advise on making the move

[swedishfish]

Hey All,
My significant other and I took out a mortgage and bought our first starter home in 2006. We have been happy here, but we knew that it was not where we wanted to be long term. Its in the city, theres no land, but we had kids on the way an we thought this was the best option and we didnt feel like renting any more.

Lately I have had the bug to get going on getting a small hobby farm 5 acres or so and doing our "thing". Stupid me...I went and found a nice piece of property 5.2 acres, hip-roof barn, nice house, closer to work than I am now. BUT do I go through the perhaps impossible effort of selling our current house and getting a new loan for the farm? or do I settle down and wait a couple years when I am maybe better set financially to move up and out ... maybe the market to sell will be better...

do you think its time to jump in with both feet or play it safe knowing "where there is one house in the country; there will be another."

[bear-in-wv]

That can be a big decission ther to be sure.
we made the jump about 7 years ago and ended up living in a tent for several months before we located a mobile home to purchase, but it felt good as we were on our own land and noone could tell us what to do.

if you have kids, that might complicate it abit.
id recommend that you think it through and when you make the jump have a fall back plan and as much money as you can save, as ther are always unforseen expenses that jump up and bite you in the tail.

all in all it is well worth it, and the way the economy is going it might be good to have a place to grow/raise food.

just my 2 cents worth :)

bear

[randallhilton]

Hey All,
My significant other and I took out a mortgage and bought our first starter home in 2006. . . . I went and found a nice piece of property 5.2 acres, hip-roof barn, nice house, closer to work than I am now. BUT do I go through the perhaps impossible effort of selling our current house and getting a new loan for the farm? or do I settle down and wait a couple years when I am maybe better set financially to move up and out ... maybe the market to sell will be better...

do you think its time to jump in with both feet or play it safe knowing "where there is one house in the country; there will be another."


I'll simply toss out a thought or two, not as answers but more as thought catalysts:

Yes, there will be other farmsteads available. It's difficult to be emotionally detached from a idyllic setting but it's worse to lasso a beautiful place then find that it owns you.

Personally, I wouldn't establish a farm place unless I could do it debt free. Obviously, I know nothing of your finances but if you learn to view your home as an expense instead of as an asset it will help you see the options more clearly. One option you might consider is to liquidate first, then find a farm place. If you have some equity left over now that housing has dropped back closer to a realistic value (a nice way of saying if you can sell the house for less than you paid for it and still have some cash left over) then use the cash to get a farm place. If you need to stay in town most of the time just rent something because it's likely to be a long time before home values escalate again.

As I said, it's just a different way of looking at it. You may have a secure job (aka, a government salary ;) which could change the picture considerably.

[johnjmw]

With it being closer to work,,, thats a tuffy. Would you be taking a loss on your current home? What you owe versus what you could get for it. Taking a loss over what you paid (in my opinion) is not too bad, but taking a loss over what you owe really would be rough. I'd hate to take a loss on what I still owe.
I guess the bottom will be. Can you swallow the loss if you go that route?
Tough decision either way. Hate to pass up a good deal, but hate get in over my head too
John

[silvergramma]

ok make a lists of pros and cons...first of all the right thing to do is clear off your debts.. not being able to go to auctions in the country is the pits..cause you've got too many notes or loans to pay.. been there done that'
you can rent a farm actually and squat till you find what you are looking for... this happens a lot .. folks get too old to live on their farms move to town and rent out the acreage for crops to local folks and rent out the house and outbuildings for maintenance and up keep so they can keep it in the family... just paying property tax
thats was our first stepping stone
i wish we had moved here where we are now debt free but it didnt happen that way.. being bogged down with debt can hinder your progress after you are established
also do some research on how homesteads are established and decide ahead of time how many kinds of animals you want and find out what their requirements are
a friend of mine is from poland they moved here from los angeles and bought a 5 acres farmstead.. but are over loaded with outbuildings that are crumbling and not enough pasture for animals they want..
everything behind their house is wooded acreage for windbreak and they are spending most of their time clearing out old dead stands of trees that are loaded with alder bugs that invade their homes worse than flies and grass hoppers
know also weather your driveway will be maintained by the county if you are snowed in or you have to do it yourself.. lots of little things you should know before moving to the country period..
praying for ya

[Anon001]

I have to jump in... several thoughts.... you said you bought into a place that you knew you didn't want to be although you've been happy there. Don't make the same mistake twice.

Like Gramma said... you need to know what YOU want from a homestead and to what degree you want to be self-sufficient and ONLY then shop for what fits your goals and work into it. But, be debt-free first.

Also, it is sorta ridiculous to sell a house at a loss when you are wanting a new place. Five acres is not much. For someone from the city it may seem like a lot at first but as you add your garden, your hog pen, your goat pen, you're out of room.

I realize that you may not have enough money to get what you would see as a self-sufficient goal, but if that's the case, get debt-free, don't spend money, don't eat out... etc.. As Dave Ramsey says, live on "beans and rice, and rice and beans" until you get debt free and then start stockpiling money... It will snowball and you will have what you need to pay for a new place.... and then add the equity from your house sale to it and go into a place with no more than a 15 year mortgage.

I have the impression you are both young. Young people tend to get excited and not always think things through and rush into buying a house and/or land. If you plan it right, you can own your own piece of a homestead and be debt-free (including the mortgage) in no time at all.

[Terri]

I have heard of making an offer, contingent on your own home selling.

That means if your house sells, the offer is then good. If not, not.

[Anon001]

I have heard of making an offer, contingent on your own home selling.

That means if your house sells, the offer is then good. If not, not.
Terri,
The contigency is very common... Probably as often as not and is a very good idea that no one else thought to mention... The only thing is that the seller can reject an offer that has a contigency from the prospective buyer... but usually if they don't have a better offer or haven't had one and are needing the sale, will usually accept it.... Or that has been my experience.

The other option is to sell, rent something dirt cheap and stockpile every dime you can while you look for the perfect place...with or without a house on it....
Paul