I just found my dream property, but...

[diana_of_the_dunes]

...Our current house isn't ready to be put on the market! We're in the midst of a (never-ending) renovation, which was put on hold a bit between pregnancy and now having the little one. We still have several projects to do before it's ready for sale, including refinishing the upstairs floors, refinishing and replicating some trim, putting new carpet in the basement family room, taking down the paneling in the dining room and repairing the walls, and drywalling the kitchen ceiling. It's not a huge amount of work, but we're a little lacking in time since the baby came along! There are also several projects that should be done, but are not necessary. Like regrouting the bathroom tile floor.

But this property...! It's 19 acres (19!!!), with a 1200 sq ft home, 2 car garage, little barn, what looks to me like a goat shed, about 15 acres of pasture/field, mature trees, and maybe a root cellar (I'm not sure what it is, exactly...). It's even in our price range. I'm in love.

I have visions of digging a pond, planting a U-pick peach orchard, and raising grass-fed beef. *sigh* Or just having a few goats and chickens, but living away from crazy neighbors and enjoying some peace and quiet.

So just send me some good vibes that we can get our house ready to go, and this dream property will still be there...

[limette]

I'll send you some good vibes if you send me some!

We're still looking for our dream home and our house is going up for sale in a month.

[Linzie2]

Oh, most definitely sending good vibes your way!

[diana_of_the_dunes]

Thanks! And back at you, limette!

[MamaMonica]

Good luck!

[5gifts]

What we have done is to go ahead and buy our farm without selling. We have good credit, and you just have to have a lease agreement to show you can cover paying for your house at closing. You might even find a great tenent who will help get some of the work done. Sell it in a year - or have a tenent that wants to possibly buy in a year or two. Just a possibility - we've done it twice when moving.

The 1st time we needed the $$ from equity - so the guy that wanted our house, but couldn't get a loan, gave us a large amount down.

This time we are just plain old renting out the place. We moved out in Dec. 08. Have had 2 renters - and this week a family is moving in, putting down a non-refundable deposit for the option to buy within 2 years.

[diana_of_the_dunes]

Originally Posted by 5gifts

What we have done is to go ahead and buy our farm without selling. We have good credit, and you just have to have a lease agreement to show you can cover paying for your house at closing. You might even find a great tenent who will help get some of the work done. Sell it in a year - or have a tenent that wants to possibly buy in a year or two. Just a possibility - we've done it twice when moving.

The 1st time we needed the $$ from equity - so the guy that wanted our house, but couldn't get a loan, gave us a large amount down.

This time we are just plain old renting out the place. We moved out in Dec. 08. Have had 2 renters - and this week a family is moving in, putting down a non-refundable deposit for the option to buy within 2 years.

I'm not sure that would work for us. While I don't mind living in a construction zone, I can't imagine that someone would pay us to allow them to do so!! I wouldn't mind renting to a friend that needed someplace to stay short term, but I wouldn't be comfortable working on the house if someone else was living here. When it's done, though, I'd definitely consider renting if we can't sell right away.

We're working hard on our projects in the spare time that we do have... DH is almost done with the chicken coop, so he will have more free time soon. The floor sanders are coming at the end of the month, and I plan to have the trim back up by then as well. The carpet will be hired out shortly before we put the place on the market. So hopefully all we'll have to worry about is the dining room. And by now wall repair is a breeze for us, so we might actually be done by fall.

But once the floors are done, I plan on having a realtor come out and check the place over. This way we can get an unbiased opinion on what projects we need to do NOW, and what we might be able to skate by without.

Thanks for all the good thoughts!

[diana_of_the_dunes]

We must be gluttons for punishment, but we've made an appointment with our realtor to go see the property on Monday.

I dunno if this will turn into something, but at least if the house is a dump and falling down, I can stop thinking about it!

[limette]

Did you go see the property?

The property I've been trying to get info on is now up for foreclosure at a huge discount. It's 50 acres with a 3 bedroom 1 bathrooms bilevel house on it.

We put a bid on it today. The bank can't accept any other bids while dealing with us, so dh is flying over on Thursday to check it out and decide whether or not to continue with the purchase!

I'm still in shock, this dream was something I didn't think was possible, short of winning the lottery and now it's within reach. I hope things work out for you soon.

[diana_of_the_dunes]

Oh Limette, you're so lucky!! 50 acres... Wow. I hope your husband is happy with it and it all works out for you!

The "dream property"... wasnt. The house was just awful, and it didn't seem to even be 1200 sq ft because of how it was laid out. I don't mind work, but I have to at least like the house as-is and see some potential there. Not so much with this one. Plus, after I went out there a few more times on my own, I realized you could hear road noise from the state highway about 1/4 mile away. It just wasn't right. But we got to meet the realtor (who came highly recommended by a friend), so at least it wasn't a total waste.

And then I looked at the MLS this morning and saw another property... I'm hopeless... This one only has a small house (800 sq ft), but it's gorgeous. The 26 acre property has woods, prairie, and wetlands. You can't even see the house from the road it's so far back. It's also in our price range. So then I thought, since this one would be move-in ready, maybe we could rent it out until we're ready to sell. Maybe that's what the poster above meant and I didn't get it til today. Duh.

I need to quit making myself crazy. But my poor brain just starts going, and I can't make it stop.

[limette]

The dreaming never stops!

I know damn well that even if this house is great and we proceed with the sale I'll still be checking the MLS for houses. It's an addiction.

I totally get you on having to see potential in the house. Everyone thought we were nuts when we bought our current house but it just needed a little vision. Now everyone is stunned at how nice it turned out.

That's what we're hoping for this one. There's pine paneling in every single room and some of the spaces are laid out oddly. It's a boring old bi level but dh is going see if he can come up with a vision for it. If not, we'll move on.

Hopefully your dream home is right around the corner.

[limette]

Ugh.

Our dream property was a nightmare. No even remotely liveable. The previous owners trashed the place when they foreclosed. Wish they would of shown us those photos.

So now we're out $600 for the flight for nothing if dh can't find a house by Saturday.

My pregnancy hormones can't handle this.

[diana_of_the_dunes]

Sorry to hear that Limette... That's why I HATE house-shopping. You see all these great houses online, then when you see them in real life, it's like it's a completely different house! My "dream" had a greasy, teeny kitchen, a bathroom that looked to have fallen straight out of the '60s (with a window leading to the back mudroom), rickety basement stairs, a goofy layout, and NO character. It was livable, but not the house I wanted to spend the rest of my life in, yk?

I'm not even going to see the new one I found. This way I can dream about it to keep myself motivated without reality getting in the way. Then maybe when our house is ready to sell...

I hope you guys find something. I can't imagine trying while pregnant... Moving is stressful enough without that thrown in. But, if you do find a great new place, you can put all your nesting instincts to good use! I'll be thinking good thoughts for ya. I hope you find something.

[sunny*pa*mom]

Sorry the dream houses haven't panned out. We're in the same boat. We've been looking for nearly 2 years and are getting so frustrated. I'm trying to remain patient but it's so hard. Fortunately, our house is ready for market once we find something we like. The last place we looked at was in such bad shape it should probably be torn down. Here's hoping we all find our dream homes this year.

[limette]

The deck had been ripped off the back of the house, the siding was mush (masonite), the basement was damp and moldy and there was something funky going on with the septic.

Not only would we not be able to live in it straight away but we wouldn't even be able to get insurance for it.

I'm really pissed out the realtor because she said it would sell really quick. She was supposed to go last weekend to take updated photos so we could decided whether or not to fly down but she never did. I'm going to be even more pissed if he doesn't find anything while he's there and we're out the money for the trip.

[diana_of_the_dunes]

Did you find anything, Limette?

[limette]

Yes we did!

It's actually the very first house we considered. Then we got ridiculous and started looking at bigger and bigger acreages. The problem was that the bigger properties were either out of our budget or had houses that really should be torn down.

Dh made friends with the owners and they sealed the deal over tea at the house. We got it for 110,000. It's only 4 acres but it's right on the main tourist route so it'll be good if we can get a little business going.

New House!

We had our open house yesterday and the real estate agent said it was the busiest he'd ever seen. It went on longer than expected and everyone thought we were nuts for selling. We're expecting 4-5 offers this week. Hoping for a bidding war. There aren't many properties on the market right now and the houses that come up are selling fast and for more than the listing price.

Here's some pics of our current house. It was dump when we bought but we renovated the entire thing to our tastes. It'll be hard to leave her.

Interior

Exterior

[GearGirl]

Wow Limette, your new house is so awesome!

[limette]

I know I'm so excited! I mainly just needs paint and flooring. The second floor is arranged oddly with a huge space unfinished. Dh is going to change the layout, add a bathroom and finish the extra space into another room.

The yard is going to be the fun part. We want chickens, goats and pigs for sure, maybe rabbits, veggie garden, fruit trees, flower garden,fire pit and on and on.

Hopefully the 4 acres will keep us busy for awhile.