To buy the farm or not.

JL Ray

Member
I'm in a bit or a dilemma. I live in a newer home built in 2004. real nice and big. Great for family get together parties, sitting on 2.6 acres. Only negative is no out building. I have lived in newer housing most of my life. The issue is my parents home is coming up and I have first dibs. 54 acres. three big out building, which houses my three tractors and equipment, two one car garages. With the old farm house. Its a livable home but not my style. I'm guessing it will take 100K to make it my style. With the wash of selling, buying and fixing is going to leave me up to my ears in debt and I'm now 61 and that part does not look good. Both houses are 1/2 mile apart and in the country. I stay where I'm at and put up a barn works. OR buy home stead and go in debt at 61. What do you guys think?
 
If the "Farm" is going to be used as retirement money, and you are not getting 1/3 (OR WHAT EVER) as an inheritance, I would probably not do it. Jim
 
Don't go into much debt. At 61 you should be planning
for retirement. If you want to play at farming split
off some of the land .
 
I think I'd build me some outbuildings. May not have the charm of older ones, but I think you'll be ok with that. Can get a lot of storage space for 10-20k.
 
IT DEPENDS ON YOU < >Sorry There are No good Answers,, just remember this ,, you are in big trouble when your dreams and goals are not the same as those around you that you love and care for .... there will be days that you will kik yourself for doing it ,, But Worse , THINK ABOUT how You would feel watching someone run rufshod their Your birth rite ,,. if that thought don't make you do something , then you will probably be fine standing down and doing nuthin
 
Are your first "dibs' at market value or 20-30% below market value? Is farm land going up in your area? Can you buy the 57 acres and farm house and then sell of the farm house and some land that you do not need?

Once sold, you surely will have second thoughts. Buy it now and disperse what you will not need.
 
Go for it! You will kick yourself for not buying the home place. If you have to, sell an acre or two for compensation to get the job done. But buy the farm. Unless it doesn't mean anything to you. Orvil Reddenbacher didn't make it until he was 65. I'm 63 and I go work in my retirement every day; which is my business and building. I had nothing when I started and God has blessed me with more than I deserve. Don't let it pass you by.
 
Maybe your 'style' is too extravagant.Buy the
place,clean/fix a bit.Paint works wonders.Dont spend
a lot of money.You my find your 'style' kind of
likes the more simple things.A fancy expencive
house isnt what farming is about anyway........I'd
buy the farm in a heartbeat.
 
Guys. The price has been set and I will be buying at reduction divided by number of siblings. So price is good. only 26 acres are tillable and leased. The rest is wooded. As for buying and dividing it myself. I guess the idea to me is buy it so it don't get divided and enjoy the farm setting and piece and quite. The out buildings are 60X32, 80X32 and 60X60 and in OK to good condition. The house is the only thing that's keeping me from jumping at it today. I do have a contractor meeting me their tonight to talk about remodeling. This was the original home of my parents right after they married in 1947. the rest of the farm (200 acres)was sold 20 years ago. I don't have plans to farm it, but Maybe????
 
When my parents passed they specifically stated in
their Will that they didn't want any of us kids living
in the "Family Home", as there would be "too many
ghosts", and I think they were right. Besides, even
with the inheritance split evenly 3 ways, none of us
could afford to buy out the other two.

:>)
 
Personally, I wouldn't go into debt at your age. But if you do, find some debt insurance coverage that will pay off the debt if you pass away. It won't do you any good, but it will help your heirs.
 
My grandad always said "never let your want to's out weigh your can do's" If you buy the farm are you planning on selling your current home? If so what kind of equity do you have in it?
I understand your dilemma, My cousin owns the other half of my grandad's place and has it for sale. I own the other half but going in debt for 300 acres isn't a good idea at my age, I'm just a couple of years younger than you.
Personally if I could sell my current home and buy the home place with more elbow room I would probably try if the debt was easily managed. But my standard of living is pretty simple.
 
We all have our number 1s, 2s, and 3s. Your #1 may be my #3. So figure what your #1 is - don't think I can give you good advice on what to do.
 
It's up to you and what you want to do? How much
equity do you have in your current home? What's
the real estate market like in your area, or how
hard will it be to get your money out of the
current home? You say the tillable ground is
rented, for how much (cash flow is cash flow it
could help cover the debt or your property taxes)
Wooded land? what's the market for timber in your
area, do you have marketable timber.

I guess what I'm saying is don't look only at the
debt but look at revenue the farm could or would
throw. Heck were I live in Iowa if your folks
still had the 200 acres they'd probably be able
rent it for close to $60,000 a year
 
JL Ray? Where in the heck are you located? My wife
was a P.A Ray, daughter of a B.M. Ray, but he was
from Kansas.
 
I would do it in a minute. But based on your comments about the house, which frankly come across as a bit obsessive, you may want to consider passing it by. I could figure out a way to live in the house, but it does not sound like you are very flexible about such things.
 
Owning and caring for land gives me a lot of satisfaction. But
if you are 61 I don't think it's a good idea. I'd think by 70 to be
comfortable you will need the farm paid off, and a retirement
savings large enough to carry you. Can you do that? If not I
don't think buying the farm will work.
Josh
 
i'd see how i could maximize the cash flow from
the property. example, cash rent the tillable, say
200/acre, thats 5400 yr. maybe lease the woods out
to a hunting club ect, and either rent storage
space in a couple of the barns, or rent them out
to a local contractor to store his machinery/tools
in it. dunno, sounds like its gonna be a cash
drain.
 
JL Ray: I would buy it. You will only get one chance to buy it. If it turns out you don't like it then sell it and move back into another new house.

A newer house on 2 acres is easier to find than a 54 acre small farm that you can buy below the market.

If you do not buy it you will "what if" your self the rest of your life.

I passed up two pieces of ground when I was around 50 because I thought that I did not want any more debt. That has turned out to be one of the worse moves I ever did. My one son just bought the one place for ten times what I could have bought it for. Plus it was right next door.

Just my 2 cents worth. BUY IT!!!!
 
First, think through what would be ideal for you.

At this point it's still very easy for you and your family to split up your parent's farm about any way that you can agree on. You may not have to purchase the entire property if you don't want to. If you only want the outbuildings, you will not be out anything to first offer to only purchase the potion that you want.

In the long run, it may be more convenient to build a new shed on your site, or possibly move some of the old buildings the 1/2 mile to your site.

I can understand not wanting to go into heavy debt for an old house that you really don't want in the first place.

Good luck.
 
I would strongly consider your own sentimental feelings about the place. If you are OK with a somebody else owner doing whatever they want to with the place, maybe you should let it go. If you are not OK with somebody else letting the place get further in dis-repair and so on, maybe the thing for you to do is own it. A new owner will always do some things that you may not like. Whether it be cut a tree down that you use to swing in when you were a kid or whatever. This issue alone would probly have the greatest influence over me if I had to decide.
 
How is your income going to be at retirement. If you have a pension, IRA, wife same thing, going to get near the top on Social Security, etc. then I would think about it. How are the taxes on the place, would you have to do much maintainence to the buildings.
Whenever I had what was a big decision for me I always threw a spiral notebook in the truck and as I thought of plus and minus I would jot them down. Hope you have a little time to work thru this.
How good is the land, how much is tillable, enough farmers around to bid up the rent.
God forbid but if you should die do you have somebody you like to leave it to.
The more you think about it; the questions and answers will come to your mind. Some days I would not think about it at all. The answer will come.
 
What are farm land and wood land selling prices doing in your area? Here, used machinery prices are down and land prices seems to have peaked and are starting to drop. Buying extra land at near peak prices may not be a good investment unless you have a way to get it to pay for itself.
 
Either way I'd need a shop. I retired a little over a year ago and would lose the few marbles I have left if it weren't for my shop.
 
I would buy the place and come up with a plan to make it pay its way or at least part of its way. Could you rent the house out like it is without spending anything on the house? My Brothers old farm house brings top dollar for rent because he allows the renters to have an acre or two for a horse and a 4-h project lamb for the kids, plus he still farms the land.
 
Exactly how it feel, Dave.

I wouldn't even think about it I'd go for the land and buildings, but everything written says stay where you are, pass it by.

Paul
 
For 100,000 you could stay where your at and build one hellofa tractor shed. Otherwise, buy the place and move your newer home onto it. Half mile apart won't cost much to move it down the road. Cheaper than putting money into an old home anyways.
 
A house is just a house; home is home. Which one
feels more like home?

You're 61. You're getting to an age where you
begin to realize time is really running out and
you're not going to get to do it over again. I
just took out a mortgage on a house and five acres
that I really wanted. I'm 73.
 
I'm at the southern end of Michigan, 25 miles south of Kalamazoo. I can remember, my grandpa talking about some of his ancestors moving to Kansas. E-mail me if you wish. we don't need to talk here.
 
Well after last night, I'm more confused. Ha. Contractor initially indicated costs to be less than I thought, but all the time were their, (wife and me)We're both thinking the same thing, although we didn't know it till we got home. "This is not a good idea".
So We still are going to wait till we see real numbers. We have time right now and I also find out that I have a nephew that is asking about the property. So maybe we can work out something yet. But right now were in waiting for numbers.
 
Back in june my daughter and sil bought 80 acres of what was 160 acres. They bought the back 80 with a cabin and all woods and it used to be a hunting club. The club sold to the owner of the adjoining 80 acres. They love it there and it's about 1/2 miles from me. So the other day my daughter sez "you ought to buy the front 80" which has been for sale for a while, in fact the whole 160 was for sale for a while until the owner agreed to split it up like it used to be. No one lives on the front property,but there are caretakers and also cut hay from it. It has a fairly nice 3br brick ranch house and several outbuildings. I have thought about this and keep waffling with each day that passes. I wouldn't move there and so i'm thinking of ways also to lessen the burden of payments much like what has been discussed here.
Not hi-jacking the thread,just joining in.
 
I bought a 40 acre farmstead when I retired at 62 from working for a living. Has nice Quonsets, garages and barn. Old house not livable, moved a mobile home on place, and could not be happier, only half a mile from my other farm that I still work. Kept house in town 112 miles away, and spend winters there. Working harder now than I ever did when holding a full time job with electric co-op.
 

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