Success! I found my Off-grid dream Property in Cochise County! 

Hi Burke. As long as you have the disposable income to harvest enough cash for a modest setup here in Cochise County you can get set up with solar and rainwater harvesting etc. Meaning once set up your costs are zero to live here as far as the building/utilities are concerned. Naturally there are other expenses in life. I basically live entirely on social security and with supplemental income from youtube. I love that there wont be any utility bills in the mail ever. No mortgage either. Everything I have done is with a modest amount of cash. About the cost of a new SUV to be honest.

There's many beautiful places to live out here. 🤠

Wow, that sounds so cool! I love Arizona, are you still there? Was it a dirt floor? It sounds interesting!

@@jimbryant7433 Yes, but my grandparent poured a concrete floor and then tiled it.

Thanks so much Steve for your comment. Yes it's stunning here. And for a bird guy its candyland! Thanks so much for your good wishes on my adventure. Stay tuned new video posted in just a day or so showing off the beauty of this property!

It's very scary for sure! I also put my entire life savings into this move. Prepare to feel overwhelmed a lot! But the goal of having an affordable home is a miraculous option I think. Definitely worth going through being challenged! Definitely feel free to ask questions. I hope its helpful to follow the timeline of the videos. They should provide you with a step by step plan to live economically here in Cochise County. If you have questions by all means post them. Cheers and all the best!

Thanks so much Pam. I enjoyed the shed build that you and your husband did watched it several times

@@donkimball2635 Oh cool! Thanks so much. We have built a carport too. Fixing to start building our house. 😊🙏

Many thanks for watching Rick!

Thanks so much for watching and keeping track of my progress

I am a very very blessed man. I have so much more than I deserve. Thanks so much for your kind well wishes and for watching!

Thanks Cliff. Tons of stuff has been done since setting foot on the property. Will crank out vids as soon as I can! Thanks so much for subscribing!

Thanks so much Russell. I believe I definitely have.

I love QLD and actually considered retiring there until I learned that to obtain a retirement visa Aus would have me drop 750,000 in an Australian bank account first. Not likely to happen thats for sure!

So kind of you to say Thanks so much!

🌼

Thanks so much for watching the vids Tricia!

Sherry that is so kind! I hope you enjoy my vids! So great to have you here!

Panda a word of encouragement. You are bright and resourceful so I would put my odds on you finding a super affordable property. Just be willing to be flexible as you stay firm on things that are non-negotiable.

Thanks very Much. Much appreciated. Thanks so much for watching

Thank you

Hi RT Thanks so much and its so encouraging to hear your enthusiasm regarding all of these videos! So glad that there was entertainment in some as well! Thanks Again!

And a bird guy from Canada’s dream

Hope you subscribed Elaine! Yes Video No. 3 is in the making as we spaek.

What episode was it? I wanna see

Great to hear that you enjoyed the video and found it helpful! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Jim delighted you are watching the videos and many thanks. Hope they indeed are helpful.

Thanks so much for watching delisse!

Great choice! I personally think these areas and Cochise County is going to get flooded with immigrants over the next 5 years or so coming here from other states.

Ronnie & Minh. So delighted for you! It takes a lot of work and years of searching sometimes but something that works for most folks is out there.

and you as well fox! Thanks for the encouragement!

Hi Roy. Your so welcome mate. Nice to meet you and I was super glad you were okay and so impressed you are so ready for such serious adventure. Way to go and I hope the rest of your adventure is safe and full of interesting encounters with folks. Cheers Roy!

Thank you so much Carol! So great to have you checking out my life here. We have known each other for so so many years and you are such a loving person. Miss you.

Yes indeed and me too!

Many thanks for your super comments. Congratulations on your new property!

We bid on land in Navajo county last week, we thought that was our property and were getting in the car to move. Still looking in that area and hoping to find it this week.

@@naturalearththreepointthre2553 I wish you great success! I'll be making a trip to my 1.33 acres in August 2021 to get a soil test conducted!

Glad it was helpful!

Thanks so much Etta!. This may will be my 2nd year here! Hard to believe.

I am very fortunate to have found such a super place. Thanks for watching my vids!

mike20sm I so love having new folks come by and check things out. Let me know if you have any questions!

Thanks so so much for the congrats! I am blown away how fast this channel has took off! Thanks a ton for subscribing! Lots and lots of new videos coming!

@@affordabledesertliving3487 will be waiting for those videos.

Thanks for watching Mark! Great to have you here.

Many thanks for watching.

Yes super fortunate. Great place!

Way to go!

Thanks Patti! Keep watching as the story unfolds!

Wow thanks so much Dan!

Thanks for keeping up with things Tomer! Lots lots more videos to come! I am a bit behind on creating and posting but have amped it up.

Wow thanks Ron! High praise. More to come!

From one Canadian to another I so appreciate your encouragement. Stay tuned lots more videos coming!

Thank you GreenHorn, I needed to hear this today!

@@CringePanda I’m happy to hear that. 🤙🏼😁👍🏼

Thanks edgar! Appreciate you watching.

Excellent choice. Very good. For my property I hope to develop it further than an off-grid cabin so a septic was a proper choice for me. But as I said I am going to cheer on anyone that can reach their goals and dreams and do it frugally.

Thank you Jeff. I have lots of vids posted now and I hope they are helpful!

Love the solar air heaters. Saw some being made out of soda cans in NFLD in a vid once. I will be showing all of my insulation install soon! I am from New Brunsiwck. Wondering where you are from.

@@affordabledesertliving3487 I saw the same NFLD inventor! I made one 6x6 foot which produces 95C of heat. I was born in Douglas but raised logging and fishing in BC.

@@aaronvallejo8220 wondering if set it up to heat what area of your home and where the intake vents are to receive the heat from the heater. 95 degrees sounds real warm!

@@affordabledesertliving3487 The solar air heater gently and silently adds heated air to your building whatever the size. With a little 4" duct fan there is a little noise. It will roughly heat a 12 by 16 foot area but that all depends on high insulation in the attic, walls and floor. I put the cool intake hole just above the baseboard and the top warm ventilation hole is at 6 foot height so everyone can reach the removable insulated hole plugs every morning without having to get on a ladder. To manufacture the solar air heater itself I had to build a big bench. I could also build it in place on the southern exposed exterior wall but I choose to build it in my shop over a few weeks during my share time and carry it into position for installation. I bought an old dresser drawers from the Thrift Store. With 2 pieces of 3/4" plywood I made the working top. I ripped a few 2x4's in half vertically for underneath perimeter support of the plywood followed by angled 2x2's at 45 degrees to the bottom of the dresser firmly up the sides and corners of the work table. I then chiseled out a perimeter recess for embedding angle iron along 2 sides of this work bench. These angle irons will help make the 90 degree breaks in the steel sheeting forming a box for our solar air heater. I used C claps to hold the galvanized steel sheets in place and used a rubber mallet to break or fold the edge of the sheets. Once I formed a crisp looking box I rivetted the corners together. I then installed 2 layers of R12 tinfoil foam boards spray foaming and taping with aluminum tape sealing all joints and gaps for both layers for all the backs, tops, bottoms and walls of the solar air heater. The better insulated the box the more heat will flow into your home when sunny...rather than radiating heat outside. I cut out 4" top and bottom holes through the insulated steel box. Bigger units can have 6" holes for more air movement. I spray painted the back and sides with matt black high temperature paint, cut and installed the header, footer and vertical aluminum downspouts, painted, plexiglass lens, sealed with more aluminum tape, edged the outside with steel trim rivetted to the main steel box. I rivetted wall attachment plates on the top and bottom back of heater. You'll have to line it up on your exterior wall a time or two to get the ventilation holes correct. Trail and errors works hahah. Once the holes are good I used more aluminum tape to make chimney heat tunnels followed by two 3 foam layer hole plugs for the ventilation hole to keep the heat generated inside after sunset. Here is my unit I built. Enjoy. Solar House Heater 95C (203F) Feb 20, 2019. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7S8CWsIcK20.html

@@aaronvallejo8220 Fantastic you have a home in Douglas to escape some Canadian winter if I have it correctly. Your Canadian Solar heater looks excellent! Way to go and bound to reduce energy bills.

Thanks for your encouragement James!

There are still some great properties in Cochise. Research is the key for sure. All the best and hope you find something great. Thanks for watching.

bquade70. I had one day that was 99 inside my cabin but that was an exception. Since then I have 2 electric fans that take care of super heat. Doing great now! Thanks for watching!

Fantastic Terry! To me folks who are not tuned into birds are missing such a huge part of life. I still don't get why people are not as fascinated with them as I am.

hulk many thanks!

Kathleen. Not all that bothered by the temps once I settle in to summer weather. Would rather have that then bitter cold. Thanks for watching!

Property is getting more expensive and scarce Debi. I would start searching now if you folks are serious. Thanks for watching my adventure here! Cheers!

Many thanks Alec. Check out the video on the importance of Septic. You can see the install and I mention prices in the description as well. It was $5000

Thanks for your comments! I have not or will not do a well. Even if I got water at 100' they will drill further as a precaution. I would be looking at least $18000. I will do rainwater harvesting. In a dry year I can purchase water to fill a 1600 gallon tank for as little as $200. At age 65 I would have to live to be over a 100 before a well ever made economic sense. Thanks so much for subscribing.

Fantastic!

I wish you the best Laurie! I dreamt for years sure that nothing would ever develop for me. Cochise County and its super inexpensive land overall was a Godsend!

Brian I am super looking forward to meeting! This place is stunning to say the least! Thanks so much for checking in with my journey. I especially appreciate it since now there are a ton of channels and videos out there to grab our attention.

Thanks so much for checking out my videos. Arizona is wonderfully affordable for sure. As far as little ones are concerned naturally you want to make sure they are safe just like in any environment. In rural areas simply have play areas cleared well so that anything that slithers around is easily detectable. Most reptiles avoid open areas for obvious reasons. If your seen you are in trouble by a host of predators. Also little ones need to be equipped with sun hats etc. But lots of kids are raised here without incidence. You will want to connect online with other families who actually live here in AZ for a good complete picture. Naturally common sense is the main factor here.

@@affordabledesertliving3487 great thank you so much for that extensive reply. I am still working through all your videos but I would like to connect to you. Really really appreciate everything so far and love how honest you are. Currently we live in the mountains so we have some expirience with the rural type areas. My kid loves playing outside so yes sun hats are a must.

Gloria when checking out Apache County make sure their permit process allows you to do a creative build without over the top inspections. Cheers and all the best!

and you as well Blissful Acres off Grid! Thanks for watching my channel.

@@affordabledesertliving3487so glad to meet others who live in the desert. We are between Kingman and Bullhead City. Enjoy your new desert adventure!

@@blissfulacresoffgridhomest2098 Fantastic location for affordable living I am sure! Bullhead City seems to have some great recreational areas. Thanks for the kind wishes for my new adventure!

Hi Merindah. Sounds like a super plan. I tried long and hard to figure out a way to retire in Australia. It just so fits for me. I always say I have always been Australian I just was born to a Canadian family LOL.

Yes in SE AZ in the Sierra Vista area.

Hi Jimmy. No the attorney only assisted with the well share agreement cancel. Gilbert & Associates surveyed the land for me and I combed through all of the CC&Rs and details regarding the property before I purchased it. Although detailed it wasnt too big of a hassle to go through it all. Delighted the video was helpful. Cheers!

@@affordabledesertliving3487 what are size limits if under 4 acres?

@@landdealsCA 300 square-foot tiny home on foundation

J Boveni. First of all congratulations on your 5 acre parcel! Everything hinges on the septic being approved. The County staff told me that they wouldnt even continue processing my opt out application until the testing for the septic had been done and given county approval. To make it easier and kill 2 birds with one stone I had Mike my septic guy clearly illustrate where my house would be as well when he diagramed where the septic would be. Rather than drag out the inevitable septic install process I had it done shortly after I got the goahead from the County. After the septic was installed and approved THEN phase one of the permit process was granted. I was given the go ahead 3 year permission slot for developing my home. Once the home is established and county will come by and inspect for a final time. That is Phase 2 the last one. So I am in the 36 month development period at present before the final inspection. Then I can live in it. Hope that makes sense. Respectfully sometimes the county staff (depending on who you talk with are a bit unclear). But they are well intentioned and do their very best to be helpful. A tiny home for your retirement sounds fantastic! way to go. I hope this helped. This was based on my experience.

Ok, so the perk test needs to be completed 1st, I get that. Did you opt out of the inspections or are you building to code? If I understood correctly, you can get the less expensive permits and only need one inspection?

@@jbovenzi I am using Opt out and you definitely need to go through the 2 major inspections. Inspection 1. Your septic and home site (distance from other properties etc) is approved. Inspection 2. Your outdoor lighting is approved, you have 2 gray water outlets to your home and your hot water on demand is given a thumbs up. So Opt out is less expensive but you still have a couple of hoops to jump through. The beauty of Opt out though is that no licensed contractor needs to be involved when you do your build. This is the heart of Opt out. Hope that makes sense!

@@affordabledesertliving3487 Thanks for the information. May I ask How much did your perk test cost?

@@jbovenzi When you have your perk test done its typically done by the septic installer you have chosen. Once the county approves your perc test the septic guy does leech lines and puts your tank in. In my case it was $5000 for a 1000 gal tank. Inexpensive in the world of septic install. I checked around a lot before choosing my septic man. You can see the whole process I went through here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-CjRy1mmmNfc.html

As others have commented 4 acres in Cochise is very affordable if you dig hard and look. No matter what the property is like in my opinion its the only ticket to freedom from being a slave to landlords charging major rent. But I respect that each persons situation can vary.

@123rewd thank you for the advice

Hi Gea. Thanks for watching my videos. The most important factor would be the size of the cottages and their usage. For example if they were all under 200 sq ft and used primarily for storing your belongs etc. These are considered a shed and it is not necessary for a permit for these. While a foundation is encouraged it is not necessary for "storage sheds". One option would be designating any cottage that is over 200 sq feet your main residence and then one cottage could re registered as an accessary dwelling unit. These are allowed by the county but I don't know if you can own more than one. Before making such a serious move I would consult with Cochise County first. They are often pretty easy to access and communicate with. www.cochise.az.gov/202/Development-Services. I hope this helps.

Hi Patrick. The Shed is only a temporary dwelling place and not an official living quarters. Anything 200 sq ft or smaller is categorized a shed. With the County I am already registered under the Owner Builder Opt Out permitting system. I have 3 years to have significant progress made on the home described in my permit which is 1200 sq ft. I will be working on this, what I call my "big house" ASAP and will need to have significant progress completed by mid June. While the main building is a 16x40 or 640 sq ft. The large porches for rainwater harvesting makes the home significantly larger. The County counts porches as sq footage. The minimum size home. One can obtain a permit for a building deemed living quarters but the smallest (tiny house) permitted is 296 sq ft. Hope that makes sense. Cheers.

It ended up being 200sq ft. Thanks so much for joining me here!

Thanks for watching Donna. I have my septic already installed. (you can check it out in my list of videos) Sounds like you have a good spot. Being Canadian I avoid snow if at all possible so Colorado wouldnt have worked for me. That said its fantastic to hear of other off-grid folks all over the US. Probably a lot of broad-tailed hummers in your area. Cheers!

CC SAP. If you are on your property for several months a year Cochise County will consider you residing there. That means you will need to have a septic install on your property. If you check out my other videos on first step Septic. You will see what I mean. With a composite toilet and only kitchen sink water drained into the septic you can get away with some really small ones. Check out the Green Dream Project and use their search for septic and you will see what I mean.

@@affordabledesertliving3487 Thank you very much, I will.

@@Jj-gi2uv Thank you so very much. Wow! So many good pointers. I hope to meet you someday and maybe buy you a lunch or dinner.

Hi RG Yes I can certainly understand why you folks moved out of California! So unrealistic to live there financially unless one is well off. First I want to encourage you both in that YOU CAN find an affordable way to live. I can't speak for many other states but possibly some Texas counties would offer flexible permitting for your cottage. I am sure there may be others. I wanted to focus on a place with lots of sunshine and preferably here in the western US so AZ was a natural for me. Having said that please note that it isnt just Cochise County in AZ that allows cottages. ru-vid.com/group/PL7sQO385YI_DDR9XewCPZt725FQ_Knj4s This is Robert and he lives in Pima County which is the same county as Tucson. Be aware that each county can have its own challenges of course. You want to pick a place that is both affordable and safe etc. That can only come from lots of online research. I took years to decide on this place. Hope that helps. You can always email me at: affordabledesertliving @gmail.com All the best!

Have your real estate representative do that for you. Thats what I did.

@@affordabledesertliving3487 thank you

Yes the shared well comes with the property. Personally I dont like them. One or more strangers working with you on something as important as water equals problems I believe. Unless they are super thoughtful and kind.

Appreciate you watching the videos Karen

Hi Kate. Human manure is a total option if you go through a county approved composting process. A good resource would be the facebook page Cochise county opt out permits.

@@affordabledesertliving3487 Thanks for your feedback!

Land in this area changes price constantly. Whatever I quote will not be accurate since it was purchased in 2019. Zillow is our friend in this case. Thanks for watching!

Hi David. No this is not too personal at all. I have discussed this before. As a legal permanent resident of the US since the early 1990s I have paid into social security like my american friends have for many years. I started drawing it at age 65. I also get a modest Canada Pension Plan benefit as well. I found that taking social security at age 65 only reduced my benefit about $75.00 or so rather than waiting until 66. So in essence very thankful for social security. It's my main source of income.

Oh my Jerry! There are many of us here that use earth bag and straw bale etc. THAT is what makes Cochise County special. With the opt out you can build your home out of just about anything. Please check out my video on the opt out permit. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-04ttdE2gCck.html The county may or may not provide you that information voluntarily. You have to ask them. But best check out what others have done. For example check out Green Dream Project and Midlife Prices channels. NEITHER of these people are doing wood/stone structures!

Yes mandatory with the County. But you can do an inexpensive one. Check channel The Green Dream Project.

New vid being posted this eveing! Your comments timing was perfect!

@@affordabledesertliving3487 Absolutely perfect. Will be looking forward to it! I look forward to seeing your progress. You do have a few other RU-vidrs that you might already be familiar with, that live near you... If not, feel free to let me know and I will pop in and tell you who they are (not trying to spam another channel without permission)...

Wow I so wish millenium2003. Land has gotten even more expensive unfortunately but if one looks hard you can find some good deals.

Nobody's giving away free land. If you want cheap land, look in places like Navajo or Apache county where you can still find 40 acres for $500 per acre.

Hi Aiden. If you can afford to go with the traditional building permit where all aspects of your building pass county inspections then you could go that route with only 1 acre. Your Tiny house would have to fall under the proper category for permitting in all ways. My belief is that this would be a lot harder than going the opt out route. For one thing HOA;s in most areas when you are on only 1 acre will demand your home be a certain size. A tiny house would not work in many cases. The County are really helpful so you can always jump online and do a live chat with them with your questions. That should help. But ALWAYS double check with them as depending on who you talk to each may give a different perspective. You dont want any awful surprises once you have committed to purchasing land.

Check your zoning. I got an acre and didn’t realize I was in an sr22 zone. Build on site. Kinda set my plan back. I wanted to put a conex home on it and cannot

Paul as usual we are all hampered by media information. The media will tell you that AZ is running out of water etc. Here is the real picture. Cities like Phoenix and Tucson (to some degree) rely on the Colorado River which is drying up. Plus lots of development in regions that are too dry to support that! Also wells going dry in heavy agriculture areas. Now lets focus on this area (which I did before purchasing). Rainfall is consistent over the years (even with global warming etc.) I rely on rainwater harvesting. Its not only legal its encouraged here. The more catchment space you have the more water. That simple. I have no water concerns and this area still has abundant aquifers if I wanted to drill a well which I dont! If you like check out my videos on my rainwater harvesting set up. So the lesson here is: Unless you live here you will get a lot of misinformation. Thanks for watching!

@@affordabledesertliving3487 Very glad to hear you are hydrated. I love being somewhat self sufficient on my mini farm , hunt/fish. I live well for cheap. Stay safe Sir. Its a hard world getting worse daily.

It's all over the map Jack. In the McNeal Area its cheaper. The closer you get to Sierra Vista its more expensive. As I mention. Best to take a 45 min drive circle around a major center like Sierra Vista or Bisbee and then start looking. Zillow is your friend in this case. Expect a broad variety of prices starting at about $3000 per acre these days. Rough figure but should give you an idea.

$6800.00 Thanks for watching!

@@affordabledesertliving3487 Thanks for the reply, but holy crap! $6800 for one days work. I'm in the wrong business.

@@leehartung2549 That included 2 driveways being leveled and the tank itself. Compared to other places "starting" at over $7000 I saved thousands by using Mike.

You can rent a backhoe for $250 a day and do the work yourself.

@@jbovenzi Incorrect. The County wont even recognize your work as legitimate unless three 12 foot deep test holes are completed first and a specific soil perc test is performed by a county approved septic installer. I love frugal myself but things can't be worked around and receive your opt out permit.

These days they go around 20,000 here.

Great comment Winny but telling you an out-dated amount wouldnt help anyone wanting to purchase here. Land here varies a great deal. That said I can give a general figure although the cost of land here has doubled since I purchased mine. Land here goes for about $3000-$5000 per acre generally. Hope that helps.

Can't watch someone who is not willing to say how much land cost. Wasting my time. Be selfless.

@@winnytjar4873 Zillow is always your friend. That is what I did. I came here with a stack of properties and they were very different prices. Also you can always contact my local realtor Cody Hoyer. She is easily found by google. No worries if this channel doesnt work for you. Cheers and thanks for coming by.

@@winnytjar4873 Wow don't be a jerk. Some people just don't want to say what they paid for their land online. It's not our job to invade their privacy. As well the market flucutates a lot, not even counting inflation. If you can't perform a simple google search then you're probably not even genuinely interested in buying land, but rather seeking entertainment.

​@winnytjar4873 he stating how much approximately.He can't control the market. Rude much? Don't be nasty!!

Very very simple. Now they are not obligated to help pay for pumps, drilling etc. They can choose to drill their own well that they own or choose not to. Several people owning one well equals potential problems.

Amanda sadly you will have to go the traditional permit route. An Opt out permit is not an option. Your home and all aspects to it will have to meet code by the County.

@@affordabledesertliving3487 so so?good to?know so Ill make sure to not get anything under 4 acres

Do you think cochise county would be considered dangerous for a single mom? Being so close to the border

@@AuntLorasHouse I would suggest watching my video in my channel on Cochise County Opt out permit. Forgive me if you have watched it already. Thanks.

@@AuntLorasHouse That said another option for you would be to find an under 4 acre plot and place a mobile/manufactured home on it if zoning permits. It will have to meet code and inspections but if you find a small chunk of land that had an old mobile on it you can remove that and then your home will already have zoning cleared to place it there. If you can avoid like the plague mobile home parks with pad fees. Owners of these places treat them like cash cows and raise your fees as often as permitted as a rule.

Karen my email address should be posted in the video description. You can reach me there. affordabledesertliving@gmail.com. Cheers.