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LOCATION & SIZE

The subject property is a 9.5 acre lot located along Bluebird Drive in Escudilla Bonita Acres, a rural-residential subdivision situated along the Arizona border twenty minutes east of Springerville.

Roughly translated as “beautiful bowl” this border community gets its name from its position at the base of the numerous mesas which tower above it. While most properties are located within the “bowl” area of the development, a few parcels are located high above atop the mesa, overlooking the community and boasting stunning views of eastern Arizona.

The subject parcel is one such property.

LEGAL INFORMATION

When we speak of property we typically use an address — 123 Main Street for instance.

As most vacant land does not have a physical address, however, county governments will identify it in other ways, such as a “legal description”, a parcel number or a tax code. The information provided in the table above are the ways in which the various state and county agencies will identify this specific parcel of land. These signifiers are important to have when speaking with these agencies – whether they be the assessor, the zoning office, or even the local utilities – and may prove invaluable when initiating conversations about whatever research a buyer intends to do.

Whenever one exists or has been assigned to the land, the physical address will be included in this table.

ACCESS & UTILITIES

Roads & Access: The subject property is located along Bluebird Drive. Like all of the roads in this subdivision, Bluebird is a well-maintained dirt and gravel road which should be easy to navigate in most vehicle types. It should be noted, however, that while most of the roads in the subdivision are in good condition, Corner Drive, which is the road that ultimately climbs the southern end of the mesa and leads to the subject property, is steep and one which is best approached in a larger truck or off-road capable vehicle.

Roads & Access, Cont’d: While the subject property is located roughly thirty minutes southwest of Quemado, access to the subdivision can not be found on the New Mexico side of the border and anyone approaching the property will either need to drive east from the Arizona side or double back from New Mexico into Arizona along Highway 60.

Power & Utilities: As is common throughout Escudilla Bonita Acres, residential power lines and underground utilities can be found running along Bluebird Drive at the subject property as well as servicing a number of developed home sites. Because of this, it should be neither difficult nor expensive to get service connected to whatever you decide to build on the land. Anyone looking to investigate the costs associated with connecting service on the subject property is encouraged to contact Navopache, the local utility servicing this region.

Water Service: While some of the properties in this subdivision have wells, holding tanks seem to be a common option. Given this property’s location at the top of a mesa, however, drilling for water is likely infeasible or prohibitively expensive. Because of this, anyone looking to develop the property is encouraged to investigate alternative water sources or bulk storage methods.

ZONING & RESTRICTIONS

Zoning: Catron County is one of the few New Mexico counties that has no formal county-wide zoning ordinance and defers instead to towns, municipalities and owners’ associations within its borders to make and enforce their own rules. Because of this, the only “local” regulations specific to this region would come either from an Association or from the covenants and restrictions on file for the subdivision.

HOA: Escudilla Bonita Acres has three Units of land. Unit 1 has a formal Homeowner’s Association. The subject property, however, is in the less formal Unit 3. While this Unit is supposedly subject to the control of a separate Association, there’s little to suggest that many rules are being created or enforced. In addition, whatever form this Owner’s Association takes, they do not have a website or a Facebook page. This further suggests they are an Association in name only and land owners are unlikely to be subject to many rules or restrictions.

Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions: When Escudilla Bonita Acres was first subdivided, the developer drew up a set of covenants and restrictions to run with the land. While most of these are what we like to refer to as “reasonable, good neighbor restrictions” dealing primarily with the disposal of trash and prohibitions on excess noise, there are a few covenants that deal with acceptable structures or use of the land. Because of this, anyone considering purchasing the property is encouraged to review the Escudilla Bonita Acres Covenants and Restrictions document linked here.

Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions, Cont’d: Notable restrictions enumerated in the above linked document include: Lots may not be used for commercial purposes; Skirting around manufactured or mobile homes is “recommended”; No motorized motor cross course may be permitted on any lot.

Editor’s Note: The above-linked covenants and restrictions document is one of the least detailed we here at Hemingway Land have ever encountered. Documents like this will typically enumerate acceptable types of structures, minimum square footage for those structures, timelines for building as well as how long, if at all, a property can be used recreationally. This document neither addresses nor prohibits any of those things. This, in combination with the relaxed County zoning as well as the Owner’s Association with little online presence, suggests that few restrictions exist or are being enforced here. This further suggests that the land would be ideal for unconventional structures difficult to get permitted elsewhere such as tiny homes, shipping containers, earthships and yurts. In addition, one can also conclude that RV camping for prolonged periods of time would not be met with serious opposition.

TITLE INFO

Title Insurance: New Mexico title companies will not insure a property that has sold at tax auction until seven years have elapsed from the time of that sale. Regrettably the chain-of-title history on the subject property includes a tax auction sale within the last five years. Because of this, Hemingway Land was not able to obtain title insurance, and anyone purchasing the property from us will also not be able to obtain title insurance until May 2027.

Conveyance Document: Because of the above-mentioned circumstance, anyone purchasing this property for cash (meaning paying for it all at once) cannot utilize a title company and thus will need to pay us directly. For this we are only willing to convey the property via a Special Warranty Deed. If that same buyer elects to purchase title insurance at a later date, however, Hemingway Land will be glad to cooperate with the title company as well as sign an updated Warranty Deed.

Anyone purchasing this property on Terms (meaning paying for it slowly with a down payment plus subsequent monthly payments) will be provided with a Land Contract and will need to pay our Company directly until such a time as title can be insured.

At that later date, Hemingway Land will reach out to the Buyer about changing the substance (though not the terms) of the agreement so that the Buyer can receive Title Insurance as well as a Mortgage on the property and instead make continued monthly payments to the Escrow company. Please see the video at the top of this page for further discussion of this topic.

HELPFUL LINKS

The Hemingway Land Company does our best to represent the properties we list as accurately as possible. Our research, however, will always be limited.

Because of this, included in the table to the right is a list of the relevant state and county governments, agencies and authorities as well as local utilities (and all their respective websites and contact information) which should help to answer any questions a buyer may have about developing this specific property.

Whenever possible it is best to speak with these agencies first as they will always be a far greater source of information about the local region and the regulations which govern it.

Catron County Assessor’s Office (575) 533-6577 (Click Here)

Navopache Electric Cooperative (928) 368-5118 (Click Here)

New Mexico State Engineer (505) 827-6091 (Click Here)

Well Drilling Info (Click Here)

Well Drilling Permit Application (Click Here)

MISCELLANEOUS

Mesa-Top Property With Stunning Views: It’s worth noting that during the time we’ve been in business, we’ve had properties that sit atop mesas and we’ve had properties with beautiful views. That said, we have never had one sitting atop a mesa along the ridgeline and overlooking the entire valley, if not the entire eastern end of a state (imagine the sunsets!). This property is unique in this respect as well as the fact the entire 9.5 acres are situated atop the mesa on flat, easy to develop land. Put another way, half the property isn’t positioned on an unbuildable cliffside. Furthermore, the lack of restriction found in this area suggests limitless possibilities for how the land is eventually developed. In the world of affordable vacant land, this parcel is a rare find and one we’re especially proud to offer.

NEARBY TOWNS

While small towns such as Ramah and Fence Lake sit within relatively close proximity of the subject property and will provide easy access to gas, convenience and some supply stores, the larger towns of Grants and Gallup (both roughly an hour away) will be your nearest source for most every day supplies. Grocery stores and Walmart Supercenters can be found in both towns, along with fast food chains and sit-down restaurants. While building supply stores can also be found in both, Home Depot only has a presence in Gallup. Each town boasts a Municipal Airport as well as medical facilities such as the Cibola General Hospital in Grants and the Rehoboth McKinley Christian Healthcare Center in Gallup. It is only Gallup, however, which features recreational gambling such as the Fire Rock Casino.

Datil: 21 miles (31 min)

Pie Town: 25 miles (54 min)

Quemado: 47 miles (1 hr 16 min)

Grants: 133 miles (2 hr 52 min)

Ramah: 131 miles (2 hr 42 min)

Gallup: 150 miles (3 hr 3 min)

Albuquerque: 159 miles (2 hr 42 min)

NEARBY ATTRACTIONS

Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge (Click Here)

Petrified Forest National Park (Click Here)

Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument (Click Here)

Catwalk Trail (Click Here)

Cibola National Forest (Click Here)

Gila National Forest (Click Here)

Apache National Forest (Click Here)

Ice Caves Bandera Volcano (Click Here)