Possibly Looking to share my Homestead

[Biggkidd]

I am 50 and single with mostly grown kids living off grid on 30 odd acres, two miles from pavement. Last one at home will graduate high school in 2023 and likely move out soon after. I've been working this place for the last 15ish years mostly by myself, the ex left 11 years ago and I've been single since. I love this place and living here but it's a lot for one person to try and keep up with. Sharing it with another or others who want this lifestyle would make it far more enjoyable. I don't go out often, not even to town so meeting people is a bit of a challenge. The homestead still needs a lot of work as all homesteads do. It's a never ending project as are all farms and ranches. My place is way back in the woods with no neighbors close. Although they are getting ready to build a solar farm very near. Which is both good and bad. It almost guarantees no neighbors will be moving anywhere close for years to come. Not that this area is ever likely to grow much. My place is located in the piedmont region of Va so we get all four seasons, sometimes in a single day. lol A few hours drive from the coast and only an hour or so from the mountains plus a couple large lakes less than an hour away and a small river just down the dirt road from here. I have the usual barnyard animals but no barn, yet. The land is almost all hills and has access to two creeks. When I bought it it was all scrub timberland I have been clearing it little by little over the years. Parts of it will always remain in timber but other parts I'd like to see more productive growing crops and such. I am also currently working on building a pond and a few other things. There are several large cities within a couple hour drive, yet the nearest town is about five miles and has one stoplight. Walmart or a big box store is less than an hour away.

I have enough cleared land that with another person or two we could work a great market garden and there is a small 8x60 half walapini style greenhouse that needs finished for year round growing. There's not a lot of work to be found in this area but an enterprising person or family could make a good living here just working the land and selling what they grow and raise. If they want to earn more they could truck farm to one of the cities or find a job. Personally I never liked working for others and prefer to be around people who want to do for themselves.

Pretty much everything here is or has been DIY partly because I enjoy building and partly due to limited income.

If someone were to come here and share this place living arrangements would have to be figured out at that time as this house is small and stuffed. I do have future plans to build something larger here but there's plenty of room for a camper or for a cabin to be built.

This is also a good area to be in if the world keeps going the way it appears to be headed.

At this stage this is nothing more than an idea floating around in my mostly empty mind but I thought I'd through it out there and see if anyone bites. lol

I have no intention of just giving anyone a free ride but if you are willing to work toward a common goal then lets talk.

 

[Biggkidd]

Must be pro 2A

 

[sonya123]

Good luck finding someone. We are in Virginia also but the mountains. I would not be able to do what we do ( farm) here by myself either. I already dread a little when our son graduates college and most likely moves away since there are no jobs for him here most likely. But we have neighbors ( Amish mostly and a few others).

 

[Wingnut]

I'm on a lousy half-acre lot, and I have a hard time keeping up with it, lol... I thought about doing the same thing, finding somebody else interested in expanding the garden and possibly raising some chickens and/or goats, but I dunno, maybe I should leave the other bedrooms vacant in case my younger relatives need a place in the future. I sure wish they'd get out of the Big City in San Diego...

With 30+ acres, you have a much larger amount of land, and room for others who are serious about living in the country and working that land. At the same time, I very much feel your aversion to having lazy f#%s, slackers, con artists and whatever else trying to take advantage of your generosity. Maybe some RVers looking for a permanent place would be willing to throw down money and pitch in work-wise?

 

[Hooch]

That's a great idea. You could advertise for a farm hand too or hit up the local VA . Offer a free space for a rV or camper in exchange for a wage. That way you can set some boundaries or guidelines for the exchange n expand on it as you see fit..or not.

 

[Peanut]

I wish you luck in finding a workable solution. I've been going through the same kind of transition, 4 years now. Dad couldn't farm any more and I can't raise cattle and peaches by myself.

My only real option was lease out the land to someone who'll take care of the place. The first person we gave a try was a walking disaster. My cousin took over a few weeks ago and is getting the farm back in shape (about 100acres). He's done more in a month than the other guy did in 3 years.

 

[Biggkidd]

I'm not in a position to hire anyone just barely scraping by as it is. Then again I'm not selling any products either. I know I could be selling some things year round but I'm not to fond of the general public. Besides everyone and their cousins stepbrother asking me to work on something ever since I closed my shop really gets on my nerves, I just don't have the energy to work for others and myself and it's time to concentrate on here. I ran some sort of small business most of my life. Mostly in construction or mechanical repair plus one restaurant / game room.

 

[Wingnut]

One other suggestion made to me by a close friend when I was considering a 20-acre parcel in Arizona: with that much room, you might consider renting storage or parking space for RVs, boats, big rigs, whatever. You might be too far back in the woods for this to be a viable option, I'm just tossing it in here because I forgot to mention it earlier, lol.

 

[sonya123]

I really wished you lived closer, maybe we could work together....
We have 34 acres ( had 90 but sold some last year) and it's a LOT of work maintaining everything. We have anywhere from 30 - 60 goats and around 20 sheep plus chickens and 2 large gardens plus fruit trees and bushes. It's all a lot of work ( but I enjoy it for the most part) . My problem is that I don't have the upper body strength of a guy so there are certain things I just can't do like lift the brushhog to attach to the tractor or something. So I really know what you are dealing with.

 

[Haertig]

I wonder if you could do something similar to what my wife's aunt and uncle did. The had property that they sold, but as part of the sale, they (the aunt/uncle) were required to be the financers. They were the bank underwriting the loan, so to speak. So all payments came to them. If the buyers faltered and stopped making payments, then the property reverted back to the aunt/uncle. This property was sold, and then reverted back to them after a buyers default - twice.

I wonder if you could sell half of your land, or whatever portion you are willing to deal with, and as terms of your sale the buyers would pay a small "mortgage payment" and also be required to maintain what they bought, AND your other half of the property, as additional payment under the sale contract. And if they default, back to you property comes.

I don't know if this kind of sale is doable and legal in your state. Or if you could find anybody willing to take it the deal on your terms.

Note: The property in my wife's aunt/uncle case was not adjacent to their residential property. It was a separate commercial property in downtown Denver, Colorado. They obviously made a killing on it ,"repossessing" it on two separate occasions. They are dead now, and my wife inherited that property. Right now we have a business renting it, but that business wants to buy it. We are deciding if we want to do the same financing deal - becoming the bank ourselves - as her aunt/uncle did. I'm not sure about that. We might just sell it outright, if we indeed agree to sell in the first place. You have to be kind of a hardass to boot someone off the property they bought if they miss a few payments. I'm not sure my wife and I are up to that cut-throat real estate strategy.

I mention this type of land transaction because it could be a way to protect yourself from people taking advantage of you with the "property sharing" that you are considering. I like your idea of sharing the property, assuming you can find good folk to join up with you. But I would still try to put things in place to protect yourself in case the good folks you share with become less good over time and you regret the sharing.

 

[Biggkidd]

One other suggestion made to me by a close friend when I was considering a 20-acre parcel in Arizona: with that much room, you might consider renting storage or parking space for RVs, boats, big rigs, whatever. You might be too far back in the woods for this to be a viable option, I'm just tossing it in here because I forgot to mention it earlier, lol.

Way to far off the road.

 

[Wingnut]

10-4, I only mentioned it as a possible way to make money...

 

[Biggkidd]

I really wished you lived closer, maybe we could work together....
We have 34 acres ( had 90 but sold some last year) and it's a LOT of work maintaining everything. We have anywhere from 30 - 60 goats and around 20 sheep plus chickens and 2 large gardens plus fruit trees and bushes. It's all a lot of work ( but I enjoy it for the most part) . My problem is that I don't have the upper body strength of a guy so there are certain things I just can't do like lift the brushhog to attach to the tractor or something. So I really know what you are dealing with.

4 cows, 5 turkeys, a dozen or so chickens, 14 AGH one is gold believe it or not! , 4 goats and three dogs

 

[Biggkidd]

I wonder if you could do something similar to what my wife's aunt and uncle did. The had property that they sold, but as part of the sale, they (the aunt/uncle) were required to be the financers. They were the bank underwriting the loan, so to speak. So all payments came to them. If the buyers faltered and stopped making payments, then the property reverted back to the aunt/uncle. This property was sold, and then reverted back to them after a buyers default - twice.

I wonder if you could sell half of your land, or whatever portion you are willing to deal with, and as terms of your sale the buyers would pay a small "mortgage payment" and also be required to maintain what they bought, AND your other half of the property, as additional payment under the sale contract. And if they default, back to you property comes.

I don't know if this kind of sale is doable and legal in your state. Or if you could find anybody willing to take it the deal on your terms.

Note: The property in my wife's aunt/uncle case was not adjacent to their residential property. It was a separate commercial property in downtown Denver, Colorado. They obviously made a killing on it ,"repossessing" it on two separate occasions. They are dead now, and my wife inherited that property. Right now we have a business renting it, but that business wants to buy it. We are deciding if we want to do the same financing deal - becoming the bank ourselves - as her aunt/uncle did. I'm not sure about that. We might just sell it outright, if we indeed agree to sell in the first place. You have to be kind of a hardass to boot someone off the property they bought if they miss a few payments. I'm not sure my wife and I are up to that cut-throat real estate strategy.

I mention this type of land transaction because it could be a way to protect yourself from people taking advantage of you with the "property sharing" that you are considering. I like your idea of sharing the property, assuming you can find good folk to join up with you. But I would still try to put things in place to protect yourself in case the good folks you share with become less good over time and you regret the sharing.

No interest in selling or I would have sold at a very VERY good profit to the solar farm. I truly love living here.

 

[Biggkidd]

I wonder if you could do something similar to what my wife's aunt and uncle did. The had property that they sold, but as part of the sale, they (the aunt/uncle) were required to be the financers. They were the bank underwriting the loan, so to speak. So all payments came to them. If the buyers faltered and stopped making payments, then the property reverted back to the aunt/uncle. This property was sold, and then reverted back to them after a buyers default - twice.

I wonder if you could sell half of your land, or whatever portion you are willing to deal with, and as terms of your sale the buyers would pay a small "mortgage payment" and also be required to maintain what they bought, AND your other half of the property, as additional payment under the sale contract. And if they default, back to you property comes.

I don't know if this kind of sale is doable and legal in your state. Or if you could find anybody willing to take it the deal on your terms.

Note: The property in my wife's aunt/uncle case was not adjacent to their residential property. It was a separate commercial property in downtown Denver, Colorado. They obviously made a killing on it ,"repossessing" it on two separate occasions. They are dead now, and my wife inherited that property. Right now we have a business renting it, but that business wants to buy it. We are deciding if we want to do the same financing deal - becoming the bank ourselves - as her aunt/uncle did. I'm not sure about that. We might just sell it outright, if we indeed agree to sell in the first place. You have to be kind of a hardass to boot someone off the property they bought if they miss a few payments. I'm not sure my wife and I are up to that cut-throat real estate strategy.

I mention this type of land transaction because it could be a way to protect yourself from people taking advantage of you with the "property sharing" that you are considering. I like your idea of sharing the property, assuming you can find good folk to join up with you. But I would still try to put things in place to protect yourself in case the good folks you share with become less good over time and you regret the sharing.

No interest in selling or I would have sold at a very VERY good profit to the solar farm. I truly love living here.

 

[Peanut]

Just remembered… I recently heard about this from a reputable source so I don’t doubt it. Here in my state one of the major colleges is a agricultural college. They have programs for grad students… sometimes they match old farmers who can no longer farm but have land... with young couples who wish to farm. They have bachelor degrees but no land. In some cases working towards a doctorate and they farm in the real world for a year or 2.

I’m interested in this but have been too busy to make the call for details. So I don’t know the particulars in my state. Was told its best to wait til the fall semester to call, which just started. No one around in summer.

How far are you from the nearest Ag. School? Call them up! I was told GA and MS have similar programs. I’m sure other states do to. You might find something that works perfectly for you. My view, anything is better than watching years of work get covered in sweet gum and scrub pine.

 

[Amish Heart]

We have 23 acres, and 13 of it is in alfalfa that we have no interest in farming. So my cousin does it. In return, he helps us with stuff.

 

[Biggkidd]

Just remembered… I recently heard about this from a reputable source so I don’t doubt it. Here in my state one of the major colleges is a agricultural college. They have programs for grad students… sometimes they match old farmers who can no longer farm but have land... with young couples who wish to farm. They have bachelor degrees but no land. In some cases working towards a doctorate and they farm in the real world for a year or 2.

I’m interested in this but have been too busy to make the call for details. So I don’t know the particulars in my state. Was told its best to wait til the fall semester to call, which just started. No one around in summer.

How far are you from the nearest Ag. School? Call them up! I was told GA and MS have similar programs. I’m sure other states do to. You might find something that works perfectly for you. My view, anything is better than watching years of work get covered in sweet gum and scrub pine.

You know I don't know how far the nearest AG school is. Things are so fouled up we haven't even had a county AG agent in a couple years now.

 

[FarmOR]

Interesting idea? I find myself in similar circumstances. Only a whole lot more land and work.

My attempts to hire help have ended in multiple frustrations. My only saving grace has been hiring custom operators. Big reason why I am surrounded by farmers that lease their land.

Leasing assets has been another consideration. But I've witnessed serious degradation of leased properties over the years. And after all the work I have put into sprucing my oasis up, it would slowly drive me morbidly insane watching someone undo it

 

[Magus]

I'm kind of in the same boat Bigkid. I'm likely leaving most of my assets to some nephews I've never met. I can't carry wood, so my woodstove had to go, getting groceries puts me in bed two days, I can't even lift my BOB anymore and my house and yard look like hell. Going from living life on the bleeding edge to being crammed into a back room blows whole herds of chimps!

 

[Magus]

Aww. look on the bright side. posting what I know is why I'm here! I'm doing somebody some good!

 

[Swing]

I know this may be far out, but what about a place for van livers to park and live for a small fee. If they work out you could offer them the site in exchange for help.
I know there are very few places for van, car living people in the East of the USA. And if this is of some interest, I know where you could check things out and see if someone there or those types of people might be reasonable.

 

[Just Cliff]

Hey Biggkidd.
Where are you? By your description you are not too far away from me.
I'm kinda screwed now myself. I had some heart issues 6 years ago. I have had 3 heart attacks In the last 6 years. If that was not enough, a little over a year ago walking fine. I woke up the next morning only too be able to partially use my left leg and I get tired so easily now.
I stay here on this forum because you are the closest friends I have any more. Everyone else has gone on to bigger and better things.
I also have my bug out location that I could use a lot of help with. If someone I could trust had an RV that they could live in till ???? something better was made. There is electric, sewer, water and far enough off the road.
I was hoping some of my daughters friends from the Army that were having problems, could lay low there and not be bothered. They have done well coming back home after being over in the sand box.

 

[BlizNick]

@Biggkidd this is something that is of major intrest to me
helping someone that is on the aging side with their land so that i can learn from an experienced member how to handle the day to day
In return they get a young member to do the physically intensive chores

 

[Biggkidd]

@Biggkidd this is something that is of major intrest to me
helping someone that is on the aging side with their land so that i can learn from an experienced member how to handle the day to day
In return they get a young member to do the physically intensive chores

Thanks for the reply I'm back in a holding pattern for the moment. Family stuff. I will keep you in mind.

 

[Mountain trapper]

We don't know what we're going to do with our place yet. Our kids don't want it, they say its too remote, too much work, too far from anywhere, etc. We'll probably just sell it and spend their inheritance. We already sold off all of our other land and are now down to just a few hundred acres. It's a lot of work, and I enjoy it most of the time, but i know the day is coming where it'll be too much work for this old man to keep up with.

 

[Curmudgeon]

I'm not too fond of the general public.

I can relate!

 

[Magpie]

Maybe there is a young couple who can't afford their own place, and you could make some arrangement on a trial basis. Whatever you decide to do, make sure your family are aware of your decisions- wouldn't like to see a falling out down the line.
I too can relate, we have only a little over an acre, but the house is big. (we added an extension years ago - was a good idea at the time) Rents here are high, and my eldest is looking to move out, and when my youngest graduates next year she will go too. The two in the middle would prefer to stay here, and as one has a disability, I always thought the place would go to him. But I just don't see them managing, or being interested in, the upkeep, and I've been thinking lately about selling and just getting a small bungalow with little maintenance. Or if I had some money I would buy a site, sell this and build. I can't do it yet, and I'd want to stay in the area but the idea is niggling at me. My husband won't be able to do the heavy stuff forever. Then I look around and see everything we've done and go

 

[BlizNick]

We don't know what we're going to do with our place yet. Our kids don't want it, they say its too remote, too much work, too far from anywhere, etc. We'll probably just sell it and spend their inheritance. We already sold off all of our other land and are now down to just a few hundred acres. It's a lot of work, and I enjoy it most of the time, but i know the day is coming where it'll be too much work for this old man to keep up with.

Maybe you can find some motivated members who are having a hard time finding the land to turn into their homestead?

 

[Biggkidd]

Since I don't really have a thread here about my homestead I'll just drop this here.

Red finally had her calf today. It's been up and about several times but I didn't have the phone to get a picture then. Proud mamma and pappa standing over it tooo!