Knaus Ranch - House for Rent

12 miles West of Abilene and 8 miles from Dyess AFB

The purpose of this web site is to provide information for military personal regarding the rental of my house located on the Knaus Ranch near Abilene Texas near the small town of View, TX about 10 miles SW of Abilene, TX on highway 277 on top of the Calahanridge Mountains west of town. The property will be available by April 10th, 2010. We are presently going through our maintenance programs that includes painting, cleaning, general repair and replacement. A new roof job, road work, etc, etc, etc.

Directions to the property; please follow South 14th street, in Abilene, toward theWest . That street becomes Highway 277. Continue SW about 10 miles to the town of View, which is mostly identified by a single Shell Service Station. Continue up the mountain on 277 SW for about 3.5 miles and just at the mountain top there is a mail box on the left hand side that shows the address of 10619. The house is located behind a fence and trees. There are two buildings painted green with white roofs. One building is the main house. The other building is the carport and outside privite house.  The property has  close access to Highway 277 and is connected thru a gate to the highway with an all weather road. The address is Highway 277S 10619. Behind the fence is the compound including 5 acres and a house and extra outside building.

The compound area is suitable for having a pony and riding on the ranch. There is a small corral available.  This building and lot is available for your use for free.

This property is only rented to military personnel. The contract is for one year. The monthly rent due on the 3rd day of each month is $875. There is a $300 security and cleaning fee that is refundable if the property is returned in the same condition when it was rented.

The general layout of the house is as follows:

General Information:

• The house and screened-in porch is about 1700 Sq feet - additionally, there is a 300 sq ft building that comes with the main house.
• The house is a manufactured house in excellent condition. Everything about the house is in good condition and most of the mechanical  items have been replaced.
• The trees in this park area are pecan trees, many large oak trees, some mesquite trees and several cedar trees in the yard

• We are presently  painting, cleaning, doing yard work, road work, etc. The property will be complete about April 10th, 2010 and ready for rent.
• Outside color of the house is 'Cedar Green' The new roof is metal and is bright white to reflect the summer sun.
• The carpet is 18 months old and  a camel color - And there are a couple of new small rugs, one in front of the wood stove and the other at the front door.
• The Walls are painted  colors that blend for the camel colored carpet.
• There are 3 Bedrooms - One larger master bedroom with a walk-in closet, large dressing room with shower and toilet
• 2 Smaller bedrooms with closets and a shared tub, shower, wash basin and toilet.
• The Kitchen has a one year old Gas cook stove and large oven,
• There is dishwasher, Refrigerator, New Vent a hood with lights and fan
• The kitchen Floor was redone last summer.

• 

• The living room is large and it extends into dining room as shown in the drawing at the top of this page
• The central heat and refrigerated air is a three ton unit. New compressor last year and the heater is propane fired
• The 40 Gallon Electric water heater two years old
• The house is Wired for Dish TV
• The building is also wired for telephone (Telephone service with Taylor Electric) and DSL is available
• Additionally, there is an external building next to the carport that has about 300 sq ft. enclosed (12 X 24'). This building, across the driveway from the main house, has a new roof and is presently being cleaned, painted, and new carpet. The building can be used for, a home office, workshop, store room, play room, computer room or what ever. There is no water connected to this building however. If you have a lot of things, you could just use it for a huge closet storage.
• The house has a septic tank. This tank has been pumped clear at this time (I always do this). The renter is responsible for the upkeep of the septic tank.
• Your Family size can not  exceed a total of three people including adults and all children. The reason is that the septic tank is designed for 4 people so that gives us a little leeway.
• There is a small single carport located across the drive way next to the outside building
• The water is really good. It is a deep water well on the property that provides water for drinking and general cleaning. The water has a great taste and is good for cleaning
• I do furnish a water softener that makes the water just perfect ((I think)) Great washing ability.
• The compound of about 5 acres is fenced and there are two gates; one gate is to the highway 277 (north) and the other gate goes to the main ranch.
• Also, there is another small fence for dogs, etc, behind the house with a small covered area. None of the fences are fully DOG PROOF if the dogs really want to get out.
• The yard is very large and kind of looks like a park -  Big Trees and lots of shade, and a fire pit
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Utilities:

• The electric power, in the winter months cost about $60 monthly. Most of the cost depends on how much you use the hot water either in bathing or washing. The heater does consume propane also.

• Power in the summer is higher, again, depending on how much you use the Air conditioner and the programmable thermostat. Any where from $80 to $150.

• Water is furnished for the house at no charge to you unless you exceed $12 monthly from the water well. It usually runs about $7 and I pay that.

• Propane for heating and cooking - Summer time propane is usually about $15 monthly and wintertime about $60 monthly. There is a wood burning stove in the living room that can be used for heating. The wood is free if you cut it.

Summary

This country home, a 3 bedroom and 2 bath manufactured house is located about 8 miles SW of Dyess AFB on highway 277. The main attraction of  this property is that not only is a well taken care of building and storage building, but it is located in a fenced in 5 acres of ranchland. This is real country living.  To shop for groceries or most anything else you must either go to Dyess PBX or to Abilene which is 10 miles east of here. If you think you might not like living in the country -     THIS IS NOT THE PLACE FOR YOU - You can have a horse if you like, and you can ride, walk, or run on the main ranch most of the time.

The screened-in porch is nice to sit and enjoy the country wildlife especially when it rains. Out here you can smell all of the spring flowers, fruit tree blooms and fresh grass. Just like all of the local country; we have our share of, white tail deer, Rio Grande turkey, Dove, Quail, wild hogs, birds of all kind, snakes, lizards, frogs, etc, etc, etc.

For school children there is a bus pickup just outside of the house on the highway. The school district is a first class school system located in Tuscola. There is no TV cable out here, but Dish TV comes in good and clear here. Phone lines are as good as city phones. Broadband, even very high-speed, is available.

You do have to pay for trash pickup.

For the wood burning stove, there is plenty of wood available on the ranch,. Both the oak and the mesquite wood are wonderful for the outdoor cook.

If you would like additional information - Please call me at 325 665 9444 or email me ron@knausranch.com

Thanks,

Ron Knaus