October 28, 2004—The Duske’s Take on a Project
When we were in Yuma last season we mentioned that we saw great potential for money making by developing an RV lot here. We very nearly purchased a lot last year, thinking we’d come back this season and develop it. However, we have a rabid aversion to debt and making payments so we put off the purchase thinking it would be better to do it this year with cash from the sale of our home in Bend.
Well folks, we sure missed the boat on that one! RV lots that were as plentiful in March as the cactus around these parts have suddenly been all bought up. Not only did we return to find only a handful of resales now available, but the price increase was staggering. Lots that were listed last spring for $27,100 now command over $50,000.
Luck was on our side as we hit the streets running the first day of our return. We started making offers after taking about two hours to look around in the area we wanted to be in and were fortunate to secure an undeveloped lot in a prime section, one street over from the golf course and many $300,000 site built homes.
We’ll be moving on to the lot next week, as soon as it closes escrow in three days. Marc will immediately work to get all utilities installed and connected. We have tentative plans for how we want to develop this piece of property; at 66x110’ a good size for allowing two RV hookups and a small casita, which will be built in Sante Fe stucco style and will serve as the RV accessory building.
We’re very excited to be doing this project; more excited than we’ve been about something in a long time in fact! With Yuma booming and growing, we feel this will make an excellent investment and return for us for resale in a two or three years.
If any of you dear readers are thinking of a like investment in the Yuma area; you’d better get here soon! The developer of this section of The Foothills will no longer be doing any RV lots so the supply on the resale market is quickly diminishing and prices are jumping rapidly. Real estate is booming here--there is a year’s wait for a home to be built if you buy one today at any subdivision in town. Good luck on trying to find a contractor to custom build you one. You’ll also wait a year for that. Short supply and great demand; I think that equals a huge success for the Duskes, since we’ll be doing this project ourselves.
Future installments of our journal will chronicle our progress, step by step. Please feel free to drop us an email if you have questions on the process or the area. We’re open for additional work if you decide you’d like to develop something yourself but need help with the supervision of the project. Marc is highly qualified with many years in both hands on construction and supervision of very large projects.
Meanwhile, waiting for our lot to close escrow so we can move the rig on, we sit in the California desert just to the west of Yuma, enjoying the peacefulness of beautiful boondocking.
