survive « Robin Writes

We made some decisions this past weekend:

First, there are way too many properties for sale to possibly look at them all.

Second, we could certainly make the barn property work.

And third, with so much work to do, regardless of the property we choose, we really need to get moving on it. And, well, fourth, it can be difficult to search in the winter!

Since the first of September, we’ve driven to/walked over/looked at approximately 30 acreages listed for sale. That’s a lot of driving—oh, a couple thousand miles—and hiking (did not measure that!). I really did think it would be easier and quicker to find what we’re looking for, but I do have a tendency to say, “Gee, what’s over that NEXT hill?” So it’s time to stop.

The barn property is in a good location, decent-looking properties/neighbors in the area, good road in, one-third pasture, and 42 acres with a creek. I’m not going to count that barn, because, even being over 50 years old, the thing’s a hazard. It does have electric, though.

The point is that we can make it work; I can picture it, all the details. And I want to get started.

Which brings me to the third point: all the stuff to be done. Driveway, well, outhouse/septic, pond, fencing, outbuildings, cabin. This is going to take a while, especially since we’re looking mostly at weekends and over the summer—we do still have a kid in school, even though work, for us, is pretty flexible. So I want to get going on this HUGE project!

Which brings me back to winter:

I’m not a fan of driving after dark—and if you saw some of these roads, you’d totally get it—so we’ve got only about 10 hours of daylight, and that includes driving time; that limits the number of places we can check out in any given day. Plus, precipitation is unpredictable, so there’s that. On the other hand, you can definitely see the lay of the land when the trees are bare . . . but there’s mud, snow, ice, etc. And I’m pretty sure AAA has never been to a lot of these places!

So we made a tentative, verbal offer of $1K per acre. That’s slightly above the average listing price for property in that area, but we’ve been told the owner had had a similar offer and declined. Personally, I think she’s asking too much, but we have a little wiggle room. A little.

Why verbal? Well, why do all the paperwork, etc., if the owner is going to say no? Efficient, yes?

And now we wait. We can go up a bit, but we can also move on and continue to look. We do have a few backup properties, and there are always more . . . over that next hill.

This weekend, we went back to look at the “barn property.” You have to understand something: where we’re looking for land is covered with county roads, CRs, and they all have numbers. And you know how well I work with numbers! So we could call them CR-124 or CR-131 or whatever, and we’d be, literally, all over the map. Of course, I still haven’t figured out counties number these things; as soon as it starts to make some kind of sense, they change the rules . . .

Anyway, the property is 42 acres, roughly one-third pasture. Not exactly what I was envisioning, but it has a lot of good qualities. I think this could work. Most of the woods are on a hill, and surround the property. County road frontage—gravel—and a back way in too. Electric on site, no well, but there is a live creek bordering the entire west side.

The front pasture is fenced, about seven acres, with an adjoining barn. A really big one, too, but unfortunately it’s in really, really bad shape. I think there’s more roof missing than still attached, and the inside is rotting quite a lot. But there’s the electric—ha!

Straight back through the front “gate,” which is just a cable now, there is an opening to the back pasture; that’s about seven acres as well, rough estimate.

First things first: we need better measurements and an official plat, of course, to know the particulars, but the plan is to purchase over the winter, in the next month or so, this section or maybe another—hard to say, and still keeping our options open, but we’re getting close.

However, IF we were to buy this piece, here are our starter ideas (keeping in mind, of course, that the actual move date is June 1, 2016—not THIS June!):

First, we need a driveway; gravel, of course. This requires removal of topsoil, grass, etc., before the first layer of gravel is put down. I’m certainly not opposed to driving through the meadow, but mud could be a factor at some point—not sure AAA comes out there! So, remove topsoil, pack it, three layers of gravel. The entire process is not a rush job, as the more we drive it, the more each layer gets packed down.

Second, build a latrine and put in a solar shower. We’ll be camping out and working down there for a year or so before we actually finish the cabin, so, yeah . . .

Third, a kitchen shelter—my camp peeps will know exactly what it’s going to look like! Counters, a couple picnic tables, a stone barbeque pit, and cabinets for cookware storage.

Fourth, we’re putting in a pond, in the front pasture. Dennis likes to fish, we have a feeder creek, and the livestock will need it too. So, Number Four, dig a really big hole. And build a dock. And maybe get a canoe . . . Okay, I’m getting ahead of myself . . .

Next, plow up the garden. We’ll plant some things this spring, like asparagus and strawberries. And gourds; I have a market for those. We’ll put in the fruit trees then, too.

After that, we just need to decide where the outbuildings will go: general storage, woodshed/fuel, toolshed/shop, pump house and food storage. And the cabin, of course.

Once those are staked out, we can decide where to drill the well and get that taken care of—yes, we’ll be hauling water for a bit, but that’s doable.

Now, my original plan was to have, like Mike said, the cleared acreage in the middle of the property. Well, that seems to be quite difficult to find, at least in our price range. So, we may have to make do.

There are always compromises, and I can tell you about a big one—cell service. Yes, I’m planning on self-sufficiency, but I also have a company to run. So, yeah, that whole “out in the middle of nowhere, but with WiFi?” Yep, that’s me.