This is another Strawbale home I designed and built NW of Westcliife.
SOLD $369K on Zillow. I Designed & Built this home NE of Westcliffe about 16 years ago.

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136 Grouse Cir, CO 81252, USA, Westcliffe, Colorado

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Added On:05/20/2024

Last Updated:07/27/2024

Straw Bale Home in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado Needs finish work! Price reduced!

Green HomeHealthy HomeNatural HomeAccessible HomeEnergy Efficient HomeGreenBuilt HomeStrawbale ConstructionAdobe Construction

$270,000Asking Price (USD)

$450Annual Property Tax

1,400Square Feet

2 / 1Beds / Baths

5.0 acresLot Size

2008Year Built

$900Annual Power Consumption

Single Family HomeProperty Type

Insulation

Other

R-Value:

Not Specified

An interior adobe wall between the pellet stove and wood stove captures the heat and radiates it back throughout the night and for several days. The same is true of the floors. R-value unkown.

Walls

R-Value: 56
Barley Straw Bale wall insulation

Roof / Ceiling

R-Value: 56
Straw-filled bags insulate between the ceiling and roof,

Floor

R-Value:

Not Specified

PuniceCreat and adobe earth were used in the floor (6" deep) and stem/footers (18" wide). Six inches of PumiceCreat were used throughout the bathroom floor. While PuniceCreat is three to four times warmer than concrete, I don't know it's r-value.

Mortgage Calculator

Purchase Price ($)Down Payment

Loan Amount

$216,000

Annual Interest Rate

Loan Term (years)

Estimated Monthly Mortgage Payment

$1,554.92

Key Green Features

Biowaste Management

There is no need to contend with human bio-waste with the Biolet Composting Toilet. Photos coming...

Native Landscaping

No Maintenance!

Rainwater Harvesting

A 1500-gallon concrete cistern filled with rainwater is in place and has a feed line running to the house. It has yet to be connected to the household water supply. This lends itself to Fire Protection, an alternate household water supply, and lower insurance costs.

Eco-Friendly Materials

Other

Where was this used? PumiceCreat (floating lava stone granules) was used throughout the foundation's stem wall. It was also used in the bathroom floor to prevent cold floors.

Strawbales

Where was this used? I used Barley straw bales which keep their insulating straw shape (better than Oat or Wheat). They are placed between support posts throughout the building. There is no weight on the straw. They provide an r-value of 56.

Property Description

(Updated 6/12/24)  Unable to modify this format. You may want to copy/paste this text into a word processor so it is easier to read. Better yet, email or message me for the more readable Full Digital Detailed House Description...   [email protected]  

STRAW BALE HOME
Colorado Rocky Mountains
by Owner/Builder

Five Forested Acres
$270,000* ($235,000)*

The Hard Work is Done!
Invest $15K Finish Work
Up to $40K Equity

[email protected]  

Appointment Required
House hunters interested in this house should request and read the Full Description (Available upon request. This is a condensed version) before making an appointment. This is not a conventional home, and reading exactly what it needs will help you determine whether it is for you. Buyers with a letter of Pre-Approval Financing, Pre-qualification, or Cash Buyers and those who read the Full Details will be given priority.

Straw Bale Fans who are not looking to buy but are curious or want to see the house to get ideas about building their own straw bale house, please understand I do not have time to show it to every interested person. However, upon request, I will arrange an open house for the curious and SB builders. Feel free to drive by and look at it from the road.

Introduction

The house is fully functional and livable. I am the builder & owner of this straw bale home and own this house outright (no mortgage). I have built three straw bale houses in this area and have worked on several other straw bale projects. This house was built as my home; this means I put in extra quality work and features in this house. The heavy construction is complete, about 80%; some finish/detail work remains. Since this house is functional and completely livable, you can move in immediately and live in it as you finish it. Nothing immediate is required, so you can complete the projects when it is convenient. It would take a full-time person about one month to complete the house. Equity-wise, you could hire out the work and still come out ahead.

While crime and rent prices escalate, buying a home in Custer County makes safe sense. Home prices in the country are lower, and the county jail recently closed due to too little crime.

House Completion is Estimated at $15K

The property does not have a water well. I have been hauling my water. But the house w/o a well was selling for a low 235K. Initially, I had offered the buyer the option to install the well for under $15K and receive an instant equity of $35K – increasing the home's equity/value to $270K. But I had no takers. That offer will stand until I begin drilling the well. The estimated cost for drilling a residential water well is $25 to $65 per foot or $3,750 to $15,300 on average for a complete system and installation. Here in the Wet Mountains, my neighbor hit water at 60', but it is abundant at 150'+. A potential artesian well is bringing up water on the road below, creating a wet spot.

Some Electrical and Plumbing are needed: Essential electric outlets are active. Water and a composting toilet are operational. Some of the main materials required to finish the house have been purchased and are included with the house.

As an incentive to buy, it is set up so that the Sweat Equity of $15K would increase the home's equity by $40,000, or $310,000 in home value.*

The final expenses and earned equity would depend on your choices of esthetics.
 
*Price & Equity

How did I arrive at the $235,000 price of the house? 

I took into consideration the asking prices for regional Straw Bale Homes on the market. The Straw Bale Home industry states SB homes' costs/values are up to 15% above the typical quote for a conventional house, giving you up to $54,000 Equity. However, at this time, I am not including the house's SB Equity in determining the home's value. 

I averaged four suggested estimates: Chase's $381K ($480K High Range), FSBO's $342K ($420 High) Rocket Homes' $346K for Finished Conventional Homes, and, importantly, the selling price of a Straw Bale House I built locally that recently sold for a comparable price of $310K ($360K minus $50K for outbuildings and 6 acres more than my property). That average is $355K.

I subtracted  $120K for sweat equity from $355K for a total of $235,000 price for my house. In effect, $30K will provide $75K sweat equity plus SB Equity of $54K, increasing your home value to $365,000. I am providing these price breaks as an incentive to sell the house quickly. I am motivated and not obsessed with money. However, upon installing the well, that sweat equity of $30K will be cut to $15K – but you will have a well!

Bottom line: If this completed house were resold in today's market, it would sell for between $310,000 and $364,000 +.

Important Notice Of Price Increase from $235K to $270K
The following is based on the lower estimate of $310K. The property does not have a water well. I have been hauling my water. I was asking for a low 235K w/o a well. I had offered the buyer the option to install the well for under $15K and receive an instant equity of $35K – increasing the  home's equity/value of $270. But I had no takers.  To attract more buyers, I will be installing the water well which will increase the home's value/price to $270. If interested, there may still be time to negotiate the wells installation and the keep the cost of the home below $270. The estimated cost for drilling a residential water well is $25 to $65 per foot or $3,750 to $15,300 on average for a complete system and installation. Here in the Wet Mountains, my neighbor hit water at 60', but it is abundant at 150'+.
Does the price of $270K for my home with a well with $15K sweat equity sound more appealing than paying $235K w/$30K sweat equity? This shows how advantageous this equity plan is and why it would be more profitable for you to put in the well. 

Contact me for the detailed house description, work to be done, or the link for Sold SB Home, info,

Creative Owner Financing 

With 75% down, I can offer a fixed interest rate of 2.5% (beating the Fed's high interest rate of 7%). I am open to other options – including trade for establishing a 5-year minimum internet presence and marketing a book I wrote.

Trade
I need someone long-term who is experienced in internet marketing for a project. I will trade about 25% of the payment for such services for five years or longer. That is about $50K. (A serious, committed learner will be considered.)

Location and Area 
 
The home is in Custer County, in the South Central Rocky Mountains of Colorado. It is on 5 acres of hills, with 400+ pine trees. It is on a cul-de-sac road with minimal to no traffic. There are two other homes on this road; one is a summer retreat. You'll have most of the area to yourself. Custer County's population is 4,700, and it is not a major tourism center, so living here is quiet and easy. Westcliffe is the nearest town, 18 miles north. Pueblo is 65 miles to the east. Colorado Springs is 75 miles north. Denver is 135 miles away. The 50-mile-long Sangre De Cristo mountain range, with 14,000-foot peaks, is 10 miles across the valley. Hiking, backpacking, biking.

Pine trees cover the area with occasional meadows and grassland valleys. Electric lines are underground. The homes in the area are on five-acre parcels with county-maintained roads (including winter snow removal). The value of the custom-built houses in the area ranges from $250 K to $2 MM. There are a few newer modular homes but no mobile homes.
 
This property sits in the Wet Mountains at 8950 feet elevation and above a 7500-foot high valley that runs at the base and length of the snow-capped mountain range. The name Wet implies an abundance of shallow water (60 to 100 feet) as it can rain here more than in other areas. The property has abundant wildlife. I continuously see wildlife on my property: deer, bobcats, lynx, coyotes, a few bears, foxes, squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, and a beautiful variety of birds. Several deer trails crisscross the property. The animals are free to roam with few fences in the area. It is very quiet and peaceful here. I love the contrast of the winter in a warm, imperviable straw bale home, yet the house is cool in the summer. It has been the ideal setting to concentrate on a book I've been writing. I stopped working on the house when it was livable to start writing. 
 
The house sits on a slightly sloped, northern side of a pine-forested hill above a meadow known as Antelope Valley, the name of the subdivision. The house's interior is 1200 sq. ft., and the exterior is 1400 sq. ft. (Keep in mind the straw bale walls are 20" deep with a stucco coat.) It has two bay-front type entrances. If viewed as two sections perpendicular to each other and sharing a common wall, the house's exterior dimensions are 30' x 25' and 30' x 21', plus an 8' x 8' rear entry mud-room with a storage loft. See the floor plan.

For a copy of the Full Description detailing this home's advantages and the completion work to be done, message me at:  [email protected]. (This is a condensed version.)

Home Energy Evaluation

Glazing: Dual-Paned Windows

Installed Appliances:

High Efficiency Furnace was installed in 2020 with seer rating Renni EX22C

Air Sealed: No

Energy-Star Appliances: Refrigerator

Tankless Water Heater Installed: No

Home Health Evaluation

Water Purity: no

Air Purity: no

Radon Test Date: ,

Wall Finishes: Plaster, Clay Paint, Low VOC Paint

Energy Cost Breakdown

Gas	400
Wood	500

Property Website

Website: None other than Facebook, and Zillow

Contact Seller

Listing ID : 22320