We had the best well in the area, because every single property drilled a new well in the first two years we were there. After 4 years of droughts, our water level dropped 80 feet and we drilled ours deeper and added a chlorinator for $8K. Many others spent $40K on theirs. The water gods were smiling on us and I’m grateful. We put in a 10K gallon water tank and outside water filter, so we had better water than the City can provide. Tasty clean water. The chlorinator kills iron bacteria, a nuisance as it makes the pipes sludgy. Not a health hazard. Out there, you need your own water treatment system.

If you buy a property with a well, pay a lab to get the water tested, and a driller to test the water depth and flow rate. Our buyers didn’t and trusted me. They were lucky. They could have been easily led down a costly path. Several neighbors had water trucked in, at $1/gallon. Yikes. Think about how much water you use, and it was easily $700/month for water. Some drilled in several locations before hitting water, at $10K – $20K/attempt.

If you build, factor in the cost for a fire truck turnout ($25K) that your builder won’t tell you about necessarily. Mine didn’t, and the money we had put aside for the solar energy system went instead to the driveway. Many costs to being in the boonies…

Insurance: ZC Sterling did not cancel us or raise our rates after the fire. Farmers, etc. charged people $2500/year for $800K home, before the fire. I paid almost half that. My buyers found insurance, but not ZC Sterling. Many pulled out of that area. I don’t know who they are using.

Which home were you considering? Did you look at my house on Rio Maria Road?