Owning land can be a dream come true, but it's not always easy. Here are 10 ridiculous things we dealt with to make it happen:
- Sold almost everything we had to save up $50,000 for a 20% down payment, which also made moving easier.
- Bought a house that was in bad condition and didn't qualify for traditional financing.
- The home had water damage and mold issues.
- Remodeled our bathroom, which took 2 months in winter and left a giant hole in the floor. During this time, we had to use a bucket for a toilet, but I learned how to remodel a bathroom and saved money by doing it myself.
- The roof leaks water when it rains, causing further damage, but we will fix it when we can afford it.
- The kitchen is a converted porch that gets very hot in the summer and cold in the winter. We are remodeling it slowly but surely.
- It will cost us around $30-50k to fence our entire property. For now, we will be creating smaller paddocks for the livestock we house until we can afford to fence the perimeter.
- We had to go through 4 banks to secure financing and almost had our offer rejected due to running out of time. Eventually, we found farm credit, which approved our loan with 20% down and a comparable interest rate to mortgages at the time.
- We moved to Portland, Oregon, so I could work as a steamfitter at Intel and maximize our income to save for the homestead and pay off debts for a year.
- I left a career where I could have retired in 25 years with a pension so we could live this lifestyle and ensure our kids have a good childhood and food security.
Despite all these challenges, we have managed to make owning land a possibility. It has been a challenging journey, but also a rewarding one. We are grateful for the opportunity to create a life that we love. So next time you tell yourself that you can't do it, examine what lifestyle changes you could make to live the life you say you want.