So long story short, we live in town. Cute house (small cape cod) with a big yard for the dogs. We have been pretty happy here since 2009 though we still miss Texas (badly)! We have great neighbors on our street, it is near everything, and it has been a pretty good place to call home.
My husband got a job in West Chester this past September so now his 2-5 minute commute (he came home each day for lunch to eat and let dogs out, spoiled much?) now is at least an hour each way. And NOW I have to go home and let dogs out. If any of you are local to the DE/PA area you know how much traffic is hell in this area.
But I do get to telecommute some (at least 2-3 days each week unless hell breaks loose like the past couple weeks) which is nice. So we decided to start looking to see what is out there for us closer to Mark’s work (probably into PA) but not so far away that I can’t still drive to Newark 2-3 times a week.
Anyone who says it is fun looking at houses is not actively looking at that time. Because guys, the market is hot. We had seven houses to look at the other week and four were under contract before we could see them. And finding a farmette is damn near impossible (Unless our budget was unlimited (spoiler: it is not!)). We are pre-approved without selling our current house which is awesome since we can’t sell it till we get OUT of it (See above, small cape cod with us, two dogs, and a cat, ummm nope).
So not only have we looked a few farms in our price range (one was taken off the market, we would have bought, one was too much house for us (4500 sq feet??) and one was not the right house and barn for us) so now we are also looking at just houses with an acre or more for us and the dogs. Because we might not find a farm we want before we retire (HA). (We are not that old, retirement is not nigh yet!)
We have seen some very nice houses and passed on them for one reason or another (my elderly dad is one reason as he has trouble with steps and one perfect house was great in the house but outside there were steps everywhere). Besides that one house was on the market two days and has a contract already. EGADS. I am not the type of person to jump on the very first house we see and I think most people DO just that. Which scares me. A LOT!
We went to an open house to a house we loved the first time we saw it and we could have had Remus there possibly but it was at the high end of our budget and also would need fencing, etc. (P.S. it has sold so no worries there).
There were at least 10 cars there for one open house at one time in the afternoon. And everyone of those 10 cars had about five kids with them. But if it had been right we would have made an offer but it wasn’t (Fencing alone would have cost a lot and it really wasn’t that much closer to Mark’s work even if it was in PA!).
I think part of my problem is I see a nice house that MIGHT work for us but then oh what if we make an offer and a PERFECT farmette goes on the market? So my dilemma (and i am asking you guys) would you wait for a perfect farmette where Remus could live as well as us? Or do I keep looking at houses (in a better area for my husband’s commute which is really the point, poor husband is a gem considering how he is willing to buy a farmette if I find one!). My husband also gets sidetracked and loses interest fast so it is is a delicate act to keep him engaged enough to LOOK at houses let alone SIGN ON ONE.
I am hoping we find the perfect place that we both will be happy at. It would be great to have Remus out back (I haul most places as it is so really the lack of the ring would not bother me at all, I just would like to go outside and see my horse and be able to interact with him daily).
Any other farm/house seeking adventures anyone wants to share?? Anyone know of a nice farmette in PA (Chester County from Landenberg to West Chester area) that I don’t have to sell organs to buy? Bueller? Bueller??
Fat Buckskin in a Little Suit 
Well, my former landlord is selling is property but since you mention that your budget isn’t unlimited and you are going from a tiny house you probably aren’t looking at his property. But, if I win the lottery I’m buying it (I guess I should buy a lottery ticket actually increase my odds from 0%?). Or, really, if anyone has an extra $1.1 million laying around there is a nice place in Landenberg/New London that I’d like without my crazy ex-landlord…
That said, that commute… Ouch. For me, I’m in Oxford so my daily drive from Oxford to Newark is great. 22 minutes, no traffic (except with the stupid work on the traffic circle at Appleton Road and 273 near Fair Hill where we sat for 15 minutes while they’re working to finish that project). But ideally, where would you like to be? The property taxes in PA are going to be higher but depending on where you end up the traffic isn’t necessarily as bad. Obviously West Chester is bad in general, but Toughkenamon might be a good area or even Avondale? I found the property taxes in Avondale to be lower but the house we liked didn’t work out (flood risk…). Even Kennett Square area might be ok of course I don’t know of any properties for sale other than my ex-landlord’s…
My only piece of advice is to avoid anything where you might have to compete with the Amish. They will win even if they are financing. I lost out on a house with an identical offer with financing, but it was my terms. I was going to want a roof replaced and things repaired and electric checked and stuff like that. The Amish don’t care as much. Much of the repairs they can and will do themselves. The second we heard we were competing with an Amish offer (this one in Cochranville), we knew we lost.
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wtf with that traffic circle on Appleton. That is worse than it was. UGH I hate taking the trailer thru that way EVER. ICK. We have looked in Landenberg, Avondale, and even up in Coatesville/Cochranville. We like Kennett a lot and that is almost halfway between our work. but finding the right property. yeah….(Good note on the Amish). Thanks for the info.
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That damn traffic circle is killing me! I’m about ready to take 896 into work just to avoid it. They stopped us to SET UP CONES this morning. If I had only left 3 minutes earlier… so annoying. Kennett is nice though!
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You should just buy a farmette here and give it to me.
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ummm no. Unless i get to move back there 🙂
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yeah sure you can live there too I guess
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oy, good luck! you should talk to Allison from Pony’tude – she’s in the business and may know a tip or trick for your hunting purposes 😉
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Thanks for the mention, Emma! Michelle, did you know I am a licensed real estate agent in PA and my company specializes in horse properties!? IT’S TRUE! And yes, there is NO inventory right now and so things are getting snapped up very quickly. It’s a weird, weird market this spring. If you want to shoot me an email with your price range I can see if we have anything up and coming that might work, or even something that was on the market last year and didn’t sell. As far as home with an acre or two vs. a farmette… how happy are you with your boarding situation now, and is it your ultimate goal to own horse property, or just kind of a nice thought? Sounds like close proximity to West Chester is your main priority right now, and horse property in that area goes for a pretty penny! I won’t take up your whole comment section here, but shoot me an email, my people can talk to your people, we’ll find you a place. 🙂
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hi Allison, I will email you! We had a small farmette in Texas and I liked having the horses at home (it helped having a boarder like the900facebookpony I must say :)) Remus is in a pretty good place now (I actually love the barn owner she is so good at what she does) but I really think I would do more with him at home. Sometimes i don’t have time to run out to the barn after work but if he was in my back yard…in theory…But yes there are VERY Few horse properties in the areas we are looking and the ones we have seen so far are A) too expensive B) Affordable but not nice house/barn/property/located at a bad intersection you name it or C) Sold before we get there 🙂 We shall see. I have a show Sat and Fair Hill on Sun so we might not see a damn thing this weekend and that might be okay. My husband is already burned out on looking! But look for an email! Thanks
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I wish you the best of luck. My husband and I have been house hunting since LAST APRIL (2016) for a house in the country with 2+ acres that we could potentially put a horse on eventually. We’ve even looked at 1+ acres as well. We are in a different area than you and looking in a specialized location so the houses when they come up are far and few between. Then they are either not what we want or stupid expensive. So I completely commiserate – house hunting is NOT fun. I certainly hope you find something soon! 🙂
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oh my goodness. last APRIL? Holy cow. It is amazing some of the stuff that is out there and some of the prices. Best of luck to you as well. I hope you find something. We have a bit more choice here but it still hard going. And of course WORK gets into the way so we dont always get to see anything till the weekend. Sigh….
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