I know this is a resurrection, but seeing as how we are 'neighbors'....
I went through a similar decision process, though I have a house & 10 acres, we have been buying with an eye towards a chunk of land.
I started with an old Case VAC (cheap, sold it for a bit more than I paid for it after using it a few years).
So, a few thoughts or questions that will help direct you:
Tractor hp comes in 3 flavors: drawbar, pto, engine. Advertised and Nebraska Tractor Test levels (and associated world wide testing organizations).
Tractor size is something different. There are compacts, sub-compacts, and utility sizes (at least in what you want). Each brand has its own language/marketing terms for what is more often than not the same thing.
Personally, I would lean towards Utility size. Or compact at the smallest. You have lots of projects you will want to do.
When deciding on your tractor, price the implements (and keep in mind that there are similar standards to them: light, heavy, commercial). The ground is hard, as are rocks and roots. You never regret a good unit, but you do one that is too light. Box scrapers are one of those implements. Implements around here are relatively plentiful on Craigslist up to about 6' wide. Then the pickings get real slim.
Excavators are cheaper (relative to owning a backhoe that rarely gets used) to rent and more mobile than a backhoe. Especially when you build you will likely pay someone to dig the basement (if you do a walkout you can likely do it with your tractor). Same with the utilities. Price out you doing it and someone else digging and laying it out. It might be cheaper to do power overhead (and keep it out of the way when you decide to do something different on your property, digging wise). Phone they can just vibrate in.
Grapple buckets and quicktach (Bobcat style loader) forks are real labor and back savers. If you find an older tractor with loader (or, one that a loader can be put on) you can get adapter links for the bucket and convert it.
The ground here is brutally hard except for the 1 day to two months of spring . 3 point post hole diggers are not what they are made out to be (they work if you have good bits and plan well). Get a 3rd circuit (remote) for the bucket area (it can be used for other things on the rear implements) and buy a low flow used hydraulic post hole digger (by the way, if you do get a backhoe, you can mount one of these on the side of the bucket to reach where ever you want). And Bobcat of the Rockies (Parker is closest) rent the quicktach units out (you will need either enough hydraulic flow on the tractor pump or an add on system for the PTO). Just call ahead and request the low flow unit on the full sized plate. That's if you don't buy one.
Some folks buy a used skid steer or rent one as needed for projects that are more intense.
Snow removal is very spotty, as we don't generally get that much snow, and often it is lighter. Blowing & drifting is a bigger issue, as is the distance from where you are to anywhere else. Hwy 86 has a number of road closure bars permanently in place for those events. Good planning for your driveway will make access much easier and snow maintenance faster. You will want a modest downhill on one side to push it off, as well having it exposed so that it blows off (versus drifting). That makes it easier to have turn around room adjacent to the driveway anyhow. You will want (or wish) you had a cab on the tractor. It keeps you warm in the winter and out of the dust and blowing weeds in the summer.
Do you really plan to mow more than what is around the house and along the driveway? Then you want a riding mower. I had a 36" unit, replaced it with a 42". It's too wide. Let the deer and antelope eat the grass (or a couple of head of cattle -- ag write off). Except for areas you water, you will only be mowing once or twice a normal year.
Get teeth for the bucket. And a 'swing out' rear blade (if you end up buying new, or can wait to shop and find the right one). It will let you stay off of the fence or allow you to ditch clean (edge of a crowned drive).
2 wheel drive tractors work, but only if you realize that you must chain up for winter or wet spring work. And ag tires (r1): they work (and are usually on older tractors).
Since you work on your Porsche, you can work on most tractor issues. They involve rust and large parts. In any case, a shop of decent size (they are never large enough) is something you will want. Build it before the house. Maybe even with the ability to have an 'office' in it (that you could stay in during weekends while the house is being built or other pre-build activities are ongoing). That way you have a place to put your equipment and to be in if/when a hail storm comes through. You want a metal roof for it (wind and hail).
PM me if you would like to stop by some time.
