Took the plunge and bought a place

sonofman · #21 03/04/15, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by karenp

Is there utility right of way where the poles run or are they just for the farm? You may not able to put the house there if it is on the right of way. It seems like a lot of expense to move the house I doubt it would be worth it.

I have not seen a utility right of way on any of the paper that I have looked at including tax maps, plat maps etc. The expense of moving the house will be less than $10,000 in total, which includes the new foundation and underpinning and labor/equipment etc.

If I could get the poles moved and the house where I want it, at that price, it would be worth every penny to me.

sonofman · #22 03/04/15, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by po boy

Don't those telephone poles deliver power to your home????
If that's the case you could run it underground.

Nice place and congrats.

The telephone poles do deliver power to my home. I would love to put the lines underground. That is a very probably option. I am however concerned because the poles that run through my property also go to the neighbor behind me. What boggles my mind is that the neighbor has road frontage where the poles should go. So, this will all have to be sorted out.

sonofman · #23 03/04/15, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jennifer L.

Sounds to me like you might have just settled on a place because you were tired of looking. (Maybe not, but it's kind of what you sound like.) You've put a lot of thought into your place, but maybe you still shouldn't rush into putting money into things until you have been there for at least a few months and are sure "this is the place".

As to your planning, I would NEVER move my house to an edge of a property that was next to land I didn't control. Who's to say who or what is going to be 20' over the property line looking in your bedroom window? Or putting their trash pile, etc? I think a central location for house and buildings makes a lot more sense for a farm, anyway. Moving septic tanks is another expense I wouldn't want to deal with and I don't see that your septic is that close to the well? But that's going to depend on soil characteristics.

Underground wires are great if you are ice storm territory, so I think that's a good idea. It's not that cheap to do around here, though, but if it's manageable where you are, go for it.

I'd never cut down good trees, too slow to get large trees back, but it's a matter of personal taste.

Looks like you'll have fun figuring this all out.

Good luck!

I am settling on a place because I am tired of renting and don't want to wait to buy a place that I love. I have been looking since 2013 and this is affordable. It will get me out of the sh***y place I am in now, and will make me feel better.

Having the house in the middle of property is like tits on a boar hog to me, just a stupid idea. It makes everything more difficult. I may be forced to leave it there, but if the option exists, I am moving it. In any event, the house would have to be rotated to put the roof where the solar will go in the proper orientation to allow maximum sunlight exposure.

As far as the trees go, there isn't one "good" tree on the property. There are a handful of crap trees and some ugly loblolly charlie brown christmas trees. They will go as soon as I unpack my saw. I have no use for Q tip pine trees. They are just making it harder to fence, and they could fall over on something valuable.

sonofman · #24 03/04/15, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carol K

Congrats on your purchase. I wouldn't move the house either, same reasons as Jennifer. I'd plant some shade trees for the house now, I'd think about shade for your animals. I'd fence the perimeter also.
Take it slow, live there a while before you make any major decisions. 7 acres with animals doesn't go far, so start slow.
Mist of all enjoy it all.

Carol K

I'm not putting trees of substantial height anyway near the house. I don't want to worry about them falling on the house. If they're not there, I don't have to worry about it. With all of the great insulation products available, I am not worried about shade for the house.

I know the 7.9 acres doesn't go far. I grew up on a farm that was 6 acres and change, so I have a fair amount of experience in making land stretch LOL.

sonofman · #25 03/04/15, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wy_white_wolf

Congrats on the purchase.

I'd keep the house closer to the center like it is now. Sticking it in tight to one corner like you've suggested leaves no buffer between you and what the neighbors may do in the future. Would you really want in that corner if they decided to setup hog pins next to you? At least leave room for trees that can serve as a wind/sight break.

Also going full electric is not good of an idea for solar. You'd have to be grid tied to support the firnace/stove as inverters and battery banks that can support them get real expensive. Look more into solar thermal for heating.

WWW

I have taken what people said into consideration and I might buy the couple of acres next to the property as well so that I will not have a neighbor there. Then I can put the house all the way over by the road, and not worry about what my neighbor is doing because they will be across the street LOL.

I will be planting trees on the border line of the property. They will probably be some kind of short, but very full tree. I am thinking maybe some kind of cedar? I'm not sure though. I do like the idea of a windbreak and having a visual barrier. The possibility/probability exists of tall privacy fencing around the house.

I am exploring every possible alternative energy source. I am going completely off grid as soon as I can. I have $50,000 in budget for energy production, so going full electric makes sense to me. I will be able to produce all I need plus extra.

sonofman · #26 03/04/15, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geo in mi

How much cash do you have left over? Seems to me that you will need a lot for all the makeover projects you have outlined. Will you be treating the property as a homesteading project, that is, to obtain some degree of self-sufficiency, or will it be a sort of "hobby" farm?

A "homesteading" style--and goal, seems to me to rely on your soil and water. From the pictures, it looks to me like you may have to spend even more cash to bring your soil up to the fertility that can support the animals you hope to have, and to give you lots of biomass for composting and gardening, and mulch. You would also cut down all the present trees.--What will you replace them with, and will your soil be able to grow them? You will need firewood, and lumber maybe, for the future, unless you are willing to shell out more cash for it.

And what about your water situation? Will you be able to dig a pond, for irrigation and fire protection, and livestock--or will you have to rely on your well--and however many gpm's it delivers?

Also, what about buildings--for livestock shelter, for machinery storage and repair, for a workshop, feed storage, how much more cash will that require?

And, did you drive a two mile radius around your property to see if there are any dumps, race tracks, CAFE's, or undesireable's?

And did you get a full survey, with irons and flags, and recorded at the courthouse?

Just a few thoughts, even though you have already put your money down....

Best of luck.

geo

I have plenty of cash left over to do the things I want to do. I overbudgeted for everything.

I am not planning on firewood or lumber. The trees that are here now are garbage. They have to go. I will be planting fruit and nut trees. I haven't decided what variety, and I also have been thinking of maybe some smallish variety of cedar or something like it as a wind break around the pasture area or perimeter of the property.

Fire protection is a nonexistent danger for me. There won't be any wild fires, or forest fires within distance of my property. I will be able to dig a pond and will dig a pond, but fire wasn't a consideration. The well is a deep well that delivers more water than I have ever seen a personal well deliver. It is the nicest well I have ever seen in my life.

As far as buildings go for animals, there won't be any. They will get some kind of portable shelter in the beginning until the trees grow to suitable size. Then whatever animals are tough enough to live without shelter will propagate, and the ones who are not tough enough will cull themselves out.

I will put up a small workshop where I can fiddle with things, and a small building for raising quail but that is it. I don't plan on having any machinery or storing any feed that isn't growing out of the ground. So, I won't need any of that stuff. I sold my tractor years ago, and I don't plan on owning one again any time soon. Also, I am not going to buy feed. If my animals can't eat what is here and available I will put them in the freezer or get rid of them.

I have planned ways to grow the right kind of forage and to supply the nutritional needs of all the animals that I want. I don't want any of you thinking that I am going to try to raise 100 pigs or anything. I would have maybe three pigs. I also don't want to raise 100 sheep. I was thinking maybe half a dozen. That's all. This will be for meat for me and to have a few to sell. Its not going to a business on this property.

I have the actual lat/long of the "cornerstones" and have walked all of the boundaries myself. There are markers on two corners and there is a clear break line at the other corners.

Thank you for your concern though. I appreciate it when people look out for one another.

This is a very farmy, low crime, cattle kind of area. Its not close to town and the main attraction in the area is the lake. My guess is that there will be boats going up and down the road and thats about it. I have already met the neighbors and we have already made plans to go fishing when the weather gets better.

sonofman · #27 03/04/15, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeneMO

You could have the electricity going to your house run underground. That would eliminate the one pole. The rest, you may as well forget. I have never heard of the utility company moving a line cause the landowner just didn't like seeing the poles. Dont think that is gonna happen.

As for the animals. Why the exotic pics and cows? Just get some regular ole Duroc/Yorkshire cross. And a regular milk cow. I dont believe in all the fad/exotic livestock. I have seen too many fads come and go, pot bellied pigs, emu's, etc. They end up being worthless and end up being given away or turned loose.

And I see no need to destroy the trees. Cattle will graze underneath them. And livestock needs shade. A contented cow will give more milk, comfortable pigs gain weight faster. Dont get rid of your shade. There is also the windbreak benefits, and the wildlife benefit.

Good luck, Gene

I will forget about the poles as my final option after I have exhausted all others. I am patient and my tenacity knows no limits LOL. If they are cool and will let me pay to move them I will. If they don't want to be cool we will go to court. If that doesn't work I will try something else. If all that fails I will forget about them. So, I have a semi plan in place to try to escalate things if they become problematic, but I am prepared to accept defeat as an option.

Its okay that you don't believe in fad livestock LOL. I won't hold that against you. However, these aren't fad livestock. They are just smaller framed animals that fit better on a smaller piece of land. They are easier to work with and they don't test fencing as much, and they will be a pleasure for me and my family. I will enjoy them, and I will try not to post so many pictures so you don't have to look at them :-) LOL.

If it makes you feel any better my dogs are going to be ENORMOUS LOL.

There aren't enough trees to make any kind of windbreak and the trees that are there are scrubby pines, so unless you're a giraffe, you're probably not going to find much shade under them LOL. I am going to provide portable shade for the animals until my new trees become of acceptable size. There are less than 20 trees on the entire property now and they are mostly crapola.

sonofman · #28 03/04/15, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelK!

I have to agree with both Jennifer and WWW. Don't move your house. That's just opening a whole can of worms you want to avoid. On second thought, since you're interested in worms, never mind.

Seriously, do not give up propane utilities. Sure you can go with solar for electricity, but electric heat and electric cooking on solar is totally unrealistic. It just doesn't get any better than gas for cooking. I'd keep that no matter what. For home heating, a woodstove or two might be a more sustainable option. You really want redundancy in your energy supplies.

What's that going on in the upper left-hand portion of your photo (NW?). It appears to be lots of cars more or less randomly distributed. Is it an auto junk yard or something? If so, that's were I'd be planting orchard trees, to act as a screen for unattractive commercial activities. I'd definately plant high value trees like pecans, walnuts, peaches, and whatever other fruits/nuts are adapted to your area.

I don't have much to say about animals, other than goats are more browsers than grazers, and grassy pasture will be better for cows and sheep than goats.

Above me, the guy has a little store and he stores boats for people for the winter. So, its not a junk yard, its a parking lots for boats. I don't mind that at all. His name is Bill. He gave me a free Gatorade and I think that we are going to be good neighbors and good friends. He is a local and has lived there his whole life. I don't anticipate any problems from him.

If I end up keeping the gas etc, I will be getting an electric stove as soon as I can anyway. I don't like cooking with gas and would much prefer electric 7 days a week.

I understand the redundancy, but I don't live in the north. It gets below freezing a few days a year here and I don't really worry much about it. My gas bill in my place now was $8 for the month of January. LOL.

I don't anticipate having a wood stove.

I know that goats are browsers, which is why if I had goats it would just be one or two for milk instead of a small cow or two. The sheep seem to really be the animal that fits this property best as it already has good grass and they love grass LOL.

I am going to talk to people in the area, my ag extension and local tree places to see what they suggest. I love pecans and planned on having those and Walnuts. Peaches are an obvious choice in Georgia. I am also thinking apples, pears, and some other things. I am going to put in as many trees as I can fit to try to get as much free food for myself an my animals as possible.

Thanks for your advice.

sonofman · #29 03/04/15, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maura

I’d also be skeptical of moving the house. It is a mobile home, think about the lifespan of it. Sit there a few years and if you decide you really want the house in a different location, sell the MH while it is still good and build a new house where you want it. I think the current location is better. It puts you in a cozy spot with your homestead all around you. You don’t need to fence the whole place. You can use portable el fencing when you move your animals around. This is what we did and had the lawn mowed by our sheep. If you start with portable you can always change your mind and find out what really works best for you before deciding on permanent fencing. You may find you need a system of chutes at certain times of the year, or to create a small pen for some reason. Take it easy.

That is good advice. I am not going to cross fence the entire property and make paddocks. I just plan on putting in a very strong perimeter fence. There are a lot of coyotes here and I will need something to try to deter them until the dogs get big enough to eat them.

I think that I am leaning more toward building a home and sending the mobile home down the road. That puts a wrench on my fencing plans for the immediate future, so it might be portable fencing for the first year until the house is finished and the mobile home is sold.

I like the way you think.

sonofman · #30 03/04/15, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by COWS

Didn't notice the 7 acres figure. I'm in SC so I'm somewhat familiar with conditions in the general area.

All soil in the SE that I am familiar with, except the sea islands, is acidic, so you might as well plan on an application of lime, but soil tests are a good idea.

7 acres will support a maximum of 2 cow calf pairs.

Selling hay is an excellent idea, but you have to pay to have it baled. I suggest trying to have it baled in small squares for pickup in the field as baled.

Do you plan on growing feed for hogs or chickens. Corn that you can pick by hand is the easiest and cheapest to do. You will, however have to build storage rat proof if possible. The procedure I have seen done is to build a plywood building and cove it with tin so that the rats can't climb the walls to get in under the eaves. Tin at bottom of door so they can't chew through the door. Have it high enough off the ground so predators or your dog or cat can get to any rats that try to chew through the floor. For your existing small building you might get steel barrels to store grain in and cover the tops with weighted sand screen wire to keep rats, or birds out. If you are buying feed storing it in barrels might be a good idea also. Don't kill black snakes that hang around either, they are better than a cat for killing rats, in warm weather,

COWS

If I get cows it will only be two very small dairy cows. I will veal their calves, so there will never be more than two small cows on the whole place.

I don't want to sell hay. To me, selling hay is just raping your soil. Your soil does all that work growing biomass and then you take it and it never gets returned to the soil. For whatever little money I could make selling hay, its not worth it to me.

I do plan on growing feed for hogs, and will probably have quail instead of chickens. I am getting a breed of pig that does better on pasture than most and does not have the heavy feed requirement of some other breeds so I won't need tons of grain. I am hoping to acquire a lot of free feed for the very small number of pigs I plan on having.

As far as feed storage goes, I will be constructing a rodent proof building for storing things like food for myself and the few animals that might require some extra feed. It might be an earth bag building on a slab with a metal roof. If rats get into that I will be shocked and will deal with them.

I have several very good cats that will be destroying rodents on an ongoing basis and they will be breeding up and training an army of rodent destroyers as well. They also like to kill snakes LOL. So, I may not have many snakes. I am on expert level on snake ID and I leave good snakes and destroy the venomous ones where I find them.

sonofman · #31 03/04/15, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nimrod

Congratulations on finding a place and no mortgage.

Get title insurance. They will do a complete title search and guarantee it so some long lost relative doesn't pop out of the woodwork and take the property away. You would lose your money.

Good advice so far. Go really slow on changes. I would live in it for at least a year. Find out where the wind drifts the snow, what parts dry out first and last in the spring, ect.

Put in backups. Then put in backups to the backups if you can. You have gas heat. It doesn't take much electricity to run a gas furnace. If the power goes down you will still have heat as long as the gas lasts if you have a small generator and/or a solar electricity set up. Have electric heaters on hand if the furnace goes out. Put in a wood stove and a supply of wood. You will have heat even in a blizzard. Fireplaces are worse that nothing. More hot air goes up the chimney than heat goes out into the room.

Put in a gas cook stove. Try to find one that doesn't need any electricity to ignite the oven and burners. It will work during a power outage. You can also heat food on top of your wood stove.

You have to have water. Track down the circuit breaker for your well pump. Is it 240 volt? How many amps? You should have a generator that puts out the correct voltage to run your well pump. It should have 2 or 3 times the amperage needed for the well pump because the pump motor will draw that much to start up. Find out what amperage the well pump is. If you can't find it, the breaker is at least twice the pump's amperage. Generators are measured in watts. Amps times voltage equals watts. Watts divided by voltage equals amps.

Put up a wind break of trees and shrubs to block the winter wind.

Get a soil rest and amend the soil before planting anything.

Good luck. Remember, if you are caught or killed we will disavow any knowledge of your actions.

I am laughing at this LOL. I like the last line!

I am in Georgia. If we get an inch of snow here people lose their minds. I moved 1200 miles south so that I wouldn't have to worry about winter winds, snow drifts or any of that stuff LOL.

Thank you for your advice though. If I were in your neck of the woods, or where I used to live in the North East or Ohio, it would be spot on!

sonofman · #32 03/04/15, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harry Chickpea

Cart Horse

Title search
Title insurance
Survey or at least copy of existing certified survey
Review past tax records and valuations
READ and understand copy of any and all zoning restrictions
Check out "neighborhood" by visiting and just sitting around - especially Friday and Saturday night.
Verify that water meets minimum standards

THEN plunk down cash.

Everything you mentioned was step one.

I am far enough outside of anything that could be called "town" that Friday and Saturday night have no effect on my area.

There are no zoning restrictions here. I imagine there are some, like you can't build a 50 foot high wall, or general rules, but you can build a castle or a grass hut to live in. It doesn't matter.

The place was just assessed and I have the tax info. I did all my homework.

I have been an insurance broker for over a decade. I do all of that research which is how I have thumbed my nose at over 60 properties in the last 18 months LOL.

sonofman · #33 03/04/15, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FarmboyBill

What is the size of the area in 3rd pic, from house to road inside the green band?
IF your thinking of farming it, Id run a fence from the green line L of the house straight down to the lower boundry line. Then Id run a line at the corner on the back of the R side of the house diagonal down to the corner at the lower R side. Now you got 2 pastures The part above the house to the road could be garden if big enough. That leaves what im guessing is around 5 or less acres to the L of the house.

Since money dosent seem to be an issue, Id plant OP corn there. harvest it, get both a corn binder and husker shredder, and chop the stalks to feed cows, and save the corn to feed chickens or pigs. After taking out the corn id resow it in haygrazer/sorgum grass/gotcha grass. 3 names amongst others its known by. Take ONE cutting off of it. Let it regrow back to around a foot and plow it under. you could graze on it during this time also, BUT It has to be plowed under IF your afraid cows might get into it, as it is toxic after its been frosted on.

I appreciate the response Bill, but I can't be doing all of that plowing etc. I sold my tractor and I'm not buying another one LOL. The green line just shows perimeter fence. I will be mob grazing animals, so they will be given a fresh little piece of land daily and retained in temporary paddocks.

I plan on growing a small amount of corn and maybe rotating it with some kind of field peas? I can rotate them to keep the soil strong. I don't plan on having to grow a lot of feed for animals.

I don't believe that there will ever be chickens on this property. I believe that quail are a better option for me.

sonofman · #34 03/04/15, 05:03 PM

Thank you guys for all of the thoughtful replies.

It helps to hear what everyone else thinks. It keeps me a little more grounded. I know that this will be a lot of work. I don't mind doing the work, or spending the money on the place to make it what I want...or as close to what I want as possible.

I will try to address a few things. I hate the mobile home. It is something that I will live in if I have to, and will live in if I can move it. If I can not move it, I will be building something else in a more desireable location and either selling the mobile home or scrapping it.

I am removing all of the trees that are there currently. I hate the trees that are there and I will be planting a variety of fruit and nut trees instead. I will be planting other trees for wind breaks and for "shelter" for my animals. That is what they would have in nature, and that is what they will have on my little farm. If they need a building, they need to go down the road.

Thanks for all the advice, I am looking forward to hearing what others have to say.

po boy · #35 03/04/15, 05:18 PM

Sounds like you have your ducks in a row...

Not sure where Elberton Is, but S. Ga is Peach and Pecan growing country..

And of course peanuts.

I lived in Metro Atlanta for 35 years and always thought that S. Ga. was the place to live.

Good Luck

ETA> Got my wires crossed, You are not in S. Ga. Almost straight across the state from Cartersville, My home for close to 20 years

sonofman · #36 03/04/15, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by po boy

Sounds like you have your ducks in a row...

Not sure where Elberton Is, but S. Ga is Peach and Pecan growing country..

And of course peanuts.

I lived in Metro Atlanta for 35 years and always thought that S. Ga. was the place to live.

Good Luck

Elberton is east of Atlanta over by the SC line. Its not south at all, but its not the mountains, so you don't really get a lot of snow. I have lived on this line in GA through two winters now, and haven't seen three inches of snow combined over both winters.

I don't need peaches or pecans, but I would like them if they will do well. I will be happy having the same types of nuts and fruits that I had in the north east if that is all I can have. I am more concerned with having food than a specific kind of food. If I can only have apples, pears, and cherries, then that is what I will have LOL.

I will look up the kind of stuff that grows in my area and will post it here so that everyone can have a little knowledge. I am in for the night, so I have a little bit of free time.

I want to go south, I just haven't found the right piece of land yet. I looked at 96 acres of clear cut not too long ago about an hour south of Atlanta but we couldn't come to an agreement on it.

That's okay. The Lord puts me places and I try to do what I can to make Him happy while I'm there. I will be so thrilled to be out of this subdivision that I can't even begin to express how nice it will be to be able to pee in my own yard before I got bed at night. HAHAHAHA!

karenp · #37 03/04/15, 05:45 PM

Do your research before planting walnut trees. They put off a chemical that is toxic to other plants.

sonofman · #38 03/04/15, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by karenp

Do your research before planting walnut trees. They put off a chemical that is toxic to other plants.

I will definitely consult a tree expert as I am not. Thank you.

sonofman · #39 03/04/15, 07:31 PM

Apparently, I am going to be able to grow (climate wise)...

Apple
Apricot
Cherry
Fig
Jujube
Kiwi
Mulberry
Nectarine
Peach
Pear
Plum

Elderberry
Blackberry
Blueberry
Goji Berry
Raspberry
Strawberry

Grape

Almond
Chestnut
Filbert
Hickory
Pecan
Walnut

There was other stuff too, but I didn't have much interest in the other stuff. If I could get successful apples, pears, peaches, elderberries, blueberries, goji berries, strawberries, almonds, pecans, and walnuts I would be stoked!

stef · #40 03/04/15, 07:40 PM

I don't know enough to offer any advice, but congratulations on acquisition of your property. Land...it's a wonderful thing to own. I wish you much success!