"NUMBER 99"

[CWO4GUNNER]

[ZenMan]

We were discussing that the other day!  Based on what Zen had to say a little earlier in the thread, we could sell this house, and buy something like his for cash! Living expenses sure get easier without a mortgage payment!

Now you're talking, Stormi! Try this... sit down and crunch the numbers. Figure out how much you'd have left over if you liquidated everything. Then use that number as a guide to the price range of rural property to look for.

Then figure out how much you'd need to get by every month on a farm... groceries, gas, phone/internet, electricity, etc... you'd be suprised how little you actually need.

Mortgage payments are doable if you make a large down payment, like at least 50% of the total. We did that because we wanted some cash to make improvements and buy a truck, tractor, equipment and tools. Our payments were around $250/month. Double payments take huge bites out of the principal, you can get out from under it in no time.

Another thing to remember is on a farm, you have a LOT of room. You can grow a big garden, keep chickens for eggs, rabbits for meat, one good milk goat will give a gallon a day. Put a wood stove in, the windfall and thinning from just a few acre wood lot will keep you warm. Put some solar panels on the roof and hook up a battery/inverter system to supplement part of your electricity needs.

All this stuff saves you money! The more you work on your homestead, the less you have to work for somebody else. The possibilities are amazing, really!

I recently bought 40 acres out in northeast arizona.  I just wanted a place to escape everything once and a while (especially the August heat!).  Going up there fits my definition of "getting away from it all" with no electricity, cell phone service, running water, sewage system...hehe  I love every minute of it!

This thread (now officially way off track) has motivated me to think a little bit more about the reason why I put in those 50 hours a week.  I think I need to start by finding a way to bring those acres of mine closer!  

Russ

Russ, your 40 acres sounds like a little piece of heaven! I'd be tempted to move up there for good. Drill a well, get some solar panels, propane tank, satellite uplink, generator backup... who needs the grid, anyway?  

And as far as this thread hijack goes, what better topic shift than this? It's great to see folks talking about changing their lives and realizing their dreams. I highly recommend it to all my friends!  

[Katamaniac]

I am going to pick up ZenMan's twin #97 on Friday.
It looks like I will have to trailer her home. The temps are going to be in the 40s. It's a little too cool for a six hour ride home. I will ride to work even if it's down in the 20s, but that's only a 20 minute ride to work. I rode the wife's B4 to work this morning and it was 31F when I went past the bank.

[stormi]

That was EXACTLY our plan too when we moved from California to Arizona a few years ago.  We got a 1/4 acre lot with a nice house in our little Phoenix suburb.  Once we got a feel for the area, we had planned to move to something with at least an acre.  Well, between then and now, property values have shot up around 250%!  Great if we want to sell and move someplace else (we don't).  Not so great if we want to buy that house on 3 acres a block away.  

I don't want to sound like the whiner whose property values have more than doubled.  We've got a nice house (with...neighbors).  Just kicking myself, because it's going to be a lot harder/impossible to get that acreage nearby when it's going for a minimum of $350k/acre.  

That's exactly the same as here.  The area we bought in is booming right now.  Our house has doubled in "value" since March of 2005.   But we have exactly the same problem.  Sell it, and where do you go?  Apparently to Missouri.   My dad was saying tonight, what's in Missouri?  I told him green grass.  He goes, OK,.. that's enough, you sold me.  ;)

The "value" of a house, in some ways is bogus.  There's not a lot of "real" value, because you can't realise the profit, without leaving the area you're in.

I agree!!!  What's not to like about 330+ days of sun/riding?  You just have to trade the snow plow and jacket for cold beverages and sunblock!  And yes, land is still very reasonable in rural areas.  Less than $500/acre in some areas.
Russ

You know,.. I could happily leave my snow plow, jacket, and winter tires behind, and never see them again.  I had a friend up from Texas,.. he couldn't believe how much we used natural gas for,... and I think he said he didn't even have a furnace...  I could live like that.

[stormi]

We bought 26 acres with a small but new farmhouse, shop, well, pond, and outbuildings 9 years ago for $40,000. Since then we added another 10 acres adjoining for $12,000. We just had the whole thing appraised for $86,000. Not that we're planning on moving.

8 years ago, I bought a house in a small town for $42k.  My first house.  I'd intended to flip it.  Not so much.  When I sold it 3 years ago, granted, with some upgrades, I got $81K for it.  I suspect that today, at the inflated values, it's worth abotu $105K.  Sold a little too soon, but I couldn't live there anymore.

Today, I could sell this house, and move to Missouri mortgage free.  That's sounding nicer and nicer,.. expecially, since it's @$#!$ snowing AGAIN!

Raw land goes for $600 to $1000 per acre. You can find plenty of small farms (less than 40 acres) for under $100,000 around here.

That's lots for a couple of horses, and a couple of bikes...

Of course, jobs are mostly labor and don't pay much, but you don't need much with the cost of living so low. Taxes on our farm are less than $200/year.

Well, the other half is a DHL relief driver, that counts as labor, and if he works, and the house is paid for, I could become full-time mom to the Alley. ;)  GOD!  We pay nearly that a MONTH in taxes...

An internet business is an ideal way to make a living here. I restore old trucks and tractors and sell them for a good profit, and my partner/girlfriend is a medical technician part time at the residential care facility in town. We do just fine, enough left over to buy toys and have lotsa fun.

Well, if we become neighbors, then the first order of business is to get you to help fix the other half's truck.  *oops,.. don't tell him I said that.  Gremlins suck.  I would love to slow life down.  That was the goal when we refinanced the house, but then I bought a new car, instead of a 5yr old car.   One more year of working for me.

There's not much growth or development going on, but that's exactly why we moved here... peace and quiet. If you want investment property, go somewhere else. If you want an idyllic, peaceful lifestyle, you can't beat it. Nearest neighbor is 1/2 mile away.

Man! That's exactly what I've been looking for.  Though some days I feel too young to be wanting that.

All our kids are grown and have their own careers, kids, homes... We'll never live the noisy, smelly, high-stress city life again.  

We tried city living for 9 months.  It was awful.  We picked a bad area to live in, but still, drunks throwing up on the lawn, stolen cars, noise, garage fires, and always the fear of my dogs getting out of the yard and getting hit by cars on the two busy streets that were a block away from us.   Reminded me of why I'd been looking for an acreage to begin with.

[stormi]

You must buy low and sell high, you cant run with the herd because by then its too late. <snip> I'm waiting another year as the market will be at its lowest and listing at their highest and will be investing in north New Mexico making multipal low bid offers, someone always sells at that point.

A great situation for someone with cash in their pockets from a previous sale, and not too picky about location!

[stormi]

It's not that hard, it doesn't take huge sums of money or years of preparation. I think the biggest thing that holds people back is the uneasiness of letting go of the seemingly secure steady job/urban environment to take on a radical change in lifestyle.

Or waiting for the kid(s) to move out.  I think she'd mightily choked at us if we picked up and left the country her friends were in... 5.5 more yrs... that's only 65 more months... 286 weeks,... 2002 days.... Which is about 800 - 1000 days of snow... Oh HELL!! She'd get over it eventually!!

[stormi]

Now you're talking, Stormi! Try this... sit down and crunch the numbers. Figure out how much you'd have left over if you liquidated everything. Then use that number as a guide to the price range of rural property to look for.

Everything? Including Blue and Dita?

Then figure out how much you'd need to get by every month on a farm... groceries, gas, phone/internet, electricity, etc... you'd be suprised how little you actually need.

Well,.. I figure that on a farm, if it's not already run, the way to go is propane.  No monthly "delivery" costs,.. I bet we could live for around $1k/month.  More would be gravy.  

Mortgage payments are doable if you make a large down payment, like at least 50% of the total. We did that because we wanted some cash to make improvements and buy a truck, tractor, equipment and tools. Our payments were around $250/month. Double payments take huge bites out of the principal, you can get out from under it in no time.

I'd be most likely to have no mortgage if possible, and just pay for the toys as we went along.  That's the way I prefer to do it. :)  Housing is a necessity... toys are not.  Better to have the housing firmly in hand, so no one can take that away from you, and "mortgage" the toys if necessary.

Another thing to remember is on a farm, you have a LOT of room. You can grow a big garden, keep chickens for eggs, rabbits for meat, one good milk goat will give a gallon a day. Put a wood stove in, the windfall and thinning from just a few acre wood lot will keep you warm. Put some solar panels on the roof and hook up a battery/inverter system to supplement part of your electricity needs.

I've been looking at some of those options already.  No eggs for me though, one of the many allergies I found out I have.  And I doubt I could manage to "do in a chicken", much less eat dinner afterward.   I'm guessing a garden would grow there.  Here, the season is so short, my zucchini's are 3 " long at the end of the season, and the carrots are 1".  I wouldn't know about the strawberries, or raspberries, cos the damn dog ate them before they matured.  *sigh* My fault for getting an "intelligent" dog.

And as far as this thread hijack goes, what better topic shift than this? It's great to see folks talking about changing their lives and realizing their dreams. I highly recommend it to all my friends!  

Well,.. the Bike, for me at least, was a shift in thinking to try to manage life a little better, and enjoy myself.  Warmth of location seems a logical extension

[ZenMan]

I am going to pick up ZenMan's twin #97 on Friday.
It looks like I will have to trailer her home. The temps are going to be in the 40s. It's a little too cool for a six hour ride home. I will ride to work even if it's down in the 20s, but that's only a 20 minute ride to work. I rode the wife's B4 to work this morning and it was 31F when I went past the bank.

Woo hoo!  

Glad it worked out for you, and it's good to see ol' 99's twin is going to a good home.

If I can, I'll try to ride up there on friday and meet ya. Like to see #97 get loaded up and off to her new home!  

[ZenMan]

Now you're talking, Stormi! Try this... sit down and crunch the numbers. Figure out how much you'd have left over if you liquidated everything. Then use that number as a guide to the price range of rural property to look for.

Everything? Including Blue and Dita?

Naw, not everything everything!

Then figure out how much you'd need to get by every month on a farm... groceries, gas, phone/internet, electricity, etc... you'd be suprised how little you actually need.

Well,.. I figure that on a farm, if it's not already run, the way to go is propane.  No monthly "delivery" costs,.. I bet we could live for around $1k/month.  More would be gravy.

We have a 500 gal. propane tank... get it filled once a year. Free lease as long as we buy from that company only. Everybodt around here has their own tanks.

Mortgage payments are doable if you make a large down payment, like at least 50% of the total. We did that because we wanted some cash to make improvements and buy a truck, tractor, equipment and tools. Our payments were around $250/month. Double payments take huge bites out of the principal, you can get out from under it in no time.

I'd be most likely to have no mortgage if possible, and just pay for the toys as we went along.  That's the way I prefer to do it. :)  Housing is a necessity... toys are not.  Better to have the housing firmly in hand, so no one can take that away from you, and "mortgage" the toys if necessary.

A truck, tractor, equipment like a chainsaw, posthole digger, brush-hog, and tools like welders and radial-arm saws aren't "toys"... on a farm, they're necessities.

Motorcycles, Jeeps and Quadrunners are toys.    

If you're serious about properties in this area, may I suggest contacting as many real estate agencies in small towns as you can and have them send you brochures to drool over. Southern Missouri and northern Arkansas are full of places like ours. United Country is a good company that leans toward rural farms and land. Just specify what you want and most agencies will have properties with your requirements and in your price range. Then this summer you can take a ride down this way and check 'em out.

You're always welcome to hang out here for the weekend... get a taste of the simple life.  

[Red01]

A truck, tractor, equipment like a chainsaw, posthole digger, brush-hog, and tools like welders and radial-arm saws aren't "toys"... on a farm, they're necessities.

Motorcycles, Jeeps and Quadrunners are toys.  

An arguement could be made that a Jeep could be a necessity and along with a utility trailer could replace the truck and tractor.



Up through 1971, all CJ's were equipped with a PTO port on the transfer case and had an available drawbar for attaching farm impliments. If a Jeep is too small, you could always use a Unimog as your truck & tractor - and it'll haul a bigger horse trailer than any 1T pickup. Since they're built by Mercedes, they aren't exactly cheap though... but they come in tons of different cab & wheelbase configurations and can take a front loader, backhoe or just about anything you can think of.





The optional tilt bed is really cool... it'll dump off the back or either side.





Just look at the ground clearance those portal axles afford!  

The tall bed height might make loading motorcycles in it a PIA, but then you might not need a dirt bike anymore with one of these... they'll go just about anywhere they'll fit - and with a front loader, you could make your own trails.  

[stormi]

Everything? Including Blue and Dita?

Naw, not everything everything!

Whew!  I've spent too much time with DIta getting her running to want to get rid of her.  And Blue was the deal of the century according the the Honda dealer we usually deal with.  

We have a 500 gal. propane tank... get it filled once a year. Free lease as long as we buy from that company only. Everybodt around here has their own tanks.

I really do think that's the way to go.  That "delivery charge" is a real scam.

A truck, tractor, equipment like a chainsaw, posthole digger, brush-hog, and tools like welders and radial-arm saws aren't "toys"... on a farm, they're necessities.

Motorcycles, Jeeps and Quadrunners are toys.    

I figure motorcycles are cheap therapy,.. therapy is a necessity for some, right?  

We already have some of that, and we don't live on a farm.   I drew the line at "tractor" though.   The other half is like "oooh lawn tractor" and I said "nope,.. we have two dogs, we don't really have a lawn anyway..."  What the hell is a brush-hog?  

If you're serious about properties in this area, may I suggest contacting as many real estate agencies in small towns as you can and have them send you brochures to drool over. Southern Missouri and northern Arkansas are full of places like ours. United Country is a good company that leans toward rural farms and land. Just specify what you want and most agencies will have properties with your requirements and in your price range.

 I spent way too many hours on google earth last night, looking for the places that I've always wanted to visit, and could see myself visiting and photgraphing day after day after day.  You know what areas popped up?  Arizona, New Mexico, and Ireland.  I could live in a castle...

Then this summer you can take a ride down this way and check 'em out.

I think it might have to be a drive, rather than a ride.  I'm more than 1900miles from you!  My ass would never forgive me!

You're always welcome to hang out here for the weekend... get a taste of the simple life.  

We have a few friends on acreages,.. and man do I like going there.  I have been biding my time,.. trying to figure out how we can afford the acreage life.  Looks like it might take a country change to do it,... but it looks a lot more doable now than it did last week.  

[ZenMan]

A truck, tractor, equipment like a chainsaw, posthole digger, brush-hog, and tools like welders and radial-arm saws aren't "toys"... on a farm, they're necessities.

Motorcycles, Jeeps and Quadrunners are toys.    

I figure motorcycles are cheap therapy,.. therapy is a necessity for some, right?  

We already have some of that, and we don't live on a farm.   I drew the line at "tractor" though.   The other half is like "oooh lawn tractor" and I said "nope,.. we have two dogs, we don't really have a lawn anyway..."  What the hell is a brush-hog?

"Lawn tractor"?    

This is a tractor (backhoe attachment on left):



And these are toys:



The Jeep is almost finished, I just did some welding on the frame and it's getting a paint job next.

Oh a brush-hog is a big mower deck that goes on the back of the tractor for cutting heavy brush, thick cover, even small trees. You need one if you don't want your place getting overgrown. 36 acres is bigger than you might think.  

[ZenMan]

Red, I'd love to have a UniMog... those things are freakin' awesome! Thanks for the pics.  

But unless we win the Lotto, I reckon I'll have to make do with the ol' Dodge pickup and the Massey-Ferguson.  

[stormi]

"Lawn tractor"?    

This is a tractor (backhoe attachment on left):

Well,.. you have 36 acres,.. I have a large lot,.. it would stand to reason that the tractor size would increase as the terrain does.  

The Jeep is almost finished, I just did some welding on the frame and it's getting a paint job next.

Looks like you're having a ball!

Oh a brush-hog is a big mower deck that goes on the back of the tractor for cutting heavy brush, thick cover, even small trees. You need one if you don't want your place getting overgrown. 36 acres is bigger than you might think.  

OK,.. so not unlike what I think of as a thresher,... but smaller