Renting cheaper than owning...

[oz in SC]

Was looking at the NC Ag Review classifieds and found this:

For rent 100 ac farm with barns, storage, shed, pastures, creeks, farm house, $600/mo. Semora .

Now obviously you do not own the place but if you could lease long term you could have a nice place.

Just a thought....

[mtman]

and at the end of a long lease you still have nothing

[Old Vet]

Renting is cheper than owning in the short term. But when you own you get more out of the property at the end.

[Lynne]

Originally Posted by mtman

and at the end of a long lease you still have nothing

Unless the government decides to take it - we really don't own the land.

Sorry I should of said “ unless the government decides that they need the property.”

[Wendy]

Well, we rented for 14 years. We were paying $50 a month & got to do what we wanted with the place. The landlord died & his daughter got the place. She rented to us for about 3 years for the same price & then sold us the buildings & 3.5 acres. She didn't want the upkeep of the buildings anymore. So, depending on the circumstances, renting can be a great thing.

[sammyd]

600 a month for 100 acres and buildings?
Jeeze I'd hop on that fast.
Land here is 70 an acre or better for rent.
A barn goes for around 20 bucks per milking head per month plus utilities.

Compared to my mortgage payment on 2 acres it would save me money and allow me to do some things to generate an income while renting to work my way into buying something else with more money down.

[mtman]

Originally Posted by Lynne

Unless the government decides to take it - we really don't own the land.

Sorry I should of said “ unless the government decides that they need the property.”

you can worry about anything i chose not to worry

[brreitsma]

It may be cheaper per month but a person hopefully gets to a point where a place is paid off and they just have property tax and up keep. Also, if I was going to rent in my state I would want a guaranty that I would not have to move between october and april. Also, look at it this way. If you rent you get to retirement age and can't live on a fixed income because of rent and end up stuck working til the day you just fall over at work dead. Also if hard economic times come most rental property has occupancy restrictions leaving you real bad off. You can usually rent out part of a house until you get back on your feet if you own it.

[RedneckPete]

Rent typically goes up from year to year, mortgage payments stay the same. With rent, the landlord reaps the benefit of his property appreciating in value, with a mortgage you do.

Pete

[Ken Scharabok]

If you are very interested in the property for a very long-term stay then find out what similar properties in that area are going for and then make them a low-ball purchase offer - say 80% of current value.

However, bear in mind you are probably going to have to pay interest several percent points higher than a strictly residential mortgage.

Doesn't The Farm Service Bureau make low-cost far loans?

Also bear in mind property listings are a lot like blind dates. They may not look anything like their picture.

[bumpus]

.
After you put all of your hard work into making the land the way you want it they will make you get out, and then rent it for more money to someone else.

bumpus
.

[Terri]

It would be a lower-risk way to start a farm.

Once you had the business going, you COULD take your paid-for equipment and buy land of your own!

[oz in SC]

OR you might find out IF homesteading is for you WITHOUT investing your lifesavings and life into a property....

Most businesses I know of in this town lease the property and improve the property as well....part of the cost of doing business.

[Nette]

AND....Semora is a nice area, nice people! Still very rural, but not that far from the Triangle area, in case you need to get an urban culture fix.

[Cheryl in SD]

I had heard that renting makes sense if the rent payments are less than property taxes and insurance combined. If the rent payment is higher than you would pay for those two items, then it is not a good deal. This happened to my brother. He found a large home with rent only $250 a month. Taxes and insurance on anything else was going to be $350 minimum. He lived there until it sold 4 years later.

On the other hand, if you are moving to an area, not sure if it is permanent, or if you are not positive you would like to do the homesteading thing, renting is a good option. It could also be a good option if the circumstances are right. For instance, if you want a certain property, but you can only rent with an option to purchase until the owner passes on (happened to my uncle, turned into a very good deal for him) or if you have credit problems that renting with an option or even just renting will help you correct.

[michiganfarmer]

Originally Posted by oz in SC

Was looking at the NC Ag Review classifieds and found this:



Now obviously you do not own the place but if you could lease long term you could have a nice place.

Just a thought....

thats a fantastic idea OZ!

[GoldCountryGal]

You could rent it and give homesteading a trial run.. use it to figure out what you want or don't want when you buy a property, use your money to buy equipment that you can take with you (don't sink it into the buildings). We recently bought a small place without a lot of experience, and I have learned a lot about what I would change if I did it over again. Sounds like a low risk proposition to me.

[oz in SC]

True enough,if you think of it IF the place already had fencing and the like what would you be putting into it that you couldn't take with you???

[Snowdancer]

I'm renting approx 4 acres plus house & outbuildings. I am paying $500 mo which includes use of the owners equiptment; zero turn mower, Case tractor & implements, horse trailer & Craftsman tiller.

For me this is a great deal since it's better than being in the city plus it is giving me time to work on the raw 15 wooded acres I have in the middle of the state; so I'm not killing myself trying to get a septic, electric and house built immediately.

My landlord was looking for a long term situation-in actuality a down to earth somewhat experienced homestead partner who enjoys livestock, gardens and all things rural. He stopped by this am & told me to go check out the 'big barn' and let him know what I needed to make it goat safe. I told him I would have to wait for a bit so I could buy the rest of the T posts I need to finish the fence and he said not to worry he has plenty so there's no need for me to go buying posts. So it looks like I'll be getting goats within a couple of months.

I'm doing both-buying wooded unimproved land with plans for a future homestead but also renting a beautiful place where I can start the homestead and move my critters when the day comes.
It doesn't get much better than this.

[longshadowfarms]

We were looking at 200 acres but the taxes alone were over $500/mo. Here in NY with that kind of rent, it actually might be cheaper than owning!