Looking for a little advice, please

[Splinky245]

I am in an interesting position. About a year ago my rather large family decided that they all wanted to combine house holds and homestead together. My family consists of My Mother and Father, My older brother and his soon to be wife, my husband, son, and myself. Between my brother and me we can easily assume that there will be between three and five more children as part of the family with in the next 5 years.

Now that all of you have some background information I’ll tell you the situation I am in now. My Father, the acting head of our family, has given me a job. I am to find our land and home. It has been decided that we need a minimum of five acres but no more than 30 acres. It would have to be land that would be suitable for growing our own food, as well as having pasture land. It would also need to have a house on it that is suitable in size for my brother’s, and my family. Fixer-uppers are fine as long as they are structurally sound and a habitable.

The part that is making this difficult is that I need to find this for no more than $80,000.

To be honest, I am a little lost about how to find this. I am not even sure if there is property like that out there. And so I am appealing to all of you, the more experienced homesteaders, to point me in the right direction and possibly lend me any advice that you have discovered over the years.

Thank you in advance for any information you may be able to offer.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Need to know where you are and where you are looking.

It has to have a big house and land for $80,000? I am not sure that's going to be possible.

[Splinky245]

Currently we live in Virginia, but we have talked and decided that we are open to relocating to a new state. We are especially interested in Tennesse and Missouri.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Hmmmmmm, I'm about to buy 35 acres for $42,500, but no house, in southern Missouri.

There's an earth bermed house near us that's on 20 acres, two ponds, big barn, workshop, asking price is $100,000. Unfortunately, the folks that were living in it did NOT take care of it, and it's not worth that much, in my opinion. The interior of the house will have to be completely redone, and a lot of trash hauled off from the yard.

Are you going to be able to travel to the areas you are considering and do some on site shopping?

[Splinky245]

I will have to work mostly through a real estate agent but I will not be buying anything site unseen. I am positive that I will be making several trips to evaluate various propertys.

<sigh> I had a feeling that it would be difficult to find the kind of property we need at that price. I think perhaps it might be time to start campaigning for the family to open up their pocket books a little more.

What is limiting us the most is that at the same time we are paying for the property, we will also be maintaining an apartment in Richmond, Va for my parents. They need to stay here for a few years until they can retire.

[Boleyz]

PLEASE DON'T DO IT!!!

No matter how big the house is, there is only room for 1 family. Inlaws will soon be outlaws, parents will soon be tiresome and financial disputes will rage.

My advice is RUN!!! RUN!!! RUN!!!....

JMHO...

[Splinky245]

Hehe... I am not worried about living together. We have all run a combined household for the last 5 years. I can truelly say my family are my best friends.

[Hammer4]

Find some real estate websites, one good one is unitedcountry.com.

Southern missouri has some nice homesteading real estate and at fairly reasonable prices.

You may not get a very big house for that amount of money, I would think you want to look for the right sized property with a decent sized house for one family, then the others plan on moving a modular or living in a rv until the other houses can be built or the current house can be expanded, that might be the easiest way to get what you need....remember with some labor and lumber you can build or expand the house, but the land can't be modified as easily...so look at the property first, then the house with an eye towards renovation/expansion.....

[Jennifer L.]

Not much advice from me, except to go more towards 30 acres than just a few. Consider the fact you might want firewood, for example. No way to have enough with just a few acres when you need hay and pasture both. Thirty acres gives you lots of options, including building other houses at some point. Also, look for a place with water uphill from the house. You'll be able to save on a waterpump that way and have water when the electricity is off. You'll have a lot of animals to water and things like this help.

Jennifer

[FolioMark]

Splinky: Heres a place, 20 acres with a 3 bedroom house with one bath and out buildings on the Gasconade River near Hartville Mo., in Wright County. Kinda funky house but it could easily be added on to or you could build other structures around it to create a compound. Asking price is 45,000 for the house and land but as its a fixer upper, I bet you could get it cheaper. Heres a link:

http://www.morealestate.net/agencysi.../listings2.htm

Similar house/land deals can be found in Missouri if you look for them. Definitely check out United country website.

Good luck.

[Burbsteader]

It is wonderful that you get along so well with your family. I have hesitations about the soon to be SIL.

Has she lived with your family for the 5 years as well? Is she involved in the responsibility of your child? If she hasn't had children yet, perhaps she may have problems with this with her own children.

There are always variables to consider, such as, what would happen if the brother should divorce? What legal rights would she have to the property?

While you may hope that this would never happen, it is absolutely necessary to prepare for it.

And I am having a hard time figuring out how you are going to be able to afford what you are looking for for $80,000. And 5 acres just doesn't seem like much for homesteading with 6 adults and many children still to come.

Good luck!

[goatlady]

folio!! ONE btahroom for 7 adults?? Get real. You will need at least 30 acres to be able to produce food for a group that size, soon to be larger in addition to have pasture and wood lot. The suggestion of buying a large lump of land with just a small house and then having the others furnish their OWN living space makes a LOT of sense cause land is fairly cheap in MO and AR but homes on those lands are usually small and in need of fixing or else add so much value it's out of your current price range. You better figure on about $100,000 for what you are looking for and basically will need. That works out to about $33,000 per family unit which is cheap housing costs for all concerned.

[bill not in oh]

If you had the RIGHT 5 acres and the expertise to manage it well, it would be sufficient to raise livestock and produce to support 12 people during good years. Those years that the crops didn't do optimally well would be problematic as you won't have much room for error.

Finding 5 acres of prime farmland with a 4-5 bedroom house (and more than one bathroom I assume) for 80K is gonna be a hunt. They're out there, but not common.

[FolioMark]

GOATLADY: LOL I didnt mean that they could just walk in and fluff the pillows and settle in. One bathroom is certainly not going to cut it in the long run, though one bath is better than none. But for 20 acres and a liveable main house they could do worse. Add on some simple bedrooms and plumb in a second and third bath and you are in good shape. But the basic house would give them a base of operations. Besides there are plenty of us here from huge families who were raised in one bathroom houses. You manage.


Here you go: just 3 beds but 2 baths and lots of outbuildings and potential. Might be workable if you manage it right:

http://www.unitedcountry.com/search0...30110&RP=&FT=P

Or this one:

http://www.unitedcountry.com/search0...01990&RP=&FT=P

BUT YOU might just try this place. Near town but its only 400 people. And you could put a passle of kids in that 4 car garage. Take a look at the aerial map in the pictures. Not a bad place for in town.

http://www.unitedcountry.com/search0...10800&RP=&FT=P

[fantasymaker]

Several things in the OP make me think that the father doesnt know what hes doing. If you are are depending on him for leadership I think like Boleyz ID run!
First off most places you can buy 40 acre pices for the same or less than a 30.
40 acre parcels often have additional privalages
40 acre parcels also may put you in a diferent zoning situation
And most importantly with all the inlaws and such in this they tend to be more easily subdivideable.
You might think of the central plains Kansas South Dakota and North Dakota.
Land is cheeper in other areasbut the big ol house you need isharder to come by

[donsgal]

Originally Posted by Splinky245

I am in an interesting position. About a year ago my rather large family decided that they all wanted to combine house holds and homestead together. My family consists of My Mother and Father, My older brother and his soon to be wife, my husband, son, and myself. Between my brother and me we can easily assume that there will be between three and five more children as part of the family with in the next 5 years.

Now that all of you have some background information I’ll tell you the situation I am in now. My Father, the acting head of our family, has given me a job. I am to find our land and home. It has been decided that we need a minimum of five acres but no more than 30 acres. It would have to be land that would be suitable for growing our own food, as well as having pasture land. It would also need to have a house on it that is suitable in size for my brother’s, and my family. Fixer-uppers are fine as long as they are structurally sound and a habitable.

The part that is making this difficult is that I need to find this for no more than $80,000.

To be honest, I am a little lost about how to find this. I am not even sure if there is property like that out there. And so I am appealing to all of you, the more experienced homesteaders, to point me in the right direction and possibly lend me any advice that you have discovered over the years.

Thank you in advance for any information you may be able to offer.

Am I correct in assuming that you are all planning to live together in one house? Boy, if I was your brother's soon-to-be-wife, I'd be pitching a fit about that one. Newlyweds need privacy and lots of "quality time together to get to know each other. I agree with Boylez that if you are planning this, please re-think it!

Each of you should have no less than five acres a piece and live at opposite ends of the property, effectively being together, yet having your own privacy and "space". Being all jammed together on five acres, even in your own separate houses would still be too "close for comfort" IMHO.

donsgal

[EasyDay]

There is a place down the road from us that is up for sale (by word of mouth, not listed with a realtor). Right now it's 75 acres, but he wants to split it and sell the back 40 separately, which is just pasture with a pond.

On the front 35 acres, there is a two bdrm, 1 bath house in need of fixing up. They had semi-grown sons living with them, so they enclosed the front porch and put bunk beds in it. Now, one son has gotten married, so they moved a 2 bed/2 bath (?) single-wide trailer onto the property for the new couple. This would allow two separate households their privacy while being right next to each other. There is a nice-sized barn, chicken yard, pasture, ponds, large garden area, and GREAT neighbors! (That would be us! )

We are located in northcentral AR in the ozarks, right about the 1/2 way point between Mountain View and Clinton on Hwy 9.
If you'd like more information, I would be more than happy to oblige. If it doesn't sound right for you, that's okay, too!

And now for a slightly different point of view..LOL..Having grown up in a houseful of relatives, I loved it..thought it was great, and hope that you find your place. There are many such places in Missouri in that price range..I'd just recommend that you be ready to put in more bathrooms ASAP..

[Spinner]

There's a 25 acre place within site of my house that has a price of $72,000, but might be bought for less. Wooded land and pasture (previous owner ran cattle and goats), wet weather creeks, good fences, a small barn that looks to be built over 100 years ago. The house needs work, but a family that big could do a lot without having to hire outside help. It has a good well, but the septic needs work. The way it's set up I don't think it would be to much work to arrange it to add a couple of large mobile homes for temporary living while redoing the house. The house has some remodeling done, but the seller got sick before finishing it. Now they are selling it partly redone, that's why I said it could probably be bought for less than asking price. Also, the $72,000 was the price ask when it was listed. It's not listed now so that would probably be a factor in price.

If your interested send a pm. It's in SE Oklahoma where it is hot & dry during the summer, and winters are mild, never have to shovel snow . I could post pics if you get seriously interested.

Lots of low priced places in my area, but it's about 40 miles to town from here. Not a good place to find work, but a great place to homestead.

I have a friend up the road who bought an old town. His extended family lives there. It works out well for them as they all have separate living quarters. There is even a big building that was an old hotel. Lots of space for visitors! I hope it works out as well for you and your family.

[dave85]

Splinky,
it just so happens my daughter and I are flying into KC on the 15th of January to look at 12 + - properties in the Bolivar area of MO.
From when they were dating my SIL wanted to have an extended family homestead. "Like the Amish" is what he said. Maybe not in the same house but on the property.

Anyway, good luck in your search.
maybe we ought to slit up a larger piece as we don't want a house right now
h-m-m-m-m

Dave

Originally Posted by Splinky245

I am in an interesting position. About a year ago my rather large family decided that they all wanted to combine house holds and homestead together. My family consists of My Mother and Father, My older brother and his soon to be wife, my husband, son, and myself. Between my brother and me we can easily assume that there will be between three and five more children as part of the family with in the next 5 years.

Now that all of you have some background information I’ll tell you the situation I am in now. My Father, the acting head of our family, has given me a job. I am to find our land and home. It has been decided that we need a minimum of five acres but no more than 30 acres. It would have to be land that would be suitable for growing our own food, as well as having pasture land. It would also need to have a house on it that is suitable in size for my brother’s, and my family. Fixer-uppers are fine as long as they are structurally sound and a habitable.

The part that is making this difficult is that I need to find this for no more than $80,000.

To be honest, I am a little lost about how to find this. I am not even sure if there is property like that out there. And so I am appealing to all of you, the more experienced homesteaders, to point me in the right direction and possibly lend me any advice that you have discovered over the years.

Thank you in advance for any information you may be able to offer.