A few months ago, I wrote about taking a huge step out of our comfort zone and buying a property on five acres in northern Arizona. We backed out when we learned the 1,400 ft. well was dry, that it was 40 to 74 miles to the nearest grocery store/medical/hardware, and it SNOWED when we visited! All things you wonderful readers warned us about. Both your encouragement in taking that huge step, experience, and understanding when we backed out were so comforting.
We are late on leaving this Arizona hotbed—115 degrees forecast for today—because we are trying yet again! This time, we researched the area much better and know what we want. Having friends living nearby helped with needed advice.
We spent some time in the nearby “village”—yes, it is called a “village”—and we really liked it. They have a small market with milk, limited groceries, and a deli. 15 miles away are all the major grocery stores.
We instantly fell in love with the land, the space and the mountain views. At least I fell in love with the mountain views, my husband more with where he could build a Quonset hut for the RV. The house is an old Southwest brick style and, umm, it’s interesting from the outside. The inside, not so much. As a matter of fact, I think I said “yuck” or “ick” when stepping in. Maybe it was, “Ugh—Hate the inside.”
There is a reason it had not been selling. Yet the land and location lured us, and we made a low-ball offer. It was accepted. Again, there is a reason it hadn’t been selling besides the dismal housing market.
So, on with inspections and a list of things to do on this project house. “Project house” is so much more positive than fixer-upper! The previous owners built and lived in the house for 45 years until they passed away at 91. So it is old, outdated, and does need some TLC. Actually, a lot of TLC. What my husband calls just cosmetic is actually roof resurfacing, wiring, tearing out the walls, and decades-old carpeting. But it has lots of water in the well and no grass to mow or leaves to rake!
So, once again, we are out of our comfort zone. No HOA or close neighbors, and no more easy living in the convenience of a retirement community. We have renovated houses before and have taken years to do it. This time, we may not have years, and this could well be our last hurrah. Our hope is that with our wonderful friends volunteering to help and the people we can now hire to help, the renovations will be done before we pass on.
So, now we’re holding our breath and trying to figure out if the free-range cattle in the area have been able to navigate the plugged-up cattle guard.
Please wish us well on this grand adventure!
MORE ESSAYS BY NANCI:
- Our next chapter: Taking an uncomfortable big step
- Rediscovering the camping I fell in love with so many years ago
- The things we dream of doing… What’s stopping you?
- What to do when the joy of your RVing dream life fades?
RVT1214
Congratulations and best wishes.
Congrats Where in Arizona is this?
As we “grow more experienced”- AGE- a fixed location to hang your hat on becomes a “benefit” as an option to life style. Also, how many more RV’s are you going to buy. You may need a fixed location for your husband to fix, repair or upgrade your present one to keep on taking trips.
Congratulations on your new adventure!
115 degrees in June. At least it’s a dry heat. Should be fine.
My oven also has a “dry heat”, but I am not planning to move into it!
However, the advantage to dry heat is that evaporative (“swamp”) coolers work great in it. It was 98 degrees, but 12% humidity, at our 50 year-old house yesterday and the inside temp never got above 74. And our summer electric bill is 20% of the cost of our neighbor across the street, with the same age house built by the same builder, who has refrigerated AC.
Oh the days of a swamp cooler. They worked great and the maintenance was super easy.
If you need a builders risk insurance policy, I am happy to help you! Licensed in Arizona!
Congratulations on the ‘new to you’ house! Its a new adventure and you will make it yours (and beautiful) soon!
Be sure to post pics as you make progress!
Eagar, AZ is where our friends “summer” and they love it. At 7200’ elevation, the weather is perfect in the summer. Yuma in the winter. A 5th wheel in each location.
While we still have the house. It is a large historic structure, perfect for raising a family with room for their friends (and a couple exchange students added more flavor). But as we turn 70, with our kids living in other states, there is too much maintenance. We keep a larger TT on a site year-round as a seasonal home. We love the retirement community feel of the park. But stationary RVs need a lot of TLC also. The RV park also welcomes park models. And we are starting to look there. Great retirement community, residential appliances and plumbing and HVAC costs than our TT.
Congratulations on this next adventure. May the Project House bring you lots of happiness and satisfaction improving it the way you want it.
Rooting for you! Please keep us posted on the progress.
The house sounds perfect. The best feature is no HOA. We’ve looked at a few of those, but they didn’t sell low. We’ll keep looking.
Congrats Nanci! Here’s wishing it proves to be everything you’ve hoped!
Late last September, we cancelled an RV park reservation in Camp Verde because the forecast was for 102 in CV, 110 in Tucson, and 114 in Phoenix! Instead, we stayed above the Mogollon Rim, where a new record high for the date was 81.
Yes, it snows above the Rim in winter, but it’s not Minnesota or New England winter. It’s SW U.S. winter, with snowmelt a couple of days after the storm. In January several years ago, we stopped in Flagstaff on our way to Las Vegas. There were snowdrifts under the pines along I-40, but the highways and city streets were dry, the sun was shining, the sky was bright blue, and the daytime temps were in the 60s–shirtsleeve weather. And LOW humidity!
Congratulations on your new house. It sounds like that with a “low ball” price, you will have plenty of options to make it your home.
Congratulations on your new home! Enjoy the renovation, as you make it yours.
Congratulations. You’ll make it. Just remember Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will your new castle.
With a good water supply in the well, and the septic system, in working order, you’re golden! New roofs are easy. Best wishes!
Congrats Nanci. I hope you’ll provide updates as work progresses.
10 years ago we stopped overnite at a campground in Kingman AZ and I went into the laundry. Got to talking to a lady doing her laundry
said she come 60 miles to shop and do laundry. House has no well and has water delivered by tanker truck. I don’t think I could do that after being used to turning on a faucet at anytime. Or going to town for a loaf of bread, whatever
would be a whole lot different for me. She didn’t seem to mind it
Thank you for the tale of two optimists, Nanci! 🙂 I wish you and DH well as you undertake this. I gather that you sold your Dad’s house, or others in the family now occupy it. Enjoy your respite in Minnesota and good luck when you return to your project house. Have a great day and safe travels!
Congratulations! We ended up buying property in AZ as well…about 10 years ahead of plan, but happy we did!
We are not quite as brave as you are with your new adventure but we just built a new house north of Greenville SC and will do the slow move over 1 1/2 yrs until retirement. At that time, sell the big Victorian home in upstate NY and say see ya to NY state
Nanci, we to are looking for land either in Payson or Prescott AZ area to camp on land during the summer and then live in our stick built in the Phoenix. Where are you guys in southern Arizona? are you near Tucson? We camp at a KOA in south Tucson a couple times a year, maybe we can hookup and talk rv 🙂