Here's what Apache County Arizona isn't telling you about PERMITS

Hey guys! My name is John, I have lived off grid over four years now, in Apache County Arizona. I have hundreds of free videos on my YouTube Channel but today I wanted to clarify how I've built my homestead and what I had to figure out after years of communication with the county.  

Before I ever moved off the grid, I called the county and talked to each department regarding turning my raw land into a homestead.  

My experience and the experience I hear about so often is just how strict they appear to be and how limited they are in the information they offer.  This is not an attack on the county by the way, simply feedback I suppose.  They seem to make it very difficult to understand exactly what you can and cannot do and they seem to provide the most difficult route to building a homestead while never touching on alternative options. 

In example after years of working with the county,  after installing and having my pail privy system inspected and permitted.  I learned there was an alternative septic system which should allow me to build and permit a home.  After buying all of the components for the alternative system, I was then informed that while the health department approved of the alternative system the building department would not accept it for building a home.  Thousands of dollars later I still only use my pail privy system and have started to use the parts I bought a scrap material around the homestead.  

Finally after years of calls and talking with different departments, I learned that an option for building and permitting a living quarters on a homestead is to build a simple room,  cabin,  shed type structure.  Basically a small home with no plumbing and no electricity.  This unit can be inspected and permitted.  And with the pail privy system you can build yourself a small home and restroom legally on your homestead.  

I personally highered a civil engineer to simplify the process in regards to making sure I'm building my cabin correctly along the way and his overall understanding of the process.  

This may not be the option for everyone but for someone living frugal as I do who can't really budget a complete septic system yet.  This is a wonderful solution.  I'm a simple person and I don't need a fancy city home.  

After all the questions I've received over the years, I figure many people could use this information.  And for those who went ahead and built a cabin without permits in mind.  It is possible to do a retroactive permit.  You could higher a civil engineer to be sure your structure is up to par and then have it permitted.  

Check out my FREE Ultimate guide to off grid living

And if you're curious how I'll power my cabin

Here's the solar system I went with

And if that's out of your budget 

Here's a frugal entry level option

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