I want to add a bit to this because there are a lot of RV people buying lots in the land scam areas of New Mexico and haven't really done their homework about the risks and dangers involved. It was my researching this idea that led to me finding the property I'm going to look at in the spring, and am saving the down payment for(or for something else if I don't like it) by camping in Ehrenberg for the winter.
First, info about one of the land scams in the area I'm looking in:
http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/393/590/348176/
http://forum.freeadvice.com/other-r...s-11/seattle-world-fair-land-scam-193188.html
The basic jist of this is Golubin bought huge tracts of desolate, over grazed by sheep land for next to nothing and set up a scam where they "gave" a piece of land away to "prize winners" and then high pressure salesmen would go after these people to buy adjoining lots. He made it look like these were going to be wonderful middle class residential areas and that infrastructure was being put in place when all that was done was dirt roads graded in, some of which can't be seen today. He got busted for mail fraud and spent time in jail but the state never worked out some kind of legal relief for the new property owners or settled the bankruptcy that occurred with the land company.
While these lots can be legally bought and sold you can't get title insurance on them, you can't get a mortgage on them. Most of the area was subdivided into 1/4 acre lots and the state stipulates you must have at least 3/4 of an acre for a legal septic system.
For those seeking to build without permits: no one is buying them and the county isn't going out to these residences to enforce it. It's literally a no mans land of un-legal building and strangely enough you can buy homeowners insurance. However, grow pot and you open yourself up to being arrested
without a warrant.
Here's the very real part: if the state ever decides to legally settle the bankruptcy many people could potentially lose their lots in the process. However, since the price of lots is dirt cheap(unless a seller is trying to take advantage of the gullible) many people are taking that risk because many of the lots are less than the price of a months rent. No joke. Depending on the location of the lot you can buy a 1/4 acre anywhere from say around $700 to $2000. Property taxes are about $15 a year. However, again no one can get mortgages for these lots so if you make any improvements and decide to sell later you are going to be at the mercy of people having the cash to buy.
There's a volunteer fire department complete with their own firetruck, you can get internet throughout most of the area via TaosNet wireless and the police will come out if something happens but it takes a little bit for them to get out there. There is also a legal community well you get your water from if you buy in the right area. If your lot is close enough to see the airport you can get great cell service. Power is by solar or wind only.
If you're truly adventurous you can build a small septic system with 250 gallon ICB totes and companies will come out to pump them but these properties will never go up in value because again, there's no infrastructure. They are great lots for people to park their RVs on and maybe have some kind of small building or house built from a shed but that's about all. Drilling a well, NO! It costs a good $20k to drill one. There is a post office in Carson you can get a rural mailbox. The roads are NOT maintained all that much so some lots require having a 4x4 to get to during monsoons and snow.
What I've described is all in Taos county. There's a separate land scam west of Albuquerque around Belen that people are also buying lots in as well but I like snow too much so I haven't really looked into them. One section of that land scam area successfully petitioned the state and they are now a legally titled community.
So in closing yes, there is some incredibly cheap land out there but you get what you pay for. If you are considering this kind of purchase be aware that some areas don't have physical addresses so you may have trouble with that, as well as if you buy a lot you must consider that you are stuck with it and won't be able to sell it. Taos county has a property tax auction each year and these lots are always on it because the owners just let them go, they really aren't worth all that much.
Also fair warning, there is an area of the land scam that a lot of people with issues escaped to. These people are mostly located in Units 4 and 5 in the Carson/Two Peaks area. Fair warning. There was a documentary done about some of the people living in this area called "Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa". Recently I was made aware of some murders there. This is not an easy area to live for anyone but there are others who have made decent lives for themselves in other units away from the crime ridden ones.
I hope this brings some reality to those looking in the area.
