Posted in Homestead or Bust

Duck, duck, duck………….GOOSE!

Have you ever played that game?

Goose chasing can be fun, if your original intent is to chase geese.  But when you’re earnestly searching for that dream homestead, a goose chase is hardly what you have in mind.

Unfortunately, goose chases are all too often a part of the package when searching for life in the country.  I have mentioned before, it is not always that the property owner or real estate agent is deliberately misleading (albeit there are those who are…), but their sole purpose is to sell the property you may be inquiring about and to do so, they need you to see it – in person.

Initially, we wanted to buy an old farm house that had already been restored and updated or one that was not too far gone that we could affordably re-do ourselves.  One particular farm we inquired about, early in our searching days, had already been through a great many of the updating steps including vinyl siding, new plumbing and a few other improvements.  You can imagine my delight having zipped through my list of questions receiving positive feedback.  The appointment was set and our day was planned for an across state trip to see the farm of our future.  Upon arriving, it was immediately obvious that I failed to ask and the owner failed to mention that the house sat twenty feet from the road that was now a double-yellow lined state highway.  My balloon was deflated immediately.  I added more specific questions to my ever growing list.

Another similar trip proved to be a bit more encouraging as it was on a secondary road, sat 3 acres back from the road and also had a few updates already made including a new metal roof – right up my alley.  However, upon walking around the outside of the farm house, it became clear that while the owner spared no expense on vinyl siding, a new metal roof and replacement windows, the sides of the house were bowing out.  So much so was the outward sagging, that my husband and I walked out to the road to view each side of the house – both sides were sagging outward.  When we inquired about the sagging, the homeowner came clean stating that they had had termites and water damage, had to jack up the house for more support and left the jacks in place in the crawl space!

While looking at and considering tracts of land, I arrived to find a fifteen acre tract of land that had been completely clear cut of all its timber prior to being put on the market.  My initial call to inquire about the land was met with eager answers to all my questions including, “Yes, there are hardwood trees on the property,” and, “yes, there is a creek at the rear boundary,” and, “yes, it has frontage and access from a dirt road.”  While the answers to my questions were not complete untruths, they were not expounded upon either.  The hardwoods in question?  There were about five scattered over the entire fifteen acre tract of land.  Did I mention that there were fifteen acres of stumps everywhere that trees used to be?  The creek was a mere trickle of a spring that began and ended within the rear boundary of the property and the acreage was, in fact, on a dirt road.  However, not the first glimpse of utilities was in sight of this road.  In fact, utility service lines were two roads back and would be at our expense to have them brought down the road.  Clearly, my list of questions was growing at lightning speed.

But the honey of all goose chases throughout our years of searching for Jacobs Farm was when we found the oldest house in Greene County, Georgia.  My father had been reading through the real estate ads in the Atlanta paper and called with what read as our dream place; it had our name all over it.  Along with sixteen acres of land was, reportedly, the oldest house in this county; it had history, it had Greek revival architecture, it had the right price, and it had a state of Virginia phone number.  During the telephone interview, I couldn’t quite capture a gauge on the man who was the owner, but I gathered that he was originally from Virginia and had been living in Georgia since his college attendance in Athens, Georgia – as in the University of Georgia (slight red flag).

At this point in our searching, it had been decided that I would go to view a property first and if it had real potential, then my husband, Alan, would go for the second viewing.  I have not the slightest idea why, but Alan broke our rule and chose to go for the first visit to this property (the red flag was beginning to wave).  After a two and a half hour drive traversing multiple deer hunting dirt roads that are normally traveled only by four wheelers, we arrived at this oldest house…  I can verify that it was, indeed, the oldest house.  It sat in the middle of a field.  It had no paint.  It had never been painted.  It was brown.  It was very brown like the old brown barns and old tenant houses you see all over the rural South.  And its owner was standing on the front porch smiling with his three-legged dog that he brought all the way from Virginia (the red flag was now in flames).

I could not look at my husband; I looked straight ahead and, through gritted teeth, said to the boys, “Do not say a word.  We’re going to smile, we’re going to be polite and we’re going to get through this as quickly and as painlessly as possible.”  The long and short of this oldest house was that the owner, a former UGA student and now musician (and yes, he is in a real band who’s music is played on a major network today as I type and that I won’t mention), had purchased the house to prevent its demolition.  He had the house moved to the sixteen acres and he and his college friends had lived there since college in the 1980’s; the very early ‘80’s – it was the year 2001 at that time.  As we walked through the house, I glanced down at the floor only to see the earth beneath it!  You could see between the planks in the floor.  The highlight of the oldest house tour was when the owner gave us the inside trivia scoop about another popular music group (also from the Athens music scene) having made a particular music video in the upstairs room of the attic.

Suffice to say, we earned our Homestead Searching Badge that day.

Do not hesitate to be honest with property owners and their agents, especially if you have young children that you are making child care arrangements for to see a property or are bringing them with you to the property.  It’s your time and energy invested in your search.  While it is a must that you do your homework and ask as many thorough questions as possible, there will still be those properties that manage to slip through all of your efforts.  Be realistic when it happens and be flexible.  Last week, I recommended that you factor in set backs; this week's tip: factor in goose chases.

A good sense of humor……….

Don’t leave home without it.

 Harriette

Okay all you Homestead Bloggers ~ share your moving stories!  What was your craziest goose chase when you were searching for your homestead dream?  Leave a comment here and share your experiences.  Better yet, blog about it and leave a link in the comments section for your post.

Despite all their goose chases while trying to find the homestead of their dreams, Harriette managed to remain married to her husband, Alan and is homeschooling “Mom” to their two sons, ages 14 and 12.   As former Atlanta natives, they moved to their 36 acre family farm in East Central Georgia in December 2003. 

Visit Harriette at:

South of the Gnat Line

http://www.homesteadblogger.com/southofthegnatline

Or at:

Jacobs Academy: A Dirt Road Education

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/jacobsacademy