Dave Edmunds

Amy Jurek wrote:We just recieved word today that we're qualified for 50 percent of the cost up to $20,000.00. Our local NRCS & FSA offices were really great at helping us navigate through all the paperwork and within a few weeks they came out to survey the field we had chosen. We still need to accept the offer and finalize the high tunnel model and contractor. We have an 80+ acre farm and grow most anything that works in zone 6a but corn.

How did things work out? Any pics or advice?

Angel Munoz wrote:Hello Dave my name is Angel Munoz,
 I just ran across your post and am very interested in seeing the property and meeting if possible. I reside in Nampa Idaho and just started my venture on acquiring  land to start a homestead business. I will leave my email and phone number please feel free to reach out anytime.
angelgloria9555@gmail.com
(626) 822-0006
Thank you for your time.

Thanks Angel,

I just emailed you via my email account.

To all others, please feel free to email at kozzyacres@gmail.com for more information.

Hello All,

I have mini-farm with a house available for sale. The property is move-in ready for someone to start an income-producing mini-farm business.

www.kozzyacres.com

Property

· Kosciusko, MS
· Newly remodeled 3B/2B house*
· 8’ X 32’ office trailer
· 9 acres
· Forest
· Pond
· Propane tank (for off-grid living) - leased
· Second water meter
· Second septic tank
· Reliable high-speed internet

*Also has kitchen, living room, dining room, office, laundry room, canning room, mud room.

Mini-farm

· USDA FSA-certified farm*
· 12’ X 24’ vented high tunnel
· 15 Raised garden beds
· Herb garden area
· Goat shed w/pen
· Chicken coop w/run
· Stable for horse or cow
· Large barn building
· Rainwater collection system
· Near three good selling markets (Jackson, Meridian, Starkville)
· Rural – but only 12 minutes from downtown and business strip
· Hunting/Fishing (former deer camp, pond previously held catfish)

*Qualifies for NRCS EQIP grant applications for 2,100 sq. ft. high tunnel, livestock fencing and water system to livestock.

Please visit www.kozzyacres.com for more details. Feel free to contact me with questions using the Contact button on the website after you have read all of the pages.

Asking price for the property and potential farm business is $300,000.

Thanks in advance for your interest!

My NRCS officer in MS told me I could qualify for up to $9,000 for a 30 X 70 high tunnel. They have a list of suppliers, but I could use my own contractor or build it myself. You have to meet certain guidelines, but a 2,100 sq. ft. high tunnel could be turned into a significant commercial operation if you are near adequate selling markets.

You can also get a pond put on your property (must be used to water livestock) and livestock fencing, as well. You need to first register your property with the Farm Service Agency as a farm. It's a simple process, and you can qualify even if you're just gardening for your family.

If you call your local NRCS office, you might get someone to come out and walk your property and give you ideas for your homestead/farm, and they'll tell you about other resources, including technical advice, that's available. I have a small pond already and there's not a good one for a second pond, but my NRCS officer told me they would "get water to your livestock" via a pipe and trough or some other means.

Check out the USDA EQIP grant programs, as well.

https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/apply-for-environmental-quality-incentives-program-eqip

Good luck.

Local agents will often be wiling to visit the house for you. I found one who had already been in and inspected a house for a flipper, and she was able to give me detailed information. I found another local realtor who knew the seller, and another who agreed to meet my inspector at the property. Local agents might also know the seller's agent, who will often be more forthcoming with information about the property.

Anne Miller wrote:

Carla said, " tell their real estate agents, who *can* use it to match up people and homes. When said real-estate agents are really good at what they do, this is important to them.

This is really good information.

I feel buyers need to find a really good local agent who will work with the buyer to find a piece of property.

I have always felt that is something that buyers neglect to do.

To me, most buyers want to find something online and do not have someone who will represent them.

Thanks Carla,

I'm obviously pursuing a very small slice of the real estate pie - those who are willing to pay more for the lifestyle (beyond what the real estate is worth) and who would rather have the work done for them, rather than spend months researching how to build a farm, hiring contractors, doing some of the work themselves. Some people are flush with cash.

Owner financing and business loans are two options in this scenario, along with finding those who have extra cash they would rather spend to live a sustainable lifestyle on a homestead or farm for 20 or 30 or 40 years.

Carla Burke wrote:

Dave Edmunds wrote:Yes, this is the scenario I'm describing - thanks.

If you Google "homestead for sale" or "micro-farm for sale" there's literally nothing available. It's mostly land or abandoned farms that have homes that need to be gutted with no garden in place.

I was just wondering if anyone had seen any turn-key, move-in ready homesteads for sale, or had ever sold one, and what happened with the finance. I assume in the scenario I describe, some people would ask for the owner to finance the excess, or come up with other creative ideas.

Considering how many people are looking to move out of the cities and 'burbs and would like to live on a sustainable homesteadd/farm with modern amenities, they'd be happy to pay $150K to $250K considering most starter homes are now $300K and above.

Thanks for your responses.

This is the kind of information you're going to find difficult to pin down, online. When we bought our place, 4yrs ago, I started by hunting online, and came up with next to nothing. When I gave up and started looking for something that had a couple of the main features we were looking for, I posted an inquiry about one parcel, and was contacted via email, by a real estate agent local to the area, who offered to show it to us. Since we lived about an 8hr drive away, he also asked if we like to look at any other properties. It took us a few days of back & forth emails, before I finally felt willing to share with him EXACTLY what we wanted to do with our land, and the full parameters of our budget. For example, the total budget, which would have to include an existing house or cost to build one, a place to live during construction, garden or possibility to put one in, barn(s), land size, our plans, etc.

The banks don't give a rat's patoot about any of that, so it rarely gets listed online, but the owners will generally tell their real estate agents, who *can* use it to match up people and homes. When said real-estate agents are really good at what they do, this is important to them. When a seller really wants to sell, their pricing will reflect that, and they'll understand that the banks don't care about those extras - little or big. Some sellers are willing to work it out, but most have to accept that an appraisal has a very heavy bearing on what they can get - unless they're willing and able to do an owner finance, or a rent-to-own situation.