A Bit About Land

To start things off, let’s talk about the inspiration for this post.

I’ve noticed a current trend toward bungalows, farms, and rustic living on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Not surprisingly, given all the current events, it seems folks want to get away from it all and live in a cottage by the woods.

I get it. I really do. So much so, I’m doing it myself.

I haven’t talked about it on social media, until now, but Ron and I will be moving soon-ish. To a cottage. In an out of the way spot. Yep, we’re doing The Thing.

I’ve decided to talk about it because, as with most Things, the reality is different from the fantasy.

(Originally, I was going to say not to worry, I wouldn’t be pouring cold water over anyone’s Pinterest board. Unfortunately, after finishing the post, I realized I did, in fact, pour freezing water EVERYWHERE. I apologize in advance.)

As many of you know, Ron and I left Wisconsin mid-winter last year to move to Virginia. Ron loves to bike and we were looking for an area with a longer biking season, but also one where we would still get the occasional snow fall. Virginia fit the bill.

We picked the Farmville area because we liked the history. Most importantly, however, the property we found was one of the few places we’d seen where the house sat squarely in the middle of the land. Ron and I aren’t big on neighbors…or roads out front…or civilization.

Folks, moving during a pandemic ain’t easy!

We used Pods so as to minimize contact with other people. I didn’t relish the idea of dealing with movers in our house. The Pods allowed us to pack everything ourselves. Not gonna lie. It was a ton of work. We found ourselves up until 4 in the morning, temps hovering around zero, frantically trying to get everything secure the night before pick up.

But we made it!

It was 17 degrees below zero the morning we drove away. Twenty hours later we were thrilled to get our first in-person look at our new home!

Two days later, a HUGE ice storm knocked out power for a couple of weeks.

Yay.

So, we unpacked in the dark, heating up meals on a camping stove. It was an adventure.

You know, lookin’ back on it. It was an adventure! And parts of it were legitimately fun. I enjoyed snuggling beside Ron under a pile of blankets to read a book together by candlelight. The quiet and solitude was nice, too. And I really liked the crackle of the ice in the woods as it fell from the trees every few minutes. (But our poor dog, Thor, couldn’t settle in for a nice relaxing poop. He’d get his butt in position and then CRASH, and he’d jump up and have to start all over again.)

Apparently, we failed to mention to others we were viewing this move as, most likely, just a first step. We told ourselves relocating would get us in the right area. We had decided it would be easier to look for land if we were in Virginia.

(I say “apparently” because our post-move plans shocked a few of our children.)

To be fair, we were fully prepared to stay in the new house if it had suited us. And, in many ways, it does. Unfortunately, while we like woods, they bump right up against the house. Hence, my battle with Rocky Mountain spotted fever over the summer. We wanted something with a lot more open sky and it costs a butt ton of money to chop down trees.

So we began to look around for land.

Ok, here’s the first dose of reality.

One of the hardest parts of any adventure is finding the funds to start. Cottages don’t just poof into existence.

Ron and I have finances which are a combination of years of hard work, saving, privilege, patience, good advice, luck, study, and thought. Ron has a Ph.D. in molecular biology, so his salary has been pretty decent over the years. I have the wily knowledge of a back woods country girl who knows when someone is trying to cheat us out of money. So we spent a fair amount of time going over our finances and made some wise (or lucky) decisions that made it all possible. Moving to Virginia, we’d downsized. Despite those things, this whole Thing of finding a chunk of land and building on it, was nearly out of our price range.

Land is expensive. Especially if you want enough to be “away from it all”.

After much searching on Zillow, and stomping around in brambles and briars, we finally fell in love with a 60 acre chunk of property. To cover the purchase and various fees, we had to plunk down about $100,000. Six digits, folks. Remember, that’s just the property and it is nothing fancy – overgrown clear-cut land. We’ve not gotten to the cost of an actual house, yet.

I’m not sure how our purchase price fits into the grand scheme of the real estate market. It was one of the cheaper large, isolated lots on our list of possibilities, though.

Scale is important to keep in mind. Your dream spot may only be five acres, in which case, you might find land at a much cheaper price. The cost depends on location, as well. I’ve seen 2 acre plots going for $250,000 in some places, while they are $5,000 somewhere else. My guess is, unless you’re doing extreeeeeeemely well, the land purchase alone will be painful. So, if you’re thinking of moving to some quiet little spot in the woods, or near a lush meadow, or by a tumbling stream, just know it comes with a heavy price tag.

(You’ll want to check flood zones for that “by a stream” option, too. Practicalities DO push their way into dreams in an annoying manner. Even if you are willing to put up with the occasional flood, the bank who finances your build won’t be as open minded.)

Oh yeah, banks.

We live and die by what the bank wants.

Ron had recently switched to contract work, and banks hate it. They like a nice steady income from large brick and mortar companies. Even with savings, we had to work hard to find anyone willing to finance this venture. (Which reminds me, don’t switch jobs a year or so before you plan to buy land.)

And once you get a bank to say yes, then THEY get final approval of your house plan. So no funny business! You can’t decide you want the entire second floor to be an aviary. You will have a nice NORMAL house. The bank figures they will be stuck trying to sell the thing if you default on your mortgage.

Also, all those cool alternative building materials and methods you see on Facebook and Pinterest? Forget it! First, you can’t find builders who have experience using them. Second, the bank will say no, again.

Basically, if you want to do anything unusual, you have to have the cash on hand to build the entire thing yourself, from the ground up, with no financial assistance from a bank. That’s a lot of darn money and most people don’t have it just laying around.

So, if you are dreaming of a quiet little homestead, go into it knowing what you’ll face. You can do it. After all, Ron and I are doing it. He looks at this new home as his retirement spot. I’ve always wanted a hideaway from the anxiety inducing bustle of people. It’s been an end goal for us and we’ve put a lot of thought and planning into it.  

Living “away from it all” is a dream that can be attainable, just be prepared for a lot of financial hard work. Possibly for a lot of years.

(Well, unless you win the lottery. Or maybe a relative leaves you a cabin in the woods. Or someone leaves you a farm like in Stardew Valley….I love that game!)

The reality of banks and budgets is going to make achieving the dream difficult. Compromise will be necessary. Check the cost of land in the area where you’d like to live. Use that information to set a savings goal. You may need to settle for a smaller chunk of property or a smaller house. It helps to remind yourself part of the dream is better than none of the dream. (I have a tough time giving up square footage, so I tell myself this a LOT.)

Most importantly, start planning early and remember every little bit you can save now helps you reach your goal sooner. One day you stand on your land and know it’s yours.

That’s when the reality-being-better-than-fantasy part kicks in.

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For us, at this point, we have the land. We have financing lined up. We’re waiting on the builder to get back to us with a home plan for a cottage. We’re talking about buying goats. Life is good.

I plan to post more stories from our cottage adventures. I want to share the good and the bad so folks can get a feel for the reality of the situation, not just the pretty pics that are posted online. I’ll also plunge right in on some aspects of living in the countryside because we’re already there now.

Possibly, some of it will be useful.

Hopefully, all of it will be amusing.