The Search for a Property (Part I)

Although we have become novice gardeners, my husband I really didn't set out to become homesteaders this soon.  It was a dream, yes, but it wasn't the original plan.  I knew it was the long-term goal because we both had visions of drinking morning coffee and looking out at a field, and we decided together that that was our vision.

Our search really began to get a place of our own to invest, live without paying rent to a landlord, and be able to practice and refine our homesteading skills.  We began our search in June of 2014 and first looked at this place.   It was super cheap and had character.  We are both obsessed with character in homes.  The house also used to be the general store for the rural area and it was a post and beam structure.  However, we decided the property needed too much work and we were a bit scared about we would find when we opened the walls.  We didn't bid.

We then spent the better part of our summer looking at houses near and around the Jersey-side of the Delaware River.  We looked at this one, this one, this one, and this one (among many others).  For one reason or another, none of these were our house.  Then, we found this one.  We were in love (and mind you, the price was about $50k higher than it is right now).  We negotiated a deal, settled on a price, mentally moved in our furniture, began dreaming about our perfect garden, and scheduled our inspections.  Little did we know that a home inspection can make or break a real estate deal.  The septic passed inspection (aside from a now-illegal dry well for the laundry gray water) and the well water failed, but could be easily remedied with a water treatment system.  However, our home inspector, who is amazing and incredibly thorough, revealed numerous serious structural issues.  Between a house that was nearly sliding off of the foundation because of water damage to a roof that was not built to code (beams too far apart and roofing wood too heavy), our dreams of owning this house was OVER.  Not to mention that the sellers' furnished us with a letter disclosing that the house would be "close to" construction for the new Penn East Pipeline project.  Our hearts were a bit broke (lesson learned) and we took ourselves out for summer afternoon cocktails to soften the blow.

Within 24 hours we were back searching for more properties, but the summer was coming to an end and our time was about to become limited.  (I'm a teacher, we only have one car, and my husband was applying to teaching jobs.)

Then, by some magical turn of events, my husband got a teaching job (on the first day of school, no less) and we were able to reevaluate what we could afford.  We asked ourselves: Should we look for the "forever" home?  Then we stumbled upon an incredible place (and what would turn out to be an incredibly challenging real estate deal) outside of Frenchtown.  We resolved that everything happens for a reason, and that although this property probably wasn't for everybody, it was perfect for us.

If you want to read the story about how we found and negotiated our current house, stay tuned.