{"id":389,"date":"2015-04-02T13:28:05","date_gmt":"2015-04-02T18:28:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/?p=389"},"modified":"2018-02-19T19:25:43","modified_gmt":"2018-02-20T01:25:43","slug":"purchasing-an-existing-homestead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/purchasing-an-existing-homestead\/","title":{"rendered":"Purchasing an Existing Homestead"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/barn2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-425 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/barn2.jpg\" alt=\"barn2\" width=\"600\" height=\"441\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/barn2.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/barn2-300x221.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h6>Homestead in the Holler is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.<\/h6>\n<p>We purchased an old farm in 2014 and are working on getting things up and running again. &nbsp;This farm hasn&#8217;t been functional for quite a few years. The pastures were rented out for grazing, but the buildings have not been used.<\/p>\n<p>When we were looking for properties, we were looking with our mind on permaculture design. &nbsp;While any property can benefit from applying permaculture principles, there were certain elements we were particularly interested in.&nbsp;&nbsp;Having water, pastures and trees all designed carefully is a high priority for us. &nbsp;While there are advantages to buying an older farm with existing buildings, we are finding there are challenges as well.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Advantages<\/h2>\n<p>There are clearly advantages to buying a homestead that has a house and outbuildings. &nbsp; Here are a few of the advantages that we found when purchasing our property.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Existing utilites; electricity, septic system and a good well are a huge advantage.<\/li>\n<li>Structurally sound barns and other outbuildings are very helpful. &nbsp;The buildings can be used for storage, animal feed, hay, animals and whatever else you need to put away. &nbsp;We didn&#8217;t realize just how much stuff we had until we moved, so having extra storage space is great!<\/li>\n<li>Established trees in the farm yard and forest areas. &nbsp;Trees take years to establish, having large shade trees and shrubs is a lovely benefit. &nbsp;Not to mention the stable ecosystem in the forested areas.<\/li>\n<li>Existing ponds, springs and streams. &nbsp;It takes a lot of thought and work to build a pond. &nbsp;Having water works already in place is a great jump start.<\/li>\n<li>Surprises such as spring flowers, roses, fruit trees and perennial garden plants like rhubarb and berries are icing on the cake!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/go.thrv.me\/aff_c?offer_id=6&amp;aff_id=2296&amp;file_id=50\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.go2speed.org\/brand\/files\/thrivemarket\/6\/728x90_BannerPaleo.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"728\" height=\"90\" border=\"0\"><\/a><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/go.thrv.me\/aff_i?offer_id=6&amp;file_id=50&amp;aff_id=2296\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\"><\/p>\n<h2>What to Consider<\/h2>\n<p>As with everything, there are also things to take into consideration&nbsp;when purchasing an existing homestead. &nbsp;This is especially true if it&#8217;s an older place that&#8217;s in need of some repair. &nbsp;These aren&#8217;t necessarily deal breakers, just a list of things that are valuable when evaluating a property for your homestead.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Closely evaluate the outbuildings. &nbsp;Check for working electricity and if the buildings are structurally sound. &nbsp;Not all is lost if a building is not structurally sound. &nbsp;Barn wood is great for decor and selling barn wood could potentially be a side business. &nbsp;Some of the barns on our property need to be torn down, some due to the placement of the barn and some are&nbsp;in disrepair.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Make note of streams and dry creek beds. &nbsp; Dry creek beds and streams are wonderful assets to your farm, in the right place. &nbsp;If flooding will threaten your house, livestock or barn structure, you may want to reconsider the placement of the barn and it&#8217;s occupants. &nbsp;A local also pointed out a good technique for our area to determine if a stream is seasonal or flows year round: &nbsp;the streams with water cress growing in them flow all the time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Check the fences. A good perimeter fence is very valuable and will save you a lot of time and money. &nbsp; Also keep in mind the kind of fencing that is there. &nbsp;Is it compatible with the animals that you intend to raise? &nbsp;We have a lot of barbed wire fence here, some of it is in decent shape, most of it is not. &nbsp;We intend to raise sheep, goats and pigs so barbed wire fencing isn&#8217;t the correct fencing for our needs. &nbsp;Thankfully there is electric fencing that will help us get going quickly as we work on improving our fences.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Evaluate the ponds. &nbsp;Are the dam walls damaged in any way? &nbsp;Over time trees and animals can weaken the dam walls. &nbsp;Thankfully this problem is fixable. &nbsp;We have a couple of ponds that are placed in great locations but need some work. &nbsp;Cedar trees need to be removed from the dam walls and a few weak spots repaired. &nbsp; It&#8217;s ideal if the animals have been fenced out of the ponds. &nbsp;This will keep the integrity of the pond, encourage ecosystems and keep the ponds clean.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>&nbsp;Water infrastructure. &nbsp;Having water hydrants located in various places as well as well placed ponds and streams are extremely helpful on the homestead. &nbsp;While you can haul water out to your animals, it&#8217;s really nice to have a water source nearby! &nbsp;Your back will thank you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Look at the placement of the buildings on the farm. &nbsp;Are the buildings and pens located in a way that you can develop a good routine without going out of your way (think permaculture zones here)? &nbsp;You will develop a routine over time, but it is important to consider whether the buildings are placed in a way that will be efficient&nbsp;for your purposes. &nbsp;If a barn or pen is in a position that is out of your way, chores will be time consuming and less pleasant, especially in the winter.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Look at the lay of the land. &nbsp;Trees on steep slopes and flat and open pastures are ideal. &nbsp;We have a mixture of trees and pastures here, with rolling hills. &nbsp;It&#8217;s perfect for rotational grazing and orchards, which is what we plan to do. &nbsp;Keep in mind that most farmers and even ranchers do not like heavily treed properties, so if they work into your system, you can save money.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Soil quality. &nbsp;Checking the quality of the soil will give you a good indication of how to amend your soil. &nbsp;Our soil here is rocky with a high clay content and low on organic material. &nbsp;The high clay content is great for building ponds. &nbsp;We are also fortunate&nbsp;to have a creek that floods each year, which deposits a lot of rich, black soil. &nbsp;We are going to use some of that soil in our garden this year.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Starting a homestead is a lot of hard work, no matter how you look at it. &nbsp;But it&#8217;s rewarding work, and worth it! &nbsp; A lot of things can be worked&nbsp;around, ponds can be dug, fencing replaced, barns repaired or built new. &nbsp;It all depends on how much you love the property and how much you are able to invest in time and money. &nbsp;In the end, you may feel naturally drawn to one property. &nbsp;Trust your instincts. &nbsp;Now, go grow some stuff!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Homestead in the Holler is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. We purchased an old farm &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/purchasing-an-existing-homestead\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":425,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[45,44,48,47,43],"class_list":["post-389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-farm-life","tag-buying-farmland","tag-existing-homestead","tag-homestead-from-scratch","tag-homesteading","tag-purchasing-homestead"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Purchasing an Existing Homestead - Homestead In The Holler<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"While there are advantages to buying an older homestead with existing buildings, we are finding there are challenges as well.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/purchasing-an-existing-homestead\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Purchasing an Existing Homestead - Homestead In The Holler\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"While there are advantages to buying an older homestead with existing buildings, we are finding there are challenges as well.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/purchasing-an-existing-homestead\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Homestead In The Holler\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/homesteadintheholler\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"www.facebook.com\/homesteadintheholler\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-04-02T18:28:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-02-20T01:25:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/barn2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"441\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Janelle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Janelle\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/purchasing-an-existing-homestead\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/purchasing-an-existing-homestead\/\",\"name\":\"Purchasing an Existing Homestead - Homestead In The Holler\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/purchasing-an-existing-homestead\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/purchasing-an-existing-homestead\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/barn2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-04-02T18:28:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-02-20T01:25:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/6c2e565042edad013d8cc7c7a33b55ad\"},\"description\":\"While there are advantages to buying an older homestead with existing buildings, we are finding there are challenges as well.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/purchasing-an-existing-homestead\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/purchasing-an-existing-homestead\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/purchasing-an-existing-homestead\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/barn2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/barn2.jpg\",\"width\":600,\"height\":441},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/purchasing-an-existing-homestead\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Purchasing an Existing Homestead\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Homestead In The Holler\",\"description\":\"Permaculture in an Ozark Holler\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/6c2e565042edad013d8cc7c7a33b55ad\",\"name\":\"Janelle\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d28498c253fa3e6e339c27b1f9814148427a452d8a5c51bf67d1b6ac2fc73742?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d28498c253fa3e6e339c27b1f9814148427a452d8a5c51bf67d1b6ac2fc73742?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Janelle\"},\"description\":\"Hi!\u00a0 Around here I wear many hats. Homesteader, farmer, homemaker, homeschool mom, gardener and builder.\u00a0 We strive for a simple, self-sufficient life on our little piece of paradise.\u00a0\u00a0Read more\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.HomesteadInTheHoller.com\",\"www.facebook.com\/homesteadintheholler\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/author\/janelle\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Purchasing an Existing Homestead - Homestead In The Holler","description":"While there are advantages to buying an older homestead with existing buildings, we are finding there are challenges as well.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/purchasing-an-existing-homestead\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Purchasing an Existing Homestead - Homestead In The Holler","og_description":"While there are advantages to buying an older homestead with existing buildings, we are finding there are challenges as well.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/purchasing-an-existing-homestead\/","og_site_name":"Homestead In The Holler","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/homesteadintheholler","article_author":"www.facebook.com\/homesteadintheholler","article_published_time":"2015-04-02T18:28:05+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-02-20T01:25:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":441,"url":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/barn2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Janelle","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Janelle","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/purchasing-an-existing-homestead\/","url":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/purchasing-an-existing-homestead\/","name":"Purchasing an Existing Homestead - Homestead In The Holler","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/purchasing-an-existing-homestead\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/purchasing-an-existing-homestead\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/barn2.jpg","datePublished":"2015-04-02T18:28:05+00:00","dateModified":"2018-02-20T01:25:43+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/6c2e565042edad013d8cc7c7a33b55ad"},"description":"While there are advantages to buying an older homestead with existing buildings, we are finding there are challenges as well.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/purchasing-an-existing-homestead\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/purchasing-an-existing-homestead\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/purchasing-an-existing-homestead\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/barn2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/barn2.jpg","width":600,"height":441},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/purchasing-an-existing-homestead\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Purchasing an Existing Homestead"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/","name":"Homestead In The Holler","description":"Permaculture in an Ozark Holler","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/6c2e565042edad013d8cc7c7a33b55ad","name":"Janelle","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d28498c253fa3e6e339c27b1f9814148427a452d8a5c51bf67d1b6ac2fc73742?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d28498c253fa3e6e339c27b1f9814148427a452d8a5c51bf67d1b6ac2fc73742?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Janelle"},"description":"Hi!\u00a0 Around here I wear many hats. Homesteader, farmer, homemaker, homeschool mom, gardener and builder.\u00a0 We strive for a simple, self-sufficient life on our little piece of paradise.\u00a0\u00a0Read more","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.HomesteadInTheHoller.com","www.facebook.com\/homesteadintheholler"],"url":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/author\/janelle\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=389"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1370,"href":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389\/revisions\/1370"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homesteadintheholler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}