A Saturday Morning

Even though it’s not high spring yet, weekends are getting busier with the improving weather. Yesterday (Saturday) I did a number of routine taks, including:
Digging out dandelions
Changed oil and filter in the RAV4
Washed the RAV4
Changed oil and filter in the Honda
Moved the RV from the neighbor’s yard to ours
Mowed a bit of lawn
Weed-wacked around the storage shed and house
Walked the recycles over to the town’s recycle station
Walked over to the Post Office to get the mail
Took my morning 1 3/4 mile “health walk”
And did all this before lunch!

However, I also took a bit of time to start a fire in the fire pit and enjoy a nice hot cup of tea. Here is the fire in the fire pit:

Morning fire

And here is my cup of tea:

Morning tea

After lunch it was time for a shower while Pam drew up a shopping list, them off to the grocery store (64 mile round trip) to get our stuff.

The evening was a bit quieter; Pam made tacos for dinner then it was time to watch a bit of TV and keep an eye on the sunset.

Not quite a typical day but not that far off, either. I always have some projects or work to do around the place that keep me busy pretty much every weekend.

House Hunt:

Last week we drove by a few properties in the Delta/Austin area. Our realtor had sent us a few listings and Pam found others on-line. Having not been in this area before we were curious as to what we would find. To our surprise, the area offers more than we had thought it would, including some views of the West Elk Mountains and the San Juan Mountains plus some trees and irrigation water.

While we eliminated many of the drive-by properties, one has “potential.” Since it is on Marshall’s Road, we have taken to calling it the Marshall’s property.

The big draws at Marshall’s are the trees (a variety, some very old) and larger yard (about 3.2 acres) this property features. There are outbuildings that would work for garage(s) and storage, as well as limited views of the West Elk range. Drawback, from what we can see in the realtor photos, is a very small and somewhat cramped galley walk-through kitchen. However, a bedroom+ bathroom +laundry appear to be on the main floor. We would like to tour the inside and will contact our realtor to see what can be arranged. (The realtor is on vacation so the visit won’t happen for a couple weeks.)

Here are some photos I took at Marshall’s:

Marshall’s property front yard

Closer view of the house

House from road

Storage structures behind house

West Elk view from end of driveway

The Zillow real estate listing for this house is 8903 Marshall’s Road Austin CO

Nearer to our target price range, Marshall’s also has irrigation water and fenced in areas where the dogs could run. There appear to be enough living spaces on the main level that steps would not be an issue (most of the bedrooms and one bathroom are upstairs, however). While yard maintenance would be high -at least for the first year or two – the number, ages, and varieties of trees already on the lot is a real draw for us and would outweigh the labor that cleaning up and managing the lot would require.

We continue to drive by other properties and another possibility is a ranch style home on Coogans Bluff Road. This property has a unique entrance…you drive through a line of orchard trees to get to the house!  The orchard could be a problem…Pam was allergic to bee stings in her youth  and she still has an Epi-pen available in case she is stung. Living with dozens of fruit trees around may not be a good idea, but the ranch house is on a large lot with a garage. Listing is 9467 Coogans Bluff Road Austin CO

More to come as we continue our house hunt and get ready for spring.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

So I contacted my credit union in Boulder (been a continuous member since the 1980s) to find out about mortgages.  Closing fees/insurance/pro-rated taxes for a home purchase have gone up from our previous high of $2,000 (closing on Sanderling, so land only) and are now in the $3,000-$4,000 range. Paying these exorbitant fees always makes my blood boil.  Of course, it means we must save an additional $4,000 on top of the down payment.  Ugh.

And, the Universe laughs. The actual remnant of the old town of Austin, CO (which we drove through today) is, if anything, more junky and run-down than De Beque (already a very low bar).  Which is why a purchase in town is o-u-t; only properties in the rural area will be considered.

Happy Trails.