Our next big decision was where should we live? Steve and I loved the idea of the mountains. Our children, on the other hand, loved the idea of the ocean. Steve’s job is north of Charlotte and no where near the ocean, whew! (The ocean is okay to visit, but to live there all the time is not what we had in mind.) The mountains were out too, but the foothills could work if he was willing to do the drive every day. We settled on him looking as far northwest as he could tolerate the drive.
What kind of property? Well, we wanted land. At least 2 acres. A place for a huge garden was a must. We wanted to be out in the country, not isolated, but with space to breathe. A southern exposure and a view would be nice. The house didn’t matter as much because we had built two houses previously and felt we could do some renovating. The location was the priority.
So, on weekends Steve explored North Carolina. He put up a 6’X 4′ map up on his apartment wall to keep track of desirable areas that fit our criteria. He would pass that information on to me and in my “spare time” I would check out school ratings, neighborhoods and look for houses. Once we narrowed our search, Steve got a Realtor and arranged showings.
After one unsuccessful showing (t00 much work needed for asking price), on his way back to the apartment, Steve happened to drive by “the farmhouse.” There was a for sale sign by the road and the house looked vacant, so he drove in. He walked the property and peered in the windows. His first thought, he told me was, “boy it’s rough.”
Ironically, I had seen the same house online a few days earlier but thought it would need too much work. It was built in 1940 and most everything was original. It would be a complete renovation from top down. It likely would need an addition, as it was only 900 square feet on the first floor, 500 on the second floor. There was no basement. (We mid-westerners love our basements.) It also had no out buildings for garage or workshop space, but it had 2 acres. Steve had similar thoughts on his drive back to the apartment.
Later that afternoon we talked about the disappointing showing and he mentioned “the farmhouse.” I looked it up and was surprised to find I had seen it already and shared with him, my concerns. He said he was glad I didn’t see it first hand because I’d likely have more. He confirmed my suspicion that it would be a complete gut job. From what he could tell everything looked original. He was also concerned that it was so small. (We had a 2400+ square foot house, a 1000 square foot basement and a three car garage full of “stuff.”) We kept it on our “maybe” list.
I continued to look at houses online and Steve continued to go to showings, but we kept talking about the farmhouse. We kept debating how we could pull off an entire house remodel, while living in it with 2 kids, 2 cats and 2 dogs. It wouldn’t be easy. We also tried to imagine downsizing all of our belongings to make this work. The idea of need vs. want was our focus. We wanted simpler, this would help us achieve that, but was it too big of a change? Steve decided to schedule a showing and get a better look at it.
The house has two floors. The first floor contains a dining room, family room, master bedroom, kitchen, full bathroom and a small “office” attached to the master. The second floor is a converted attic that contains two bedrooms. For storage, there are two closets in the upstairs bedrooms that were 5 feet tall by 3 foot wide. The closet in the master on the first floor is of standard height and 3 foot wide. The ceilings on the first floor are 8’3″ but upstairs, Steve had to duck to go through the two bedroom doorways. Steve is a tall man. He is 6’5 and our kids take after him. Gabi is 5’11” and Zach (only 15 and still growing) is 6’2″. They would not be comfortable in a tiny house with low ceiling heights. There is no air conditioning. There is no insulation. The porch columns are rotting and the brick needs re-pointing. The crawlspace is relatively clean and dry. The deck is rotting and will need to be torn down. There is an existing goat barn and chicken coop, both are in need of repair. Overall the property has been neglected, but hints of its previous glory are visible if you look hard enough.
More important than the quality of the house is the setting. There are 2 acres of beautiful land. Approximately one acre had been cleared for the house. It gently slopes to the west and south sides of the property, but leaves plenty of room for a garage, large garden and a fenced in area for the dogs. The other acre is heavily wooded and slopes more steeply into a valley where the Yadkin River runs through. The house is technically located in the foothills of the Brushy Mountains, however the mountains begin about a mile up the road.
I am well aware that some of these “faults” with the house are consistent with the era the house was built, but when you have lived your entire life with the luxuries of modern housing, it makes you pause and really wonder if it is doable. Don’t I sound snobbish, yikes! On the other hand, it has character and a history that a new house could never have. It is the perfect property to encourage self sufficiency. It has excellent southern exposure which will help heat the house in the winter months and offers the possibility of capturing solar energy. The limited square footage would take some getting used to, but in our new reality of living simply and need vs. want, we could make it work.
Now it’s our farmhouse and we couldn’t be happier. Yes, the roof leaks and the windows are 75 years old and inefficient. Yes, we had to get some portable air conditioners as the summer was “unusually” hot and humid. Yes, the four of us, with two dogs and two cats, are living on the first floor (900 square feet) without only one closet and only one bathroom. Yes, we have three 16 foot PODS sitting in Charlotte because we have nowhere to put any of it (I’ve lost count of how many times someone asks for something and the answer is “It’s in the POD”). Yes, we are living simply and loving it.
