Leta
Lovin' The Homestead
- Joined
- May 19, 2011
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- Points
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Right now, we live in town. We thought, when we bought this place, that we'd sell it when the time came to move to the country. Now, with the market the way it is, we are planning on keeping it as a rental. The more we've pondered this, the more of blessing in disguise it seems. DH works at the local university, which means that we all (two adults, three kids) get free tuition there, but NOT room and board. DSS is 13.5 years old, so he will be starting college before we know it. This house is close to the MarqTran (public transit bus) stop, and anyone with a uni ID can ride for free. The payment on this house is $175/mo, and living on campus costs $1000/mo. Even though the house also needs utilities, taxes, insurance, maintenance, and groceries, it fits 5-6 people, so DSS could get some roommates. And at the end of paying $1000/mo for four years, we'd have nuthin', compared to the end of four years of DSS living in this house, we'd still have a house! The mortgage on this place is $35,000. $1000/mo x 9 months x 3 kids = $27,000, or darn close to paying off this house. When we bought this place, we were new to the area, and we did not realize that we have both the highest property tax millage in the county and the highest utility rates in the state. (Well, the water and electricity rates are the highest in the state. Natural gas is average.) If we rent this place out, we can at least write the property taxes and utility costs off on our end of year taxes. We've had SIL (an accountant) crunch the numbers for us, and she's in favor of the idea, and she is a very financially conservative person. So we think it's really for the best to keep as a rental/college housing for our kids.
Our overall plan is move, achieve an SS homestead, pay off both places, and when the time comes to retire, be able to live very cheaply because we will have minimized food/energy/housing expenses, and hopefully be able to live off the rent we collect on this house. DH has a retirement account through work, but we think of that as gravy. Also, I think it's pertinent to note that we are relatively young, 32 and 33. I also hope to get my second Bachelor's in nursing starting in 2012. This should only take me a couple of years. Eventually, I'd like to become a nurse practitioner. Once I start working, we'd like for DH to go a 9 month position at work, and just farm during his summers off. Our projected income with us both working part-time (assuming me working at RN wages, not NP wages) will be $50-$60K/yr. Nurses are in high demand here; there is a large elderly population, so many nursing homes, home health companies, and hospices are located nearby, in addition to doctors and hospitals. I doubt that finding a nursing job will be a problem.
DH has good job security, and is about 5 years into a 30 year career there, so we are tied to the area within commutable distance of campus. We are looking primarily on the other side of the city, compared to where we are now- east of the city is home to good farmland, versus around here is mountainous and rugged and home to the mines. When we first moved here, we thought we were priced out of East of City forever- in this way, this market has been a boon to us, because we can afford it now. According to all the mortgage regulations, we can afford about $800/mo in mortgage payments, so we have been able to get our prequal letter without any trouble since our current mortgage is so low.
Central to our homestead idea is livestock. We want a bunch of critters- my number one priority is a milk cow, DH's number one is a couple pigs per year, we both really want chickens and bees. We both would also like ducks/fish in a pond if possible. We are open to goats and/or sheep. Our two younger kids are both horse obsessed, and our older boy enjoys a good ramble, too. I would rather farm with horses than tractors if push comes to shove (truly, I'm a apocolyptotarian in more ways than one
), but would very much like to be able to eat least a couple of ponies for our children. Because we want so many animals, I really want a place with room to grow their food. We also want a giant vegetable garden and an orchard, nut trees, and, eventually, an outdoor summer/canning kitchen and a root cellar that is unattached to the house.
We have looked extensively at three different places, all with various advantages and disadvantages, and we are kind of paralyzed by the decision making process at this point. Money is a factor, of course, a huge one, but not the only one. We are looking for someplace that will be the most cost effective in the long run, and where we can achieve some dreams and goals. I think House A would actually be cheaper in the long run, when you factor in utilities and transportation, but I don't know if it's worth paying a bunch more upfront and dealing with the nutty seller.
Please, help me make sense of all this.
House A: asking price is $82,000 (so payments ~$400/mo), $800/yr taxes, $600/yr insurance. The seller is bonkers. We offered her $82,000, and she counter offered $86,000. I think it's because she has a renter in the house, so her payments are getting made and she doesn't want to deal with evicting him. This is a guess, though. I'm not begging anyone to sell me her house in this market, and her agent was pretty flabbergasted at her counteroffer. We are waiting until the spring anyway (DH is recovering from a hip replacement right now), and the renter's lease is up in March, so right now we are just waiting, and may make another offer if/when her renter moves out.
-24 acres
-2 car unattached garage
-hayfields
-woodlot
-new HE woodstove
-mature apple trees
-new insulation and propane furnace
-needs windows, and soon, a roof
-3 tiny bedrooms, one bath, cellar rather than basement
-1200 sf, so quite small
-cottage style, exterior is cu-uuute!
-gigantic barn that is totally falling apart- a liability rather than an asset
-1.5 miles from MarqTran stop (can ride into city for free, so we could survive with a single car, at least from time to time)
-19 miles from campus
-electricity is 8c per kWH (but eventually we'd like to be fully off the grid)
House B: asking $60,000, so payments about ~$300/mo, $800/yr taxes, $500/yr insurance. House has been for sale for ages. Sellers are retired and moved and want to unload it.
-3 acres
-2 car attached garage
-old woodburning furnace in the basement, needs to be replaced but all the infrastructure is there (we'd have to buy wood to burn, though)
-we'd have to buy hay, but there are many nearby farms so it would be available and reasonably priced (we have friends out there, about a mile away, and they have 40 acres of hayfield)
-4 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, modern, full walkout basement
-needs a roof and a repair to the garage foundation
-2500 sf plus basement, so quite large
-Brady Bunch era split level, so not cute
-metal barn in decent shape, an asset rather than a liability
-27 miles from campus
-8 miles from bus stop/park 'n ride (we'd be fully dependent on 2 cars all the time)
-electricity is 20c per kWh (but eventually we'd like to be fully off the grid)
Property: asking $16,000 for 8 acres. FSBO, sellers seem quite sane. There is a well, septic, and 8c/kWh electricity at the property right now. Financing this would be trickier- vacant land loans suck, so we'd end up getting a personal property loan. And this would take a lot longer, we'd have to pay the land off and then build or place a prefab, not to mention a barn and hopefully, eventually, a garage. I am sketchy on this- building codes here are ridiculous and all over the place, which is why we started looking at existing houses rather than property. It's near House A, so about a mile from the bus stop.
All three places are in the same school district, all three on propane.
Feedback, please! Any and all welcomed!
Our overall plan is move, achieve an SS homestead, pay off both places, and when the time comes to retire, be able to live very cheaply because we will have minimized food/energy/housing expenses, and hopefully be able to live off the rent we collect on this house. DH has a retirement account through work, but we think of that as gravy. Also, I think it's pertinent to note that we are relatively young, 32 and 33. I also hope to get my second Bachelor's in nursing starting in 2012. This should only take me a couple of years. Eventually, I'd like to become a nurse practitioner. Once I start working, we'd like for DH to go a 9 month position at work, and just farm during his summers off. Our projected income with us both working part-time (assuming me working at RN wages, not NP wages) will be $50-$60K/yr. Nurses are in high demand here; there is a large elderly population, so many nursing homes, home health companies, and hospices are located nearby, in addition to doctors and hospitals. I doubt that finding a nursing job will be a problem.
DH has good job security, and is about 5 years into a 30 year career there, so we are tied to the area within commutable distance of campus. We are looking primarily on the other side of the city, compared to where we are now- east of the city is home to good farmland, versus around here is mountainous and rugged and home to the mines. When we first moved here, we thought we were priced out of East of City forever- in this way, this market has been a boon to us, because we can afford it now. According to all the mortgage regulations, we can afford about $800/mo in mortgage payments, so we have been able to get our prequal letter without any trouble since our current mortgage is so low.
Central to our homestead idea is livestock. We want a bunch of critters- my number one priority is a milk cow, DH's number one is a couple pigs per year, we both really want chickens and bees. We both would also like ducks/fish in a pond if possible. We are open to goats and/or sheep. Our two younger kids are both horse obsessed, and our older boy enjoys a good ramble, too. I would rather farm with horses than tractors if push comes to shove (truly, I'm a apocolyptotarian in more ways than one
), but would very much like to be able to eat least a couple of ponies for our children. Because we want so many animals, I really want a place with room to grow their food. We also want a giant vegetable garden and an orchard, nut trees, and, eventually, an outdoor summer/canning kitchen and a root cellar that is unattached to the house. We have looked extensively at three different places, all with various advantages and disadvantages, and we are kind of paralyzed by the decision making process at this point. Money is a factor, of course, a huge one, but not the only one. We are looking for someplace that will be the most cost effective in the long run, and where we can achieve some dreams and goals. I think House A would actually be cheaper in the long run, when you factor in utilities and transportation, but I don't know if it's worth paying a bunch more upfront and dealing with the nutty seller.
Please, help me make sense of all this.
House A: asking price is $82,000 (so payments ~$400/mo), $800/yr taxes, $600/yr insurance. The seller is bonkers. We offered her $82,000, and she counter offered $86,000. I think it's because she has a renter in the house, so her payments are getting made and she doesn't want to deal with evicting him. This is a guess, though. I'm not begging anyone to sell me her house in this market, and her agent was pretty flabbergasted at her counteroffer. We are waiting until the spring anyway (DH is recovering from a hip replacement right now), and the renter's lease is up in March, so right now we are just waiting, and may make another offer if/when her renter moves out.
-24 acres
-2 car unattached garage
-hayfields
-woodlot
-new HE woodstove
-mature apple trees
-new insulation and propane furnace
-needs windows, and soon, a roof
-3 tiny bedrooms, one bath, cellar rather than basement
-1200 sf, so quite small
-cottage style, exterior is cu-uuute!
-gigantic barn that is totally falling apart- a liability rather than an asset
-1.5 miles from MarqTran stop (can ride into city for free, so we could survive with a single car, at least from time to time)
-19 miles from campus
-electricity is 8c per kWH (but eventually we'd like to be fully off the grid)
House B: asking $60,000, so payments about ~$300/mo, $800/yr taxes, $500/yr insurance. House has been for sale for ages. Sellers are retired and moved and want to unload it.
-3 acres
-2 car attached garage
-old woodburning furnace in the basement, needs to be replaced but all the infrastructure is there (we'd have to buy wood to burn, though)
-we'd have to buy hay, but there are many nearby farms so it would be available and reasonably priced (we have friends out there, about a mile away, and they have 40 acres of hayfield)
-4 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, modern, full walkout basement
-needs a roof and a repair to the garage foundation
-2500 sf plus basement, so quite large
-Brady Bunch era split level, so not cute
-metal barn in decent shape, an asset rather than a liability
-27 miles from campus
-8 miles from bus stop/park 'n ride (we'd be fully dependent on 2 cars all the time)
-electricity is 20c per kWh (but eventually we'd like to be fully off the grid)
Property: asking $16,000 for 8 acres. FSBO, sellers seem quite sane. There is a well, septic, and 8c/kWh electricity at the property right now. Financing this would be trickier- vacant land loans suck, so we'd end up getting a personal property loan. And this would take a lot longer, we'd have to pay the land off and then build or place a prefab, not to mention a barn and hopefully, eventually, a garage. I am sketchy on this- building codes here are ridiculous and all over the place, which is why we started looking at existing houses rather than property. It's near House A, so about a mile from the bus stop.
All three places are in the same school district, all three on propane.
Feedback, please! Any and all welcomed!
Beyond that the second house seems like a nice place from what you've listed. I don't know that I'd do the land deal with what you have divulged about building codes...nothing worse than persnickety building inspectors mid stream IMO.
