A Good Day for a Sunbath

How about sunny, 50 degree weather to finish out January?  Pokey approves!  Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh...

photo by K

Inspection + Loan Update

image fron byjessiekay.tumblr.com

The radon test on the house came back with a good report (phewf!) and I met with my real estate agent this afternoon to review the rest of the home inspection.  Yesterday I read through the 27 page report and pulled out all of the notes on things that needed to be repaired.  I took my distilled list and divided it into three categories: current owner repairs, things that I'll repair, and things that I'll eventually repair (some of the more cosmetic details, as well as some of the things that I'll repair when it really becomes an issue).

On the list of things I hope the current owners will repair are several minor electrical problems, roofing problems, servicing the furnace and the oven, and repairing the chimney: the biggest things that affect structure and safety and that should be fixed before I move in.  I think it's a fair division of work that needs to be done (my own list is MUCH longer!), but I won't know for sure until the owners respond.  I'm guessing they won't be happy to have to work on the house, but it's sort of part of the process.  Fingers crossed it's not a deal breaker.

I also spoke with my loan officer today to check in on my application status.  I was pretty disappointed that not much progress had been made since we last met.  She was waiting for one last letter of reference (two more arrived in the mail this afternoon!) and is still working through the budget line by line.  I'm hoping that it's all set by the end of the week (hooray for wishful thinking!), and then it's just a whole lot of waiting.  The application goes to the federal government to review and allocate funds.  I'm a solid applicant and there is funding available, but it's still a bit of a long-shot.  But it's my only real opportunity to buy this farm, so I will remain hopeful.

When I started this whole process I don't think I realized how overwhelmed I would feel.  I'm on track with everything, but my head is spinning with all of the details that need to be attended to.  It's a test of patience and a test of faith - just like farming is.  You put all of your heart and hard work into growing something, but in the end most of what happens is out of your control.

Things always work out in the end.

Mini House Tour!

Back of the house

 Front of the House

Barn

Chicken Coop

Office

Kitchen

Swoon.  I can't believe this is going to be MY house!  :-)

All Photos by K

Making Progress

Planning the next 40 weeks of my life.

Home Inspection

image via pinterest

Just got home from inspecting my future home.  The inspector I hired was great - he spent over three hours with me pointing out LOTS and LOTS of problems that I wouldn't have noticed on my own.  Nothing major, but lots of minor projects (some more costly than others) and lots of cosmetic details that need to be fixed.  Tomorrow I'll get a full report, which I'll be able to match up with notes that my parents made (once again, so helpful to have a team help with the details!).  It's overwhelming, but it'll be good to make a list of everything that needs to be repaired and what the timeline looks like.  If I decide to renegotiate with the current owners to help cover the cost, I'll need to do it within 7 days. Busy busy busy.

Tomorrow I'll post a couple photos of the house (yay!) and maybe a glimpse of my crop plan (if I can get it organized enough in between developing a project repairs list).  But for now - goodnight!

The Actual Cost of Buying a Farm

source unknown

As expected, buying a farm costs a lot more than the negotiated price.  Here's a quick update, two weeks in:

Contract: $1,005.00
Copies/Faxes: $6.00
Loan Application: $13.50
Home Inspection: $450.00
Radon Test: $125.00
Water Quality Test: $130.00
Water Quantity Test: $115.00
Septic Inspection: $100.00

Total so far: $1,944.50

I chose to have all of the home inspections done for peace of mind.  It's a sizable upfront expense, but the hope is that if there is anything minor wrong with the house, the contract can be renegotiated to help cover some of that expense, and if there is anything major I will have saved myself from heartache later on.  I hate having to spend the money, but it will be good to know the house is safe (fingers crossed).  Just another hurdle.

The stress of purchasing a farm on May 1st is really starting to settle in.  I'm confident that I can piece together a plan to make up for farming without a farm this spring, but I still feel terribly overwhelmed.  And with the lingering thought that the contract or the mortgage could fall through before then, I still don't feel 100% committed.

I wish I were more of a risk taker, because I think I would be having a lot more fun.  Spending money makes me queasy.

Speaking of spending lots of money, I'm starting a farm with a pair of boots.  That's it.  I don't even own a shovel (I use K's snow shovel to clean out my chicken coop)!  In the next couple of months I need to purchase a lot of the basics  - does anyone have a great source that they use?  What about used equipment (other than craigslist, which I don't seem to have much luck with)?

Thanks for your help!

Chugging Along

image from e-tells-tales.com

The home inspection is scheduled for this Saturday, the same day I'm supposed to hear back from the loan officers with an update on my application.  I'm a little nervous about both (especially spending so much money on a home inspection without knowing more about the loan application), but I'm sure that everything will work out well.  Plus, I'm REALLY excited to see the house again.  I catch myself daydreaming about it all the time lately and seeing it again will help me remember all the details.

Meanwhile, I'm still working on my budget.  It seems like every time I blink I think of something else I'll need to buy to keep my life on a new farm running smoothly!  I'm also working on a crop plan and trying to compile a seed order, but I'll be totally honest: every time I open the seed catalogs I just get lost reading the descriptions and dreaming about a garden.  I'll get down to business soon enough.  But for now I'm just concentrating on imagining it all.  That's what a dream farm is all about, right?