Latestarter's ramblings/musings/gripes and grumbles.

[Bruce]

Sounds good Joe! Really nice it has that tree farm on one side. Not part of the property but nothing going on there other than a buffer between the property and the one 2 over.

 

[AClark]

I don't know about y'all but farming in flip flops is a must. I'd never wear shoes if I didn't have to! It only sucks when something heavy steps on your foot

 

[NH homesteader]

@Latestarter your last post made my day. Property taxes are high here in NH but the rest is good. We are left alone and our neighbors don't mind us. Even on our shooting practice days! The biggest problem is proximity to Mass and higher population states. We are certainly also prepared for the zombies. Even have a hiding place picked out haha. You and my husband would get along! Good luck finding a place that fits the bill.

 

[Latestarter]

Oh man... Born and raised in taxachusetts... I feel your pain. Love the White Mountains and spent a great deal of time up in NH in my youth. When I first started searching I looked at property there (& ME and VT) but unless you want to be up by the Canadian border, there wasn't any sizable/decent properties anywhere near my price zone most were 1 or 2 acres and I was really searching for 10+ or larger.

 

[NH homesteader]

Yep that is true. My husband and I are so fortunate that we both have longstanding family property holders, so my parents gave us 5 acres to start and we are saving up to buy their adjoining property. And his father owns something like 1,000 acres if we ever get to that point! We briefly lived in CT, I couldn't get out of there fast enough and get back home!

 

[Latestarter]

There is definitely something to be said for having family well established in a region over many years/generations.

 

[babsbag]

I don't know about y'all but farming in flip flops is a must. I'd never wear shoes if I didn't have to! It only sucks when something heavy steps on your foot

Yeah, like a goat.
Also I worry about snakes. I used to live in flip flops and clogs...then I saw the damage that a rattlesnake bite can do. DH just killed one last week, it crossed me path and that was a mistake but they are certainly in my neck of the woods.

 

[Bruce]

There's some really nice places all around is that aren't listed online. We drive all over this part of TX visiting friends and family, and delivering foster dogs.

Maybe set up a time to just drive around? Driving May show you properties you've missed, but, it's a PITA.

True. But often places that aren't listed are located in a VERY desireable location (which means different things to different people) and the price will be higher than the same place if it were located even 1/2 mile away. That is the case in my prior neighborhood. It is REALLY REALLY rare that you would ever see a house there listed with a realtor. Just tell your neighbors that you want to sell and they will get the word out. No open houses, no 6% for the realtor.

 

[AClark]

Since I grew up in AZ, we spent half the summer shooting rattlesnakes - I've luckily never been bitten but it is a life-long habit to watch where I put my feet. Since the winters are mild there too, they come out even mid-winter during the day. We had a horse bitten in the nose by one (we have mostly Mohave rattlesnakes) and she was comatose for 9 days with tubes up her nose. We had to go out and flip her over every 2 hours. She did recover though. One last summer wasn't as lucky, bitten in the neck, he laid down in the back 100+ acres and with the brush we couldn't find him, he finally came up for water several days later but ended up going down not far from there. Nasty darn things!
I had a horse in mind when I was thinking of having something big step on your foot, heck they're so big they don't even realize they're on your foot while you're howling and pushing them off you - shoes or not! Mesquite thorns and goatheads are the enemy though.

 

[Devonviolet]

Ah yes . . . TAXES! The bane of every property owner's existence! More so in some states than others.

When we lived in PA, in a 600 sq ft (footprint -1200 sq ft total) condo, 4 miles outside York), our annual taxes were $4500!!! And that was with the "homestead" deduction. Everyone wanted a piece of the pie. We had state, city, county & school property taxes.

Then, there was county and state income tax. If I'm not mistaken, the state even taxed our Social Security income, when the Feds didn't. The BUMS!

Here in Texas we have five acres. We qualify for the "homestead" and "senior" deductions, and our taxes are a hair over $1300. I complain, because the previous owners paid $930, with homestead & disability (same as senior) deductions. Not sure why we pay more on the same county appraised property. But, in reality I know we are getting off easy compared to many in this country. And a LOT less than in PA!

We also don't pay income tax here in Texas. In PA they always managed to get around $200+ out of us, even though our only income was SSI.

Now, if we could just get them to lower the sales tax, I would be much happier. Here in Texas we pay 8.25% sales tax on everything. In PA we paid 6.125% sales tax and food & clothes were exempt.