So I found this site by accident.
It started out I saw an ad on KSL classifieds for 2 acres for $30,000 to basically do your own self sufficiency projects etc.
I am a bit curious about it.
Is this project financially stable?
I ask this because if all of everything here is paid for by loans then as the financial collapse broadens and deepens in society then people won’t be able to help themselves or keep this going.
Is the community here policing itself in terms of what’s allowed on the properties?
I feel I should explain that I mean no harm and am not doing anything dangerous. But I’m interested in alternative housing options that aren’t enforced much by traditional society. I’m interested in ideas like; low cost tiny homes on wheels, yurts, or other innovations that are new.
If the slots haven’t filled up yet, does the management allow a lease to buy option? (If its not filled up and they are trying to fill it I don’t see why they couldn’t, because they’d not have those spots taken yet. And I don’t see many people having buckets of cash lying around when the country is in deep depression.) Or are they open to leasing land only for stuff like sheep or other projects?
Is the price for the 2 acre slots set up with a financing option or is that wanting everything up front?
I’m guessing if someone is doing something they’d have to put up their own livestock fencing… (?) and that its not already in place?
Is the school setup with volunteers like a home school system or how? (I don’t have kids, but I have several years of teaching.)
Is this land that is close enough to the lake to have well options etc that will replenish themselves without going dry?
Q: Is this project financially stable? I ask this because if all of everything here is paid for by loans then as the financial collapse broadens and deepens in society then people won’t be able to help themselves or keep this going.
A: Mortgages are not an option. We encourage our shareholders to avoid debt. Shareholders could certainly use unsecured loans to build out their farms, if they choose. Most of us are selling our current homes and using the equity to build our farmsteads. The whole point is to create a financially stable, self-sufficient community.
The Utah OSR Land Cooperative exercised their option contract in June of 2020. Now the land is officially in the name of the Co-op. A group of 8 shareholders pooled their resources and paid off the loan we had with the seller for the balance. And in early 2022, we paid them off. So, financially, the land is fully owned by the co-op with no encumbrances.
Q: Is the community here policing itself in terms of what’s allowed on the properties? I feel I should explain that I mean no harm and am not doing anything dangerous. But I’m interested in alternative housing options that aren’t enforced much by traditional society. I’m interested in ideas like; low cost tiny homes on wheels, yurts, or other innovations that are new.
A: We don’t have, and don’t want to have, an HOA. Currently, the only restrictions to what you can build are:
- It has to keep you from freezing in the winter and from cooking in the summer. Most of us are building passive-solar homes with R-values in the walls of 40-50 and 80-90 in the ceilings, geothermal heating and cooling, and solar panels for electricity.
- It can’t shadow your neighbors’ solar panels.
- You have to follow Juab County’s zoning regulations for their “Outlying District” in terms of setbacks, etc.
- It must comply with the International Building Code, so that Juab County’s building inspector will pass it. This includes being engineered to withstand a 115 mph winds and a snow load of 30 pounds per square foot. It also requires the home to be permanently affixed to the land.
Q: If the slots haven’t filled up yet, does the management allow a lease to buy option? (If its not filled up and they are trying to fill it I don’t see why they couldn’t, because they’d not have those spots taken yet. And I don’t see many people having buckets of cash lying around when the country is in deep depression.) Or are they open to leasing land only for stuff like sheep or other projects?
A: No lease-options are available or anticipated for any of the farmstead lots. A portion of the 500 acres of co-op land could be leased (most likely only to shareholders) for sheep and other agricultural projects.
Q: Is the price for the 2 acre slots set up with a financing option or is that wanting everything up front?
A: No financing is available (this is a co-op, not a speculative venture. We don’t have a deep-pocketed investor who could make loans).
Q: I’m guessing if someone is doing something they’d have to put up their own livestock fencing… (?) and that its not already in place?
A: Correct. The entire 1,245 acres is fenced around its perimeter. We recommend each shareholder fence their own property to prevent dogs from damaging neighbors’ gardens and animals.
Q: Is the school setup with volunteers like a home school system or how? (I don’t have kids, but I have several years of teaching.)
A: The plan for the school is still in flux. Currently, all of the families living at Riverbed Ranch now are doing some combination of online and homeschooling. A committee of parents is forming as of June 2022 to flesh out the plans.
Q: Is this land that is close enough to the lake to have well options etc that will replenish themselves without going dry?
A. Better than that! We have our own aquifer fed by thousands of acres and three mountains. That aquifer only has one escape route towards the Great Salt Lake — through our little valley. A local well-driller, whose family has been drilling wells in our area for generations, came by and told us that we could literally dig a well every 50 feet if we wanted. Our first family well was finished February 3rd, 2021. It was only 185′ deep and passed through all three water-bearing layers we knew existed on the property. Over two dozen other wells have been dug since and all have hit lots of water and are all able to pump at least 25 gallons/min.
Feel free, NAO57, to join our live OSR Q&A sessions Wednesday nights at 8pm Mountain Time for the foreseeable future. And there’s also the YouTube channel for the Utah OSR Land Co-op which has intro and update videos.