A bit depressed...

orangehen · #41 04/22/07, 08:21 PM

Maybe I can help a little - I have access to the Rockford Multiple Listing Service, and the listing near Durand is our listing. I will copy & paste from the MLS.

Here's the one near Durand:
LSN: 88803 STS:AA LPR: ***$119,000
ADD:15473 FARM SCHOOL (10AC) CTY

UR GR

UR
BR:12 X11 | ACR:10.00 GAS:N | EXT:VYL | MD

UR SR

UR
BR:11 X 10 | GAR:4.0 BST:N | REM/DIR: 10 ACRES WITH 3 BEDROOM
BR:10. X11.6 | HOME IN NEED OF COMPLETE RENOVATION OR TEAR DOWN
BR: | WITH SEVERAL GOOD BUILDING SITES. LOCATED AT CORNER
: | OF FARM SCHOOL RD & PATTERSON RD.
BTH:1.0 | GOOD 4 CAR TANDEM GARAGE TAXES ESTIMATE

Here's the one near S. Beloit:

LSN: 86065 STS:AA LPR: ***$109,000
ADD:708 SOUTH BLUFF (2.09) CTY:SBL ZIP:61080 CO:WBO
CLS:HSE BRS: 3 TERMS: SPL:3 VR:N GRD:32 LOC:3
LOF# 357 CN PH:815/623-1221 AGT#3329 VYBRNY PH:815/978-2725
OWNER:KANE GILLINGHAM PH:
STY:2S AGE:99 LEGL:METES & BOUNDS
LR:22.6X21 | PIN: Township Assessor
Winnebago County Taxes
WinGIS
04-06-376-004| LOT: F:283 R:154 S:349.7 S:488.7
DIN:14 X12 | HEAT:NAT CAIR:N | SPC:W | TAXES:1883. YR:06
KIT:12.4X11.6 | SEWR:SEPT WATR:WELL| RNGE:NO FPL: | POSS:CLOSE
FAM: | SOFT:N RTL:N | DISH:N DISP:N | GR:SBL GR:SBL
BR:16 X11 | ACR:2.09 GAS:NO | EXT:LOW | MD:SBL SR:SBL
BR:16 X10 | GAR:1.0 BST:Y | REM/DIR: 2.5 STY AMERICAN FOURSQUARE
BR:15.6X11 | ARCH.WORK IN PROGRESS.FULL WIDTH FRNT PORCH.HWH&FRNACE
BR: | 04',WELL PUMP&TANK 06.WOODED LOT,RIVER VIEWS,HIGH ON A
SUN:12 X 9 | HILL.ORIGINAL WDWRK,WD FLRS,SUN RM,ONE CAR W ATTACHED
BTH:1.3 | GARDEN SHED. ZONED "AG"

This is the one near Byron:
LSN: 85574 STS:AA LPR: ***$139,000
ADD:5109 GERMAN CHURCH RD CTY:BYN ZIP:61010 CO:OGL
CLS:HSE BRS: 3 TERMS: SPL:3.5 VR:Y GRD:O2 LOC:O
LOF# 464 RPA PH:815/234-4663 AGT#2836 MORING PH:815/234-4000
OWNER:PAUL & TWILA LABAY PH:
STY:2S AGE:99 LEGL:RNG/BLK 11 24 SECT/LOT 7 IRR SE4 BK98-484
LR:29X13.1 | PIN: Ogle County Taxes
1007400007 | LOT: F:969 R:IRR S:265 S:463
DIN:15.3X11.1 | HEAT:ELE CAIR:N | SPC:KO | TAXES:2189.24 YR:05
KIT:14.6X9 | SEWR:SEPT WATR:WELL| RNGE:N FPL: | POSS:NEGOTIABLE
FAM: | SOFT:N RTL:N | DISH:N DISP:N | GR:BYRON GR:BYRON
BR:14.4X14.3 | ACR:7.29 GAS:LP | EXT:FRA | MD:BYRON SR:BYRON
BR:14.8X10.7 | GAR:1.0 BST:Y | REM/DIR: HOUSE IS UNINHABITABLE IN
BR:10.4X9.5 | CURRENT CONDITION. BARN & SOME OUTBUILDINGS
BR: | WELL & SEPTIC INSTALLED. AG 1 ZONING
: | SOLD AS-IS
BTH:2.0 | WELL AND SEPTIC AS IS
REALTOR INSTRUCTIONS:HOUSE HAS NO FRONT DOOR - IF ANYONE VENTURES IN THE HOUSE THEY DO
SO AT THEIR AND THEIR CLIENTS OWN RISK DUE TO WILDLIFE MAY BE
LIVING INSIDE.

And the one near Polo:
LSN: 85758 STS:AA LPR: ***$119,900
ADD:15007 CANADA RD,W CTY:POL ZIP:61064 CO:OGL
CLS:HSE BRS: 3 TERMS: SPL:3.0 VR:N GRD:O4 LOC:O
LOF# 322 D&N PH:815/732-3365 AGT#4563 TERESA PH:815/234-7672
OWNER:RICHARD SHORT & JACQUELINE SHORT PH:
STY:2S AGE:99 LEGL:TO BE SUPPLIED
LR:23X10 | PIN: Ogle County Taxes
14-06-100-001| LOT: F:264 R:264 S:160 S:160
DIN:13.4X14 | HEAT:GFA CAIR:N | SPC:K | TAXES:1130.26 YR:05
KIT:13.914 | SEWR:SEPT WATR:WELL| RNGE:NEG FPL: | POSS:CLOSING
FAM: | SOFT:Y RTL:N | DISH:N DISP:N | GR:POL GR:POL
BR:14X13 | ACR:1.00 GAS:LP | EXT:OTH | MD:POL SR:POL
BR:14X11.6 | GAR:2.0 BST:Y | REM/DIR: 1ST FLOOR LAUNDRY W/HALF
BR:14X11.2 | BATH OFF OF EAT-IN KITCHEN. NEWER WINDOWS, FURNACE,
BR: | WATER HEATER AND SEPTIC SYSTEM. ATTACHED WORKSHOP W/
BON:26X11 | WOODBURNER STOVE. OUTBUILDINGS INCLUDE SMALL BARN W/
BTH:1.5 | LOFT. ZONED AG. MINUTES FROM TOWN ON PAVED ROAD.
REALTOR INSTRUCTIONS:BAR IN WORKSHOP DOES NOT STAY.

That should tell you a little more about them. They all seem to be "fixer-uppers". I've been in the one near Durand (as I said, it's our office listing), and the house used to be an old schoolhouse. Lived in for a number of years, then rented for awhile. If you and your husband were determined, it COULD be fixed up this summer, but would take a lot (deep crawlspace under, sagging floors, flimsy walls, etc.). The garage is GREAT! And lots of land, 10 acres.

I don't know about the others, but at least they've all got "ag" zoning, which is a plus. Like others said, it's almost impossible to find anything reasonable within 20 minues of Rockford, and yes, prices ARE outrageous.

Here's another one, but the price may be too high, and it's almost right ON Route 75 - I'm familiar with it.
LSN: 86987 STS:AA LPR: ***$145,000
ADD:5539 RT 75, E CTY

AKOTA GR

AKOTA
BR:11.1X11.0 | ACR:1.50 GAS:Y | EXT:VYL | MD

AKOTA SR

AKOTA
BR:11.9X9.7 | GAR:2.0 BST:Y | REM/DIR: BEAUTIFUL FARM HOUSE! JUST
BR:9.4X8.3 | LIKE NEW INSIDE. MANY UPDATES, INCLUDING WIRING &
BR: | PLUMBING, WOODBURNING STOVE W/BLOWER. LARGE OUT
: | BUILDING W/NEW ROOF. ABOUT 10 MILES FROM FREEPORT.
BTH:1.8 | TX RATE-7.2895

It shouldn't say "Winnebago Ct. taxes" because the house is in Stephenson Ct. Let me know if I can help more.

orangehen · #42 04/22/07, 08:42 PM

Good grief! THAT didn't come across as I intended. I have NO idea how all those smiley faces came up - they sure weren't in the descriptions on the MLS, and all I did was cut and paste - sorry - maybe you can't make anything of it anyway the way it is.

Selena · #43 04/22/07, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by orangehen

Good grief! THAT didn't come across as I intended. I have NO idea how all those smiley faces came up - they sure weren't in the descriptions on the MLS, and all I did was cut and paste - sorry - maybe you can't make anything of it anyway the way it is.

The listing is a misprint - 10 rods mentioned in the legal but 1 acre in total.

Cloverbud · #44 04/22/07, 11:51 PM

Off the cuff, Foreston is about 30 miles from RVC. Polo is a little over an hour drive, much of it up winding IL RT 2. If you liked the listing near Byron, I could give you a front door to go with it

It is near the nuclear plant, if that's a concern for you.

TxGypsy · #45 04/22/07, 11:57 PM

See if you can get a hold of the book Two Acre Eden by Gene Logsdon. It ought to help raise your spirits. Actually anything by that author is excellent. You will be amazed at what you can do on a small amount of land, the main problem is stupid city ordinances against livestock. There are lots of places where you can't even have chickens. Good luck with the move!

dnw826 · #46 04/23/07, 08:18 AM

I have seen those listings. My problem is the work to be done. My dh is....lazy. I would have to do all the work myself, so I can't take over a complete rehab at the moment with 3 homeschooled kids.

I like the Dakota listing, but I am worried about distance.

**Terri** · #47 04/23/07, 10:19 AM

OK, your DH is not much for remodeling a home. Think about hiring it done, instead, one job at a time. My DH will work a RIDICULOUS amount of (unpaid) overtime at his job, but he would rather not do any physical at home.

That's OK, we all have things we are not comfortable doing. I didn't marry my DH to be a handyman, I married him to be a husband and a father and he does that very well. I don't have the courage to cut my teenage daughters hair, and my DH (and perhaps yours) does not have the courage to repair his home. It happens.

Not that any guy will have the NERVE to say that doing his own repairs worries him, that he is afraid he will blow it, NNOOOOOO! They will just procrastinate until they forget about it! LOL.

So, I handle the homestead. Sometimes he repairs something and sometimes I do and sometimes I hire it done. That's OK, we both work hard and if we call in a repairman we are not being lazy, we are just making a choice.

That's OK, there are things that I don't have the nerve to do either!

Selena · #48 04/23/07, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dnw826

I have seen those listings. My problem is the work to be done. My dh is....lazy. I would have to do all the work myself, so I can't take over a complete rehab at the moment with 3 homeschooled kids.

I like the Dakota listing, but I am worried about distance.

I clocked wall time and miles today from 3 of the properties.

KristineinKS · #49 04/23/07, 10:52 PM

I don't live in the area, so can't give any advice there, but I would like to second everything Terri & others wrote about what can be done on very little land. I couldn't handle a fixer-upper either (single mom of 4), so ended up with a nice newish move-in ready 2400 sq ft house on a little less than an acre in a slightly rural subdivision (and near a snotty golf course, ugh!).

We've only been here a year, but already have 3 goats (2 Boers, 1 Pygmy), numerous chickens & ducks (yes, I'm going a bit beyond what the ordinances will allow), a breeding pair of rabbits (soon to be a trio, plus the expected babies), the startings of a small orchard, roughly a 50' x 50' garden planned, plus tons of other fruits & berries planted all over the place. In the future, I've thought of including bees, and perhaps a pot-bellied pig (and even at that, there's still land here that wouldn't be used!). So really, plenty can be done, even on less than an acre!

Don't be discouraged! I was up until fairly recently, once the reality of my purchase had sunk in, but I busted out a lot of the old homesteading books I'd accumulated & searched the forums here faithfully & learned just how much is possible! My kids are in heaven & think we have a "REAL farm," LOL, I'm just considering this a starter property, but you never teally know what's possible 'til you have to do it. If you end up with less land than you wanted, like I did, the key is just to utilize every possible bit of it & you'll be surprised at what you can do.

Terrabus · #50 04/24/07, 03:07 AM

I'm in Freeport, which is just 22 miles West of Rockford.
You want 5 acres, too? LOL! Everybody around here does! The West side of Rockford is a shooting range and Freeport looks like a bomb went off. Sure, you might find a few patches of land in Stephenson County but you'll pay for them. And tonight, Seward was evacuated because of an amonia leak. Forreston is a good town, as is Polo. I would strongly recommend avoiding Pecatonica because they haven't met a tax hike they didn't like. As for me? I'd look towards Ridott, Baileyville, German Valley area. In fact, I believe there is an acreage in the Freeport Journal Standard in Ridott for sale. Like I said, though, everything goes fast because nobody wants to live in the cities.

mtnbluet881 · #51 05/27/07, 08:12 AM

[QUOTE=Terrabus]I'm in Freeport, which is just 22 miles West of Rockford.
You want 5 acres, too? LOL! Everybody around here does! The West side of Rockford is a shooting range and Freeport looks like a bomb went off. Sure, you might find a few patches of land in Stephenson County but you'll pay for them. And tonight, Seward was evacuated because of an amonia leak. Forreston is a good town, as is Polo. I would strongly recommend avoiding Pecatonica because they haven't met a tax hike they didn't like. As for me? I'd look towards Ridott, Baileyville, German Valley area. In fact, I believe there is an acreage in the Freeport Journal Standard in Ridott for sale. Like I said, though, everything goes fast because nobody wants to live in the cities.[/QUOTE]

Actually we had gone looking for a farmette of less than 5 acres and couldn't find any. We didn't understand until we were told that after a certain date farmers weren't allowed to sell parcels less than that. Talk about population control. However, if a parcel was sold before that date it could be any size still.

I agree with others that Rockford, in terms of employment, is seen as an extension of Chicago and more and more people that live and work in Chicago are looking for homes out here, in Rockford and surrounding areas. Especially now with the agreement to getting rail service between Rockford and Chicago, although the implementation is probably at least one year away.

Keeping to the far west of Rockford is better--just as it says above.

Also, there is animal control in Rockford and the immediate surrounding areas. For example, only certain places are allowed to have horses, no matter how many acres the person owns. And certain places limit the number of dogs to three, while other areas do not have a limit.

I wish there was an easy answer to a farmette! On the bright side, we do have an active Freecycle group----at least 600 strong and they are even implementing a No Show list to help and weed out those who respond carelessly.

HTH,
Cathy Sutton

mtnbluet881 · #52 05/27/07, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dnw826

Apparently this one is uninhabitable. That's not a good sign...

http://www.oglecountyrealestate.com/...5574&mlsid=280

You are probably in the process of moving, so when you are settled you will see this. What did you find? Is there anything you need help with or even knowledge of the area? We live here along the river in Rockford, with my DH born and raised here and I've lived in the area now for 13+ years.

Happy Moving to you!
Cathy S.

pcwerk · #53 05/27/07, 09:07 PM

You might want to wait a few months b4 making a purchase. The pundits
claim that real estate prices are about to go down. Good luck!
pc

Selena · #54 05/27/07, 10:34 PM

Residential housing market is down, especially new construction. Greed caught up with a lot of developers. But I have yet to see a field of soybeans, corn is king right now. Upside is a lot less farms are turning into slum housing.