As some of you know, my husband and I have been trying to acquire a specific piece of land. This land, which I’ll call the W house, is perfect for us! It’s nearly 7 acres with house on the property. It needs A LOT of TLC, but the hubby and I are confident in our abilities to fix it up.
The land actually isn’t “for sale,” but it’s been sitting empty and unused for so long, so we’ve been trying to convince the owner to either sell it to us or at least let us long-term rent the property. We haven’t gotten a yes yet, but we’re not waiting anymore.
We’re planning on leaving the house alone for now and heading far enough into the woods before clearing that it doesn’t really look like we’ve been working on the place. This is a covert opp after all.
Most importantly, we’re planning on getting fruit trees and other perennials in the dirt. We can always stay living in our apartment if need be, and I can ride my bike over (it’s only 2 miles from my current location) and harvest food. If things get hairy, it’ll be nice to know that we can get food.
I took some pictures before I started, but the land is partially (mostly) wooded.
It’s also got a fair amount of trash on it, as you can see from the picture showing the old mattress. You can also see the state of disrepair from the fence going up to the garage.
When it’s cleaned up, it’ll look beautiful, just not yet. Right now, it’s a trash heap.
But it’s so big! My husband and I were walking around the house, dreaming of what we’d use the rooms for. At one point, I thought there was just one room left to see, but I’d forgotten. There was a whole other wing down that hallway!
Anyway, what I actually did today was to clear a bunch of small trees out of the woods. I only have my pruning saw, and I quickly saw that I would probably need a chainsaw. I knew I would at some point, but I didn’t realize that point would come so quickly.
I’m also going to be burning much of the brush. I love composting, but this is just too much for me to drag out of the way. I’ve barely made a dent in what needs to be cleared, and I already have 5 large brush piles. I can compost stuff after I clear some.
Now, when I say clear, we’re not looking to have the land clear enough to build on. We’re in the piney woods for goodness sake! I’m planning to leave any really big trees to be the upper layer in my food forest. Besides, Jerry (a huge raven? that lives on the property) needs a place to live.
My husband and I absolutely love this land. We can see ourselves living in the house, having some kids to run all over, and working the land. Plus, the same person owns a 40-acre plot next door in similar disrepair. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but we’ve asked about that, too. That’s even less likely than owning this 7-acre plot, but it could happen. (I really don’t relish finding ways to keep 47 acres maintained, but my husband and I would figure it out if it meant we’d get this property. We’ll make almost any deal.)
I truly don’t understand why the owner isn’t jumping on this opportunity. The land was originally bought as an investment property, and my husband and I are just about the last option for the owner to make any money at all. Unless the land is being used to grow illegal marijuana for the cartel, there’s no way the owner is going to make his money back.
Hopefully we’ll hear from the owner soon, but in the meantime, we’ll be doing these covert opps on the weekends.
Frugal Treehugger 