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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 685
  
Location: Arkansas | So this year is sure to be a big year for me with lots of changes. One of which will be purchasing my first home (of course, after I get a new job out of school!). I've been going through my options here lately, and would like some input from those with experience.
What did you do? Did you buy a place (with room for horses) with a home/barn/etc. already established? Or did you just purchase land and build everything from scratch??
I have been looking around our area, and I am leaning towards buying land and putting a mobile home on it until we can get everything built up the way we want. Please give me your input! I'd like to see what did and didn't work for yall! Thanks! |
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Expert
Posts: 1586
Location: west of East Texas | I definitely prefer going with the land and mobile home. If you start building stuff, you'll be out there all of the time anyway so you may as well live there.. I did it both ways and wouldn't live offsite while building again. |
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Industrial Srength Barrel Racer
Posts: 7268
 
| I think I would buy land and put up a steel building to live in before I wasted money on a mobile home - you could use the building later for other things - or even build a barn with a small apartment in it.
Edited by Griz 2014-01-20 5:30 AM
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 Underestimated Underdog
Posts: 3971
Location: Minnesota | We bought a place with a barn already there. We built a new round pen and will be redoing the barn but it was nice that it was already there. |
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Expert
Posts: 4766
Location: Bandera, TX | Griz - 2014-01-20 5:29 AM I think I would buy land and put up a steel building to live in before I wasted money on a mobile home - you could use the building later for other things - or even build a barn with a small apartment in it.
This is what we did. In fact, the place had an older SW Mobile on it. We went to work fencing and such. Added several run in sheds in the paddocks and then built a concrete horse barn with an apartment over the 16 ft breeze way. My husbands shop is 60x50, large enough that my son built himself a nice room in it recently so that he can come stay with us. So if you go metal building route first you can do this. We were going to start building our home several months back but had a change of plans to finish a house we own in town. Glad now for the change of heart, cause now we've decided to move an hour out from town to our small ranch.
OP, I think its much easier being 'on scene' and giving direction so that way things are not missed.
Plan, plan and replan. I knew the direction of the summer setting sun vs the winter sun paths, the direction of our summer breezes etc before laying out the stakes for our horse barn. I had feeder paddocks from larger pastures that fed into the barn area. If the road seperated a pasture we spent the extra on gates to cross stock. My one regret, is I spent lots of money on septics, electrical & well that for now are not going to be used. (We have to pay the electrical fees for the meters even though its not going to be used much.)
Thinking forward I love the fact that I can see all the horses in my current pastures. When we build at the ranch I want to put some small 25 ac paddocks around the house that way I can see the babies and momma's. The other thing will be a large central pasture which we can wheel all the animals thru for rotation.
I loved the barn the husband built but I hate cleaning stalls. I will not have another "formal" barn. Large run-in's with adequate shelter from wind and ice storms are more to my liking. Something the tractor can clean!
My first home had a basement storm shelter. I will have another of those! Like a gun much better to have than not to have.
I want to keep things simple yet comfortable. Planning on having a hexagon shaped center with wings for us and guest. Lots of windows to see my animals from with ease. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 685
Location: Arkansas | I guess what I am really asking is would it be better to purchase a place with everything built already or a place that we can build on ourselves??
I like the idea of building a barn with an apartment in it!! My only fear with that is that we will get too comfortable there and never build a house :/
My SO has the idea too to build a large metal building with arena, barn and apartment inside; but I'm not sure if we can afford all of that!!
I would much rather build everything the way we want it; Im more picky about how my barn, pastures and arena are laid out than my house!! lol |
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Industrial Srength Barrel Racer
Posts: 7268
| You have to remember if you just buy unimproved land, you'll have to have a well dug and utilities put in, which are not cheap - at ALL. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 685
Location: Arkansas | Griz - 2014-01-20 11:10 AM You have to remember if you just buy unimproved land, you'll have to have a well dug and utilities put in, which are not cheap - at ALL.
i was concerned about that too... this would be our first home and im just not real experienced with these things... but my SO's parents started with just 20 acres of land and built on to it as they went and seemed to be very happy with what they had! |
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 Expert
Posts: 1367
Location: mi | We purchased 20 acres of land with a little house on it. Added the barn and pastures. Learned alot. When the value jumped in our area. We split it into 2 pieces sold them both. With that we were able to really shop for a piece of property we loved and built from scratch. Still have things I would change and will some day sell what we have and down size but for now it is great and I would do things this way again in a heart beat.
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 685
Location: Arkansas | That would be perfect to start out with! I am not picky at all, and I am not too good to live in a mobile home lol I will just be thankful to have something to call our own... I just don't want to go and waste time and money on something we wont like in the long run! |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 685
Location: Arkansas | That would be perfect to start out with! I am not picky at all, and I am not too good to live in a mobile home lol I will just be thankful to have something to call our own... I just don't want to go and waste time and money on something we wont like in the long run! |
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 Poor Cracker Girl
Posts: 12150
Location: Feeding mosquitos, FL | It really comes down to your market. We ended up buying a piece of land and are building on it.
We've been shopping for 2+ years and could never find anything that suited in our price range. Either I loved the land and the house was terrible or the house was great but the land was unusable because of where they put it. Finally, I did a lot of maths with a lot of real estate professionals and we ended up buying a piece of land and just signed the house construction contract today. The total mortgage is about the same as existing houses we were looking at, only with double the acreage. But, we could do that because our house is small and not fancy, land prices are comparatively low here, and we got a screamin' deal on a foreclosed piece of property.
Otherwise, we'd still be shopping.
ETA: I wouldn't waste time and money on a mobile home. Unless you buy it outright, the interest rates are astronomical and (in Florida at least) homeowner's insurance is nearly impossible to get.
Edited by TrackinBubba 2014-01-20 12:51 PM
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 685
Location: Arkansas | Thanks for the advice! It seems everyone is voting against the mobile home idea...
Im just ready to have our own place! Its nice to see what others think about thingss and share their own experiences! |
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Expert
Posts: 1690
| Lol! I think it's interesting how many people with absolutely No construction, design, engineering, excavating etc. etc. think they will just build or remodel. It takes lots and lots of experience and lots and lots of $$$ to do. Lumbar/ metal go up daily unlike wages! Always go with biggest piece of property you can go with and hopefully it has something on it to work with. Best of luck ! The most fun I have ever had is working and building dreams but it takes years for most people to get the dream home! |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 685
Location: Arkansas | barrelhaybroker - 2014-01-20 5:05 PM Lol! I think it's interesting how many people with absolutely No construction, design, engineering, excavating etc. etc. think they will just build or remodel. It takes lots and lots of experience and lots and lots of $$$ to do. Lumbar/ metal go up daily unlike wages! Always go with biggest piece of property you can go with and hopefully it has something on it to work with. Best of luck ! The most fun I have ever had is working and building dreams but it takes years for most people to get the dream home!
I agree! I know it will be more expensive to build what we want, but its what we want!! Im willing to wait a few years to have it.... But I want to get started soon lol!! |
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 Expert
Posts: 2276
Location: ohio-in my own little world with pretty ponies :) | If you have the ability to buy the land and build then I would go that route. That way everything is exactly the way you choose to be. Buying land with a house/barn/ pasture/what have you on it already....can be difficult finding what you want. My SO and I are dealing with this now. We have been looking at land already with a home on it but haven't been able to find what we need/want.
Go with what you guys want and will be happy with! |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 685
Location: Arkansas | lexyy12 - 2014-01-20 8:41 PM If you have the ability to buy the land and build then I would go that route. That way everything is exactly the way you choose to be. Buying land with a house/barn/ pasture/what have you on it already....can be difficult finding what you want. My SO and I are dealing with this now. We have been looking at land already with a home on it but haven't been able to find what we need/want. Go with what you guys want and will be happy with!
Good Luck in your search!! It is hard to find what you want that is already built :/ it seems that my idea of an arena is much different from these realtors lol When I say arena, I mean a large pen with roping boxes and return alley as well... not a 80X40 wood fenced pasture...
I just hope we can find something we like that will do! The job he has now comes with a small trailer, so I may just have to move in with him after I get a job and try to save money while we look! There's just so many options I don't know where to begin!! |
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