As of today, this is not an accurate picture. Note all the extra crap and overgrown areas in the picture above...now picture how awesome this place looks after we drug all of that to a giant pile and lit it on fire...ya. SO MUCH BETTER
A year ago at this time Josh and I had been out to see 32511 580th Ave. and were spending most of our time dreaming and rationalizing how we could justify buying this perfect property. Say what you will about our crazy scheme, but nine months in, I think we would both say it's panning out pretty well. #knockonwood
Here are some of our most FAQ's about our farmhouse-rental-property-adventure...
Did you guys ever find renters?
Let me pause for a moment to be miffed about your obvious choice to not read our blog.
I don't know how to say this without being sarcastic, but yes we found renters duh. Everyone in real estate world said we would, but it took the parents and friends a little while to get on board and actually believe us. I haven't been to the farm since February 1st at 9am with my dad during a snowstorm to gather the deposit and hand over the keys. We've successfully collected rent for the past six months and after paying a heinous bill for the propane tank to be filled, the farm is finally starting to pay for itself like it's supposed to.
Do you have a family living out there?
I don't know why everyone is so obsessed with the idea of family living in our farmhouse, but you would not believe how many people ask me that! Instead of a family we have four, twenty-something guys living in the house splitting their rent four ways. They're low maintenance and pretty self-sufficient when it comes to 'roughing it' at our farm. And the most magical part...they signed their lease through July 31st 2015.
When are you guys going to move out there?
OKAY REALLY. It's like our friends and family who actually care about us are the ones who DON'T read our blog, and the Facebook stalkers from HS are the only ones who do.
But to answer, Josh Boersma and I will likely never inhabit the farmhouse that is currently standing on our acreage. The plan for that property from the beginning was to clean it up and rent it out for 5+ years until we are ready to tear the house down and build our dream farmhouse.
WHYYYY ARE YOU TEARING DOWN THE HOUSE?!
Okay well if it wasn't clear before, now it's very clear that you've never read our blog and I've moved past miffed to being REALLY OFFENDED OH MY WORD.
Let's recap. Last August Josh and I fell in love with this acreage...not so much the house, but the property, it's location, and it's outbuildings. After we had a contractor-friend come to the house to take a peek, he confirmed what we already knew. Cranking the house up a few notches, adding a basement, updating windows, electrical, appliances, AC/heat, rural water, insulation, adding a couple bathrooms, and building a garage...was not worth it. Ned said there was nothing 'architecturally saving' about the house besides some cool doors, windows, and high ceilings. And I can yank the pocket door and stained glass windows out of the current house and make sure we build them into our new farmhouse when the time comes. Making a new house that is slightly more expensive...(but won't be crooked AND will include a basement)...a better decision than overhauling the house that's there.
Basically, in order for the purchase to make sense, we had to find a way to get some income out of the property instead of going balls to the walls on a mortgage we can't afford to build our dream home at the age of 25. Hence our grand idea with the fixing up and the painting and the renters. So even though our method is probably not Dave Ramsey approved...it was Vern Boersma CPA approved. Which is good enough for us.
Have you had any problems?
Well ya...but such is life as a landlord. Josh tells me all the time he thinks we should have more rental property but the minute we get a text that the kitchen drain at the farm isn't working...he sings a slightly different tune. ;)
Besides the house being a disaster (as in, more of a disaster than we prepared for...as in...the previous owner didn't take HALF of his belongings) when we took over on October 18th, 2013, there was that whole thing about propane being $5/gal last fall. To break this down for you...our propane tank is an 800 gallon tank which means at $5 per gal, there was the possibility that it would cost FOUR GRAND TO FILL THAT THING. Panic ensued. Prices went down. We filled it a little. Prices went down more. We filled it a little more.
And we lived to tell about it. So that's something.
A leaking washer in our basement, a broken well at the farm, city inspectors saying the windows in our basement aren't up to code (btw they are, because none of the past three inspectors we've had come through in the past four years have complained, but whatever City of Ames)...we've learned it's all just part of this owning-rental-property-stuff. And it's all a lot easier when you have a husband who is proficient in fixing fuses, wells, electrical outlets, gas lines, appliances, flooring, drywall, sump pumps, and window wells instead of paying someone to do all that expensive stuff. ;)
It also helps to have friends who are handy with appliances. ;)
The Landlady,
MmB
If you missed out, you can see all of our farmhouse reno journey here:
We Bought a Barn
Acreage Update
Acreage Update - 2
Acreage Update - 3
Acreage Update - 4
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