either Nick or the title company will have to do the research back to when this land was first patented to make sure there are no existing mining rights, which will lead to some reassurance there are no abandoned mine shafts, which are found frequently on land that was part of large tracts now divvied up and sold as building lots.

All this makes me remember one of my favorite stories of all time. That is, a telephone installer on the Eastern Shore of MD whom I knew well, was doing some renovation in his home, the family farmstead. He knew the farm had been in his family for some generations. But he couldn’t guess how many. Until he pulled up flooring in the attic to find a strong box, with the original deed – ‘patent’? – granting the land to his ancestor by King George of England back before folks decided they didn’t want a king.

Now it’s time to get serious about designing a house. We have a designer, and we’re talking to an architect to help us creatively. We know we want to build green – passive solar, etc. We have lots of pictures pulled from builder, architectural and home design magazines for ideas and inspiration. We won’t be able to build until our house in MD is sold. At least I don’t think so. Unless I can get really creative on how to swing the finances. And you know me, I can get pretty creative when I really want something. I can’t wait to move. I can just see our new house and see us sitting there…guess I’d better start thinking…mmm, wonder if we…