Vein of Gold

Cedar City's Highway 14 To Duck Creek

2012-01-16T10:17:00.000-08:00

The crucial Highway 14 over Cedar Mountain to Duck Creek and Highway 89 remains closed. However, as work begins to repair the highway and remove the debris from the massive land slide, it has been proposed that a single lane of traffic be created to provide access to cabin owners, livestock owners and tourists.

This action would mitigate the impact of the road-closing landslide on thousands of people for the multiple trips they have to make, back and forth, to their property or tourist destination. Utah's state Route 14 is heavily traveled all year-round, but traffic is particularly heavy during the summer months. Local ranchers are especially hard hit as they must currently transport their livestock over extra-long distances to bring them to and from their summer ranges.

The estimated cost of repairing the slide and restoring the highway to it's previous capacity is aproximately $15 million, this amount coming from both state and federal funding. Estimated opening date of the temporary one lane is June 1, 2012. Real Estate website

The New Land Barons

2009-07-30T13:50:00.000-07:00

The old land barons have gone bust, but a whole new batch of rising entrepreuners are emerging. They have a world wide market for their product, and every single item is unique. What product offers a unique version for each specific product that is promoted and sold?
Real estate.

And what kind of real estate can be marketed and sold all over the world? Southern Utah real estate. Now, no one really claims that Southern Utah real estate is the cheapest in the whole USA. But it often appears that way when you have 2-acre lots selling for $2000, or 41 acres selling for $27,000, or 316 acres selling for $119,000. And quite often, the seller is willing to finance the transaction, so that you can tie up a large parcel for only a few thousand dollars.

People want to buy land, large pieces of land. And Southern Utah has such a strong appeal with its magnificent vistas, alpine forests, red rock canyons, and National Parks, including Bryce Canyon, Zion Park, Lake Powell, Canyonlands, Arches, and nearby Grand Canyon.

The lure of the old west brings them in, and the rugged natural beauty of the countryside creates a longing to own a piece of this beauty. Then they go back home and get online to find a piece of their own land to buy. Now is the time for you to get in on the front end of the next boom in Southern Utah real estate. Create a legacy for yourself or your family.

Cedar City, Parowan, St. George, Kanarraville, Beryl, Newcastle, New Harmony; each small city or village has its personal appeal. Brian Head Ski Resort gives you the snow and trees of a 10,000 foot elevation, while New Harmony has its fantastic view of the red cliffs of Zion Park. And in between you can find the open high desert valleys where the deer and the antelope still roam freely ( sometimes into the farmer's fresh alfalfa hayfields).

Prices have shifted downward dramatically over the last two years. And no matter what you might think, these prices will rise again. The key to becoming a land baron is in anticipating this natural rise and acting accordingly. Some will wait for a signal from the national press before buying. They will find that the best bargains have already come and gone. No matter. As they say, it is hard to catch the bottom. But if you want to catch it, the time is now.

Golden Paper

2009-04-07T17:21:00.000-07:00

The Government, meaning our elected lawmakers, have decided to reward home buyers with some of the paper printing that is currently all the rage in Washington. $8000, if you buy a home this year, will be applied to taxes owed, or simply mailed to you if you owe less than that amount. If you stay in your house for a minimum of three years, then the money is yours to keep. Of course, you won't keep it, you will put it back into the economy by buying furniture, lawnmowers, rakes and shovels, etc. You see, the catch is that you have to be a new homeowner, not having owned a home for the last three years. So you need all of this stuff to make your home look pretty and maintain it inside and out.

The Utah legislators, jumping on the bandwagon, have decided to contribute another $6000 toward your financial wellbeing, but only if the house you buy has not been previously lived in! In other words, let's clear out the standing inventory of new homes on the market so that builders can go back to work building more of them. There is no new homeowner requirement for the Utah windfall.

Money printing is not so readily available to the individual states anymore. That was phased out long before our granddaddies were born, but Utah can get money from the Fed's, so they alloted $10 million for about 1660 grants at $6000 each. In other words, there is a limited supply, unlike the Fed's promise of tax credits and cash for any "first time" homebuyer.

Like all of the government meddling in financial affairs, these programs move money around from one pocket to another. Some give and some receive, and most of us do some of both, one way or another. Sales of new and existing homes seem to be picking up under the warmth of all this government attention, plus some nicer spring weather and most likely, a pent-up demand for homeownership.

Is this a bottom? Everyone and their financial advisors are looking for one so they can move on with their plans, having some feeling of security. Will the sales stay ahead of the foreclosure rate? Will the long term results bring economic stability and happiness to all? Time will tell.

Water Rights Are Not Civil

2009-03-31T05:56:00.000-07:00

As the Mormon pioneers settled the area that became Utah, they parked their wagons wherever a canyon stream emerged from the mountains and meandered into the adjoining valleys. Then they set to work to alter Mother Nature's existing channels with numerous irrigation ditches that would direct the flows, such as they were, onto additional areas of the parched, high-desert land. Utah's valleys began to "blossom as the rose" wherever the expanding population cultivated the land with the aid of irrigation water.

All of the state's water resources were legislated so as to fall under the ownership of the state government Then agencies were created to assign and regulate all of the private and public uses of water. Water rights were assigned and then became "perfected" as water usage was established, and then "proved up" by the user, primarily in three categories: domestic (household or culinary), irrigation and stock watering. Sources were labeled as surface, such as a stream, or underground, drawn from a well. Each category and source had its own set of rules governing the applicable usage of the actual water, but the overriding principle for all water rights in the state was "use it or lose it."

Water rights can, and do lapse, or expire. While there is a statutory period for establishing or perfecting a water right, there is also a period, 5 years of non-use, for losing the right to use that same water. This has happened many times all over the state, as water right owners have failed to maintain or prove the usage of the water right allocation that they own.

Driving throughout the state, it is visually evident that water is in short supply. Verdant green fields, mostly producing alfalfa hay, are interspersed between large stretches of gray-green sagebrush. Each valley or drainage, as delineated by the state Water Engineer, has its own allocated amount of water rights which ideally would match up with the actual amount of annually renewable water. However, as growing populations increase the demand for water in the majority of these drainages, it is becoming evident that many of them have too many water rights allocated.

Water rights have always been somewhat mobile. In other words, within a drainage boundary, the use of the water could be transferred from one location to another. This allows a land owner to acquire water needed for use on a parcel of land that does not have a water right associated with it. While water rights transactions changing the ownership of the right take place between private parties, all transfers must be approved by the State Engineer. When the transfer is approved, the new usage or location is subject to the requirements for proving (physically demonstrating) that the change is effective, such as building a house, watering livestock or irrigating the land.

Prices for water rights vary with each drainage based upon supply and demand. Prices are reflective of the growth that is taken place throughout Southern Utah, and since that growth has been slowed temporarily, the prices have moderated somewhat lately. Prices are not set by any entity but are bought and sold at negotiated market prices very similar to real estate.

If you have land or are buying land in Utah that is not served by a community water source, then water rights are certainly a factor that you should be aware of and investigate. Determine your purpose for the land and find out how much water you will need for that purpose. If you are planning for the future then a water right can be acquired later if that is more desirable than maintaining it over the years in between. If you have a water right, or are acquiring one in conjunction with your real estate purchase, then the Division of Water Rights can be very helpful in explaining what you will have to do to perfect and maintain your water right.

New Gold in Southern Utah

2009-03-30T09:10:00.000-07:00

Southern Utah has a rich history regarding natural resources. The early Mormon pioneers were sent down from original settlements in the Salt Lake Valley to present day Iron County to procure iron from the rich ore deposits located west of Cedar City. Mining continued to produce quality iron until late in the 1970's when metals prices could no longer support mining costs.

Silver was another viable metal that was found in Iron County and had multiple successful operations in the county until known deposits were finally depleted. The last silver mine in Escalante Valley closed also.

The old iron ore deposits, however, are back in operation once again with higher demand making the prices rise above costs. But greater attention is now being drawn to another local natural resource; one with no depletion factor, driven by expanding demand and advancing technology: renewable energy production.

This region of the state has a wonderful concentration of renewable energy options. Geothermal energy sources are leading the way with water heated by Mother Nature deep beneath the surface. The elevation, coupled with numerous days of sunshine each year, make it a top-notch location for solar power, and finally, the wind that everyone is so quick to complain about has a barely tapped potential for endless, effortless power.

This is one arena that entrepreneurs, environmentalists and government officials can all get excited about. Now watch the scramble begin for the prime locations next to transmission lines, especially where geothermal sources are also present. Solar installations can go in anywhere there is access to a transmission line. Wind and geothermal are somewhat more site selective. But between the three of them, together with extremely low land prices plus goverment incentives, it makes western Iron County a prime target for growth, job development and price appreciation.