News on the Home Front

Third time's the charm, right?  Well this will be the third homestead that we tried to purchase.  The first one didn't go far .. the owner didn't even counter.  The second one .. part of the story is here and here.  Also, we recently learned that the owner's son was arrested at that property producing meth.  Yeah, God was telling us a definite NO on that one.

A few weeks ago, I started to pray a novena to St. John Bosco.  This is the novena that I prayed from Jan. 22 to his feast day, Jan. 31.  At the request, I asked for St. John Bosco's intercession for a homestead.  During his life, he helped many troubled boys.  He set up oratories to teach them different skills along with the ways of God.  Since St. John Bosco knew the importance of work and learning the faith, I prayed for a homestead in which we would be able to do that for our children.

On Jan. 29th, my husband sent my an email with a craigslist listing of a homestead just over the county line.  Feb. 2nd we looked at the property.  The house was small and the property was 10 miles from our good friends instead of 5-6 miles like we were hoping for.  We prayed about it all week.  Saturday, we looked at it again bringing our good friends along.

Well, tonight, we have a signed contract.  Tomorrow, we will start the appraisal process.

Some stats:

1934 2 story brick farmhouse
6 acres
2 pastures fenced in with a gate separating them so that you could rotate pastures.
Huge three level barn built in 1900
Another outbuilding
One stall detached garage
1456 sq ft house
Full basement - dry ... they added foundation tiling around the perimeter.
3 bedrooms and 2 baths on the second floor
1 bedroom, kitchen, dining room, and living room on the main floor
0.25 mile long driveway
0.5 miles of gravel to the black top road

Some pictures:

Main floor bedroom - will use as piano room / school room

Living Room

Living Room

Dining Room  (fireplace is fake .. owners are taking it with them)

Kitchen

Kitchen (pantry to the right of the stairs)

Boys' Room

Girls' Room

Our room (a king size bed will fit)

We went into this process knowing that we'll be adding on as soon as our current home is sold.  The house is able to be added on to on the north, west, and east sides.

If everything works out, we would take possession on March 28th.

Homestead update

An update on trying to purchase this homestead.

Short sale didn't work out.  So we are still looking while we wait for the property to go into foreclosure.

We are just shaking our heads on the decisions the bank has made.  If they would have worked with us and finished the sale back in October, they wouldn't have a property on their hands with a heating system non functional and broken water pipes.  Most likely, they'll spend quite a bit of money on repairs in order to sell it for the price they're asking.

I keep telling myself, 'Patience is a virtue'.

Discerning ...

This past spring, my husband and I started major discussions about the future of our family with regards to the path the country is headed.  We are concerned .. is an understatement.

Therefore, we started looking for a homestead.  Here in Iowa, that is a bit difficult since land is at a premium and is usually passed down from generation to generation.

The first place that we put an offer in wasn't accepted.  We were not willing to go any higher with such a wet damp basement that had a cistern right next to it.  I'm all for having a cistern and all, just not right next to the basement.

The next place has been an adventure so far.  Initially, I didn't want to post anything until it was final, but I'm in need of prayers for my patience.  The funny thing is I was preparing for class (teaching religious education to eighth graders at my parish) and read the second reading for this Sunday:

Be patient, brothers and sisters,
until the coming of the Lord.
See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth,
being patient with it
until it receives the early and the late rains.
You too must be patient.
Make your hearts firm,
because the coming of the Lord is at hand.
Do not complain, brothers and sisters, about one another,
that you may not be judged.
Behold, the Judge is standing before the gates.
Take as an example of hardship and patience, brothers and sisters,
the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.  - James 5: 7-10

Yes, patience and talk of a farmer.  The Lord is teaching me patience.  If you don't believe me, here's our timeline so far:

• July 31, 2013:  Price is agreed upon ... pending appraisal
• August 23, 2013:  Appraisal comes in  $48,000 less.
• September 3, 2013:  Requested a revised appraisal. no change
• September 9, 2013:  We start with another bank for financing and another appraisal.  The VP of this bank personally goes out to the property.  The owner is underwater on the property.  He suggests approaching the owner's bank for a short sale.
• September 27, 2013:  Short sale process is started. 
• November 14, 2013:  New purchase agreement is created with the price at the first appraisal.  :)  (Closing date of December 16, 2013)
• December 4, 2013:  Second appraisal is finished.  Price is pretty much the same as the first.  There are some troubling notes ...  something about the gas line being removed and all the utilities off.
• December 7, 2013:  After a First Saturday Mass near the farmstead, I stopped by to 'check' in at the house.  Noticed a window open.  I decided to try the back door ... unlocked.  Sheet of ice on the kitchen floor.  Went to the window and closed it.  Noticed a huge block of ice under the radiator.  Front door was open.  Upstairs attic window was open.  Did a complete walk around and closed things up.  No utilities and most likely broken pipes or soon to be broken.
• December 10, 2013:  My bank informs me that they are ready to close once the approval of the short sale is finalized.  The other realtor hasn't heard much from the owner's bank. 

 So this is where we stand.

Now.  Some would walk away.  We do feel that this property is a really good fit for our family.  The really great part is that we have very good friends who live 5 miles away from the property and have similar dreams of being self sustaining like us.

And here's what the potential is:

1920 Four Square Farmhouse

Chicken Coop

At least an acre of pasture

Corn crib to be changed into my workshop

Barn with individual stalls and hay loft

Large barn that used to hold cattle ... notice all the cement.

And a lonesome hen ... wonder if she'll survive the cold.

Discerning if God's plan is:

1. Reward our patience with a property at a greatly reduced value so that we can gut it back to the studs and then re-wire, add duct work (there is no air conditioning), fix plumbing lines, and insulate plus then have the funds to add our addition much sooner than we had planned.
2. To walk away ... so far no other properties have come up yet.
3. ?????

4.5 acres - The kids want to name each building after a location in Middle Earth