Chance of Inheriting Property?

Hello.

I'm posting to see if you think that there's any chance that I might inherit property through the SKIP program.

Most people participating in the SKIP program seem to be young.  I am 35.  And, in the interest of full disclosure, I have a disability.  I suffer from schizophrenia.  

I am interested in inheriting property for a couple of reasons.  First of all, homesteading is my dream.  If anyone leaves me property, I promise to never divide it up and sell it.  The other reason why is because, due to my health issues, it would be a lot easier for me to keep up a homestead than to work a 9-5 job.  When working on a homestead, the working hours would be more flexible, and it would be ok if I had a bad day now and then and weren't able to work much.

So, I ask you: realistically, is there any chance that anyone might leave me property through the SKIP program?  Am I too old?  Is my disability a turn-off?

Thanks for giving me your opinion.

Alex, welcome to the forum!

I would say the answer to your question is  ... Sure!

Not all the participants are young and some of them are older than you so my suggestion would be to get started now while you are still young.

i think the ‘otises’ that will be leaving the properties to people are likely as mixed a bag as the rest of us. maybe some of them will have had loved ones with similar situations or disabilities, and might not view it as a dealbreaker. and at 35, you still likely have many years of work left in you, but with more experience to pull from than someone younger.

if it’s what you want to do and can get far enough in the skip program that people can see what you can do, i don’t see a reason not to.

You bet, you're still a young pup!

Don't forget that "Skills" is the first part. Building a deep, wide skill set is never a waste. It brings resilience and confidence.

I learned many of these practical skills growing up on a working farm and gaining competence as an outdoorsman ("school of hard knocks"). They have served me well in life.

Thank you for the encouragement, everyone!  It was very reassuring.  I can't wait to get started with the SKIP program!

Alex Green wrote:Thank you for the encouragement, everyone!  It was very reassuring.  I can't wait to get started with the SKIP program!

Nothing in life has guarantees - just as an example, I lost a cousin to a freak accident - 35 years ago, but what might have been different if she'd been in a different place or the same place but a different time?

If I was in your age group and with your disability, my first approach to SkIP, would be to look at which skills would improve my life this month, or save me money. There is a doctor in the US who helped her psych patients reduce the amount of medication required, by improving their diet and gut health. There are plenty of BB's that would help with that. I've been on my property for 30 years and I still find new plants that I can't identify, and am amazed at how many plants I've found that are either edible or medicinal. Wild plants often pack a much higher nutritional punch than grocery store veggies. You haven't mentioned what your living situation or location is, but even city parks in some places have edible wild plants.

Even outside the SkIP program, but here on permies, there are plenty of skills to be practiced and perfected that can make a person's life more resilient and fulfilling. I keep hearing about people who do nothing but watch TV or Twitter or similar for hours on end. If that time went into learning skills that could be used such as how to graft fruit trees (I bud grafted an apple tree today - crossing my fingers it will take!) just think how many "ornamental" boulevard trees could start producing edible fruit?

If there are vacant lots in your area, stealth gardening with seed balls might be an idea to consider. If you see gardens with flowers going to seed, you could "build community" by asking if you could harvest some seed for seed balls? If you see veggie gardens, you could ask if they save seed, and research the techniques for doing so. My front porch has 2 planters - one from saved Russian Kale and the other had lettuce first and now beans from saved seed. The second one has a few flowers from a friend, and a basil plant from a different friend that she rooted from a piece she broke off by accident. Many grocery store fruit and veg have viable seeds - you just have to research to figure out which ones.

There's so much to learn and do and SkIP can be a road map. Enjoy the journey!

Forgot to post about the bees!

Nice looking chicken! You seem to be treating your employees well!

I sooo... wish my ecosystem was more tomato-friendly. We don't reliably get the hot days they prefer.

Unfortunately, we moved after those pictures were taken.  The climate where I live now (greater New Orleans area) is so hot that I haven't had any success growing tomatoes.  It might just be too hot for them.  According to the heat index, for the past month or so, we've had a number of days that feel like 110-115 degrees.  It has just baked the tomatoes.  I haven't even had success pollinating the plants by hand, which I normally do, because the flowers are so dried out and brittle.  As far as my long-term plans go, I would really prefer to have a homestead in a cooler climate.  We'll see.

I forgot to mention that I'm also very interested in herbal medicine, which is a homesteading skill.  I've collected a number of books on it and have started experimenting with taking different herbs.

In fact, I've started my own homesteading reference library, which I consider to be part of my homesteading effort.  It is my pride and joy.  It has information on everything from herbal medicine to gardening and seed saving to baking to emergency medicine to physical fitness to brewing drinks like beer and mead.  Building the library has been a blast, and I'm adding to it, slowly but surely.

It's not huge yet, but it's getting there!

I'm not sure whether I should have started a new topic with this question, but I hated to take up too much room on the message boards.

As I've been researching, I've seen a lot of people spending lots of time and money on things like homesteading workshops (the SKIP events), books, etc.  And the SKIP program itself has been going on for several years.

My question is: how many people have inherited property?  I understand and agree with the fact that the homesteading skills are worth the trouble, but I still feel like we should know what our chances are.

After looking at the leaderboard, there are 2 people who have achieved PEP1 and 23 people who are BB60.  So my question is: how many of them have actually inherited property?  What is the success rate?  I am very interested in doing things like attending the classes, but only if "Otises" really are coming on here and looking for homesteaders.

So, in the 4 years or so since the program started, how many people have people successfully inherited property using the program?

My guess is that Otis are waiting for PEP2 and above.

PEP1 is probably 1-2 months of solid work. Thinking a Otis will pick someone with only PEP 1 is like a company hiring a engineer after one semester of university.

I think the lack of an Otis picking someone isn't a problem with the Otises or the SKIP program, but that we have 0 PEP2 and only 2 PEP1.

This *is* an experimental program. There are people spending money to do it (although the e-book cost is less than the fancy coffee my friend buys), but there's a lot that can be done with only the cost of materials, and you get to keep the result, so if it's something you'll want or use, you've now got it.

Even the cost of going to Wheaton Labs isn't likely that much more than going to a fancy resort in Mexico and I know people that are *still* doing that despite the environmental impact! I suspect that socializing at Wheaton Labs would interest me far more than socializing at a resort.

However, if my primary goal was to own land, I would do all the SkIP badges I could that would help me towards that goal. I would try to find other local people who might consider working along with me so we start to build community and feel less alone. *And* I'd take a page out of  Toby Hemenway's books, and look for ways to "permaculture" the place I'm living in - empty lots, people's back-yards that they don't have the energy to manage, containers that could grow food instead of flowers etc. Food is a major budget item, but so is transportation, and housing. So if you can only grow 25% of your food, try to grow the priciest 25% or the most nutritious 25%. If you can ditch a car in favor of a bike and trailer, that's another big savings. Then if you get a job, put the money you save in food and biking straight into your "land budget" for the future.

Pearl Sutton here on permies has identified before that many elderly in her neighborhood would gladly pay a reliable person to help with things they can't/shouldn't do, like climbing a ladder to change lightbulbs or clear eves troughs. If you're a part of the community, word will get around and you may find work that is better than minimal wage and more rewarding. And some of the tasks that need doing, might earn you a SkIP badge (snow clearing???)

I do believe that some of the people doing SkIP will eventually inherit land. I simply know too many elderly people who either have no relatives, or whose relatives would have no interest in their permaculture paradise.  Even if you don't inherit it outright, you may be able to get a good price on it by demonstrating that you really won't just turn it into condos!