# May need to rent for awhile..switching gears



## KentuckyDreamer (Jan 20, 2012)

Plans are on hold unless a perfect opportunity presents itself. It appears I may need to rent for a year or so. If anyone has a nice place on a few acres within an hour or so of Central Ohio, please let me know.

Of course I am going the usual routes, but thought I would post here. Trying to stay under a thousand a month rent.


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

Hey KD,

There is a "guru" that I'm familiar with that encourages people to rent in the area where they want to settle down, before buying. It is supposed to give you a feel for the area, the people, places or areas to avoid, microclimates, that kind of thing that you probably wouldn't know about if you had just bought right away.

I'm kinda battling with this idea myself. I want a place of my own so bad but it just hasn't happened. But sitting in an rv wishing doesn't do any good either. (Having a broken leg doesn't help, but that will heal in a few months.) 

So I'm probably more open to the idea of renting a country place more so than I was at one time. Not sure where it all leads but we'll find out. Might be a decent stepping stone if the right rental did come along.

Just like buying, though, I'll bet it will be a hassle trying to get people to realize that I actually WANT a yard to mow and WANT space for a garden and WANT to be out away from town. 

Good luck!!


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## KentuckyDreamer (Jan 20, 2012)

Hey Bellyman! Been awhile. How did you break your leg? And how is wife coping with it? 

My last child at home will have his black belt in Taekwondo in less than a year. So while I feel trapped in the suburbs, I cannot just stop everything he has worked for the past two years. It is Taekwondo America and there are limited schools, and none in rural areas.

That and middle adult son wants to stay in town and "make money" as long as he can. So, I dare not fiddle away my down payment waiting for the right place.

I just hate moving. Oh well, life is what happens when you are making other plans!


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

KentuckyDreamer said:


> Hey Bellyman! Been awhile. How did you break your leg? And how is wife coping with it?
> 
> My last child at home will have his black belt in Taekwondo in less than a year. So while I feel trapped in the suburbs, I cannot just stop everything he has worked for the past two years. It is Taekwondo America and there are limited schools, and none in rural areas.
> 
> ...


Hi KD, 

Thanks for asking... My wife is ok. She's got her hands full taking care of things I can't do yet for myself plus I've been trying to coach her through the more mundane things we have to do in our living situation... things like filling up out fresh water tank, dumping our waste water, keeping track of the propane for the furnace, stuff like that that I always just took care of. She's a good woman and I am blessed to have her by my side. 

I broke my leg when I stepped out of the RV onto the top step like I've done a hundred times before only this time I stepped out onto what I'd describe as black ice. I was carrying a large crockpot of chilli and did a heroic job of saving it. But after what was a very intense and loud 1 second ride down about 5 feet of icy stairs, all was not well. I called out to my wife who heard the racket that I broke my leg. She promptly comes flying down the icy steps on top of me. Luckily, I was there to break her fall and she only had a couple of minor scrapes.

Had it not been for the broken leg, it would have been rather comical.

FWIW, I did spill maybe 1/4 of the chilli but what wasn't spilled, was delicious. 

It is easy to get anxious in situations like yours where other members of the family have things going on in life. I've struggled with whether it's selfish of me to want to settle so far from my parents (600+ miles) when they're so advanced in years. I really don't want to settle there even though I grew up there. Way too crowded anymore despite wonderful soil for gardening. Way too expensive, too. But pop turns 91 in about 5 weeks. Life is just never simple, is it???!!!


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## KentuckyDreamer (Jan 20, 2012)

Oh my gosh what a story! You are blessed to have her. I am sure she is doing fine but I send her my utmost admiration. 

It is so wonderful to know you have that one person who has your back through thick and thin. I sit back and think how silly it is to fuss over some of the things I hear about. If you have someone willing to go through the fire to sit in the rockers on the porch you have more than most people will ever realize. 

I spent the last ten years or so caring for my grandmother, the last two in my home. It had to be done. But that is not what I want for my children. 

You must keep me posted if you find your dream spot. There is a place near Columbia that looks interesting on Unitedcountry. But last time I went down I was so disilliusioned. The house has sat empty for some time now so I doubt it looks like the photos now. 

http://www.unitedcountry.com/search...&Page=4&Office=16044&No=16044-17810&AU=N&FT=P


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## cc-rider (Jul 29, 2003)

If you could find something like that in Central Ohio, you should jump at it!! We've been watching for something like that, but closer to Mohican area. My DH's family is all from the Akron area, so wanting to get closer out that way. My family (kids, grandkids) are more in the Toledo,Bowling Green area. Just can't please everyone. Sigh. 

Bellyman, are you parked currently in a camp?


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## SouthBrookFarm (Jan 29, 2003)

Bellyman, I'm sorry to hear about your accident. I hurt my arm when I slipped on steps at work last fall, so that has somewhat left me in a fix myself. Are you thinking of renting land only or does it need to have a house on it? I have land here where I live 10 miles outside of Tompkinsville, KY. I also have land 6 miles West of Bowling Green, KY, where several acres of crops could be grown, but that county (Warren) is under Planning/Zoning, so I don't know about the legality of living in an RV there.


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

cc-rider,

I am currently parked in a fairly nice rv park. Not much more I could ask for, really. Utilities work well, quiet atmosphere, cable tv (which helps with the boredom) and even though their internet doesn't work, my smartphone hotspot does. So I'm basically comfortable .......... waiting .......... for a certain leg to grow some new bones. 

The nature of the breaks don't tend to lend themselves to getting back on them quickly. They were broken at a "diagonal" so putting too much weight would tend to make them want to "slide" apart, and that wouldn't be good. Just takes time... 

SouthBrookFarm, I'm not real sure what's on the horizon for land. At this point, I'm very, very open but still would like to stay in the area I am in. You are probably 2.5 hours or so to my northwest. Nice country there, but not where I'm looking to be right now. Our cash reserves are getting way too low to go buy a homestead for cash. But if someone would finance a place for us, it could work. We'd also consider renting for a while but would still want something with at least a good garden space, not a typical apartment. A serious project / fixer-upper is something I had kinda planned on. If it has something that's fixable, we can do that over time, even if we have to live in our rv. If it has something that can't be fixed up, we could still live in our rv while we build something. 

My dear wife is looking for work and I am planning on working some as well as I am able, away from the homestead (or whatever it turns out to be). Once we're more established, we may be able to have a much bigger position from which to try to buy a homestead more closely resembling our dreams. Right now, we just want to make a tiny start. That first step is a bugger (especially if it's icy!)


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## grandma12703 (Jan 13, 2011)

Bellyman said:


> Hey KD,
> 
> There is a "guru" that I'm familiar with that encourages people to rent in the area where they want to settle down, before buying. It is supposed to give you a feel for the area, the people, places or areas to avoid, microclimates, that kind of thing that you probably wouldn't know about if you had just bought right away.
> 
> ...


We have owned several places over our 30 years of marriage and the last move we made we decided we would not buy again until retirement and until we are where we will be for the remainder of our years. We spent 25 of those years in the same area. This is a different state and a different more relaxed way of life. We have been here almost two years and we love it. We have a good landlord and a beautiful place to grow our sheep operation. It has crossed our minds to wait another few years and if we still love it to try to buy it. However, we do now own another home in OKla. due to a death. It is in town so we would have to buy a piece of property to continue our livestock business. Anyway, we are just going to enjoy renting for at least another 3 years and then make up our minds. In 4 years DH will be able to draw his first retirement and by then I hope we have decided where we want to stay. I seriously want my next move (if there is one) to be the last one. The hassle of buying and selling is just not something I enjoy. I do get frustrated at the way people talk about renters. Financially for some it makes a whole lot more sense. I know there are a few bad apples out there (we also used to rent a few properties out). We had the bad and the good. As far as ourselves we pay our rent every month, keep the place looking nice and we try to be good neighbors to all of those around us. We also told the landlord that we would like this to be a long term rental. He looked at us and laughed. He told us that is perfect but unusual. It sure takes a lot off of his mind. 

Don't be ashamed to be a renter. There is no shame in it at all. Be good renters and enjoy the fact that if something breaks you have a landlord to fix it.  That is a little joke but true.


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