Buying Land in Colorado

[Taylor Philley]

Hello! My sister is wanting to purchase land in Colorado and is needing some advice on best location for this (I’m an investor in TX so am trying to help her navigate this purchase). We have found some large acreage listings available in cities like Gunnison and Ouray and are wondering why they have sat on market so long because here in Texas, $350k for 100 acres is outrageously low. We have even seen 40 acres listed for $100k and then a 2,000 SF home nearby listed for $700k on one acre or less. She’s wondering what the catch is; why aren’t more people just buying the land and building? Also- where would you locals with CO knowledge recommend buying land? She wants to eventually build a home on the land and use it as a summer house, so she’s not overly concerned on immediate returns, but I would love for her to buy in a place that would appreciate for her over the next 5 years (instead of 25 years!) and is up-and coming. Any Colorado expert’s opinions would be very valuable! Also any recommendations for local realtors and lenders would be great. Thank you!!

[Charles Goetz]

@Taylor Philley

I don't know the specifics of the property, but I've been to those areas and some of the land can't be built on. If she is really interested, she should look at the land in person, not photos or relying on someone telling you about it. There is a bunch of land by Alamosa near the Sand Dunes that a bunch of people were scammed on. It's all undeveloped. It looks like the land you see in west Texas that's 10 acres for $500

Some of those areas you're talking about are real nice, but there could be accessibility issues. I guess it all depends on what the use of it would be.