Praying that this is God's Provision

[Rondaben]

Hey everyone...

I'd appreciate a little advice and a lot of prayer.

My wife and I have been looking at a few properties this last week. We feel that with the current economic situation it would be prudent to downsize and get something much more affordable where we could start to raise some of our own food. That part isn't hard--I grew up raising rabbits, goats, cattle and having a huge garden to tend.

We found a candidate that God has put in front of us a couple of times before. It is a small, old brick farmhouse--probably over a hundred years old. Bricks are in good shape...windows and trim need repaired/painted and it most definitely needs a new roof (not leaking yet that we can tell, but probably not far from it). Hardwood floors in good shape, brand new wiring and plumbing. Walls have been mudded but not sanded and painted. Kitchen is basically stripped to baseboard so that would need to be retiled and cabinets repaired.

Has a 1 room apartment with nice kitchen and bathroom. Needs cleaning (apparently they left a pit-bull "penned" in there over the weekend, so yeah...at least a new floor). Has a large 15x20 storage building as well. All on about an acre of land with a pecan tree and wild plum thicket. Sandy loam soil, no bedrock to speak of so a well is a possibility.

The price? $8,000.

Its a great deal. It needs some work, yeah. The house is much smaller than what we have but we could pay cash for it and have a secured place that can provide food for lots of folks pretty easily and quickly. 2/1, probably 1300 sq ft. We are moving from a 2100 sq ft 3/2 house, so its a change, but one I think we can handle.

Anyways...I would ask everyone's opinion and prayers on this. THanks!

[No2Flesh]

Sounds like a great deal to me, even just for an acre of good land.
I would hope some equity out of your present home would fix the new one up,
otherwise things might not get done very fast.
Thats going to be quite a downsize though, I would be sure youre ok with that.
More people have lived in much smaller houses.

Id love to have a whole acre.

[deanne53]

Thats sounds like a deal. Hows the electric, plumbing, heat, foundation, well, or city water, and if its well, how is it? ( learned this from my hubby since he has built houses before and this could be your biggest cost).

I know that just for a acre of land in our area without any kind of buildings would cost you around 30 grand, now days maybe a little lower though.

[firstoftwelve]

yeah, great price just for the land...... make sure to get a good inspection done!

[dramama]

Hey everyone...

I'd appreciate a little advice and a lot of prayer.

My wife and I have been looking at a few properties this last week. We feel that with the current economic situation it would be prudent to downsize and get something much more affordable where we could start to raise some of our own food. That part isn't hard--I grew up raising rabbits, goats, cattle and having a huge garden to tend.

We found a candidate that God has put in front of us a couple of times before. It is a small, old brick farmhouse--probably over a hundred years old. Bricks are in good shape...windows and trim need repaired/painted and it most definitely needs a new roof (not leaking yet that we can tell, but probably not far from it). Hardwood floors in good shape, brand new wiring and plumbing. Walls have been mudded but not sanded and painted. Kitchen is basically stripped to baseboard so that would need to be retiled and cabinets repaired.

Has a 1 room apartment with nice kitchen and bathroom. Needs cleaning (apparently they left a pit-bull "penned" in there over the weekend, so yeah...at least a new floor). Has a large 15x20 storage building as well. All on about an acre of land with a pecan tree and wild plum thicket. Sandy loam soil, no bedrock to speak of so a well is a possibility.

The price? $8,000.

Its a great deal. It needs some work, yeah. The house is much smaller than what we have but we could pay cash for it and have a secured place that can provide food for lots of folks pretty easily and quickly. 2/1, probably 1300 sq ft. We are moving from a 2100 sq ft 3/2 house, so its a change, but one I think we can handle.

Anyways...I would ask everyone's opinion and prayers on this. THanks!
how's the foundation? How's the well and septic? have a home inspector go thru it so you know what you're in for (there must be some reason it's so cheap and it's worth the 200 bucks to have it gone thru with a fine toothed comb), pray about it and then go for it....I didn't think anyone could get even a 1/16 of an acre for 8k much less a house and appt on an acre!! And your property taxes would be incredibly cheap!! You could work a paper route and afford the house alone!! :thumb

[Rondaben]

Thanks guys...

Sounds like a great deal to me, even just for an acre of good land.
I would hope some equity out of your present home would fix the new one up,
otherwise things might not get done very fast.
Thats going to be quite a downsize though, I would be sure youre ok with that.
More people have lived in much smaller houses.

Id love to have a whole acre.

The size issue is just a matter of getting used to things. I grew up in a much worse house as that one sits right now. There is plenty of land to add on later if the economy permits it, otherwise it is just a homestead. I'm not sure how much equity I can get out of this current house...depends on how quickly it sells. Basically, I can't afford this one anymore and am not going to throw much more cash at it.


Thats sounds like a deal. Hows the electric, plumbing, heat, foundation, well, or city water, and if its well, how is it? ( learned this from my hubby since he has built houses before and this could be your biggest cost).

I know that just for a acre of land in our area without any kind of buildings would cost you around 30 grand, now days maybe a little lower though.

plumbing is brand new, as is the wiring, jacks, lighting. Don't know about insulation, but it was a 105 degree day and was significantly cooler inside without any AC. It is on city water and sewer--technically it is inside the city limits and is basically 6 lots together (including the one the house is on).

As for the foundation, the roofline is straight as arrow. for a 100+year house, there are some cracks in the mortar of the bricks, but no obvious issues that I could see.

how's the foundation? How's the well and septic? have a home inspector go thru it so you know what you're in for (there must be some reason it's so cheap and it's worth the 200 bucks to have it gone thru with a fine toothed comb), pray about it and then go for it....I didn't think anyone could get even a 1/16 of an acre for 8k much less a house and appt on an acre!! And your property taxes would be incredibly cheap!! You could work a paper route and afford the house alone!!

Haven't seen enough to know about the septic, but it is on city sewer. I'm guessing that it was probably redone at the same time the other plumbing in the house was, but that is something to check. Its cheap be cause the little lady that owns it is in a retirement home and needs to sell it because of the medicare thing. Most houses in that area are 15-20k but are typically newer. She just wants to unload it. Property tax would be around $250 per year on it. We have the ability to pay cash for it, so no mortgage.

[BeNotAfraid]

What an amazing God we serve!

It sounds like it meets all of your needs. If it needs repairs, so be it. You have a roof over your head (even if it ends up leaking!) and land to grow food. The west was built by pioneers who built mud huts and floorless shacks to claim their piece of land. It wasn't fun at first, but you just work on it with time. How is the area? Does your wife like it? If you two are in agreement and both feel that it is God's provision, then go for it! And thank our mighty God who is so good to us!

Geez, I might have to move to Texas :)

[denny272]

It is a good deal if you have the money to fix whatever the inspector says is wrong with the house.

[denny272]

how's the foundation? How's the well and septic? have a home inspector go thru it so you know what you're in for (there must be some reason it's so cheap and it's worth the 200 bucks to have it gone thru with a fine toothed comb), pray about it and then go for it....I didn't think anyone could get even a 1/16 of an acre for 8k much less a house and appt on an acre!! And your property taxes would be incredibly cheap!! You could work a paper route and afford the house alone!! :thumb

Good advice dramama!

[HisAlways]

Sounds like heaven to me. We have 1/2 acre, with peach, cherry, plum trees, as well as raspberries growing and a vegetable garden.

That price is unbelievable, but I'd just suggest that a good house inspector might be a good idea. We did that with our house, and while he did not catch everything, I still felt better having a professional look at it.

Will be praying for you. That's a big decision.