So much stuff

Hello! A quick little post to say that the move is going well but holy crap do I have a lot of stuff.

My house is 1,800 feet. I think it is more then half full. I still have furniture and more stuff to move into it.

My dad keeps joking that I should have bought their house and just had them (my parents) move out. He likes to make this joke when my arms are full and he is far out of reach.

I can't wait to make the jokes when it's their turn to move.

A small Barn problem

So the dust in my barn might have tried to kill me. At least I am hoping it was dust.

See, I was in my barn... for only a few moments and my allergies started going nuts and I got a dry hacking cough. I was a miserable wreck.

When I first looked at the house and barn this didn't happen.

Some thing with the humidity from the melting snow caused... something. I am really hoping that it isn't mold. But I am going to spray the place down with a bleach solution anyhow. Better safe then sorry.

I am also going to vacuum the inside because if it is dust, I want it under control.

It is a fantastic little barn. And just as soon as I can figure out how to pick the 1880's padlock on the other barn door, it will make for a wonderful workshop in the summer and fall.

Yeah, there is an 1880 pad lock on the back door of the barn. It's a monster and I have no intention of cutting it. In fact, I am pretty sure modern bolt cutters couldn't. I'll probably just remove the part that it is connected to. Get someone to pick the lock if I can't find a key that fits it. Then put the hardware back with a different lock.

Actully... that might have been the area were I started coughing. So that'll get sprayed down first.

Also, there is so much curl in the wood that was used to built the barn. The original beams really stand out against the new ply-board that was used when the former owners had a new roof put on it.

Pictures when my barn isn't trying to kill me.

House photos

I forgot to link my instagram CrzyArtist to this blog. Which sucks because I have started taking and posting house pics there thinking that they would show up here as well.

There might be mass photo posts because of this on the weekends while I take forever to move.

My mom says I only have a few more boxes in the basement, my room and a few bits of furniture left here. Then I have one and a half storage units left to get to my house.

Did I mention that my house is about an hour from my parents? So far we have averaged one trip each day of the weekend. One hour there and another hour back. My friend helped us do two trips one Saturday.

After I can actually live/sleep there I will be able to post pics of all the stuff/crap/jimmy hoffa. I will be having a moving company move the bits of large furniture. After I measure the stairwell because it's so tiny.

Then painting... Then more and more and more things.

I bought a house

And thing just keep getting more & more insane.

Interestingly... The bank might have been the easy bit.

I have very, very little land. So not additional barns or living fences. XD There are a few good spots that I might be able to grow some things.

And then there are the holly bushes.

I don't want to waste them, but I don't have a spot for them. I will try and bonsai some but... They are probably going to be chopped up. The only person I know that might take them is an online friend that lives far and away.

There are other bushes in the front that I might also make into bonsai... or chop up.

All the bushes get to wait until the spring before I can do anything.

I also figured out the most evil and yet... peaceful thing? I am gong to build a massive trellis and let a climbing rose try and eat it. It'll be about 5' - 4' away from my house, but there is a little nook that is just 2' - 3' deeper? My mom was a touch horrified but loves the idea.

The evil bit is that it's on the side of the house that is facing the house with kids. but since I need ever bit of my land and I hate mowing... away it will go. At least for now.

I think I'll be doing container gardens this first year. I'll be covering a pathway with them because I can't rip the pathway out like it was implied.

The massive wisteria thing will be getting an extension to grow taller. It's on the old iron cloths line bar... so it's a bit short but at least half as old as the house?

That is about the end of the practical ideas.

My non-practical idea is putting a deck on the house at about a story up. There would be no ground access. Just a door or two from the second floor. And maybe have it wrap around from the front to the back (to act as a car port thing) with a third floor deck?

yeah... That is serious $$$$$ that I will probably never have. But oh, would it give me so much space. So much space. In a few years I might try and crunch some numbers to see how 'not gonna happen' it is.

Uhmm... There was a small heating thing that was fixed. The locks are supposed to be getting updated soon and then the internet will be added.

My dad has been going up there for me because he is retired. This was very lucky. He would go fishing but it's winter and the weather is full of no.

I am... still trying to move everything. Every weekend since I found my house has been insanely busy. And crazy. I even have furniture now. It's weird.

House pics once I move in. It wont be the whole house, just the cool bits and projects. I promise.

Fencing Ideas

I am far, far too cheep to pay for fences around the land I plan to look for. There is the whole upkeep bit as well.

Plus I'm lazy.

I did see a post about an elven spite fence. Long story short, they planted a row of fruit trees and flowers to piss off a neighbor. Useful, pretty and awesome.

I am thinking of just planing a row of poplars and willow around my property. Both plants grow very fast in my area. Poplars seem to grow any place and willows are great for wet areas. I wouldn't even need to spend money to start them because I can gather poplar seedlings at home and get willow cuttings while fishing.

They would also be good crafting supplies for me. This could save me money in the long run.

The only draw back is I consider poplars weeds because of how fast they spread. Willows have a shallow root system and rot fast. I don't know if they make good mulch but I will probably find out.

For a mid-high plant/bush I'm not sure what I would do.

I am rally leaning to letting a climbing rose grow free around the trees. Maybe in the front area I will. Then I think for the back areas I'll try to get wild grape vines going.

I might even set up a few fake bee hives to keep people away... And maybe I'll get lucky and bees will move in also.  :3

House Hunt part 3

The house I want to put a bid on.

It is old.

It has character.

It has so many churches around it my mom and I started laughing our self's silly every time we saw another church. There were seven traditional styled churches at a glance and then we kept finding smaller subtle ones.

The house is even being sold by the church.

We think it's the former pastors house. It's an 1800's house but this one has a perfect foundation and beautifully large basement. There is an odd little part but I didn't explore it because spiders. (the farm one didn't have that many spiders now that I think about it.)

There are two kitchens.

The The one upstairs is apart of an apartment. They nailed a few doors shut and had renters upsatirs at some point. This kitchen is perfect for studio work where I need a sink or oven. Ther rooms are tiny but nice.

Down stairs is perfect and not updated at all. It looks like they had used it for a historical display of some sort. The wood floors are amazing. Super high ceilings throught the house. The kitchen down stairs is awkward but I love it.

The backyard and side yards are tiny and weird and there is a shared path to the church. There is a 'garage' that I call a barn. I can't put my car in it but it works for so many other things. There needs to be a property line check because everything is so close together.

The front bushes would be the first things to go.

There are so many original things and because it was owned by a church, it's been taken very good care of. The initial investment to build it must have been insane.

This... will hopefully be the house I will be writing about.

Star Plate Barn

I have been reading some other blog posts on star plate barns and I think I will be putting a few up. Or rather, I will be buying a few of the plates to make some and see how many others I put up after I build the first barn.

This is purely an aesthetics thing.

Moving beyond that, they will have some good and practical uses also. Mainly storage. Moving twice across the country while growing up was a good learning experience that storage is always needed. After one move from a smaller to larger house we still couldn't figure out how we had stored so much stuff in the prior one.

I know I will need the outdoor storage. Garage space has always been prime in my family and if I have barns then I can have my car in the garage. Assuming I don't end up using the garage as a work studio so I can stay in pajamas longer.

I also would like to see about adding solar panels to them. But I am not sure how far from the main house they can be before it's not worth it.

Secondary to this is if i can use one as a sudo guest house, it might be worth it to have an off the grid setup for family when they stay. Solar for light would be great and I might be able to get away with a portable thing as it would be more like a low budget cabin. But the restroom would be a problem. Plumbing is too expensive and I don't want to deal with outhouses.

Storage and space seem to be my big needs right now. So I will get at least one built.

On land and when your plans change

My whole goal is to have a nice tiny farm.

Currently, I think my tiny firm is going to be much, much smaller then I was hoping.

This is not a buyers market and most of the places that would be all the land I could possibly want? Way too far for me to commute to my job. It's a new one and I really love it. So now I am rather happy I was already making a list of things I could live without.

In order to get a house I can afford I have to let go of a dream of lots of land.

It... sounds easier then it was. I have been coming to terms with this for the last six months. I just can not afford it. I also can not live with out high speed internet and guess what? Way out in gods country the is no internet at speeds that don't bring me back to dial-up. I grew up with dial-up. I will not be doing that again.

What does this do? A lot of surprising things.

The first is that I can probably have a two story house. This was on my sacrifice list, but now not only could I have it, but I might also be able to get what is for me a move in ready house. I will be ripping up carpets and such but I could live in it.

The only new thing on my must have list is a garage. This is for my parents boat for the winter.

The hardest thing I found is that I have no idea what kind of a commute I am willing to live with. I was originally thinking of at most two hours. But that would mean possibly getting home at 8pm or later on some nights. Losing four hours of each weekday might be more then I can handle. I am still thinking about it for now.

It might be worth it if I was actually two hours closer to my sister.

So yes, my big mandatory land is now down to on that I can still feel comfortable with. This will change with the houses that I eventually get to look at because each will be different. If this was all happening 5 years ago then I would not worry about how much land I was getting because I would be selling the house after a few years as an investment. Not a flip.

But I don't want to start over again in five years. I'll be 40 by then. Personally I would rather be eating the fruit off my own trees instead of house hunting. But after this, who knows? maybe there would be another move.

But right now I just need to get my first house.

The Hedge of Hedges

There is this thing, its called an osage orange. To me it looks nothing like an orange. I heard it was once a food source for some find of mega fauna (see: thing, thing and moose)

they are commonly used as hedges.

i plan to do the same. Mine will not be organic at all because i will be watering and feeding them what ever commercial fertilizer makes them grow the fastest. This will be based on if i can find it on sale, because fertilizer is cheaper then building fences.

I will also be utilizing the 'living hedge' method of building this living wall/fence. Not just because of the cost comparison, but because of asethics. I think it will look really neat in the fall and winter.

I am only a little worried about what will start living in it.

I will assume birds so i will also spread native flower seeds around the hedge. Which will also help the local native bees. A small win/win.

I know it will end up being something that i set up and forget about every few years, but in this instance that might be a good thing.  

The Hunt is Closer

And the great house hunt is here!

Or it should be here... This is a qued post because I know my bank and my stress levels. My little sister will be getting married (and I'm the maid who is horrified of honor) that involved several trips to the city. A wonderful stomach flu that has a slow recovery. And did I mention that I don't trust my bank?

Yes, I will follow up with what actually happens, with out all the internal screaming that I know will be happening.

What should be happening is that The Bank will contact me that it's time to take the class! One that is supposed to teach you how to budget a house or something like that. Kinda in the vein of how having automatic transfers to a special account is supposed to mimic mortgage payments.

I don't know how many times the class meets or anything else that would be useful.

I do know that I don't feel that I have enough money saved up for the closing costs. I have an 'destash sale' planned to try an get closer to that goal. Unfortunately the wedding ate a lot more into my budget then I expected.

Once that class (or series of classes) is done? then I have to start house hunting.

That means I actually have to re-evaluate my need list. I plan on making a few 'need' lists so I can have options. I realize how strange that sounds, its more of if I sacrifice this, then these other things have to be there.

For example:
I will go with a one story house if it means I get a crap ton of land and a fishing stream. If it has a gas connection? I might sign then and there.

This is a harder method and I will be flipping through notes all the time... But it will keep me on track. Unlike my bank.

I really don't want to deal with the bank. I just want this done and over so I can start gardening.

The art of second hand

Once upon a time I thougt about selling second hand finds online. It didn't work out so I made a lot of donations. I also ended up finding a lot of neat and useful to me stuff.

I have all the dishes I could possibly want and Could probably go a month with out having to reuse the same dish. Yes I am going to weed stuff out. I have a lot of china but I also have a lot of chipped and 'other' things.

Most of the plates and glasses I got for $0.10 each.

After all that I can't really get myself to spend money of new store bought stuff unless there is either a real need or it fills a set. That doesn't mean I don't by knickknacks, but my impulse is a little bit more controllable out-side of a garage sale.

I will point out that I have been collecting things from garage sales since I was little.

Most of my very early finds were glasses, the odd one that would catch my attention. Next was canld holders, the weirder the better. Over ten years ago I found two large glass bowls while garage sale-ing with my aunt. It took almost ten years to find two more in my home state. These are one of the best finds (and I might have a custody battle with my parents for them).

This isn't to say I am not missing things that I wouldn't mind having. I just happen to have the majority of the basics, plus a few (of a ton) of fun stuff.

Sun light and spot lights

I know this is the 80's & 90's talking, but I want to have some spot lights on my land. Fortunately I can get cheep solar lights these days. As I think about it, the led lights will probably cost more then that actual light fixture.

This is assuming that there is a feature that I want to be able to see at night. Like a nice gnarly tree. Maybe even a few angled just right to light up a porch table for an outside dinner or game night. Ooooh! A bug wall would be nice for science!

I wonder if it would help to deter deer?

Now that is an interesting idea. At the very least I would be able to spot them and chase them if needed. And by 'chase' I mean use an air zooka thing. I'll have to ask my friends if an air zooka would work...

Back to lights, I have always loved the look of a properly angled light shining into the branches of a tree. It almost has a spooky feel while keeping the worst of the shadows at bay.

Yeah, I am totally putting solar spotlights.

Internet and a House in gods country

So... I use the internet. A lot. Not just for this blog but for fun and to sell art. It is a thing that i need to have access to. This is another not-so-small problem with my house hunt.

Because i want a good deal of land, i have no idea if the area would have cable or better internet. This might actually make or break a house. This is a need.

The only exception would be the perfect house on the perfect land that was way under budget. That would be the only reason i would happily go without internet. So i will probably have to make sacrifices on house, location, size or price.

To think i just found a site that made it look like i had more options then i knew. I don't think any of them mentioned internet. One or two had tvs on so they might have cable because i hadn't seen any satilight dishes.

This... This is a pain.  

Air circulation to fight allergies

Seriously, air circulation to fight allergies will help.

This is why I am so interested in getting little solar powered fans all over my house. I'm finding some reviews of the pre-made stuff doesn't live up to my needs. and some of the instructions for a DIY is a lot out of my league.

If I can get the right set up, Oh how wonderful it would be!

I have dust & mold & pollen allergies (to name a few) and I found that having my window open, even in winter, let me breath better. This revelation didn't happen easy, only after my window crank broke and I found I needed a fan. I had to add plants to get the lack of humidity fixed enught to sleep, byt my fish tanks helped the most. While I didn't drop an absurd amount of cash on a humidifier, it might have been easier. (The prices seem to have started to come down...)

Once I have my own house I will have plants every place and a much larger fish tank. Yet all that natural humidity dosen't do me any good if its just sitting in one spot.

Thus the hunt for fans that won't add to my electric bill.

Some day I would love to be off the grid 100%. Doing it myself with a newly purchased old house? Nope. I couldn't make the instant change even if it was a fully off the grid house that I started with. I'm just too needy for electricity right now.

Dream Land

Yes, dream land. The house is important but so is the land it is on.

Needs:
-as large as possible
-a Barn
-water of some kind
-working driveway
-???

Wants:
-River
-Barns
-Pond
-Established orchard
-raised flower beds
-sewer connection
-???
-???
-???
-???
-???

Ok, so my list needs a lot more work. I have... some time left?

Meep.

The Saga of the Trees

Currently at my parents I have four trees that i need to dig up. Three are Japanese split leaf maples and the other is a trident maple. Originally i had gotten them to turn them into bonsai. This plan has fallen soundly into the 'not happening for a long time' list.

I planted them out side because they needed to bulk up their trunks. This is a normal bonsai technique. Unfortunately i don't have the same dedication to learning the art anymore. More so because i tend to slowly kill them once they are in smaller pots. There are only so many times you can over water & forget to water them before they keel over.

For the four that I am moving, over the years that they have been growing outside and they have become wonderful. The Japanese maples are leggy but will look great in the yard. The longer branches are still bendable enough to train into flowing shapes that will be too large for bonsai. Cutting them back at this point would not make make for good bonsai material.

The trident maple is a bit of a different story. It is ugly but it might work as a bonsai. I had to cut it back because it was looking like it would eat the house. (hint: don't plant small saplings near houses. They will grow big & eat the house.) It was a pretty drastic cut that got me thinking that it could look nice as a bonsai. Maybe.

This is all with out looking to see how any of the roots are doing.

I figure the best test will be when i dig them up in the 'spring'. I will have to bare root them because ground dirt doesn't work in pots. So they will be switched to potting soil for the next year or so. I will also add... That white light rocky-stuff to the mix to help with drainage. It will also keep the very large pots light enough to move around until i can plant them again.

This is going to be a very big project.

The second worst problem will be getting as much of their roots as possible. The shock of the transplant will be worse if they have no roots.

The very worst problem is how close to the house they are. I really, really hope they didn't do anything to the foundation.

For the bonsai the roots are best when they spread out and then down. Large tap roots get chopped off early on. I think i did that and spread the roots but that leaves the last... Five or more years for the roots to do what ever they want. Which knowing my luck would be right into the hosta growing with them.

I would take the hosta too but they do *not* do well in pots at all.

This will take a whole day to do. Mostly due to the logistics of were they are currently growing. Oh, sprinklers... I need to do more research.

Here is hopping i can get them up and into pots before they start to open their buds.  

The hidden evil of Closing Costs

It just kills me to see all of the emphasis put on the down payment. All the top articles in my searches are all about the big down payment. Blah this and blah that. Yes, a down payment will be a big chunk of cash.

Closing Costs are worse.

Closing costs are the devil in the detail of the realty world. No one likes to talk about them. Instead they seem to like springing an extra $20,000+ bill on you. Yes, it is mentioned when you go to get pre-approved, but it's mostly glossed over. Because who dosen't have that extra $20,000+ laying around for house hunting? On top of the fabled 20% down payment?

Doesn't everybody? *crickets chirp in the background*

Yes, people will talk about seller concessions. The TV shows certainly do, almost all of their house hunters seem to get sellers to cover 100% of the closing costs. That sellers will always pay closing costs! Blah, blah, blah!

This is, of course, a very big lie.

See, in New York Start sellers can only pay a max of 6% for closing costs. No more and probably less because even that small 6% can be a lot depending on the price of the house you want.

Think of it this way, 6% of $100,000 is $6,000. So that would be the max amount you could ask them to pay. Assuming 20% down payment, that would knock a $26,000 closing cash cost down to $20,000. If the math works out like that, which chances are it wont.

My goal is to save up as much as possible. I was originally also going to pull $5,000 from my 401k (but now thougs people are flipping around their own rules for what I can & can't take.) to bring my total cash on hand up to $12,000. Add in the $7,500 from the program grant and I will have $19,500.

But!!!

The bank wont do the mortgage unless you have 6-ish months worth of potential mortgage payments saved in the bank. That number gets taken away from what you are bring to this, not from the grant. This is why all the math is very, very muddy and no one wants to put their name on anything in case its wrong.

You really have to assume that you will be wheeling and dealing during the closing processes. This is one of the main reasons you want a great realtor and bank on your side.

In my case I am going to have to find the holy grail of realtors.

Personally I am going to try and find one with a lot of sales with the first time home buyer programs and a lot of experience on top of that. I do not want to be someones first foray into the world of realty. I also need to see about selling some things to bring my cash pool up. All's work in house hunting.

Oh Zillow

Oh... I have such a love hate relationship with this site.

Mine you, the site is fantastic. I just can't buy any of it right now.

I have a few that soundly hit everything on my list. A few I have seen come on and off the market over the last few years, so I always get excited again.

I do this to my self.

It's a great way to see what I want, as I always tell myself... The pangs of want are strong. Even in my small price range. Now, if I really want to suffer I just have to increase my price range by 10-20k more (which is soundly out of my range) and then the pangs are more... solid.

But in my wallet.

I'm going to try and not look again until I can actually make a purchase. So, 5-6 months. Yeah... We will see about that.

As for how I am limiting my price rage? I am going by the max I might have for closing costs. Which includes the down payment. Right now it is laughably low. about 12k. In theory I should be able to save another 5-6k which could bring it closer to my goal of 20k.

If I could actually sit my butt down and make &sell artwork and jewelry I might be able to bring that up a lot more. But I have a few kinks in that department that is holding it off. Namely taxes and how the heck do I pay social security? After I get some supplies in I will start to crank out the art& jewelry so I will be ready to sell.

I have so much to do. Definitely going to try and stay off of zillow for a bit.

On Bonsai

So, I used to work on bonsai for a hobby. This was a very passive thing. Living at home made my work space very limited. While i have probably killed one or two with forgetting to water them, the majority have died from being over watered.

My parents assisted with the over watering because they would peek into my room to 'help'. Many words were spoken when i found that out.

I have four ginkgo that look like awkward teenaged seedlings even though three are about 4-5 years old. The fourth is 5-7ish.

I have eight ficus. They are five different kinds with the other three being cuttings.
-one i won in a contest and is very picky and will drop leaves when it feels like it should be offended.
-another i got from a big box store and it has weird round leaves.
-i have a very tiny and abused one that is still kicking from when i started this about ten years ago.
-then there are the cuttings. One cutting is from a few years ago and the others from a few months ago.
-the problem child is one whose roots rotted. After copping the old roots off it would not grow back when put in water. It was weird. When they did grow i put it in damp soil but it seems to have given up. Several years ago i had to do the same thing but it had grown new roots in the water in a few weeks.

I do enjoy poking around with them. They are all in 'bonsai soil' which is pea sized rocks. It works very well for the large trees but with the small ones i had to switch some of them to potting soil because they are drying up far to fast this time. I will switch them back a year after they look stable.

And to think i wasn't going to keep up with the bonsai thing again.  

All the time yet not enough

When I started with the First Time Home Buyer things... It seemed like I had so much time to do nothing but sit around and wait. Ten months seems like a very long time. The person at the bank I am working with further encouraged this thinking by saying when all was said and done I would only have six months to find & close on a house.

I will never say that my bank person was a good bank person. Never.

As I am writing this, I think that I will get in touch with a realty person. I think that they might have a much better hand on what and when I will need things. Plus they might be better able to answer some burning questions...

Such as:
-How often to first time home buyers get sellers concessions?
-Are there location limitations with in NYS?
-WTF are the time limits?
-Farm land, I can haz?
-Why did I do this to myself?

Just a basic run of the mill list of questions.

Oh who am I kidding? I'm going to be a gibbering mess when I finally get to talk to someone that knows how this all really works.