Which would you choose?

Go with the land that is better suited for you. The house can change - the property cannot.

Stick built & more land...can always add on later or nice shed out the back door is very handy.

I'd look for something with about 700 sq. ft and 10 acres. If nothing else, the close living quarters may encourage your adult son and daughter to move out on their own.

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Not an option. We have less than 2 months to be out of here and, since we have farm animals, it's nearly impossible to find a place to rent. We're running against a tight deadline here. I've been looking since last July - when we found out we had to move - and this is the first one that's actually given us hope.

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~Trish~
http://harvestmoon-farm.blogspot.com/

You can build a bigger house. You cant build a bigger lot. Plus youd own it vs leasing it. It's really a no brainer for me unless theres something wrong with land/location.

Smaller house- more land. Hands down. Add to the house if you need to - when you can.

That livestock load would be absolutely miserable on 1 acre. Even 5 acres will be cramped. If those are your only two options go with the 5 acres.

We only have 2 horses, 5 goats and 5 hogs, so the load on 5 acres won't be bad.

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~Trish~
http://harvestmoon-farm.blogspot.com/

Definitely go with the smaller house and more acreage. Even good mobile homes are of marginal quality at best and you can easily add on to the stick built home if need be. Plus, with more space, you can add storage buildings or even another dwelling. And the livestock will appreciate the extra room.

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Small house. You can always make more house but there is no making more land.

The old farm stead near our cabin had 12 yonguns' in a log cabin. The barn was bigger!

Dad told how the man had the local still & since they watched large purchases of sugar he had those kids scouring the area for every huckleberry and used it to sweeten the mash.

His shine looked like Iodine!

OK, go with the five acres, then. Cabin Fever may be right that the smaller house will move the kids out faster!

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I'd get the bigger lot and put a camp trailer on it for your son. My parents put me in a 16 foot trailer out back when i was 16. We all liked it much better that way. I still have one daughter at home and when she is a bit older she will likely move in to our 150 square foot guest cottage. Its good to keep your kids close but not too close

I would choose the land any day. Just thinking of making that payment every month so the double wide would have a place to stand on (shudder). Pouring good money down a rathole.

Smaller house, more land for sure.. once the kids get tired of being in a tiny place they will leave and then you can add on.. or add on slowly making more comfy for all of you. But it'll yours!

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smaller house on more acreage most definitely

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You been having a time now hunting a place with a bunch of critters . Thy hunting a place for them and a movable house . You couldn't give me a double wide if i had to move it much less buy one on someone else s land . Talk about a disaster waiting to happen it just don't get no better than that .

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Harvestmoon, I think you have your answer. The place you can actually acquire title for is always more appealing than just a rental, and the fact it's more land certainly helps drive the point home.

Do not take into account "the kids" in the move. They are grown ups and can handle themselves if they want to. Maybe some tighter quarters would be just the thing to fire them up to spread the wings, know what I mean?
It wouldn't hurt anything if they spent some of their own leftover college grant money or a tax return on a travel trailer or something to stay in on the property if they crave their own space, or you'd like to build a little "guest cabin" on the place hooked into the power and water.

I'm guessing the long term plan was never to multi generational family cohabitate so why burn the path for it now?

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Definately the larger acreage. You will build equity over time, th esmaller place you will get nothing back ever.

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We went with the smaller house on 5 acres. The owner bought it as a foreclosure in December and will start renovating/remodeling in a couple weeks. He's also offered to help put up fencing, build sheds, etc. - anything he can do to help us out. If we like it after a year, he'll finance it for us to buy (he owns it outright, so no banks to deal with). Thanks for the input everyone. A huge weight has been lifted, knowing we have a place to go and that our animals can come with us

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~Trish~
http://harvestmoon-farm.blogspot.com/

Smaller house, more land, stick built. That's a no-brainer AFAIC!

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