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A Farm of My Own:  empty farm houses  |
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Amie C.
True Blue Farmgirl
2099 Posts
Finger Lakes Region
NY
2099 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 09 2007 : 1:08:22 PM
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I just saw the best of both worlds! A house built in the early 1800s, which needs restoration, with one acre of land and a well-maintained mobile home included. You could live in the mobile home while restoring the old house. Or camp out in one room of the old house and rent out the mobile home to help pay for the restoration. That would sure help, wouldn't it?
BTW, my current house was a HUD house and you don't need to qualify for them (at least not in my area). They are up for whoever bids highest at auction. |
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Bluewrenn
True Blue Farmgirl
1122 Posts
Erin
Texas
USA
1122 Posts |
Posted - Apr 09 2007 : 3:58:46 PM
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I grew up in an old house and well, it was cold and the plumbing froze each winter. But on the other hand, the house was nice and cool during the summer and had great big rooms. My bedroom was 18 x 22 feet.
DH and I will probably build a new house but borrow the floorplan and look of an old house for our new solar powered house. It would cost too much to move an old house then remodel it, and this way we have a house that will last for a while. An older house would eventually have to be rebuilt.
That said, I miss our old house... :(
My Homesteading Journal http://toomyvara.livejournal.com
My craft journal http://bluewrenn.livejournal.com
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westernhorse51
True Blue Farmgirl
1681 Posts
michele
farmingdale
n.j.
USA
1681 Posts |
Posted - Apr 09 2007 : 6:56:08 PM
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it saddens me also and I wish people would buy them, fix them up & live in them instead of building a new one. It kills more trees, takes up more space. Maybe I feel this way because thats what we want to do. I dont want to tear down trees, I want to make an older home liveable(??spelling?) not new but good to live in.
she selects wool and flax and works with eager hands Prov.31:13 |
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Tina Kay
True Blue Farmgirl
107 Posts
Tina Kay
Deary
ID
USA
107 Posts |
Posted - Apr 11 2007 : 10:03:21 AM
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I would heat it and love it! I need a big house. I makes me sad to see old houses sitting with no one to love them. I would love to fix up an old farm house. Hubby on the other hand has had it with fixing our house up. LOL Maybe I will hit him up for one in a year or two!
Have a great day!
If you would be happy for a week ~ take a wife.
If you would be happy for a month ~ kill a pig.
But if you would be happy your whole life ~ plant a garden.
~mid 17th century~ |
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Mikki
True Blue Farmgirl
1510 Posts
Mikki
Austin
Indiana
USA
1510 Posts |
Posted - Apr 11 2007 : 10:55:37 AM
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Ohhhh I so know what you mean. It's so sad. There's a lovely but very delapidated old farmhouse right in our Amish community that has been abandoned. I asked the Amish about it as we go visit often. They built our get-a-way log cabin which by the way I'm moving into this week, FINALLY!!!! I'll have more pictures soon. They said it belonged to an Englishman they thought. Well, this little Englishwoman would love to fix it up. And of course the community is wonderful with the Amish there. If hubby and I weren't already settled we would sure look into that place. They have such character, it's sad to see them empty.
~~Blessings, Mikki
http://burningmeadowsprings.blogspot.com/
http://strawberriesnapronstrings.blogspot.com/ |
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Celticheart
True Blue Farmgirl
811 Posts
Marcia
WA
USA
811 Posts |
Posted - Apr 13 2007 : 10:05:59 AM
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It took us years to finally find our old farmhouse to love but we did. Almost a year ago we moved to this house on 7 acres. It was built between 1910 and 1913 and has the look and feel of an old homestead. Lovely porch with pillars and a usable balcony upstairs. The yard is huge as is the garden area and we have a creek that runs across the back of the property to which we have the original water rights. The house itself has been pretty well maintained but the yard, garden and pastures have been sadly neglected. The same family owned this and lived here for 55 years. The woman sold to a younger couple three years ago but they did nothing except put miniature horses on the pasture and paint the house. The lawn hadn't been watered at all and everything was weeds, weeds and more weeds. We bought from the young couple although I tried to get my DH to look at it when they bought it. Maybe he'll listen next time because we could have paid 40K less for it at the time.
Most of what we did last summer was work outside--cleaning up putting irrigation on the pasture and working in the yard and garden. We planted a garden the weekend after we moved and it was gorgeous. Probably the best garden we've ever had and we've had many. We are on a main highway and we worked outside so much last summer and fall that it was a wonder there wasn't an accident out front. People would slow down to see what we were doing. Pretty funny! This is such a small town and everybody is snoopy. Good thing we've lived here a long time and know that already.
Now we have cows on the pasture, chickens in the coop and this year's pigs will be here soon. The grass is green. More roses and fruit trees are going in. It's looking pretty good around here. Last fall I visited the old lady that lived here all those years and I thought she was going to cry. She met me at the door of her apartment in the retirement complex and said "I'm so happy you live in my house!" She asked if I had any questions about the house and told me where they had grown their corn(in the pasture). She said she was so unhappy about selling her house to the young couple that she couldn't even talk to them about it. I told her she is welcome to come visit her house anytime.
People tell us this old house is smiling again.
"I suppose the pleasure of country life lies really in the eternally renewed evidence of the determination to live." Vita Sackville-West
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westernhorse51
True Blue Farmgirl
1681 Posts
michele
farmingdale
n.j.
USA
1681 Posts |
Posted - Apr 13 2007 : 1:59:26 PM
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oh Bramble I know exactly how you feel, theres an old farnhouse in Farmingdale that I love & its all boarded up. It's my idea of the perfect house & it saddens me so much. The pine Barrens are full of old boarded up farmhouses, at least it used to be way out in Bayville by the old spanish mansion where we used to ride horses. It may not even exists anymore.
she selects wool and flax and works with eager hands Prov.31:13 |
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Thistlewoodmanor
True Blue Farmgirl
51 Posts
Deb
Geneva
IA
USA
51 Posts |
Posted - Apr 16 2007 : 4:56:37 PM
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I love old houses too. Mine is 106 years old and solid as ever. It's a little short on romance, but I plan to add a wraparound porch to help with that. The biggest problem is that it was updated in the 70's and very badly needs updating now.........ugly green shag carpet is the worst thing. I just had the furnace replaced, and now working on windows and doors.......fuel this winter cost us $2400! But after the work is done, it should be alot better.
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~annavon431/ |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Apr 16 2007 : 5:39:23 PM
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Marcia-
I am so glad that you are restoring such a great old farm and farmhouse! There are tons of abandoned houses in the middle of fields around here and it always makes me sad. I am glad that a few of them are being saved!
Alee
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sewgirlie
True Blue Farmgirl
1894 Posts
Sheryl-lyn
Calverton
NY
USA
1894 Posts |
Posted - Apr 20 2007 : 5:04:36 PM
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My house was built in 1933 and we moved into it in 1983. Fortunately, the house was built very well and everything is level and squared still!! No wobbly walls, etc. We have been working on it pretty much since the 80s, and my husband, who is a landscaper and carpenter has made it lovely. He wants a NEW house (to build himself) and I am sure I owe it to him to give him that chance. He will build it to look old and charming like this one, but it will be custom made for us. The grace, character and history of the old houses will always draw me in, even when I am no longer living in one. Maybe my kids will buy this when we move to the mountains and build the new dream.
Sheryl-lyn |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Apr 21 2007 : 09:20:30 AM
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Sheryl-lyn-
Moving to the mountains- you are very lucky! And it sounds like you restored that old house beautifully. I am always so glad when older houses get restored, rather than demolished for another big "cookie cutter" house.
Alee |
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Tracey
True Blue Farmgirl
766 Posts
Tracey
State of Confusion
USA
766 Posts |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Apr 26 2007 : 4:52:14 PM
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What a beautiful house! I would buy it in a heartbeat and restore it! Even if we had to pitch a tent IN the house while we fixed it- I would do it! That house looks like it has great potential. It would break my heart to see it rotting away.
Alee
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A Farm of My Own: empty farm houses |
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empty farm houses
