Photos: You can own this 18-acre property that comes with three dome homes made out of barbed wire and sandbags for $279,000
- A rural ranch in McNeal, Arizona, is looking for a new owner who can forgo a mortgage.
- The 18-acre plot is outfitted with three hand-built adobe domes, a well, and is powered by solar.
An 18-acre ranch in the Southern Arizona desert is looking for a new owner who's willing to rough it.
The $279,000 property doesn't have electricity — so that means no washing machine or refrigerator — but it isn't too far from the nearest town. Ransom Ranch, is located in McNeal, Arizona, only a 35-minute drive from Bisbee, Arizona, as well as the Mexico border.
The property has 12 fruit trees, an organic garden that grows flowers and nuts, and a private well. But the showstopper on the property are its three adobe domes.
The domes were built by stacking sandbags filled with earth on top of each other, layered with barbed wire for stability in between, and finished with a cement mix.
Everything is powered by solar and there's two "Humanure" outhouses, making it a pastoral experience.
"It's just a different way of living," listing agent Kimberly Ewing, of Bisbee Realty Inc., told Insider. "But certainly it could be a year-round private residence if someone was willing to take that on."
The unique property will force any buyer to embrace their settler urges. Check it out.
Marcia Gibbons purchased the undeveloped land in McNeal, Arizona, in 2007.
Her original plan was to build a casita on the vast, empty plot, but decided she wanted to try a more uncommon building style instead.
Gibbons was fascinated by the adobe building technique popularized by Nader Khalili, an Iranian-American architect.
The same year she purchased the property, Gibbons traveled to CalEarth, Khalili's workshop in California, to learn about the technique with the hope of eventually building a home of her own.
The process of building an adobe structure includes piling bundles of sandbags and earth on top of each other, with barbed wire between, and coating the outside with a cement mixture to lock it all in.
Gibbons, who Ewing said was a former public school teacher, used the help of former students to construct the domes.
Gibbons joked to Ewing that ten years of public school teaching definitely came in handy when it came to needing extra hands.
Today, the property includes three domes with small openings to let sunlight in, as well as an outdoor kitchen, and a strawbale pump house that holds the well.
Gibbons made other improvements to the property, like two outhouses and a large garden with an orchard of fruit and nut trees.
Any prospective dwellers should be prepared to rough it.
"As far as power goes, there is no electricity," Ewing told realtor.com. "It would be rather expensive to get it to the property. There is well water on the property. You can easily get romantic about this property, but you need to be realistic. It’s designed for someone who wants to live modestly and get back to the pioneer days. That’s the appeal. It’s not for someone who appreciates having a washing machine and a refrigerator.”
There are two solar panels that provide power to a few lights around the property.
According to Ewing, Gibbons never lived full-time at Ransom Ranch, but was a frequent visitor.
Bisbee, a nearby town with a population of fewer than 5,000, is only 25 minutes away from the property, according to the listing.
Source: 7581 East Avenida Del Sol
Gibbons often used the ranch as a community meeting place to discuss alternative building methods, Ewing said.
But it wasn't all business. "They had live music and everyone would get together," she said.
Ewing said interest in the property was high when it first hit the market in April, but has tapered off since.
One reason buyers may be balking at the listing isn't necessarily the price. It might be because a buyer needs to pay in cash, forgoing a mortgage.
Ewing said that getting a mortgage for a property like Ransom Ranch isn't impossible, but because of the alternative builds, it makes it a lot harder to secure a loan.
She also added that the alternative-living lifestyle is popular in that part of Arizona.
"Those folks that are looking at alternative lifestyles and builds, they are attracted because there's something existing," she said. "They don't have to start from ground zero."
Ewing believes that it's a good location for a short-term rental, like Airbnb or Hipcamp, mainly for people looking for a reset from ordinary life.
"That would be a great opportunity for people who are thinking of actually changing their lifestyle and going off grid," she said. "They could stay there and get a feel for it. I think it's a genius idea."
Ewing also floated the idea of the property being used as a learning center for children.
"I thought it would be really neat for someone to come in and have some kind of organization for children and have them camp there and kind of get back to their roots a little bit," she said.
Gibbons lives nearby, according to Ewing, and used the property as a getaway and space for creation but no longer has the time for its upkeep.
"It's been bittersweet, but she's getting to the age where she really wants to spend time with her family," Ewing said of Gibbons. "It's just about downsizing and change."
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