House Hunting!
Nice chunk of property Joe!! Up here, there is a government incentive to go solar. That is one of the reasons why Lori and I are moving(not enough room here). Just a short blurb about it....there are several different options you have for solar...you can install(3 or 4 different ways) and sell it ALL back to the local utility provider. Currently the rates at selling back vary from 60 cents to 80 cents per kwh. In our climate this will give you approx 7 years and the system is paid for. After 20 years you are $140k in the black!! Average rooftop install is approx $70k, so add that to $140k and you get $210k in 20 years from an initial $70k investment. 300% return on your money over 20 years!! Sounds like a scam right??? Nope my boss at work did the roofmount system(800 sq ft) of solar panels and it cost him $68500 and a little bit of paperwork. He sells it ALL back to Hydro One(Ontario Hydro) because his consumption price is cheaper(10 cents per kwh). The reason that Hydro buys it back at a high price is cuz it is an incentive for people to install these on their property, and in all reality it is cheaper to do that then spend the billions of $$ on building new power generating stations. Food for thought.Good luck and keep us informed about the house!!
Zero incentive here other than the 320 days of sunshine that Colorado gets and the indepence it offers. ;) Solar panels are getting more affordable and more efficient everyt day. The big problem is storing that energy, but you can sell it back, like you all in Canada are doing, that negates the battery issue. Batteries are getting better too, but they are not quite where they need to be.......yet. :)
Go with my blessings Joe.
Buying property is a big step and I am sure you are ready to get out on your own land, The aluminum plant may bea good source of Materials, wow how did I miss this thread.
I know you will be looking close , see if you can get a record of there electric bill and see what the R factor is would be a +.
Get ready to ask the bank for an extra amount for a nice big mower 8)
Enjoy your serch and it sounds like you are doing your home work :cheers:
Thanks Brother, your blessing means a lot me, no joke....And yeah buddy, I'll be needing a big riding mower if i get this place. :D I finally got in today and met the owner. She's a really, really nice tiny little gal of about 71 years of age. Her husband passed away not too long ago and the property is just too much for her to handle. Oddly, her son has a big Rottie named "Apollo" that was chained up outside. Sheesh, this dog had to be about 160 lbs. He wasn't a bad boy, he just wanted to play ball, but... I'm no dummy, lol. He wasn't goint to suck me in so he could break my legs, lol. There are no gangs there and no graffiti anywhere in the entire town. My local friend did a crime check (retired railroad detective) and found nothing of note. No murders in 20 years and forced entry was zero within a 5 block radius.
This place has propane heat and a good sized well. There was a few 1" hoses hooked to it for irrigation and water here is a major deal. It is set up on town sewage and the hook up was done less than 15 years ago. The floor plan was very open and lots of light through the windows. Through the front window, the aluminum plant can't really be seen since the house sits low. No smell or apprecible noise either.
Big kitchen seperated from dining room by a bar height counter, front room from entrance (lobby? Can't think of the word..), one bedroom with a big deep closet and bathroom/tub, another bedroom linked to utility room with a huge walk in tiled shower (husband was in accident and injured his spinal cord) about 4x8. I'm thinking DOG SHOWER, lol! No disrespect to her former husband intended... Big, big living room and a sun room that's fully insulated and double paned windowed.
Now on to the garage stuff. :D There are three seperately poured pads within one building. Not one pad measured less than 6" thick and none had so much as a single crack. The garage was built on an old barn and the hand hewn uprights were massive, 18" x 18" at least. All new roofs on the house, garage and all outbuildings. 110 and 220 already wired into the garage and one outbuilding. Just one bay holds a complete RV and is as big as my present garage.
The concrete parking pad next to the house can hold 3 big pickups easy. What I thought was a chicken coop on the picture is big and deep enough to hold another 6 cars easy and the roof does not leak but is not in the best of condition. There are two more outbuildings and a big dog house. One outbuilding has a dirt floor but the uprights are made from railroad ties sunk in concrete with 3" x 12" headers and new trusses. I could fit two a-bodies in it and it has 220 and 110, just like the garage. Another outbuilding has, again, a new roof and is finished with a wood floor with clean stucco interior and 110V power. It's about 10' x 12'.
Now the bad.... The house needs a bit of drywall work and tape and paint to make it perfect. Nicer than what I'm renting now though, lol. I need to get a well flow and quality check. The doors on the garage are crappy barn door opening style that have to go. The property needs fencing and some general TLC. The garage walls need work and the concrete pads don't connect as they were done piecemeal. 2/3rds of the fencing needs to be done right to keep the poopshooters on the property and not fighting with the nieghboring farm dogs. Maxi thinks she's tough but these farm dogs will tear her to pieces, she has no idea..... :-D
So, that's my uneducated assesment. They just dropped the price by another 10K in the last 72 hours BTW. :cheers: