In lush Sonoran desert 30 miles n.w. from Tucson in a general rural zoning area we developed 9.4 acres into 5 parcels as a land split with underground water, electric, & phone to each & cleared spaces to build 3 more homes (easy access) for friends or family if desired. We built a 1334 sq. ft. non-toxic home by 2003 on 1.5 acres & sold 1 parcel & there are 3 parcels left that are 3.3 acres, 1.5 acres & another 1.5 acres that go with the sale of the house. All surveys & permits are with Pinal County. We dug a good water well with a food grade 1500 gallon holding tank to serve the parcels.
We have good air & lots of sunshine & don’t worry about snow, ice, mold, earthquakes, hurricanes, pesticides, humidity, crime, floods or lyme disease. Pinal County allows living in trailers/motor homes for a year if building & for guests for 3 months. Everyone loves our spring, winter & fall, but June thru Aug. is 100+ with a few monsoon rains to cool us down for a week or so each time. Winter nights are in 40’s/50’s & days in the 70’s usually. Quail Haven elevation is about 3000 feet & Tucson about 2700 feet. Our house is well insulated & faces due south with mostly glass for passive solar. The weather is so nice about 9 months for low utility bills & house/land taxes are also low. About a 15 to 20 minute drive(paved except .5 mile of flat cared for dirt road) is the town of Catalina with amenities of Dr.’s, restaurants, stores, library, gas, school, park, etc. & Bashas shopping center with more stores & grocery of organic & conventional items.
Saddlebrook is even closer with other amenities. We’ve seen lots of varieties of birds, antelope & rock squirrels, cottontail & jack rabbits, a mule deer & hear coyotes sometimes. Our house is well insulated & faces due south with mostly glass for passive solar. We’ve seen lots of varieties of birds, antelope & rock squirrels, cottontail & jack rabbits, a mule deer & hear coyotes. Our house is always rented as it’s high demand for people with asthma, sensitivities to chemicals like formaldehyde, fragrances, new carpet, etc. It’s a simple health conscious home rather than a show piece. Fab sunsets/rises, dramatic clouds, monsoons & excellent bird life. There is a very large chain link fence area in the back yard & various trees & cactus plants are maintenance free.
From Catalina is Rancho Vistoso, & Oro Valley & malls, hospital, etc. all the way into Tucson proper. You can build on the other parcels or have just friends or family buy them. We have blue prints that costover $1000 that could be given to whomever you sold parcels to. The 2 stoves, 2 refrigerators, 2 washing machines, & a dryer in 1 of the 2 small sheds, the tables & metal shelving, some chairs, some kitchen wares & cotton curains stay with the house. The house is Eco block construction with polystyrene forms with 9 inches of cement poured in the middle has superb insulation & strength. Stucco outside with dry vit over protects from mold getting in cracks/leaks. Heavy gauge sturdy steel roof & 2 skylights. Automatic sensor flood lights, extra electric plugs, & gutters outside. In the main kitchen is the instant hot water heater. Ceiling fans/lights combo’s & windows in each room for cross ventilation. Fir interior walls, U.S. dry wall, low voc paint. Heat pump has HEPA & ultraviolet filters for heating/cooling. Polished, tan cement floor. 3 sliding glass doors face south onto terrace for passive solar heating, sides have SGD & 4×6 windows for lots of light. Both bathrooms have windows & double doors with windows for good ventilation. Floorplan allows 1/3 of house to be shut off & rented with its own bath/kitchen/wash machine.
House on 1.5 acres alone asking $300k or house & the remaining 3 parcels $350,000.
