[50ShadesOfDirt]

I live in a nearby county, and have driven through that area ... Alamosa is your nearest "big town" (small college town, farming area); this area is in a valley (bowl) between mountain ranges. It is arid, but also lots of farming on a "large" scale (wells, irrigation equipment, money), yielding those "round" green farmland plots you see in the aerial property pictures. Cold in winter, hot in summer ... but, there is some fantastic views in all directions, if you like "looking" at the good stuff, vs living in it.

If the land is priced right for you, and you can't find better land for that price (whatever that is to you), this would be workable, with solar, hauling water (for some, hauling water is year-round, greenhouse, rv (while you built), etc. Plenty of other folks live/work in that area, even out into those arid parts you are looking at. San Luis has some history, as well ...

I'd agree with those that you have to visit the area before buying ... and after that, think on it awhile, as there is lots to consider to get a homestead going, including all that others have mentioned. Not insurmountable problems, but problems that need to be dealt with ...

To get your money back on "over-priced" useless land, you have to build value into it and make it "useful"; sooner or later, to the right buyer, someone in that area will want/buy what you labored to build into it. So, for a DIY, you can build a lot of valuable things into that useless land, and make it productive. Perhaps when you visit it, you'll see what others around there have done.

 

[50ShadesOfDirt]

Colorado is one of the western states with a history of water issues/rights, and the lawyers have made tons of money off of it. But, in general, CO has relaxed some of its water rights laws. There is a magic number of acres, and it is 35 ... with 35 or more acres, you can do pretty much what you want with water on your property. You can drill a well that can be used for anything; you can even catch rainwater (legally). You'll see lots of ads for land in the 35 acres or more range, and that is because of water rights ... it takes a bit of reading ...

For smaller parcels, the rules are different, and/or the developer of the smaller parcel has worked in water rights in some form or fashion. But, the point is that the smaller parcels usually have some rights as well ... you can still drill a well, but the state may say it can only be used thusly (and, once permitted, people do what they want anyway). Verify before you buy, or buy more than 35 acres. If out in the country, you also have to verify that you have legal road access to your parcel; usually you do, but verify ...

However, out in the country, nobody pays attention to rainwater catchment ... just do it, and don't be obvious about it. There are no rainwater police. There might be "pond" police, where they buzz a drone over your property, and see if a non-permitted pond is taking shape. This is because water isn't going back into the watershed, and thence to those folks who "purchased" all the water rights long ago; money means more enforcement. Even here, folks build ponds left and right ... Haven't attempted to build a pond yet on my 40, but have plans to do that one day.

I can't imagine any state not being a great place to buy land, build your homestead on it, and live there ... CO is no exception, and there is no problem that is insurmountable. Plus, in CO you have the benefit of tons of play land (national forest, blm, etc.) around ...

 

[50ShadesOfDirt]

Finally found the right link to water rights ... national page is at:
http://www.ncsl.org/research/environment-and-natural-resources/rainwater-harvesting.aspx
and Colorado executive summary in there. Upshot: can do rainwater collection from your roof, and use it around the property (greenhouse, etc.) ... they don't want you drinking it, but most people use it for irrigation, and some just surreptitiously (wow, got 20 points for that word) run it into their filtering system.
Those with a well (the right kind of well, on 35 acres or more) can do more with rainwater collection ...