"It's impossible said pride. It's risky said experience. It's pointless said reason. Give it a try said the heart." Unknown
Victor and Vera Vossen leaned into each other as they sat together on the swing on their front porch. It was a rare moment to relax and enjoy watching the sunset from their farmhouse in the country. The Vossens admittedly were city folks. But their dream of being self-sustaining and making a profit living on their rural homestead took shape shortly after the pandemic.
Victor's employer allowed him to start working from home. Vera was already running her business from home, even when they lived in the big city.
As they sat on the porch swing, Victor and Vera reflected on the lessons learned when they left the city for life in the country. Within the first month of living in the rural farmhouse, their dream seemed to be turning into a nightmare. The Vossens were unprepared to continually evict the family of mice who kept munching on food in the pantry and other valuable items the mice chewed to shreds. They did not realize how many Do-It-Yourself skills they would need to learn when Murphy's Law moved in. They didn't want to move back to the city and admit to their friends that they had failed.
The Vossen family didn't fail. Today Victor and Vera sipped their tea on the porch swing and reveled in the satisfaction that they conquered many trials and mistakes. They were living their dream of fresh air and living well in the country.
Here are some of the areas of research and preparation the Vossens did before selling their condo in town and moving to the woods:
Victor and Vera used a team of professionals who were knowledgeable about rural properties. They asked about a water source, land that would perk for septic purposes. They wanted some woods and space for gardening. Vera wanted a protected area for her egg-laying chickens. Other considerations were the distance to work (when Victor had to drive to a job occasionally,) schools, grocery, church, and other services they would need.
The realtor was familiar with values and classification, zoning, covenants, and restrictions . The Vossens wanted to know what commercial enterprises they could operate on some of the acreage to help them pay for their home.
The Vossens chose a lender who knew how to structure the financing on a rural property. Then, they chose a home inspector, and a well and septic inspector too.
They used a surveyor because they had to survey several acres and separate the few acres around the house from the rest of the acreage to meet the lender guidelines. The Vossens hired a home repair contractor for to make some changes to the house.
Victor and Vera had been researching rural living for a couple of years before moving out of the city. Mother Earth News Almanac and the Farmer's Almanac were stacked around their home and a few Foxfire books too. Even though the Vossens were living within a 30- minute drive to the city, they still wanted to learn how to be independent of modern gadgets and conveniences as much as possible. Vera watched the movie Big Little Farm, which inspired her to help her through the obstacles.
They celebrated each time they learned a new skill—like fixing the tractor, keeping the mice out of the house, and keeping the internet working in the house.
They remembered the pros of living the rural life, and they learned to compensate for some of the cons of living outside the city.
Pros:
• You get to enjoy the quietness and peacefulness of living outside the noisy city. You get to hear the birds sing and smell the fresh air.
• You get to treat yourself and your family to outdoor entertainment like bonfires and gardening, hiking, and riding three-wheelers on the trails.
• Saving money is an advantage to living outside the city if you plan it right. You don't eat out so often and aren't in town every day to spend money. Also, property taxes are lower in the country.
Cons:
• You need to plan for trips to town to do business errands and get supplies.
• Power outages take longer to fix.
• It takes longer to get services from contractors and other professionals. When something breaks, you need to know how to fix it.
• It is a longer drive to hospitals, stores, and work if you don't work from home.
• The internet can be slow, which usually happens when you need it most
Some of the financing programs to check out:
• USDA Rural Housing
• Bank loans
• Private loans
You can find more of these mortgage products in the book Choosing the Best Mortgage-The Quickest Way to the Life You Want by Jo Garner on Amazon and Barnes and Noble
