Sunday, May 25, 2014

Onward and Upward....Within a Week!

Everything is in place...the LLC, the money, etc.
Within a week I will be up north looking at properties!
I plan on taking my camera, minimal other supplies and a few new(er) outfits so I will make a good impression on the realtor.
I am nervous, excited, scared by the enormity of my task and just plain anxious!

I have my checklist of what to look for in a property:
Ample living space and storage space.
Water. A well is best. If on city or county water, make sure a well can be (legally) dug.
Check the roof.
Check the gutters.
Look in the attic.
Look in the basement.
Check the foundation.
Check out plumbing and wiring.
If there are barns or outbuildings, check for structural integrity.
Make sure there is NO asbestos in any buildings.
Make sure land is well drained.
Look at vegetation (grass, etc) to see if it is healthy.
Look at dirt at various parts of land to ascertain soil health.

The realtor is gonna hate me!

Any other things I should put on my checklist?

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Colliding Dreams...

My ideal homestead would be 20 to 40 acres with a decent barn and several sheds. An old Victorian house to fix up. A stream going through the property. A small orchard.
You know, EVERYBODY'S impossible dream!
The Darlin' Man's dream...a cabin with no running water or electricity a gazillion miles from the nearest town. An outhouse. No bedrooms, just a sleeping loft. Lot's of trees to cut down for building materials and firewood.
............sigh............
Somehow we have to find a compromise. I NEED  running water at this point in my life! And a bathroom, dammit! We are moving NORTH. It can get to -30 in New Hampshire and loads of snow...and he expects my 50+ year old butt to wander out in the middle of the night to an outhouse? And they have bears there!
So....yeah. We really, really need to find a compromise.
Or...he could just give in!  :)
I know we can't afford what I want, but I know we can afford more than what he wants.
So, we send pictures of listings back and forth in emails.
I still have to go up there and actually buy the house...so we have it down to about 6 different properties. Unless our real estate agent pulls out a surprise listing at the last minute, we will get one of the six. I have my favorites and the Darlin' Man has his.
I think it will come down to price. But I will make sure the place has running water!

Friday, May 9, 2014

Blessed Coolness...

The weather, for the most part, has been unseasonably cool here. Very few days in the 90s (as is usual this time of year), mainly 80s and sometimes even failing to get past the 70s during the day. Heavenly for me, as I hate the heat! The nights get down in the 50s...wonderful *sleeping weather*!
The alpacas seem to be enjoying these cool days and nights, as do the goats.

The Darlin' Man graduated from railroad school and is now at his assigned post...in Evansville, Illinois....where he will stay for his probationary period and continued on the job training. I won't see him until next March, unless we are able to financially afford for me to visit him in Evansville before then. We are viewing this the same way we viewed his deployments. His mission this time is to firmly establish his railroad career, my mission is to get the homestead moved north!

A lot of folks have asked why we wouldn't just move to Illinois and establish our homestead there.
Well....uhmmm...it's Illinois! Taxes are too high, we don't like the farming laws, the property prices, the gun laws, etc. Your mileage may vary, as they say. We actually looked in depth at many states and regions before deciding on the New England region. For the longest time, we thought we were going to move to Vermont, but then we looked at how they tax income, especially veterans/military retirement pay.That was what took Vermont out of the running!
It is vitally important to thoroughly investigate where you plan to settle. Read up on it, talk to people that live there, check out politics in the area, etc. The more you know, the better off you will be!