Off Topic
FTE Legend
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 37,887
Likes: 20
From: North Central Rural Sask.
Im watching UFC for the troops too 
after last night, i kinda wanna go get in the octagon!!!
Oh another cool house thing we did was house wrap. i dunno exactly how much it helped, but it seemed to help!
after last night, i kinda wanna go get in the octagon!!!Oh another cool house thing we did was house wrap. i dunno exactly how much it helped, but it seemed to help!
Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 26,966
Likes: 50
From: Texas
Like they say. The reason land is so valuable is they're not making it anymore.
If you've got the time, you might want to consider building. You can build a brand new house that looks like an old farm house and be a lot better off.
Post Fiend
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 7,649
Likes: 2
From: Wallingford, CT
Nevermind the fact that old farm houses have very low ceilings and almost no level floors or straight walls.
My family has an old 100 acre dairy farm that is no longer operational as a dairy farm, but still has the old barns and the old farm house. We are working on fixing the farm house to rent out. I've spent 3/4 of my time there just trying to get doors and windows to open and shut properly. I'm not overly tall at 6'0 and I have a tough time getting through a lot of the doorways.
Old farmhouses may seem cute and romantic, but in reality they're a major PITA.
My family has an old 100 acre dairy farm that is no longer operational as a dairy farm, but still has the old barns and the old farm house. We are working on fixing the farm house to rent out. I've spent 3/4 of my time there just trying to get doors and windows to open and shut properly. I'm not overly tall at 6'0 and I have a tough time getting through a lot of the doorways.
Old farmhouses may seem cute and romantic, but in reality they're a major PITA.
Smokin
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 8,849
Likes: 0
Mark is right. Buying a 100 year old farm house will cost you in heating bills and give you a never ending list of things to do.
If you've got the time, you might want to consider building. You can build a brand new house that looks like an old farm house and be a lot better off.
If you've got the time, you might want to consider building. You can build a brand new house that looks like an old farm house and be a lot better off.
Postmaster
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 3,220
Likes: 0
From: VA
I say buy you a fixer-upper (whatever style you want)with a lot of land, get that draft test done, take a weekend and insulate it right and enjoy yourself til you get to the point where you MIGHT want to build your dream house with the proceeds from the fixer-upper...just my .02
And yes, its is definitely easier to complete one RE transaction for the land AND the house than it is to buy the land, find a contractor, blah blah blah...
And yes, its is definitely easier to complete one RE transaction for the land AND the house than it is to buy the land, find a contractor, blah blah blah...
Lead Driver
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 5,613
Likes: 9
From: Flagstaff, Arizona
No clue about what contractors are charging in Iowa.......but it was at least $25 a sq. ft. more to BUILD a new house, then it was to buy one only a couple years old here. Prices in my city are completely insane though lol
On another note......I'm out scouting for Deer this afternoon, and I dropped my GPS off a 60 foot cliff!
It was smashed in about 50 pieces lol. Time to buy another one in the morning! Gotta have it, the area I am hunting is hike-in only....no quads, trucks, anything motorized. I LOVE IT! I saw two niiiiiiice Bucks too 
On another note......I'm out scouting for Deer this afternoon, and I dropped my GPS off a 60 foot cliff!
It was smashed in about 50 pieces lol. Time to buy another one in the morning! Gotta have it, the area I am hunting is hike-in only....no quads, trucks, anything motorized. I LOVE IT! I saw two niiiiiiice Bucks too
Smokin
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 8,849
Likes: 0
Nevermind the fact that old farm houses have very low ceilings and almost no level floors or straight walls.
My family has an old 100 acre dairy farm that is no longer operational as a dairy farm, but still has the old barns and the old farm house. We are working on fixing the farm house to rent out. I've spent 3/4 of my time there just trying to get doors and windows to open and shut properly. I'm not overly tall at 6'0 and I have a tough time getting through a lot of the doorways.
Old farmhouses may seem cute and romantic, but in reality they're a major PITA.
My family has an old 100 acre dairy farm that is no longer operational as a dairy farm, but still has the old barns and the old farm house. We are working on fixing the farm house to rent out. I've spent 3/4 of my time there just trying to get doors and windows to open and shut properly. I'm not overly tall at 6'0 and I have a tough time getting through a lot of the doorways.
Old farmhouses may seem cute and romantic, but in reality they're a major PITA.
HOWEVER, I am displeased with most new houses because everything is done in such a damn hurry. All of them are the same, no charm, no character, no personality. Thin walls, cheap construction. Home builders don't take any pride in their work anymore. Based on what I've seen in new home construction, I'll be surprised if they last the 100 years that those farmhouses easily withstood.
FTE Legend
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 37,887
Likes: 20
From: North Central Rural Sask.
Up here you have to have 10 acres or less and you can get a construction mortgage. Anything more then 10 acres and the banks wont deal with ya.
FTE Stories
Ford Trucks for Ford Truck Enthusiasts
3 Best / 3 Worst Parts of Modern Ford Ownership
Brett Foote
10 Amazing Upgrades That Solve Common Ford Truck Owner Headaches
Pouria Savadkouei
Every 2026 Ford Engine Explained
Brett Foote
10 Ugly Ford Trucks That We Still Kinda Love
Joe Kucinski
10 Things Every Truck Owner NEEDS (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalyptic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Most Expensive Ford Trucks Ever Sold on Bring a Trailer
Joe Kucinski
2027 Ford Super Duty Buyer's Guide (Every Model, Engine, & Package)
Brett Foote
Top 10 Ford Truck Tragedies
Joe Kucinski
FTE Legend
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 37,887
Likes: 20
From: North Central Rural Sask.
All of them are the same, no charm, no character, no personality. Thin walls, cheap construction. Home builders don't take any pride in their work anymore. Based on what I've seen in new home construction, I'll be surprised if they last the 100 years that those farmhouses easily withstood.
SOMETIMES you can find a good quality builder, but then it seems like they are charging around 50 dollars a square foot MORE then a "regular" builder.
Least that is how i find it up here right now.
Posting Guru
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 2,290
Likes: 2
From: SEMO
For some reason my wife and I think the same way.We want to own the piece of land,work it the way we want then build on it.
Our idea is to build a 100yr. home.I mean in a hundred years someone says dam grandma and grandpa built one hell of a house.
Smokin
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 8,849
Likes: 0
I say buy you a fixer-upper (whatever style you want)with a lot of land, get that draft test done, take a weekend and insulate it right and enjoy yourself til you get to the point where you MIGHT want to build your dream house with the proceeds from the fixer-upper...just my .02
And yes, its is definitely easier to complete one RE transaction for the land AND the house than it is to buy the land, find a contractor, blah blah blah...
And yes, its is definitely easier to complete one RE transaction for the land AND the house than it is to buy the land, find a contractor, blah blah blah...
How does a process like that happen? Would I buy the land, and try and estimate the cost of the build and wrap it up into that same mortgage? Or would it be two separate loans?
I thought that you couldn't build on land you didn't outright own. My thought being that if you foreclosed on the property, you'd owe both the builder AND the landowner, and how would that mess get sorted out?
Post Fiend
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 7,649
Likes: 2
From: Wallingford, CT
Ok. I know I'm younger than most everyone here, but my family owns a construction business and we do general contracting and home building.
If you want a house a specific way you need to have it built to your spec and not compromise. It might cost more and it might take longer, but you will have a WAY nicer finished product when you are done. Old houses can be nightmares. Especially if you find asbestos.
I already have a plan laid out for myself.
Once I'm out of college and I'm a civil engineer I'll invest in a decent sized chunk of land. I won't have any major responsibilities to anyone except paying the mortgage on that 30-40 acres. Eventually when I'm ready to build/buy a house I can either build on that land or sell that land and buy a house because by that time it will have appreciated in value.
In the meanwhile I'd have it for wheeling or hunting.
If you want a house a specific way you need to have it built to your spec and not compromise. It might cost more and it might take longer, but you will have a WAY nicer finished product when you are done. Old houses can be nightmares. Especially if you find asbestos.
I already have a plan laid out for myself.
Once I'm out of college and I'm a civil engineer I'll invest in a decent sized chunk of land. I won't have any major responsibilities to anyone except paying the mortgage on that 30-40 acres. Eventually when I'm ready to build/buy a house I can either build on that land or sell that land and buy a house because by that time it will have appreciated in value.
In the meanwhile I'd have it for wheeling or hunting.
Postmaster
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 3,220
Likes: 0
From: VA
Thats kind of a tricky situation. I dont think most mortgage companies wouldnt like the idea of someones house on someone elses land if it was foreclosed on. Ive never bought a house and they cant go over ever possible situation in class. Ill see what I can dig up for ya. Im sure the other guys can tell you what they did a lot quicker!
Posting Guru
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 2,290
Likes: 2
From: SEMO
Woke up to the same thing this morn. but there was ice under the snow, doors were froze shut on my truck.Good thing it was pluged in,18* this morn.
I guess you guys don't see that stuff much down there.LOL.