Which house would you buy?

Personally, I'd go for more acreage. Nine acres ain't much.

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I'm running so far behind I thought I was first!

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Got 22 would love 40, heck just let it sit and turn into deer n turkey habitat for hunting!

I have to add...you said you really want privacy. Nine acres isn't going to give you any privacy unless it's right smack in the middle of a protected wilderness area! Hubby and I started out looking at 30-40 acre properties and bought a 96 acre farm. We ALMOST have the privacy we wanted and will probably buy the 35 acre place next to us to insure that privacy.

Your boys are teenagers? They will not be home for much longer so a smaller house makes a lot of sense, especially since you have the expertise to upgrade it yourself. It's a lot easier to enlarge a house than to enlarge a piece of property!

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I'm running so far behind I thought I was first!

http://hickahala.blogspot.com/

Something to keep in mind, when you add onto a home or build outbuildings, barns, etc., your taxes will go up. Believe me, we see the tax fellow drive over to our place every year snooping around before tax statements come out. Our house is back in the woods off the main road, so he has to drive over.

We had to make a similiar decision last year when we bought. We went for the bigger acreage. I don't think we will ever regret it but it is alot of work. Everything costs more and takes longer to than you think it should. We like physical labor though and like everyone says, they aren't making anymore land.

The nice thing about building your own outbuildings is that you can make them exactly how you want them. I'm really enjoying the barn that I designed. I don't think we could have converted an existing one and ever had it set up as nice.

We ended up with a huge house that we don't need so its too bad I can't send you 2 bedrooms!

Now that would be great!

Any idea of an estimate what a smallish barn would cost? Say a 3-4 stall type barn? We'd only need a slab or even a pole barn would work I'd think? Keeping in mind we'd do all the work ourselves. I don't know much about barns so bear with me LOL

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Blessings,
Jean

taxes on the land is about the same , price of the two places is about the same
so do you buy a gallon of milk for two bucks or a quart of milk for $2?
the 40 give you 4 times as much ground . the house might not be as fancy and you dont have out buildings. no problem buy one of the 20x24 portable car ports and finish running the metal down the sides and close off the ends instant 20x24 barn for under $1000

House one being at the top of what you can afford rules it out IMO. Never max yourself out as you will have few funds for the unforseen or future projects. Number 2 property should have some value in the timber, with 40 acres it should qualify for deferred taxes based on farm or forestry use. You have plenty of labor in the family to add sweat equity to the 40 acre property and you can build out buildings there to suit your needs. I had rather have appreciation on 40 acres than 9 if they are in similar settings. With you large family the 40 acres offers room for future homes without crowding. The 40 acres would also offer some security financially as if an emergency surfaced you could possibly sell off some of the acres and not have to move. How does the water and the septics compare?

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Agmantoo
If they can do it,
you know you can!

I would go with the 40 acres...no doubt. As others have said,they aren't making any more land!

If you have sawmills in your area check out sawmill lumber prices and compare it to store bought (lowes) and go with the cheaper. Our old house built in 1930 had rough cut lumber in it and boy did we save using rough cut. Really had no choice as store bough stuff would not match up. Also the sawmill lumber last much longer if it isn't in contact with the ground.We have our place about 90 percent finished and will prob do upgrades the rest of our lifes. One thing we did in side for paneling was used osb board and painted it with good oil base paint and everyone loves the straw look it has. For the ceilings we used the plain old black board insulation that comes in 4x8 sheets and painted them white, again with good oil base paint. Good luck in which ever place you decide on. Sam

Before you go adding on to your home #2, think long and hard about how long you'll need thos extra bedrooms. My boys are grown and gone. I have friends that their children are also reecently out on their own. A few added bedrooms onto their homes, some even added a Family room. Now the kids are gone and they are stuck heating and paying taxes on mor house than they want/need. If you could squeeze by for a few years, you might be able to have the house sized to your future needs. You could add a garage, but use it as a bedroom (or two) until the kids are gone and then convert it to the garage you've always wanted.
Build the barn with just enough room, but with tall sides. That way, if/when you want and can afford more barn, you'll be able to easily add onto the sides.

LOL, sign me up on that list...

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it's easier to buy a chunk of land than it is to buy another hosue. I would get the nicer house iwth 9 acres. BTW 9 acres is a LOT of land. I have 5 and we don't use it all except for strolling around.

All things being equal, 40acres trumps 9. 40 Acres buys you privacy, and if managed properly, buys you a regular profit in timber or in firewood if you are interested. Sure it's more work - 9 acres is less effort all they way around. Less effort isn't necessarily a good thing.

But the specific circumstances of each house and of your own life really define the actions you should take. Weigh all the factors of each property. I'd treat them both as potential properties. Go visit the neighbors & go visit the town gossip. Of course, take gossip with a grain of salt, but when Sallie Mae at the property caddy corner to your potential house tells you that that house always did have bad water, or that there was a dispute on the property lines, or that 2 years ago a meth lab was busted on the property, or that the folks on the other side of you raise pits for fighting, or that the clearing your house is in has always been a great spot to get the first deer of the season... investigate it.

Anyway, my 2c.
j

I've been there done that to an old house, out buildings and 155 acres. It was nice when I was in my 20's, remodeling the old 1860's house and having about every farm animal. But I'm almost 62 and my wife is 65 we'd sure go for #1, nice home and 9 acres. You know when you are young and in a young body all that work seems "fun". But as you get older, trust me time flies at light speed it seems, you are that same young person in an older body that can't do alot of things anymore. So you should take a long look down the road and not just see the curve, but down the road. Except when I had a large herd of cattle or grain farmed I really used less then a few acres so I say #1. My 2¢.

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I'm from the government and I'm here to help you.

Well, we would need to know what you anticipate spending to get Property #2 into comparable shape to Property #1 and then we would need to know the price differential, adjusted for the extra 31 acres on Property #2, to know if it's worth it or not.

My gut says go with #2. But that's me being adventurous and busy and an investor with an exit strategy... If you had to, could you fairly quickly and affordably subdivide off part of the extra acreage on #2 to bail you out of difficulties while building or living in it so you wouldn't have to sell the whole thing or lose it to the bank? Always thinkin', even if it's a bit slower these days...

Agreed! What's it gonna cost to erect the same barns, sheds, and outbuildings on the 40 acres?
But then again, I've never wished I had less acreage...

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veni, vidi, volgavi

Quiver0f10 you are moving to NW Arkansas, right? If you haven't already, I would check the zoning on both properties before I made my decision. You might find you are very restricted on one or the other in that part of the state at this time. Also, with the quality of most new construction these days you might find it cheaper and less work to do the add on instead of dealing with warranty work.

I'd go with the 40... definitely. But, as many have mentioned, it's all in how much you can do yourself. If you'd have to contract out the work on the old house, it may not be worth it. Do it yourself and save a TON of money. We did all of this ourselves.

Here's before and after pics of the outside of the house. Then before and after pics of the kitchen.

It's do-able, it's fun, and the sense of accomplishment is unmatched! However, it is NOT for anyone looking for instant gratification! It takes time, but we didn't owe anyone a dime when done. We need to grout the rock on the front and put a porch on this spring.

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Before you marry someone, ask yourself, "Will they be a good killing partner during the zombie apocalypse?"
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By the way, we only paid for the land. The home added no value.

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Before you marry someone, ask yourself, "Will they be a good killing partner during the zombie apocalypse?"
-someecards.com