Sell Your Lot in Sangre de Cristo Ranches

Selling Land in Sangre de Cristo Ranches: What to Know

Sangre de Cristo Ranches is the large lot subdivision on the hills east and south of Fort Garland. Many owners bought a lot here years ago and have never built. If you are ready to sell, you do not need to list it and wait for months.

EasyLotBuyer buys land in Sangre de Cristo Ranches for cash. We make an offer within 24 hours, charge no fees or commissions, pay the closing costs, and can close in as few as 7 days. We buy lots with back taxes, liens, title issues or no road access.

What Sangre de Cristo Ranches is

The Ranches sit next to the town of Fort Garland in Costilla County, in ZIP code 81133. Malcolm Forbes split the land off the Trinchera Ranch in 1971, and lot sales ran until about 2000. According to the landowner group SCRO, the subdivision has about 7,740 lots of 2 to 20 acres, with an average of about 8.5 acres. The lots are off-grid, and some homes sit above 9,000 feet.

Forbes Park, a gated subdivision nearby, was also built by the Forbes company, but it is a separate subdivision with its own association and rules.

Roads, access and winter

Most lots are reached by dirt roads that were cut when the land was platted. Some roads are steep or rough, and wind can drift snow across them in winter. Plan to use a high-clearance vehicle and check the forecast before a winter visit.

Before you build a driveway on an undeveloped lot, Costilla County requires a Road Access permit unless one was issued before. The current form lists a $200 fee. If your lot is hard to reach or has no road at all, we still buy it.

Water, wells and cisterns

Water is the biggest issue in the Ranches. A 2025 Colorado Sun report says the ranch's water augmentation plan allows up to 4,400 wells in the subdivision. Wells at the higher elevations often do not reach water, so many owners haul water to a buried cistern. When the Fort Garland water district stopped bulk water sales in August 2025, residents who hauled water had to look elsewhere until the board voted to restore sales.

Every new well needs a permit from the Colorado Division of Water Resources (DWR), and the county also requires a minor development permit for drilling. If you have a cistern, the county requires at least 500 gallons, buried below frost depth. You can check whether your lot already has a well permit with DWR's Well Permit Search. Call the DWR Division 3 office at 719-589-6683 with questions about your lot.

Power

The San Luis Valley Rural Electric Cooperative serves Costilla County. SCRO describes the lots as off-grid, so most have no power line. If you want grid power, ask the co-op for a line extension quote. The county's minor development permit covers up to three power poles.

HOA, covenants, camping and building rules

There is no mandatory HOA or POA in Sangre de Cristo Ranches. The developer wrote covenants, but SCRO says the developer became defunct in 2009 and no one has authority to enforce them today. SCRO is a voluntary owners' group, and you do not have to join it.

County rules do apply. Staying in an RV or tent on the same lot for more than 14 days total in any three months needs a Long-term Camping Permit. A home must be at least 600 square feet with a kitchen and a bathroom, and you need a septic permit before a building permit. Rules and fees change, so check with Costilla County Planning and Zoning at 719-937-7668.

Taxes and what lots sell for

Property tax is paid to the Costilla County Treasurer. You can look up your bill and pay online at costillacounty.gov.

We did not find a public source that tracks sale prices for the Ranches alone, so these are ZIP and county figures. Recent market data for ZIP 81133 (Fort Garland) shows a median land sale of $15,000 over 191 sales. Across Costilla County, 5 to 10 acre lots had a median sale of $9,000, and the average time on the market was about 152 days.

How selling to us works

Send us your parcel number or address. We research the lot and make a cash offer within 24 hours. If you accept, we open escrow with a title company, pay the closing costs, and can close in as few as 7 days. There are no fees or commissions. If you owe back taxes, they are paid from the sale at closing.