MO house & land

[Cheryl in SD]

I found a little place in MO. But would it be wise to buy a house that needs...

water (no bath or kitchen water) - there is a well but the don't know the condition, there MIGHT be a septic (realtors words), rural water deposit is paid, but water not to property.

electric - part of the house is rewired, most of it is not & the wiring is early 1900's

roof - needs replaced

Foundation - cracked & needs redone

upstairs floors water damaged

But it has 37 acres, outbuildings, 2 ponds, 5 bedrooms, and character.

We keep talking about going off grid, & living without electricity, etc. Would this be doable, or would the roof, foundation & water situation make this a nightmare?

(Yes, I am just sharing & chatting. I know we are a ways off from being able to do anything like this, but hearing yea's & nay's helps me learn.))

[lvshrs]

Doable? Yes if...

If you have the money, the strength,the emotional willpower,and a strong relationship with your other half and they share your goals...Then go for it!

I love the character of the place! If I had the money I would love something like this but DH is not interested in that big of a project....well unless it had a great workshop

Just remember...

For everything that you know is wrong/broken-there are 20 others that you find after you fix something.

Murphy's Law is EXTREMELY strong in older houses.

[Cheryl in SD]

I keep thinking that we just DID this. The house we are in was in worse shape, & is almost done. It will be ready to go on the market in March. But again? Both dh & I said "No, NEVER again!", then we saw this house.

[farmergirl]

Cheryl, I believe you and I might be birds of a feather. I love old places with charm, and this place certainly has that. But remember this wisdom....there is a fine line between "charm" and absolute misery! The weather gets NASTY is MO. I would hate to be in an old house with a leaky roof when the rain comes!

[Still Learning]

That house has so much character and I can see how much potential it has. And 37 acres with 2 ponds would be awesome to have, not to mention having 5 bedrooms. It would be beautiful after being renovated, I guess the biggest question is are you two up for that much work?

My husband and I (okay, really him - I just watch!) have been renovating our home for 3 years (loooong years) and it's finally ready to sell. Living in the middle of a constant construction zone has been hard at times but I would do it again in a heartbeat!

Best of luck with your decision. And thanks for sharing the pictures too. Keep us updated!

~Ashley

[Pony]

If that's where I wanted to be (MO) then I would snap that up in a heartbeat.

Granted, I'd come in with a really low offer to start, but that looks like a good price to me. 37 acres, ponds, and a house. Yeah, the house needs work, but if you've done it before, you know you can do it again.

One of my favorite projects was an 1879 Gothic Revival. Never had so much fun in my life.

All the best, whatever you decide!

Pony!

[fixer1958]

Originally Posted by lvshrs

Murphy's Law is EXTREMELY strong in older houses.

Murphy is not as prevalant if there is no mortage and money is coming in.
There will be surprises, but it won't hurt as bad.

[simplegirl]

If you love the place and you can do it, I say go for it.

BTW, I live in MO and the weather is not THAT bad. Unpredictable, but not horrible by any means. I love it here. What part of the state is this place?

[copperkid3]

Cheryl......I whipped out my handy calculator and did the math and just the land itself is UNDER $2000/acre!!! Now, I don't know what land in Missouri goes for, but around here, with the rest of the things mentioned.....it would be a steal. That being said, you now have to consider the decision on what to do about the house and the amenities that go with it. Water is a necessity no matter what......everything else can be "learned to live with/without"); so that would be the first thing to check out and figure out how much to put in a line or well; keep track of the projected costs on all the variables and you will have a better idea on how to proceed. Next step would be to have an inspector go over the house with a fine-toothed comb; well worth the money for this.....usually $250-500, but if the opinion comes back that it would be cheaper to tear it down and start afresh.....then you will be that much further ahead in both time and money......and remember; TIME IS MONEY......whether you choose to spend it "fixing and fixing things" or have it done right the first time......you pay it somewhere. Foundations that can't be fixed is just borrowing trouble for the present as well as the future......floors will slope or doors won't close right; rewiring a house and pulling up and replacing flooring can ALL be accomplished given enough time/patience and MONEY. All in all, the rest of the property sounds like a dream come true. Here's hoping that it is the one that you want as well.

[mtman]

are you kidding? we would do that in a minute! its beautiful and a lot better then what we had to start with:

[simplegirl]

Oh, I got out my map, a ways from me and I am not familier with that part of the state. But, it looks like a nice place and the price seems fair for that amount of acreage.

[countrydreamn]

what a beautiful house, I would love to see it with all of the trees green.
I would say go for it.
But then you have done it before and it is I am sure a lot of work. But I should think that the other thing would be go there and walk through the place, I mean it looks great in pictures but since you have repaired a house before you would know what to look for and if it felt right.

I would love to have a big old farm house like that.

Blessings,
Debi

[big rockpile]

Looks like a place I use to live.Not a bad price.And I don't think it would be that hard to fix up.

big rockpile

[t.phares]

I laughed when I read this post because our place is a short distance from Cainsville where this property is located. Cainsville is exceptionally rural whereas nearby Bethany (off of I35 an hour an a half from either Des Moines or Kansas City) has about 3000 residents. I do not believe there is any store or anything in Cainsville, but there's one of everything else in Bethany which is probably 20 minutes away from Cainsville...including Super Walmart. I spent several years looking at this part of Missouri; land is beautiful and very affordable. People are wonderful! Gorgeous rolling hills and lots of ponds!!! IMO, this is just a beautiful part of our country! Let me tell you....if I had the cash I'd snatch this one up in a heart beat!!! I know this area well...small farms such as this one are hard to come by these days. Call the realtors office and ask for Bobbie...great fella'. He'll show you this property and many others and get you acquainted with the area. This is a buyer's market...however, when we purchased our place years ago...every time we were ready to get serious about a place......it ended up swiftly getting purchased and we lost out. Good luck in your search and feel free to write back. If there's anything I can do to help ya, I'd be happy to.

[Ramblin Wreck]

I admire anyone with the gumption and energy to take on a renovation project. If you guys have done it before, you're the best judge about whether you are ready for another project and how how it would/could affect achieving your goals in life.

[Terri]

Winters are shorter in Missouri, but they CAN be sharp! So you will want to know what the previous tenants did for water and sewage. I would not reccomend an outhouse here in the winter! We might not get -50 like you do, but -10 with ice and a stiff wind is still fairly nippy!

Land prices in that area are rising rapidly, but still rather low. The area is lovely and the people are reasonably friendly. At least, they were when I was looking around just south of there.

[boonieman]

I think it would be an absolute blast to renovate a house like that. It's beautiful, and has endless potential. That being said, my family moved from SD to Ky in 1969 and if I ever manage to have the opportunity to move back to SD, I'll never, ever leave again.

I've restored numerous old houses..if it were me, I'd buy this one in a proverbial New York Minute at that price and location...wouldn't matter to me if I had to live in a few rooms downstairs and sleep in a pup tent in the living room..but then again, I'm a little nutty.

[jamesdel]

Land prices around here are not even close to that . I am about 15 minutes from there as well and know of several small acreages around. I have e mailed them and ask to takea look.. We will see what the deal is. Used to go out with a girl from Cainsville.
jim
I Havent been through there for a while but by the sounds of it it sound like just what the Amish are buying . Dont know that they would give that much though

[Cheryl in SD]

Originally Posted by jamesdel

Land prices around here are not even close to that . I am about 15 minutes from there as well and know of several small acreages around. I have e mailed them and ask to takea look.. We will see what the deal is. Used to go out with a girl from Cainsville.
jim
I Havent been through there for a while but by the sounds of it it sound like just what the Amish are buying . Dont know that they would give that much though

Well, if you go look and decide you don't want it. TAKE PICS and send them to me! I cannot commit until we get rid of this one & that could be 2-3 months away! But I would love a look at ALL of the bedrooms, the outbuildings, the barn, the two metal buildings...... I can't stop you if you get it, but if you don't could you be eyes & ears for us???

Thanks!