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Flipping houses? or flipping out?

3K views 33 replies 11 participants last post by  Reverend Blair 
#1 ·
After 5 years of renovation on our current house my wife found another property that she likes. We currently have 3 acres and a nice house built in 1988. I have worked hard updating and remodeling every room in our 3300 sq ft house, except the powder room on the main floor.

The property my wife found today, and loves, is 28acres with a pond, fenced pasture, and an old 1920's brick farm house. The farm house is smaller and not nearly as nice as our current house. It would be fine to live in, but ultimately we would need to remodel most of it. The really nice part is that it has a 30 x 40 garage/shop with power and water. It also has a 30 x 45 machine shed with a concrete slab, although some of that would need to converted to stalls for my daughters horse, that we currently board.
I have mixed feeling about a possible move ... again. The house before our current house was also a ton of work, and we left it behind after 5 years. I did not think that we might be doing that again after another 5 years....
Any one have any similar stories or thoughts? :confuse:
 
#4 ·
Todd, I would sit down with the missus and go over the needs of the family. The 3300sq ft home sounds like a very nice home with 3 acres. Starting over with all the work that would be involved to reno the new house would be a big task. It would be nice to have the 28 acres for your daughter's horse and save the boarding cost but at what expense. If the cost and expense is justifiable, then I would, if not then stay where you are. Just my 2 cents!!:smile1:
 
#5 ·
The farmette with the acreage sounds great but you would have to sit down and justify the expenses and decide if you want to renovate another place or not. There are a lot of factors involved. Plus you would have to sell your current house too in not such a great market but I would think down your way the market would still be pretty decent because of government work.
 
#6 ·
NUTNDUN said:
The farmette with the acreage sounds great but you would have to sit down and justify the expenses and decide if you want to renovate another place or not. There are a lot of factors involved. Plus you would have to sell your current house too in not such a great market but I would think down your way the market would still be pretty decent because of government work.
I have been thinking about it this way.... ultimately our long term goal was to have a farmette. I would would be hard to let our existing house go, but as nice as our existing property is, it's not a farm. The other thing, on the expense side, we would be able to board a few horses, which would offset the higher expense of the property.
Certainly the updates and renovations would have to be stretched out over many years because of the cost.
I keep thinking of that awesome shop, it even has a seperate room off of the back that I could put my compressor in. It also has a chimney, you just need a wood or pellet stove to set in there.
 
#7 ·
Todd the way I see it, if a small farm is your ultimate goal, well, you're not getting any younger, so no time like the present. As I get older, the major reno's seem to get a lot harder, even if the job is smaller. How is the housing market where your current house is for selling? Any woodland for fire wood on the acreage? Sounds like a nice place. The shop sounds GREAT, plus the shed for various uses with mods. Hmmm.... and no cows.....when can I move in? :rofl2:
 
#8 ·
olcowhand said:
Todd the way I see it, if a small farm is your ultimate goal, well, you're not getting any younger, so no time like the present. As I get older, the major reno's seem to get a lot harder, even if the job is smaller. How is the housing market where your current house is for selling? Any woodland for fire wood on the acreage? Sounds like a nice place. The shop sounds GREAT, plus the shed for various uses with mods. Hmmm.... and no cows.....when can I move in? :rofl2:
You know, the "not getting any younger" comment did come to mind when thinking about the move. I keep thinking, if not now? when? I don't think I will want to be making the move when I am 60?
btw, the property did have cows...
 
#11 ·
I like it! I say go for it, it sounds like it will suit your long term goals nice, and the brick house is a big plus if you ask me.
 
#13 ·
olcowhand said:
Sure is a nice well kept place! Love the garage & the nice wide drive. I'd bet most of the house has had the wiring updated, judging by how nice the place looks to have been cared for.
The drive actually narrows down just past the picture to about 12 feet. It's about 1000 feet long and all paved. :thumbs:

Here it is.... look Daniel, cows! They are not there anymore, old picture.

 
#15 ·
Todd, after the added pics, I have to say you just gotta get that place! Beautiful land, house, garage, and secluded....you can do as you wish. No neighbors griping about your "stuff"! And Bluegill, Smallmouth Bass, and surely some Catfish to boot! In all appearances, this looks to be a great opportunity! All that would stop me is structural damage like termites that have gone too far, and that might not stop me if the price was right. BEAUTIFUL place!
 
#17 ·
For me the 28 acres would be the huge buying point. Can you buy 25 acres that attaches to your current property? 3300 sq feet is a lot of room for two people when kids move out. Maybe redo the bottom level and block off the upstairs on this house and save $ not heating and cooling it. You could build a bigger garage than the one in the picture on your current property but still only have 3 acres. My humble opinion.
 
#18 ·
Meangreen said:
For me the 28 acres would be the huge buying point. Can you buy 25 acres that attaches to your current property? 3300 sq feet is a lot of room for two people when kids move out. Maybe redo the bottom level and block off the upstairs on this house and save $ not heating and cooling it. You could build a bigger garage than the one in the picture on your current property but still only have 3 acres. My humble opinion.
Yes, the 28 acres is the biggest selling point, well... maybe the second biggest, the 30x40 shop is really nice.
Our current 3,300 sq ft house is a lot of room. To be honest, it's too much room, even with my daughter in the house. We hardly use about half the house... and just think, there is a 700 sq ft room above the garage that is not finished, just studs.
Actually, the first floor of the 1920s house is not too bad, the kitchen is a little dated but it's a good size. Most of the work would be upstairs, the bedrooms need help. The basement is a typical 1920's...watch your head. Although the addition on the right side of the house has a full basement under it with nice high ceilings, but you have to duck a bit to get to it from the old section in the middle.

Here is the kitchen, not near as nice as our recently remodeled kitchen, but not bad either.....

 
#19 ·
Oh my gosh Todd.....that "dated" kitchen makes mine look awful! I'd absolutely love to have a kitchen just like it! Really, I would! That would be a place to live out the rest of your lives at....and love it the whole time.
 
#20 ·
I generally tell people to stay put, but in this case I'd say you should go for it. My father waited until he retired to buy an acreage, and the renovations and getting the yard cleaned up were a lot tougher as a result, not to mention that the time he had left to enjoy it was limited.

For me the big attraction is the 28 acres. The shop is great. That driveway is fantastic, especially with the way the fence sets it off.

I don't know what your property market is like down there, but around here it's generally a lot easier to sell 1-5 acres than 28 acres right now. If you're in a similar situation there, you'll get a better price on the new property than your buyer will on yours.
 
#21 ·
Reverend Blair said:
I don't know what your property market is like down there, but around here it's generally a lot easier to sell 1-5 acres than 28 acres right now. If you're in a similar situation there, you'll get a better price on the new property than your buyer will on yours.
Boy, I hope that is the case
 
#22 ·
olcowhand said:
Oh my gosh Todd.....that "dated" kitchen makes mine look awful! I'd absolutely love to have a kitchen just like it! Really, I would! That would be a place to live out the rest of your lives at....and love it the whole time.
I knew that was going to happen. It's not that dated, but it's not granite and stainless either. I'm not saying I have to have granite and stainless, but it is what we have now. I know, I sound like a snob...
 
#23 ·
tweidman said:
I knew that was going to happen. It's not that dated, but it's not granite and stainless either. I'm not saying I have to have granite and stainless, but it is what we have now. I know, I sound like a snob...
I don't think you're a snob Todd...known you long enough to know better than that. BTW, if you do rip out that kitchen, I'll be up with truck & trailer to haul off the stuff for ya! LOL
I just can't see you passing up a place like that if all the pieces come together for you.
 
#24 ·
Yea, I am trying not to get too far ahead of myself. This is not a cheap property and we would need to sell our current house without too much of a loss from the purchase price 5 years ago. It's a dream, but you never know, maybe it will come true. If not, I still have a really nice house and property, that I have invested many hours in....
I am going to look at the property again tomorrow night. My daughter wasn't with us when I looked at it on Sunday.
 
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