The Waiting Game

image from http://bradsurcey.com/

My head is swimming (hence the fish photo today, instead of something farm-y).

I had a HORRIBLE day at work and nearly missed my appointment to sign the contract to put in an offer on the Lebanon Farm this afternoon.  I woke up really excited, but spent most of the day worrying about the fact that I don't have a lucky number.  Lucky numbers seem trivial, until you need their assistance (say, in picking a starting price for the house). 

At a certain point, the dollars just feel like numbers and hold no meaning to me.  I know that sounds horrible, and it doesn't at all reflect my spending habits.  I've saved nearly every penny I've ever made since I started working when I was 16.  Money matters to me, but dollar amounts in quantities I can't fathom just don't hold as much weight.

In the end, I offered a higher initial bid than we discussed, and I felt good about it.  I'm still running off my disappointment from my last attempt at a contract and wanted to be sure that we would be in the game of negotiating.  After signing and initialing a MILLION times, we submitted the contract.  The only big change from last time was the waiting period.  Having to sit vigil by the phone for 5 (what ended up being 6) days last time I put in an offer was too long.  The unique situation warranted it, but I just couldn't physically worry for that long again.  24 hours felt like long enough.

I hadn't really needed to focus on the length of the contract, however, because I was shocked to hear back from the homeowners within a half hour of leaving the office.  Here's how the bidding went down:

Listing Price: $324,999 (originally listed at $349,999 in August 2011)

Comparative Market Analysis: $295,000 (the "market value" of the house based on comparable properties that have recently sold in the area)

My Offer: $295,000.  While initially my real estate agent advised starting out around $275,000 (in order to end up around my goal of $300,000), I do have some extra savings and wanted to be in a better spot for negotiation.

First Counter Offer from Homeowners: $320,000 (disappointingly higher than I was hoping for)

My First Counter Offer: $310,000.  This was the maximum price I was willing to pay for the property, but rather than go back and forth I submitted this as my best and final, hoping the homeowners would compromise in the middle.

Second Counter Offer from Homeowners: $315,000, plus a generator (~$1,000 value).  Apparently they didn't get the best and final thing, which is fine because I wasn't 100% firm.  My family had been willing to contribute a little and I could make $315,000 work, it would just be a big stretch.

My Second Counter Offer: $312,000, forget the generator (which I hadn't seen at either tour and could easily purchase as I see fit).

And that's it.  I paced and paced and paced and paced around the first floor of my parent's house and finally my real estate agent called back.  (It wasn't actually that much time, just much longer than the previous back and forth had been).  The homeowners wanted the evening to think about it and explore their options and will notify me of their decision by tomorrow at NOON.

And so, I wait until lunchtime tomorrow.  I desperately hope they accept the offer.  I would hate to lose the house over $3,000 dollars.  It's a lot of money right now, but in the long haul it's not that much.  I could scrounge up the $315,000, but my offer of $312,000 just seems more fair given the market value of the home and our negotiations.

I'd say that I'll be up all night worrying about how things will end up, but I'm so tired I don't think it'll be a problem. I feel good about my bid and trust that everything will work out how it's supposed to.  I think I'm actually more worried about the loan application - which still needs attention and revision in order to be processed as quickly as possible.  I suppose when you're good at worrying (like I am!) there's always something to worry about!

Fingers crossed my lucky number is 312.

Round Two!

imaage from mimsiewhimsy.tumblr.com

I took a second trip to the Lebanon Farm (#5 on our Saturday Marathon) this afternoon to learn the property boundaries, as well as meet the homeowner and listing agent (who were unavailable on Saturday when we saw the home).

I had a pretty long list of questions, about the land, the neighbors, the disclosures, and town services (trash, mail, emergency).  It was great to have all of them answered and to learn more about the home.  It was built, by hand, by the current owners.  It was great to hear their attention to detail and how much they loved the house, but they are passionate about dairy and need a MUCH larger farm to pursue their interests in making cheese.

I was especially grateful to walk the property with the owner and learn more about the land.  I was disappointed to learn that the back 2 acres of the property are wetlands, under a conservation easement that prevents the owner from doing anything on that land.  I was really hoping to use that land for grazing, and wouldn't have known that from looking at a map.  The other approximately 3 acres of wooded area are also considered wetlands.  This land can be grazed, but not cleared.  Within that parcel are about 100 sugar maples, which the owner taps each winter for syrup.

Even though the usable land is significantly less than I initially thought, I still think the farm has a lot of potential.  In the very back of the property there is a beautiful brook and over 2,000 acres of preserved forest and hiking trails.  The biggest benefit is that Lebanon is an agricultural community.  At first, I was intimidated by the size of some of the very large dairy and poultry farms, and how rural it seemed.  After driving around a little bit, however, it is a really beautiful community.  It just makes sense to start a farm in a farming community.

The current owners really want to sell to someone who will love the house and use the land and offered to help with any questions I might have down the road.  Even though I am admittedly having some anxiety over how quickly this is coming together (and the reality of having to FINALLY take the leap of starting my own business, and spending all of my savings), I have a really good feeling about this farm.  My parents, K, and even my real estate agent are excited and supportive - more so than with the North Stonington property I made my first offer on (that didn't work out).  It feels good to be working as a team.

Tomorrow afternoon I'm meeting with my real estate agent to put in an offer on the Lebanon Farm.  I still haven't decided on a price quite yet, but I'm ready to just go for it.  I'm nervous, of course, but I'm even more excited.

If I had known how nerve-wracking this whole experience was going to be when I got started...well, I probably still would have gone for it.  Having my own farm and my own home is my dream and I know I'll do whatever it takes to make it work.  Clear eyes, full hearts...can't lose!

Lebanon Zoning, Soil Survey, a Comparative Market Analysis, and Putting Together a Business Plan

image from etsy.com

I stayed home sick from work today, but tried to make the most of it by looking into lots of details of the Lebanon Farm.  Thankfully, everything checked out okay!

Lebanon is a very farm-friendly town, with lots of large dairy and poultry farms.  Most of the specific zoning regulations pertain to large "indoor" farms (building sizes, manure storage, etc).  It doesn't seem like I will have any challenges raising pigs, chickens, and vegetables on the land.

Agriculture including dairies, the breeding, raising and keeping of cattle, horses, sheep, and other similar animals but specifically excluding kennels except as regulated below; riding stables; truck gardening; greenhouses and forestry operations; poultry provided fewer than 200 birds are housed; poultry operations having more than 200 birds provided the total floor area of all buildings on the lot used in the poultry operation does not exceed 50,000 square feet, the lot area is not less than five acres, all buildings and accessory facilities used in the poultry operation including those for waste storage and treatment observe a minimum 100 foot setback from all property lines, and the total floor area of all buildings used in the poultry operation does not exceed 15% of the area of the lot. 

The only challenge will be an area towards the back of the property, where a neighboring house is less than 100 feet from the property line, in an area I had hoped to use for rotational grazing.  Hopefully good neighbor relations and a wide buffer will make it a non-issue, otherwise we'll use movable electric fencing to make it work.  No big deal!

The soil survey also turned out just fine.  There is a small area of wetlands towards the back of the property, as well as a stony area, but most of the property has very good soils on flat lands.  I'm not sure I'll be able to do a soil sample now that the grounds are frozen, but I'm hoping the current owners took samples in the fall (if not, I'm not too concerned, the gardens look beautiful and I expect it will need minimal amendments).  

My real estate agent also complied a Comparative Market Analysis that justifies the price of the property (listed at $324,000) closer to $296,000.  On Wednesday we have a second viewing of the property with the listing agent as well as the current owners, and afterwards we plan to meet to discuss a bidding strategy.  The house is only a little overpriced, so we want to put in an offer that leaves a little room for negotiation, but still seems fair.  

The whole process is going so FAST this time!  It's stressful, nerve-wracking, and so so exciting all at the same time.  I feel rushed to compile a decent business plan so that my loan application is accepted as quickly as possible and spent a good amount of time working on it today.  Everything is just such a whirlwind!

Farm Tour: Six Farm Marathon

I'm still exhausted from my farm tour marathon yesterday: six farms in six hours.

We went prepared and really made the most of the day.  I say "we" because I knew I would need a team to help evaluate this many farms in one day, as well as to help speed along the decision process.  My parents, real estate agent, and K joined me on the adventure.  I'm so grateful for all of the support, because I would have been totally overwhelmed without the additional 4 sets of eyes to pick up on all of the details.

SO, here we go!  A run-through of the properties in order of appearance (sorry a few are missing photographs!).

HOUSE #1
Location: North Stonington (less than 15 minutes from my parents)
Land: 5.5 acres of mostly flat land (1/2 cleared, 1/2 wooded), somewhat residential
House: Renovated Ranch in immaculate condition (almost too fancy).  3 bedrooms, 4 full baths (yes, you read that correctly).  No outbuildings.
Price: $375,000
Award: Most James Bond-Worthy.  The basement had a hidden, fireproof room for storing very expensive antiques (or aging prosciutto!)

HOUSE #2

Location: North Stonington (also less than 15 minutes from my parents)

Land: A rock.  Surrounded by beautiful, fertile agricultural land, nearly the entire 8 acres of this property are a stone ledge.  Dope.

House: Beautiful historic farmhouse in need of a good amount of work.   The downstairs was in pretty good condition (featuring a BRIGHT red wallpapered office), but the upstairs was trashed. No outbuildings.

Price: $219,000, as is

Award: Most frightening closet.  I opened it to peek at the storage potential and all I saw were dead animal heads.  This house also won the award for most mouse poop on a bed (I've never seen such a think layer!)

This room was SO bright!

This is what "AS-IS" usually indicates in a listing 

Award for most Horrifying Closet 

HOUSE #3

Location: North Stonington (about 20 minutes from my parents)

Land: 5.5 acre former horse farm...totally trashed.  They trucked in tons of sand for a "pony party" arena, and the back acre or so was wetlands.

House: A new (2004) colonial-style home in horrible condition.  The upstairs was one large master suite, with a second very small bedroom.  I've had pneumonia all week and my one lung couldn't breathe for more than 5 minutes in the house.  The property had several small horse stall/barns - all poorly constructed.

Price: $325,000 (though the real estate agent informed us it was about to go up for short sale...a headache)

Award: Most bathtub figurines.  There were hundreds around the "jacuzzi" tub.

So many figurines! 

HOUSE #4

Location: Griswold (about 25 minutes from my parents house)

Land: 13 acres, all wooded.  The majority of the land was good, but the house was surrounded by a moat (created from a waterfall and a quickly moving brook), leaving no room for a garden or to keep my chickens close by.  The house was only a few feet from the street, which we would need to travel on in order to get to the usable land.  Additional 6 acre lot available to purchase, but was very sloped.

House: Extremely cool antique colonial built in the 1750s.  5 bedrooms, with an open floor plan.  The kitchen needed remodeling (hadn't really been touched since the 1940s) and the house needed heat.  Overall, in pretty good condition with lots of neat architectural features.

Price: $349,000

Award: Coolest appliance.

Three-in-one sink, stove, refrigerator makes up the kitchen in the in-laws apartment.

HOUSE #5

Location: Lebanon (farm country, about 35 minutes from my parents house)

Land: 7.5 acres.  Currently a working farm (mainly meat chickens, small garden, pig, dairy cow). Mostly wooded, sort of close to 3 neighbors, but a pretty decent perimeter fence.

House: Perfect.  Is that too general of a term?  Built in 2002 with great attention to detail, the house just felt like a home with it's wide-plank wood floors and barn-style doors.  I never formally made a list of things I was looking for in a home (because I kept telling myself that I was buying a farm, not a house), but this house would have checked all of the boxes: mudroom with laundry, large kitchen, wood stove, office for two, 3 bedrooms, his-and-her closets, wood floors, etc.  Plus a two-stall barn and a large chicken coop.

Price: $324,000

Award: Most beautiful home.

HOUSE #6

Location: Lisbon (about 30 minutes from my parents)

Land: 29 acres, mostly wooded and quite sloped.  Lots of debris on the property (probably 2 dozen trashed cars).  I believe K described the front portion of the farm as it looking like Noah's Ark tipped over: in one small field there were all sorts of different animals standing in stinky mud.

House: I don't even know where to begin.  The 4 bedroom farmhouse was a disaster, but they were pouring all of their money into a very large (40x80), very ugly tv room/master suite.  The kitchen was the size of a linen closet.  There was a barn on the property, but it was full of debris and we couldn't go inside.

Price: $319,000

Award: Most cats on a bed.  As well as most cats in a house.  YUCK.

And the winner was?  House #5 (the beautiful Lebanon home).  Though the land is smaller than I was initially looking for, 7.5 acres is plenty large for me to manage on my own.  And the size of the land will force us to be creative and efficient with our space (something I always admire about small farms), as well as do a lot of work by hand.  There may be the potential to lease neighboring land down the road, as well.

In the end, it was easy to imagine us raising a family on that farm.  Even though it's further from my parents than I initially hoped, I like the idea of being nearby other farmers.  I also like the idea of purchasing a home that doesn't need a lot of work (any, really, aside from some painting and small projects), because I'm eager to develop the business and focus on the farm.

Things are moving much faster now that we're experienced with the process.  I'm hoping to go back and see the property again this week, I've already requested disclosures, and my real estate agent is working on the comparative market analysis so we can develop a negotiation strategy and draft a contract this week.  Everyone involved feels good about this property and I'm eager to make it all come together.

Let's hope the SECOND time's the charm!  ;-)

most photos are by Pop

Always Believe

image from http://www.thinknice.com/

Not a Forever Farm

image from anobalesavage.com

I had a moment of realization while I was watching House Hunters last night (and, yes, I do spend my evenings like most retired folk, watching House Hunters).

There was a young couple with two young children and a sizable savings account looking to purchase their "Forever Home."  They wanted a home their family could grow into, near to both of their families and work, that they could easily retire into.  They visited three beautiful homes and (as in most episodes) had qualms with each of them.

Listening to the couple whine about details like the staircase (which wasn't picturesque enough for their daughters to slowly walk down dressed in prom outfits in the year 2027), made me realize something about myself.

I've been looking for my "Forever Farm" and it's been weighing on my decision making abilities.  Of course I would ideally find a farm where I could grow a business and a family, only to happily retire in the sunshine with my chickens baking scones every morning.  But circumstances change all of the time and there is no reason why I can't be flexible enough for my family farm to be affected by them.

There is no reason why I can't purchase a farm to settle, and then move home base after a while if a better opportunity presents itself, our business grows/changes, or circumstances change.  Without the pressure of searching for my forever farm, I can focus on finding a farm that will suit my needs for the foreseeable future.  This mindset doesn't change my opinion on any of the properties that I've seen in the past couple of months (it doesn't change anything, really), but it gives me new focus and determination for my Saturday marathon.

I've got a really good feeling I'll find my new home on Saturday.  :-)

What is love?

image from fuckyeahloldemort.tumblr.com

I came across this picture online and it made me laugh.  :-)

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season.  I had lofty plans to post a year in review and my 2012 bucket list this past weekend, but I ended up catching the plague from the preschoolers at work and I'm still recovering.  It's funny how the holidays pass so quickly that January 3rd seems too late to think back on the past year.  Oh well!

I'm working on a farm search marathon for Saturday that involves 6(ish) back-to-back farm tours.  I'm making this a game of odds and hoping that one of them holds promise.  I sure hope so, because this marathon will pretty much check off all of the properties on my "To Search" list.

If you have any hopes of not singing that terrible song in your head all night long, I suggest you switch to the radio ASAP.