We are now the proud owners of our very own farm. That's right, we are taking the girl out of the city and joining the ranks of those in the know and fleeing to the country. This has been such a long process that I guess I will just start from the beginning.
When Miles and I moved from SE to SW a couple of years ago we left behind a couple of lovely neighbors. They happened to be moving at the same time as us but to Sauvie Island, this idilic agricultural island 30 minutes outside of Portland. They were realizing a dream to start their own CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and live a beautiful life. Miles and I couldn't make that big of a leap so we settled on suburban SW Portland and all that it has to offer.
Over the last couple of years we have watched them struggle now and again with various farm life issues, but through it all they have been incredibly happy with their choice to leave the city behind. Two kids later and they are going strong in their pursuit of the beautiful life. While they now only offer us cheap red wine when we visit, it is always inspiring to take a drive out to their croft.
Fast forward to about a year ago, when I started looking at acreage on Zillow. Now I am always on Zillow just checking to see what is out there for fun, so Miles was not to concerned. But when I started to find amazing land for sale and wanted to take a drive, he began to worry a little bit. Over a 6 month period we looked at various pieces of land but nothing that really felt amazing or worth uprooting our entire lives to make it happen.
We also quickly realized how expensive it is to turn that amazing 7,000 sqft barn into a lovely home! Then late last fall we decided to start looking at land with existing homes that we could remodel. We chose a home to see that really just wasn't anything special, but happened to have a total dump for sale across the road. While we were already there we figured why not check it out?!
Well needless to say we were impressed. The view is what sold us. 180 degree views of vineyards, the coast range and forests all at the end of a barley passable (more on that later) half a mile long drive way! Oh, and of course the house...a "Northwest Contemporary" built in 1981 and not touched since. The day we looked at it the roof was leaking, there were a concerning about of dead flies everywhere and of course had the funky smell of old house, cat pee and something wet. We were sold.
But the seller was asking a lot and we just weren't totally sure. So we went on our 10th anniversary trip to Mexico and talked a lot about it. When we returned we set our agent on it with the goal of getting at least 175k off. After some negotiating we were able to get 150k off asking and we said yes! That was on my birthday December 2nd, so happy birthday to me!
Needless to say that we the start of months of learning all about county planning, meeting the fire marshal and of course many inspections. But we were rolling!
http://www.zillow.com/homes/20100-ne-kings-grade-newberg,-or_rb/
I want to see pictures of the slime mold. SLIME MOLD! SLIME MOLD!
ReplyDeleteAlso, you all in your matching hazmat suits would make a GREAT holiday picture. :)
No mention of the need to remove carpet mushrooms? Or is that a feature you decided to keep? ;-) Looking forward to sunsets + wine and watching our kids play.
ReplyDeleteI love Northwest Contemporary (says someone whose formative years were in the 80s)! Suitable for vineyards? Can you please get going on that too? :)
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