# House hunting



## RPC (Nov 6, 2009)

Well I am house hunting right now which is really fun. I am in no rush so I can take my time and really think about all the options. I found a house I really want to go check out. It has about everything I want except location. It is about 30 minutes from where I want it to be, its on the wrong side of town. 30 minutes really is not bad but I have to find something wrong with it. What do you think of this for my little 4-H goat operation.
http://www.cbrwg.com/default.cfm/page/f ... esults.htm


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

Wow looks nice!


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## Burns Branch Boers (Apr 11, 2011)

I really like that--it looks like the text book country farm house! Of course you would have to see it in person and post alot more pictures before we could be sure  

One thing though--it is a 2 story house right? I see it is powered by natural gas. Our house was also designed w/natural gas (supposed to have been a feature to save us $$) but of course natural gas costs have skyrocketed w/in the past few years. So maybe check out the average cost to heat that house in the winters? That is when our costs are expensive-the rest of the year it is no big deal. Oh and we only have a 1 story-can't imagine what our bills would be like w/ a 2nd story.

I really like all the buildings; the barn and workshop ect--very handy! Plus the barn has 15 stalls and a loft! Excellent!


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## Lamancha Lady (Dec 13, 2011)

Nice house :thumbup: I love the big barn. It only has 2.25 acres a bit small for a farm don't you think :scratch: How many goats can you have on 2.25 acres :?


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## lissablack (Nov 30, 2009)

It looks really wonderful, but that is a very old house - 1875? Wow. If you decide to look seriously at this check out the plumbing and the septic and the drainage very carefully. The wiring must be newish, check it all out really carefully. You might have to invest a lot of money fixing things up. The out buildings are just wonderful.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

WOW! When do we all move in? LOL I'd love to have a place like that, price looks good! But then down here that would be a STEAL! It's so expensive in this area


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## RPC (Nov 6, 2009)

Thanks everyone. Jan those are some great things to look into thank you I am only 25 so I don't know much about buying a house since this will be the first one. 

Lamancha Lady- I don't really want any more ground then that. I am not trying to be a big time goat farmer. These goats are only for my nieces 4-H project. Plus more land cost more LOL

BBB- I don't know how it is down there but in my last apartment we were on a gas budget plan. We paid the same all year long and then it got evaluated in June and they would either refund us money and lower our monthly bill or Our bill would go up for the next year. I liked it because that way we always knew our bills for the most part. I too am a little worried about gas heat but Propane is worse I think.

Candice- Everyone can come visit whenever. For that area that might be a decent to low price but it would be double to triple if it was 30 minutes northeast where I live. I really want to stay up here on this end of town by my friends and family but I also want 2-3 acre's and so that's 30-50,000 just for the land in this area. I am a broke 25 year old trying to do this on my own and I dont make a ton. Chances are I will have to move out of my little community. O well 30 minutes is not long or really that far its only 10-15 miles away LOL.


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

What a CUTE place!! Good luck on your search... I wish I was searching too, but a place like that around me would be 4 or 5 times that much!
I hope you find the perfect home!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

I definitely understand. When we found our place we were living in a temp house because we moved off of the farm my husband had worked on. We were going to move onto the farm where he started working, but decided we didn't want to live on a farm again, also didn't want to live in town either. He found our place by chance, it's by means nothing fancy, but it's ours  It's an older double wide mobile home that has potential just need to have the extra $$ and time to put into it.

I am no pro, but here are some things I thought about.
Make sure the roof is GOOD, find out when the last time it was redone. Make sure it's checked for termites/bugs.
Make sure water heater/furnace are in good working order. How much past bills have been. I forgot to look to see if it was total electric or gas...
if it has septic, find out if it's ever been cleaned, etc.

Don't pay too much in a mortgage either. The bank wanted to charge us 'an arm and a leg' to get this place financed, it was 'for sale by owner' so we ended up making a deal with the owner instead, instead of paying like $200,000 MORE for a $100,000 loan over 15 or 30 years I forget which....we paid $6,000 more for a 3 year contract. My husband had a VERY good job when we moved here <he worked 6 nights/12 hours a night and good hourly pay, plus housing allowances, etc>. Of course right before we paid our place off, the farm closed it's KY farm and moved everything the bank didn't take to FL. Thankfully we were CLOSE to paying it off, so we borrowed a tiny bit of $$ from a relative, asked the owner if we paid up now if he'd knock any $$ off of the price...I think he came down over $3,000. So we paid this place off in about 2 1/2 years.
The biggest thing in this was - imagine how long we'd have to pay with a mortgage <our bank stinks and has lousy rates just so you know - we learned to NEVER go to them for that kind of stuff>.
But also, make sure the monthly payments are well within your budget so if anything happens, your not struggling  Try to put $$ aside for any emergencies such as water heat, furnace, etc. because these things never go out at a good time LOL

I wish I had some great advice. We're still learning as we go ourselves. We want a bigger place soooo bad - we have 2 acres, but most of it is wooded. We've spent time looking for new listings, it's just so ridiculous. It's $25,000-50,000 an acre in this area. Even for the smudge of land we have I am thankful to just be able to live in this area...


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## Goat Song (May 4, 2011)

Awww, I love the farmhouse! It all looks good to my highly untrained eye! :laugh:


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## Mandara Farm (Sep 12, 2010)

What a pretty place! It looks like the quintessential farm house! Good for you that you're able to buy your own place at such a young age.

Some things not yet mentioned regarding things to consider: make sure you get a Really Good inspector so that you know what you're in for in terms of any potential problems. That can make all the difference. Also, it looks like the house is close to the road. Is that a main road? When we moved into our place 13 years ago, our road was "quaint" -- not used too much, very coutry-ish. Now it's been expanded and gets lots more traffic. Every time they repave, it gets wider and wider, and higher and higher. It's really a drag. Anyway something to consider...

Best of luck with your search!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Great advice given.... :thumb: 


I like it the place...... :greengrin:


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## Burns Branch Boers (Apr 11, 2011)

RPC said:


> BBB- I don't know how it is down there but in my last apartment we were on a gas budget plan. We paid the same all year long and then it got evaluated in June and they would either refund us money and lower our monthly bill or Our bill would go up for the next year. I liked it because that way we always knew our bills for the most part. I too am a little worried about gas heat but Propane is worse I think.


LOL--okay I made an oopsie! :greengrin: Yes, propane is what we have! LOL. I don't think about the older homes with gas because no homes in this area have it--in our area it is either electricity or propane. But...my parents in Boston have a house fueled on gas and you are right--that is MUCH more cost effective than any other source--so you are ok there for sure!

re: the traveling distance I would not worry about that esp. if you are saveing that much $$ on a home. I travel just as far to get anywhere from where we live and it is really not that big of a deal. Just make sure your vehicle is gas efficient. That being said from an expedition driver-lol!


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## xymenah (Jul 1, 2011)

It looks quaint and that barn looks huge, very nice. As the others said REALLY check the plumbing, electrical, septic and don't forget to check for mold signs. Make sure you have a construction friend walk though the house with you at least and get a house inspection. It may not be a ton of land but it looks well layed out. Good luck with your search though. I have moved so many times in my life even though I'm 17 I'm pretty much a pro. lol


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## RPC (Nov 6, 2009)

Thanks everyone you have given AWESOME advise. I am hoping to do a drive by this week just to check it out and see how the drive there is from work. I have pretty much just started my home search and I just had my friend Pre approve me yesterday so I had a ball park range. I was hoping for more but at the same time I do not want to be house poor.I am lucky to have a friend that does mortgages and can help find one that suits me best plus I know some realtors. I just need to find an inspector I can trust not to over look things. I really like this house and it has the things I want and need, It may not be the one but atleast it is a starting point. I just hope I will KNOW when I find THE house for me.


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## lissablack (Nov 30, 2009)

Good luck Roger. I recommend looking around, there must be a lot available in this market. And be willing to look in places you don't think are just the right location. I made that mistake the first time I bought a house, and didn't look everywhere. I could have done a lot better than I did. I think this property looks terrific, but that house is so old. I've been learning from this http://chickensintheroad.com/living/. This was preceded by huge leaks in the house, requiring serious replacement plumbing, and after that another crisis with the house water. She moved to an infinitely better place, but this water problem was completely unexpected. Inspectors don't normally look at things like any of her problems. My house was new when I moved into it 18 years ago (! can't believe that), so my maintenance problems aren't as serious. Plus that is a really cool web page too.

Jan


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