# Restoring an OLD farmhouse VS building new?



## Quiver0f10 (Jun 17, 2003)

We really like where we are but we are just not sure it would be a worthy investment to restore this place. It is 100 years old and needs everything but a new well. Wiring, plumbing, a bathroom, septic, roof, foundation, a lot of the floors sag, walls cracked and the windows are awful. It needs a new oil heater and possible a new wood stove. Basically we would "gut" the place and start over. 

The price of the house is pretty good but land is this area is also pretty good. So we are tossing around the idea of building a new house instead. Good thing about restoring the farm we could a lot of the work ourselves, and live here as we worked. With building, we'd probably have to get a GC and rent a place till the house is finished. I just am not sure if we will wind up putting more $ into this house then if we built new. Anyone ever do this? Adive or opinions?

Thanks!


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## Ann-NWIowa (Sep 28, 2002)

If you want to avoid a mortgage and if you can do the work yourselves and if you don't mind living in a mess indefinitely I'd certainly consider redoing the old house. However, I'd have a professional house inspector/engineer go through it carefully to detemine if it is structurally sound and make sure you know exactly what all needs to be done. For a large family like yours building new is going to be VERY expensive to get the same amount of space. Personally I'd consider hiring the plumbing, electrical, furnace, foundation work done asap then work as time and money allows on the rest.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Yes, I have done this. We remodeled / renovated my husband's parents' house. It is an early 1900's two story frame house, five bedroom. We did as much as we could ourselves, got family to do some. New wiring, roof, leveling, plumbing, windows, paint inside and out, insulation, etc etc etc....

$60,000.

Personally, if the house is as bad is it sounds like, you might want to just build.


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## bulldinkie (Nov 12, 2003)

We did and you wouldnt get me out of for anything.I had new. My husband is a contractor with equip.and all.we saved big time.Otherwise we probably wouldnt have done it. Are you just fixing it up or actually restoring.?That can get pretty pricey.we restoredours its a 1700 precivil war.brick.We had it chemical wash instead of sandblasting,saves brick biodegradable.Put all new windows from a guy who restores cost a fortune. But new everybody has the same thing,plastic shutters I wanted the old It will stand another 200 years.


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## harmony (Aug 27, 2002)

I agree with Rose. If I had it to do over, I would build new. And just may do it this next time.


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## Janon (Aug 25, 2002)

With a new house (or anything which does not need repair), you pay all upfront. Restoring an existing house means you can somewhat "pay as you go". From what you describe, it probably will cost more than building new. Restoring also takes a great deal of time, effort and patience. Restoring anything (car, house, whatever) takes far longer and costs much more than you ever expect. I know many folks that have the knowledge and equipment to do various home repair/restore tasks themselves... they just don't have the time.


cheers,


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## Polly in NNY (May 10, 2002)

Check with your local code enforcement officer. Some states and counties have adopted International Code, which is a bear to meet. I'd restore if that were the case.


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## stickinthemud (Sep 10, 2003)

After six years of indecision we just signed a contract to have our dream/nightmare old house torn down. Whatever you do, look at your options realistically, decide, and DO whatever you decide to do. 
DH says look into build new small and plan it to add more doing as much as you can yourself.


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## Mike in Ohio (Oct 29, 2002)

If you are having to go to the extent of redoing foundations, etc I would be hesitant. We have an old farmhouse which was in pretty good shape. Bit by bit we are upgrading what needs done (plumbing, electric, etc). We like our house.

At our farm, there is no house so we must build new. We thought about moving a house from somewhere else but to get something back to where we want to place the house wouldn't be feasible.

A lot depends on you. From your description though it sounds like a major long term project that will cost quite a bit of money (and/or labor)

Mike


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## Oxankle (Jun 20, 2003)

What do you have now and what will you have when you finish? If you can rebuild your old house for less than a new one of that size, and if you will have a GOOD house when you finish that will be the best way. Remember that if you build new you will have to do the work and choose the materiels yourself or see contractors using the cheapest, shoddiest material they can get by with. 

Are the foundations sound? Is the floor plan good, or can you change it to suit you in the rebuild? 

Can you put in modern heat/AC, modern plumbing and modern electricity in the rebuild without demolishing the whole house? Is the basic structure, the sills, the joists, the rafters and flooring sound enough that you can use some or all of them? 

When you get done, will you be satisfied with the results? 

If you can do the remodel you will have a remodeled home, even it looks and behaves just like a new one in a new subdivision. This means that on the tax rolls it stays pretty much like it is now. A new house is going to be a tax appraisers picnic. I have a friend who bought a two room shack on the land he wanted, then began his remodeling. When done he had a new home built around the original shack. If you looked hard when he was about half done you could find the shack as his kitchen and part of the garage. A remodel job on the tax rolls here in Ok. 
Ox


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## Ken Scharabok (May 11, 2002)

Keep in mind if you decide to replace with new many places will allow you to live in a mobile home using the same utilities as the house until it is finished. Used mobile homes can be picked up very cheap. That way you are there to oversee what the contractors does.

If you do rehab you can string out the cost by doing it as money permits. New you do pay up front, buy the mortgage strings out the cost also.

If you love the look and feel of what you have now, replicating it might be a possibility. You may even be able to salvage woodwork to reuse.

Ken S. in WC TN


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

New or a complet renovation will probably cost the same so you need to ask yourself what you want when you're finished. Do you want a new house or do you prefer the idea of a lovely quaint old house. I'm partial to quaint old houses but I do know that there is just as much expense associated with returning them to their original glory as building new but I find that a new house lacks soul and history. Good luck with the choice you make.


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## owhn (Oct 29, 2003)

I would suggest considering a middle ground.

This would involve building a small new addition to the house. This allows you to develop the skills, equipment etc. and assess your level of gumption, as well as pay for it as you go. Plus you can rebuild the most critical portions first, if you plan carefully.

Over time you can expand the addition and/or incoporate all or part of the old house into the new house.

If you do the latter, you may be able to save either elements of the old house that you value entirely (say, an old living room) OR salvage construction materials that add to the value of the new arrangement either architectutally or just as raw materials.

Just my thoughts. 

Best

owhn


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## Don Armstrong (May 8, 2002)

I was about to ask whether you could consider doing what Owhn suggested. Build on a new wing, compatible in external appearance to the old building, but containing all the services - kitchen with family room, bathroom, laundry, toilets, maybe even a basement and furnace if you go that way. Then you could continue using the old building for non-critical stuff, refurbishing as you go.

Not recommending it - you would have to decide. Just saying it's a possible approach. Personally, I'd approach anything which needs foundations renewing with extreme caution. Unless, that is, you could get beams under the building, jack it up, build completely new foundations from scratch, then lower the house again onto the new foundations.


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## mysticokra (Feb 5, 2003)

We had a similar 90 year old house on the farm we bought last year. I purchased the property based on the land alone and originally expected to tear down the the house. However, I hired an inspector to give me an opinion and was glad I did. His detailed report suggested that the fundamental structure was quite sound. This gives us the flexibility to gut the place and re-work for half of what it would cost to build a new one.

The limitation is the existing structure. I am determined to move the stairs, but that requires a little engineering. We figured out that we could tear out the middle section, put in a second story vaulted ceiling, move the stairs and have a kick-butt house. Try not to see it as it is, but as you want it to be.


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## Sharon in NY (May 11, 2002)

Another compromise position might be looking for an old house in better shape - around here, old houses in reasonable condition are considerably cheaper than newer houses in the same situation. If you get an old house with mostly cosmetic needs, you can take your time about fixing it up.

We're insane, so we're doing both - we're building a new wing on to the old house, while simultaneously renovating (husband's grandparents are moving in with us), and everything is costly - both ways. The difference is that with the old house, you can do it over a long period of time, with the new one, everything gets done (and paid for) at once.

I don't know where you are, but here in upstate NY, you definitely would get more for your dollar with an old house, if bought carefully. We could afford a small new house or a large old one, and a really solid old house like ours will probably last longer than a lot of cheaper new construction. There's something to be said for 2 1/2 foot stone foundations  . We looked carefully at both options, and could afford more land and more interior space if by not building new. That may not be the case for you, but with 9 kids, I'd assume that *big* is a priority - it was for us based on planned family expansion, and I'm grateful that we did what we did. 

We found a lot of old farmhouses on land that had either been turned into two families or which had a fairly large number of bedrooms (usually not too many baths, though  ) that were hard to sell precisely because they were big, unweildy and more than most people wanted to deal with. 

Sharon


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## Tracy (May 2, 2002)

Nobody has mentioned property taxes!!! We just bought a 62 acre farm and the taxes are $900 a year. Our other house we rented with option to buy [same township] is close to $2000.00 a year. Why, our old farm house is old the rented house is only 20 years old and on only 4 acres. As soon as you put up new buidings your taxes will sky rocket. Something to consider.


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## Jena (Aug 13, 2003)

Restoring is quite expensive and something one does for the love of doing it. Remodeling, or updating is a different.

When I lived in CA. the whole area was new. An old house was one that was 20 years old. It was quite a shock to move to the midwest. I thought for sure that a leaning house would surely fall over (in the next earthquake, no doubt), or that old pipes surely wouldn't work, and old wiring would surely result in my firey death.

I was wrong. Leaning, sagging houses have leaned and sagged for a long time. They don't just fall over one day. Old pipes might be cranky, but they work for the most part. Old wiring can be safe enough, if one understands it's limitations.

My house is 133 years old. The windows are all original, but the wind blows straight through them. A lot of caulk and an investment in storm windows ended that. 

One corner leans pretty good. The porch is sagging. I'll fix that someday.

The pipes freeze in the winter if we forget to leave a tap on, the sinks clog up sometimes, the basement floods on occassion. No big deal, we live with it.

The last owner wallpapered everything. Probably to cover cracks. I'm not peeling it off to find out! I can learn to live with it. What I absolutely couldn't stand, I painted over (something I thought I'd never, ever do).

If you are not used to living in an old house, you might find that it's not as bad as it first appears. Things that used to leave me in shock, don't anymore. It's just different.

Jena


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## mikell (Nov 8, 2002)

If you want new try to sell the house your in to be moved. Take the money and get a temporary permit for a trailer and build your new home or convert part of a old barn or new one to living areas.

mikell


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

As a contractor who works on old houses, I can tell you that remodeling costs more than building new.

The key is ...can you do this work for yourself, or will you have to hire someone like me to do the work for you. If you can't do it yourself, it's going to cost you whether you remodel or build new. If you have to redo your plumbing, electrical, and upgrade other stuff, you're looking at a whole lot of work. Doing it yourself, you could do it in stages. And you can learn as you go. Mistakes aren't a problem, just redo them. Learn from your mistakes, learn to repair them, and your skill level rises quicker.

For example, your kitchen floor and ceiling are sagging, you need new plumbing and the wiring is bad/old/dangerous. I could build you a brand new kitchen on a slab for what it'll cost me to replace your floor, ceiling, and modernize your utilities. Plus, you have something new, with a warranty. If I remodel, I only guarantee what I do, not somebody else's work. So if I fix your ceiling, I'll guarantee that, but if your pipes keep leaking, or the roof springs a leak, I can't cover that.

My personal kitchen is too small, and the cabinets aren't the best. Unfortunately I know how much it'll cost to redo the kitchen, and find it'll be cheaper just to build another house on top of the hill.


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## comfortablynumb (Nov 18, 2003)

i work on houses alot, as side jobs. for the last 2 yrs on and off I have been helping a friend replace the sagging floor joists in his house. it is time consuming but isnt hard, and you can live in the house while you do it. I can tellyou any structure dammage or problems can be fixed as good or better than new. If the structure is intact and relitvely sound, you have better craftsmanship and even history.
I work on new homes, then go work restoring older homes and there is no comparison, the older it is the better it was made. Today its all pine 2x4 and OSB.
crap....total crap compared to an old farmhouse that was built like a fort.
with calculation, hydrolic jacks and modern machinery, you can do anything. I watched some people nearby here lift a whole barn, I mean a massive arched roof structure, on to jacks and I beams, remove the crumbling old foundation and replace it, the set it back down... amazing. and you couldnt copy that 100 yr old barn with all the cash in saddams closet.
take time and restore it, youll llearn stuff you never knew, and you will know, intimately, your house, and every joint in it.


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## bulldinkie (Nov 12, 2003)

we had a friend come in after we restored our home. He was so upset as when he bought his place there was an old home on farm. He tore it down.He loved our place. Theres something about an old house it is so cozy ,comfortable.I found doing reserch that a col. George Himes in the civil war in Gettysburg owned this property in 1822.I have the deed. When we bought the farm a lady who was in charge of the estate sent me a whole pack of about 15 deeds.


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## Gary in ohio (May 11, 2002)

Ill take an old house over a new cookie cutter house anyday. Now is it worth it to remodel vs buy is another issue. I like the "quirks" of an old house, the squeeks and creaks give it character. A new home is just that a new home. 

Depending on your location, value of new vs remodel will vary, If there are lots of older re-done home then thats the way to go, if its all new builds then go that way.


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## JWH123 (Feb 3, 2003)

My wife and I are considering the same issue. Within the next year we'll be looking to buy a home that we hope to live in for at least the next 20 years.

Actually, before we bought our current house (3 years ago yesterday), we were renting a 100-year old farmhouse on property that is now more valuable as a commercial property. The landlord was thinking about moving the house and selling the land. We got to thinking about seeing if the landlord would sell the house to us, if we could move it to a piece of property we could afford nearby. We ended up buying a 1940's house (the newest house my wife has ever lived in) in a subdivision.

If that were to happen, I made some rough estimates of the materials I would need to fix up the house the way I want it - strip the plaster and lath, completely re-wire and plumb, install central heat to replace electric heat, refinish floors, drywall, insulate, and new windows - total materials cost around $27,000. Add my time, and it becomes a pretty costly job. I say I'd like to do this work, but I don't relish the thought of working every evening and weekend on the house.

I'll agree with Gary, I'd much prefer the quality pine floors, the real wood doors, etc of an older house. Even if you have to shim up furniture to compensate for the sloping floor  . If we were to pay a builder for the house we want, we would only be able to afford the cheapest materials. 

My wife says she'd be OK living in a trailer for up to a year while working on an older house. With our second baby on the way, and her sister living with us now, I don't know that that is still possible for us.

John


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## SteveD(TX) (May 14, 2002)

I agree with AnnNWIowa. What it all boils down to is - do you want to live in a new house or an old restored house? You can easily spend more to fix up the old one - maybe. But what do you prefer living in?


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## tacomee (Aug 6, 2003)

I say keep the old house-- you're money ahead in the long run. Nothing is worth more than a good renovation-- it will out sell new crap any day.

And no way it is more costly-- some contractors will try to tell you this, but don't listen. That's becuase all they know how to do is bang up new stuff and have skill at fixing old houses..

Step one-- fix the foundation. You'll need to jack up the house, tear out the old one and build new forms and pour a new one. It takes a good contractor to do this but most of it you can do yourself.

Even if you totally have to tear out every wall to the studs and rewire and replumb everything and resheetrock-- you would be doing the same building new. At least you won't have to pay for all the lumber to frame with.

Take the time and do this right


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## BCR (Jun 24, 2002)

When we were looking at houses I always fell in love with the fixer-uppers. The one that has a sunroom upstairs that is separating from the building, or the other that has a sagging roof or an ancient (late 1800's) furnace in the basement, etc. We dragged my dad along to help us inspect. 

The wisest thing he asked was when we thought we would have the time to do all the work these houses needed. We both worked full-time for others at the time. He was right, but then we had neither the tools or all of the skills either. 

Ended up we found a place with a great structure/plumbing/wiring/windows that was just as ugly as sin and filthy though 85 years old. We could move in and re-do as we could afford or had the inclination. I have learned to live with some panelling the previous owner put in. But we did add on my office and bathroom and re-modelled the third floor rafter space into a living room and two more bedrooms, new roof, sided it, replaced the furnace and AC, etc. all over the course of the last 13+ years. We love our old home now, but it had a good safe livable structure to begin with. We spent one month cleaning up the trash of the prior owners (ripping out carpet, etc.). You would not catch me looking at one of those drafty lopsided houses twice these days.

An acquaintance in town bought an historical old stone house (my sister almost bought it, but for my dad's good advice) and they ran into over $80 K of repairs to just make it livable. Seems someone poured plaster from their cleanup buckets down the plumbing on an upper floor and that was a big expense, plus the heating, etc. They now have so much in it that they couldn't sell it for what they spent. Not a great investment unless you plan on never leaving.


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## mimsmommy (Jul 30, 2003)

I think is was important to point out the difference between remodeling and "restoring". If you want a good solid house you and your kids can enjoy, and you aren't looking to make it a period accuate showplace, then you can probably remodel without much "gutting" if some basic things are sound. My parents have remodeled every home we lived in growing up (several in three states and one Canadian prov) and we (dh and i) are looking for one of our own.

I would second the idea that your first step is having an inspection of the basic systems. Just because the floors slope somewhat is not an indication that things are deteriorating quicklyy or that it will fall down. Some minor foundation work may be all that is necessary to stabalize everything, if you can just decide to like old house quirks. After all it stood for 100 years.

As for cracked and peeling plaster, there is wall paper made esspecially for this and for covering panelling. it is stiff and thicker than normal and it is only in solid off-white with a textured pattern. you hang it to repair the wall, and then you paint it. if you are careful on the seams, it will just look like textured drywall. after doing the walls, you can seal the ceilings with thin beadboard and cap it with crown moulding. paint the trim and beadboard white and you have a beautiful finish, and it is very turn of the century as well.

The electrical systems may be out of date, but if you can just redo the downstairs kitchen and bath--adding voltage capabilities where the most out put is--then you can probably live with the rest. As long as it isn;t a SERIOUS fire hazard. Just train the kids to bring high-energy using things to plugs downstairs where they won't trip a breaker or get too hot ( like a hairdryer or boombox).

From our experiences, you can really get a lot more for less $ if you fix up an existing home--esspecially if you think this is the last stop. You might think, and some have suggested, in planning to add a new family room or master suite to maybe the kitchen side and do a complete kitchen redo along with it--incorperating some integral systems with it (ie. heat and air).

However, if you are talking about all new everything, and a complete gutting and refiguring of space, you could probably build new.
cheers and i hope it all turns out! 
kat


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## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

To me the more important part is to determine that you have the piece of land that you truly want. To achieve the results that I perceive you want, I think you need to try an alternative not mentioned in the above posts. Find some acreage without a house or land that has a no value house/mobile home but a well and maybe a septic system. Then contact a home mover in your areas and see what he may have in homes that are to be moved. Read the paper and watch the news for areas being developed that may have a "surplus" home. It will cost about $10,000 to get a fair size house moved. Then you can hire the moved house to be setup. The total cost will be about that of a cheap small doublewide but you will have a house with large footage and built to stick built housing codes. I have just completed such an effort and expect to get the final inspections and certificate of occupancy tomorow, . Without considering the land my moved house is on, I have invested in the house about 40% of the house's appraised value. I only did some of the work and the balance was contracted to the various trades and I got no bargains or buddy prices from any of them. The house was free to me other than I had to clean the debris and replant the grass at the house's previous site. In my thinking this approach would give you the results you need without burdening you with a lenghty mortgage. Anyway, it is something to ponder as a means to meet the need.


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## barbarake (Oct 23, 2003)

I own some land and decided that I wanted to move there. Got some quotes on building a new house. One contractor quoted me $125,000, the three other quotes were all between $190,000 and $225,000. (Luckily I checked into the first guy's reputation, it was horrible <grin>).

I ended up buying and moving a smaller house than the one I wanted to build (300 sq.ft. smaller) out to the land. I put up two buildings - one at 250 sq.ft. and the other is 750 sq.ft. - these will be bedrooms and activity room for my two boys. So my total living space will be 700 sq.ft. more split among three buildings (that will be connected via a big deck).

The house needs a lot of work but is structually sound. I did replace all the wiring. 

Not counting the cost of the land, my total cost will be $70,000 - $75,000. This counts the house itself, the move, the new foundation, septic, 1/4 m. gravel driveway, clearing the land, new kitchen cabinets & appliances, etc.

But I'm doing the work myself - that makes all the difference. The only thing I'm not doing is the foundation and septic. The other big thing is that the house was sound to start with. Solid wood throughout - there's only 8 sheets of plywood in the whole house (I put them there <grin>) and no sheetrock at all. 

Only you can decide what's best for you - but I know that it made a lot of sense for me to renovate rather than building new.


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## barbarake (Oct 23, 2003)

agmantoo said:


> To me the more important part is to determine that you have the piece of land that you truly want. To achieve the results that I perceive you want, I think you need to try an alternative not mentioned in the above posts. Find some acreage without a house or land that has a no value house/mobile home but a well and maybe a septic system. Then contact a home mover in your areas and see what he may have in homes that are to be moved. <snip>


Agmantoo - We posted at the same time. I'm glad to see someone else that's moved a house. Lots of people around here look at me like I'm nuts but it's worked out quite well.


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## Gary in ohio (May 11, 2002)

Your taxed at 900 year for an old house. If you put $50K in the house in a remodel and do it to code with all your permits YOU WILL get a larger tax bill on the same house. 



Tracy said:


> Nobody has mentioned property taxes!!! We just bought a 62 acre farm and the taxes are $900 a year. Our other house we rented with option to buy [same township] is close to $2000.00 a year. Why, our old farm house is old the rented house is only 20 years old and on only 4 acres. As soon as you put up new buidings your taxes will sky rocket. Something to consider.


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## Quiver0f10 (Jun 17, 2003)

Thank you everyone. So far we are planning to buy the farm (unless we see something else before we make an offer). We plan to fix this place us but we are not trying to restore it to original, just make it more livable and updated. We plan to pay for things as we go and not have a huge mortgage which is what we really hoped for when we first decided to move up here.

We did want more than 14 acres and we are hoping to be able to purchase land off our neighbors in the future but this land is really perfect for what we want to do. We have room for the animals we want and plenty of room for a big garden and the apple trees are already well establed. Also we have 2 barns, if we built new we'd have to consider in the cost of building a new barn. 

Thanks again everyone!


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## fin29 (Jun 4, 2003)

If she's in Maine (I thought that's where she moved), it will take a long time for the town to catch up with her on taxes. Plus, the mill rate in the county is very low. Our property appraises for $240,000 and we're still being taxed at $100,000, which has probably been in effect for 20 years...it's a beautiul thing.


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## Nancy (May 14, 2002)

It depends on what you like. For me I do not like new houses because I like the history of all those who have lived in a house before me. We live in a house built in 1883 and I love it. Sets on 5 acres. Our kitchen, bath, laundry area is the original claim "cabin". Our advantage is that my DH is a remodeler by trade and can do anything. The other really good thing is that we got it for $15,000. We were then able to put some money into it immediately to fix what was critical and lived with the rest as we went along. After 16 years we have replumbed, rewired, put in baseboard heat, added an office and a half bath, remodeled the exsisting bath, resided (current project) reroofed, graded some around the house for better drainage, put in a septic, built 2 chicken houses, added a shed, moved in a building for wood heat and cooking if the power goes out. You get the idea. The only regret is that we didn't start with putting in a new foundation. Now we are thinking of it, doing a wall at a time. We'll see.


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## carly (Mar 20, 2003)

We just put an offer in on an 1865 farmhouse. It is in Pa and was built by the sellers greatgrandparents and has always been in her family. It needs domplete restoration but is very livable. We plan on living in it while we have it done. We will be a little if it ourselves but are in a financial position to have contractors so the big stuff.

It is a 2 story built first of log, then 2/3s covered with brick and the other third which has the 2 story porches, is covered with clapboard.......it has the original brick kitchen in back of the house with a walk in fireplace with a beehive oven. That will be my fiber shop. We battled for the entire acres and got it for the price we wanted. My sheep will go there. It also has a large barn in good shape and inside that an original log barn! No chinking, but the structure is solid and protected by the plank board barn built over it....someone wanted to preserve it. :worship: 

We will do a new bath, kitchen and all floors plus ceilings and a few other things....but we are restoring, not fixing up. The floors are heart pine under the carpet and the logs in the attic are hand hewn and the attic is pegged.........this is Amish country. Structure is solid. 

We are happy......this is my dream home.

So much work ahead of us it is unreal.

Good luck with yours........this one is worth saving and re doing, but not all are.


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## countrygrrrl (Aug 4, 2003)

My situation is a little different - I have a very nice mobile (nicer than many, many stickbuilt homes) that I've been renovating bit by bit, and am slowly turning into a stickbuilt (permanent foundation, siding, etc.)

I've done most of it myself or with help, except for the roof and a few other things.

The two biggest problems I've run into are: everything is taking 2-3-4 times longer than I expected and everything is such a complete mess!

But bit by bit, I'm seeing progress and it's turning out to be worth it - eg, I'm almost finished with one side of the kitchen and it's gorgeous! 

But it took me almost a year! :giant yikes!:

In other words, if you're patient and you can put up with the mess (which gets very tiring very quickly!), and if you can do most of the work yourself, do it!


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## Kevin and Laura (Jun 23, 2002)

We just bought a piece of land a couple months ago that had an old farmhouse on it. After waffling back and forth, we have decided to build new. We paid for a home inspector to check it out. Not only did he confirm what we already knew, he found even more that would have to be replaced. All four corners of the house had been added on later. Here's where your big money can come in: the foundation. Our farmhouse is setting on the ground in several places and is only about 4 inches off in other places. The entire house would have to be slowly jacked up, by professionals, to avoid cracking and then a foundation would have to be put under it. To make matters worse, the house is on two levels and some of the addons are slabs, some are a cinder block every 5 feet. Then, the entire wiring of an old farmhouse needs to be replaced, if only for safety's sake. The wiring of the early 1900's is not designed for the type of load that we would put on it today. Of course, the plumbing is also shot. And, it is quite probably that floor or ceiling somewhere in the house, original or replaced along the line, contains asbestos.

Tear off some of the walls in the house in each room and look at your studs. We found termite mud trails 4 feet up the wall, even in the center of the house. If your house has termites, it's a lost cause. Three separate pesticide guys told us we would end up spraying a couple times a year due to ground closeness, not to mention the one guy who wouldn't even do it because there would be no way to guarantee the work. 

Now, you also have to realize that unless you totally redo all of the windows, insulation, roof and/or attic and doors, the house will never heat or cool well. In the long run, even if you're burning wood, how much is that going to cost you?

Those are just a few of the reasons we decided to build new. Now, we can get the shell of our basement house poured, roof on and front on for less than $20,000. (If we only wanted the concrete done, it would only be $12,000.) Then, we will finish it ourselves, putting in the wiring, plumbing and applicances first and moving in to finish walls, etc. People who say a new home has no character just do not want to do the work to give it character. 

Although you may want to think you'll live there forever, it is a wise thought to consider resale value. No matter what you do to an old farmhouse, it's still an old farmhouse that will need constant maintenance (unless you spend a fortune and build a new house with old house skin.) This will not really help the property value. A new home, however, especially a basement home which is so easy to heat and cool, easy to secure, safe from elements, etc. really adds to land value around here. 

We are doing what one person suggested. We bought a small trailer in good condition for $750.00. By the time we get a propane tank set for it, utilities on, trailer set, etc. we will be on our place for less than $2000.00. The big house can be torn down whenever. We know where our basement home will be, and we'll save money living on our land instead of renting while being able to work on it when we want. 

Good luck, Laura


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## carly (Mar 20, 2003)

Fortunately our farmhouse needs little of the big stuff......

Foundation is good, roof is great and windows have been all replaced 2 years ago with Andersen tilt ins.

We are ahead of the game to a larger degree than some.


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## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

Back up the page aways I referenced the moved house that I was setting up. I got my final inspections and certificate of occupancy yesterday and I want to share the results of the effort. See if the following sites will open and you can hopefully see the pics.

http://agmantoo.free-host.com/Pc020007.jpg

http://agmantoo.free-host.com/Pc020006.jpg

http://agmantoo.free-host.com/Pc020004.jpg


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## Quiver0f10 (Jun 17, 2003)

agmantoo said:


> Back up the page aways I referenced the moved house that I was setting up. I got my final inspections and certificate of occupancy yesterday and I want to share the results of the effort. See if the following sites will open and you can hopefully see the pics.
> 
> http://agmantoo.free-host.com/Pc020007.jpg
> 
> ...



Thank you for the pics, beautiful place! I am inspired now!


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