Okay, I've kicked in my 2 cents worth in the past, now I'm asking for some advice back. I've been paying on an old double wide, leasing 5 acres, with first refusal on the land IF the owner decided to sell. I also have no potable water. Owner put in a well last August when he finished paying for property, only about 20 foot deep. So, I have to haul water for my use. Talked to him on Monday and he said he wasn't going to do anything else with it....I'd just have to live with it. I've been thinking about doing a Contract for Deed on 40 acres and find a single wide I can afford to move onto it. I wouldn't have any utilities or water to start with, I'd have to haul it. I love the acreage and can get it pretty cheap. It's just me now, my youngest is now living with his dad. I have Fibromyalgia which slows me down at times. BUT I am sick of paying rent and never getting a place of my own. I have goats, geese, chickens, ducks, dogs and a horse. What would you consider? Should I make the leap?

-- Deborah (bearwaoman@Yahoo.com), May 03, 2002

Answers

Deborah, I'd say you've already decided or you wouldn't be asking. From the "sound" between the lines, you know you want to, and ought to - what you really want to know is do WE agree. Well this is the place for that - we're all homesteaders in one way or another. YES!

-- Deborah Stephenson (wonkaandgypsy@hotmail.com), May 03, 2002.

Don't just leap...take a water bucket in each hand and SWAN DIVE!!!!

-- gilly (wayoutfarm@skybest.com), May 03, 2002.

Deborah, only you can answer your own question... the way I see it, you are already doing it all alone. Downsizing your home, and focussing your attentive works on your own land sounds like what your really want. I think that you already have made your decision. You have to trust what your heart song is singing to you. Now it is just you that will be answering the call when the well is not deep enough. I am not familiar enough with fibromyalgia to have that play a role in my comments... as previously said, you are the only one who can say what leaps you should be making. I personally have what many would consider a handicap with a prosthetic leg, and yet I have been a successful bicycle racer amongst 'able bodied' people, have climbed mountains, and enjoy hiking as one of my regular pastimes. If for one moment I had taken the advice of those that thought that I would not be capable, where would I be? Certainly not following my dreams. Just my 2 cents; take purchase of what you wish from it's worth, and leap in any direction that seems to echo your song the purest.

-- roberto pokachinni (pokachinni@yahoo.com), May 03, 2002.

You've talked ot over with yourself and reached an agreement. Go for it.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), May 03, 2002.

Deborah, A 20' well that isn't a spring is surface run-off of who knows what. Your decision was already made - you just needed our endorsement. You've got mine. Best wishes.

Roberto, .... Classic!!

-- Griff (griff@hangnail.com), May 03, 2002.

Deborah, this is just a thought, but-

Is it even legal for your landlord to rent you a place without running, potable water? I know that here in my county I am required to provide running water, toilets, heat, and a stove for cooking, and I can't remember about a shower or tub for bathing. If you are paying rent for the property you might look into what the legal requirement is in your area, in case you decide to stay. Personally, if you can swing it financially I would say go for it, and good luck to you.

-- Elizabeth (ekfla@aol.com), May 03, 2002.

Sounds like something I would do and I am reaching retirement age. Sure can't see giving money away when you can be buying your own piece. Hope it works out for you. Keep us posted!!!

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), May 03, 2002.

Deborah, I agree with everyone else. Go for it! What have you got to lose. You can always sell it or some of it if it turns out to be to much for you to handle. I also have fibromyalgia but getting goats and chickens has made a world of difference to me. Sure I go to bed aching and wake up aching but while I'm awake I'm having the time of my life. Do like I do. Work 30 mins. then rest 15. It will take a little longer but you will love having your own place.

-- Sheila in NC (nannie@intrstar.net), May 03, 2002.

Go! Go! Go! You won't be sorry. May have to work your butt off, but you will love every minute of it. After all, isn't that what it's all about?

-- Cindy (ilovecajun@aol.com), May 03, 2002.

Deborah, I'd move in a minute!!! Good luck!!!!!!!!!

-- Michelle Thomas (mpthomas83@hotmail.com), May 03, 2002.

Deborah, There's nothing like having a place of your own! When my husband and I first saw the 33 acres we now own and live on, it had no phone, no electricity, a well with no pump, roads not good enough to walk on, a garbage dump, and a rotted out mobile home with a red tag. We showed the property to our friends, who said we were too old (I was 47, he was 51) to take on such a project, and that it would be a headache and a money drain.

Well, we dutifully looked at other properties in the area, but we both were in love with this place. We said, too old, huh? Well, watch this! That was two and a half years ago. Three months ago we moved to our new home. We love it here. It's very primitive in many ways, and we live in a 30 foot travel trailer, but there's nowhere else we'd rather be.

It's so wonderful to know that it's ours and that we are home at last. Sitting in the orchard on a frosty, moonlit winter night, with everything sparkling like diamonds, listening to the silence, hearing the frogs down at the pond sing in the rain, watching the sunrise, waking up in the morning and stepping outside in our pj's into pristine wilderness, floating on the pond and watching the birds bathe and drink..... there's nothing like it. Life is too short not to experience such joy. Use your money to invest in your own place, instead of paying for someone else's! :) Good luck! Keep us posted!

-- Christine Baillie (towanda515@yahoo.com), May 04, 2002.

Debbie, Around here with the drought and all, a lot of people ran out of water including us. As we have 50 plus sheep as well, hauling water was not an option. I found a well driller who came right over as we had the farm animals, and put in a well in two days.Now I told him ahead that we were financially strapped and he was fine with us paying whatever we could afford on a regular basis. No interest. So ask around of the well drillers, explain you have livestock, not just yourself, and could you do financing with them. Water in my opinion is absolutely necessary. Septic systems, indoor plumbing, electricity are not.

-- Kate in New York (Kate@sheepyvalley.com), May 04, 2002.

THANK YOU! Everyone who replied, yes, I did need to hear some encouragement from someone else who's been there. I probably could do something on the legal side, when I moved in I was on a community well with potable water. But, that takes money...something in very short supply. I do work about 30 hours a week to keep my critters fed and me too. I'm 49 so I have awhile to go supporting myself, but no sense living a way I don't enjoy. Thank you all again.

-- Deborah (bearwaoman@Yahoo.com), May 04, 2002.

Deborah, is the double-wide and land seperate? The way it is written looks like it is two seperate things. Could you now move the double- wide and not loose what you already have invested? Water is the most important consideration. Buying water to haul in is tooo expensive for me. A shallow well might have enough water for the animals and bathing and washing, so you would only have to haul in enough water for you to drink. Also, put gutters on every roof so the rain water will collect in a barrel. Don't forget to add taxes in on the payments. it would be awful to get it only to find out you couldn't pay the taxes and lose it. You can do it. I am 48 and moving out on my own for the first time in my life. I have reaised four children and two husbands, am crippled with blood clots and suffer from major depression. I don't know anything about Fibromyalgia, but we all have handicaps of one kind or another. Figure a way for your place to pay for itself. It might not be enough to support you too, but I believe every piece of land has the ability to pay for itself if you can find it. Go for it bigtime. You deserve to have a place of your own. That is the American Dream. Make it come true for you. God bless you. Robin

-- Robin Downing (Southpawrobin1@aol.com), May 04, 2002.

Yes, the house is a seperate deal from the land, but I have a lot to pay on it yet. I was looking to get something that would only cost 1- 2 thousand. The biggest problem with moving the double-wide is the expense...it would cost at least two thousand to just move it, much less set it up. I'm in Wyoming, Casper, and we're pretty much a captive market. I'm trying to reduce debt...the house is on a promissary note, so that won't be a big problem. I have fencing since I had to put my own up, plus my goat houses and a kennel. The biggest problem with the land I'm looking at (besides the water) is that it can be real hard to get in and out at times due to the clay soil and lack of roads. But there are other folks there that have done it for years. So, I'm getting ready to make the jump. Oh, Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain disorder that affects the muscles of your body like arthritis does the joints. It can cause a host of other problems too. The biggest problem is not being able to use those muscles at times. So, working myself hard is a problem sometimes. But, I have pain pills to help on the worst days, and just tuff it out on the others.

-- Deborah (bearwaoman@Yahoo.com), May 04, 2002.