Our property project to freedom 45! We are NOT crazy.
One year ago my husband and I bought a property just outside our favourite small town in Ontario. The first time we saw it we both said no way. There is a big old dilapidated house (double wide trailer) that is a complete eye sore. Clearly filled with a troubled history along with the mold and filth. It was such a shame that it was left to rot on such a nice little 1.25 acres plot of land on a dead end road with no visible neighbours.
Having our privacy was extremely important along with being close to town for winter driving. A week later we drove past this spot again and paid a bit more attention to the little spring that ran through the front lawn. We could hear the water flowing, the birds chirping and with our backs turned away from the house we realized it was actually perfect. I wasn't 100% sold but the price was right and my husband got excited!
Fast forward to today. We have worked very hard over the last year clearing and cleaning the land. We both work and live an hour and a half away so this is a weekend and holiday deal. We bought ourselves a little old trailer to sleep in while we built a more permanent 100sq ft "bunkie".
The old house is still standing and the quote we got to take it down was way more than we want to spend SO we have decided to work on it piece by peiece. Can you demolish an old house by hand? Why not? It was built by hand so we can't see why it can't come down the same way!
You see we have worked so hard all our lives and realized that mortagages, loans and credit cards are not the answer. We will never truly be happy until we are free from debt. Most people would just spend the $12,000 and be done with it but we had decided from the beginning that we were going to do all of this with cash. And when you start dealing with cash, saving any where you can becomes extremely important. So we are now ready to begin removing this old house and begin laying new roots here.
Our dream would be to build a small 400-600 sq ft "tiny" house with garden and small barn to keep my miniature horses along with goats and chickens. A place where we can live quietly and enjoy the simple things always learning along the way. We have already enjoyed so much here in only a year so I can imagine the fun we'll have making this our home.
We have a ton of work to do but we are focused on proving to friends and family that hard work can make dreams come true! We can't wait to prove all our doubters wrong.
I look forward to sharing our journey here... one step at a time. Follow me to see how we make out with our crazy vision.
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Wow look at that big strong guy! tough as nails. Ill be up there soon once my shoulder heals!!!
Wow so nice. You are living the dream! I want to follow your progress for sure.
My wifenour 3 year old boy and I arw in a similar boat as you. We got ourselves a property last april and we are 2 hours away so it's a weekend thing only for now.
We want to build our home without a mortgage or credit cards. And we also would like to prove to the ney sayers they're wrong!
Good luck and I can't wait till you have more on your journey for us to read....
Thanks fo sharing the inspiration! Following you!!!
Awesome @senorcoconut! Yes we too are determined to show people it can be done! Lots of work but it’s worth it in the end!!! 💪
Oh yes... A lot. So much work everytime we've been on the property and it feels like we have nothing to show for it!!! But we do a little.
Let's show 'em how it's done
Your property looks beautiful! That old house looks like it could probably tell a story or two. Our family also thinks we are unconventional for living as debt free as we possibly can. We often here comments about just 'biting the bullet' to get things done. After buying our 50 acres we are no longer debt free but we do plan on doing much of the work ourselves to keep our debt load minimal so we can pay it off quickly. I suspect friends and family are judgemental because seeing other make sacrifies where they might be willing to would be uncomfortable. Plus, we live in a world of instant gratification and where we are taught that homes are a "healthy debt". I have said it before, and I will say it again "healthy debt" is a complete oxymoron.
Well, congratulations! I look forward to following your journey.
-Aimee
Thank you! Totally agree! Society and priorities are way off track! Makes us work even harder to prove it can be done! 👍 We can do anything if we put our minds to it!
I couldn't agree more! Since I wasn't able to vote in your article when it first came out, please consider my comment vote a delayed upvote! Cheers, Aimee
Good luck with your new life!
Thank You!!😊
I love it! You guys are doing great, glad to see you making a run at it. Trust me, I know the hard work you're putting in and as time passes and you see your progress it will become all the more rewarding. Keep pushing forward!
Thank you!! I've been inspired by so many others and know that this is exactly what I need to do! 😊
@otterbeme got you a $1.48 @minnowbooster upgoat, nice! (Image: pixabay.com)
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What a great piece of land you have!!! Good for you! I love what you are doing, and how you are staying debt free. Here's a couple of idea's for the old house...invite some Martial arts clubs to demo it !!! or here in NZ, sometimes we tell the fire department they can have a house to burn down for practice, they usually jump at the chance...all for free!! Anyway. I will check in with your progress. Have upvoted.
Thank you @madein-hisimage Yes I did try the fire department but unfortunately they said they no longer do this for training. My husband thinks he is a Ninja so we'll have to see what he comes up with lol!