Future property purchase outside of Phoenix

Preamble:
About 2 years ago I decided to get into Agriculture/ Permaculture/ Aquaponics with the hope of having some form of a business. I have gone through a few iterations of how this would play out. The most sensable is that I would purchase a home outside of the city and then start my system.

Challenge:
I have had quite a roller coaster ride as far as looking for property. I have been outbid on about 7 and a few others have fallen through for various reasons. I am not giving up, however I am not sure if there may be a solution I have not seen yet. I was looking for homes (manufactured mostly) that have >1 acre but <10 acres west of Phoenix. The major problem is financing. I feel I can overcome distance, lack of water (given a well on site), heat, soil conditions, etc. Financing this endeavor has become the real issue, my price range is about >120k. Right now this endeavour only involves myself :-/ I am dependent on my day job, which is actually somewhat enjoyable.

Question:
Is there another way to achieve what I want?

What I've tried so far:
Conventional loan Manufactured home has a 60/40 rule applied to apprasial; house can only be loaned on for 60% of apprasial . Looked at bare land.. up side its cheap, however without at least an intrem source of water, I think it will be very difficult to work with. Still looking at homes closer into the city with about 1 acre, as that would be all I could possibly afford at the price point.

End:
I'm sure a great may folks have dealt with some of these situations so I really wanted to see if I could get some input on this stuff that has been playing around in my head for the greater part of 2 years.

Greg Alkema wrote:
Question:
Is there another way to achieve what I want?

Always.

Looked at bare land.. up side its cheap, however without at least an interim source of water, I think it will be very difficult to work with.

Is there a reason that you can't put a well on a cheap piece of bare land? What rates are banks giving for land loans? Are you up to living in a temporary structure (yurt etc.)? Do you think you could build a strawbale, or other type of self-built home? What are the regulation on such things? How much land do you need to make a living?

Those are some questions I would be asking myself in your situation. One of the advantages of permaculture is that you are able to consider land that others might think impossible to grow on; such property should be cheap. Land is also probably cheap, when there is no power lines to it.

Is there a reason that you can't put a well on a cheap piece of bare land?

In the western states, water wells are governed much stricter than they are east of the Mississippi.
Each state has their own set of 'water laws'. Some states will not even allow you to collect the rain water from your roof (in CO, you may, but only if you have a permitted well). In some areas, getting a permit to drill are relatively easy to get, while in other areas, they are nearly impossible to get. I don't know the AZ laws, but I do know that a permit is required. In order to get a permit there, ALL of their requirements must be met prior to even applying for the permit.

Anybody, anywhere in the western states, should carefully examine the state's requirements/laws before committing to purchase any property. It is far better to know what restrictions may apply before you commit your cash.

Hey Greg, not sure if you might be interested in these but I thought I would post them.

http://www.landwatch.com/default.aspx?ct=r&type=5,29;6,1442;13,13;268,6843&r.PSIZ=1%2c10&r.PRIC=%2c209999