Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Review of old farm houses for sale::How Much Is an Antique Cream Separator Worth







Review of old farm houses for sale::How Much Is an Antique Cream Separator Worth








In               1993,               I               became               divorced               and               with               my               eight-year-old               son,               I               began               looking               for               a               house               to               purchase.

The               house               we               rented               for               the               previous               14               years               sold               and               we               had               to               move.

For               20               years,               I               wanted               to               buy               a               home,               but               my               son's               father               did               not               want               the               responsibility               of               home               ownership.

Because               I               did               not               make               very               much               money               at               the               time,               I               qualified               for               a               government-housing               loan               for               low               income               and               first               time               homeowners.

Thus               began               the               process               of               looking               for               a               house               to               buy.

This               was               to               be               one               of               the               hardest               experiences               of               my               life.

I               was               not               only               newly               divorced               and               a               single               parent,               but               I               had               no               experience               what-so-ever               with               buying               a               home.

Because               the               government               loan               had               very               specific               guidelines,               and               I               had               very               specific               needs               in               mind,               finding               the               right               place               that               satisfied               both               turned               out               to               be               a               challenge.

Every               place               we               looked               at               in               the               county               we               were               searching,               was               either               too               large               for               the               guidelines,               too               small               for               the               price,               in               the               wrong               setting,               or               just               plane               ugly.

Time               was               running               out               and               I               was               in               danger               of               loosing               the               loan               if               I               could               not               find               something               soon.
               Then               we               came               upon               this               house.

It               sat               on               almost               three               acres,               enough               room               for               the               dog               kennel               and               us,               not               too               big,               the               right               price,               and               the               house               was               only               eight               years               old.

I               went               for               it.

However,               like               in               every               home               buyers'               nightmare,               they               found               a               lean               on               the               property               the               night               before               closing               that               stopped               the               sale               cold.

This               was               our               last               chance.

My               time               was               running               out               on               the               loan.

Then               my               realtor,               bless               his               heart,               worked               with               the               bank               and               a               government               representative               to               put               the               money               in               escarole.

The               bank               foreclosed               on               the               property,               and               put               it               up               for               auction.

I               over               bid               the               bank               by               $100.00               dollars,               and               the               loan               went               through.

On               February               2,               1993,               I               was               the               new               owner               of               the               property.

I               could               hardly               believe               it.

I               actually               did               it               on               my               own!
               Well,               as               in               every               new               home               purchase,               there               is               a               lot               to               do.

Holes               in               the               walls               needed               filling               and               painting,               and               all               five               rooms               needed               a               good               cleaning.

Now               the               work               began.

With               help               from               friends,               we               painted,               scrubbed,               fixed,               and               moved               in.

My               life               long               dream               of               owning               my               own               home               was               a               reality.
               For               three               months,               things               were               fine.

I               was               beginning               to               get               things               organized.

Neighbors               began               to               introduce               themselves,               and               my               son               was               exploring               the               property,               finding               new               places               every               day.

Then               reality               set               in.
               That               year               we               had               a               2               1/2               inch               blizzard               in               March,               followed               by               ten               days               of               heavy               rain.

I               noticed               that               much               of               the               property               was               very               moist,               to               say               the               least,               and               under               the               100-year-old               Sugar               Maple,               10               inches               of               water               filled               the               depression.

Mosquitoes               were               not               only               monsters,               but               came               in               by               the               thousands.

Well,               after               all,               the               land               did               border               a               stream               in               the               back.

I               just               did               not               know               how               much               water               flowed               through               the               yard               to               that               stream.

However,               I               was               about               to               find               out.
               After               the               rain               finally               stopped               and               the               vegetation               began               to               grow,               I               noticed               how               wet               the               back               was               becoming.

The               rest               of               spring               that               year               was               very               dry               and               I               really               did               not               have               any               idea               how               wet               the               land               was               until               in               early               May.

I               went               down               in               the               basement               and               discovered               four               inches               of               water               covering               the               concrete               floor.

It               had               happened               over               night               because               that               water               was               not               there               the               night               before               when               I               put               laundry               in               the               washer.

I               then               went               out               the               back               door               to               stare               to               an               acre-size               lake               filling               the               middle               part               of               the               property.

Oh               boy!

Now               what               was               I               to               do?

Obviously,               the               water               had               to               go               from               the               basement,               but               how               to               do               that               was               going               to               be               a               major               problem.

I               called               the               police               department,               who               directed               me               to               call               the               fire               department,               who               directed               me               to               call               the               town               government,               who               finally               directed               me               to               call               the               town               building               inspector.

He               came               out               to               asses               the               problem.

He               told               me               I               had               to               dig               another               ditch               around               the               house               and               put               more               drainage               piping               around               the               foundation               to               direct               the               water               away               from               the               house.

Well,               that               was               not               going               to               do               anything               to               alleviate               the               lake               in               the               back.

He               came               several               times               over               the               next               two               weeks               and               saw               the               water               level               slowly               rise.

It               was               not               going               to               go               away               by               itself.
               That               was               when               I               had               to               make               a               major               decision.

I               had               to               drain               the               property               somehow.

The               building               inspector               declared               a               sight               of               emergency               because               the               water               was               threatening               to               flood               the               neighbor's               septic               system               and               leach               field.

If               that               happened,               sewage               would               drain               in               to               the               wet               land,               and               I               would               be               responsible               for               cleanup               because               the               water               came               from               my               property.

(Oh               boy!)
               At               this               time,               I               had               qualified               for               another               government               loan               for               very               low               income               to               put               a               furnace               in               the               basement.

This               house,               like               some               others               built               at               the               same               time,               was               all               electric,               and               my               first               electric               bill               for               the               first               two               weeks               in               February               was               over               three               hundred               dollars.

I               was               in               the               middle               of               qualifying               for               the               loan               to               put               in               a               furnace,               when               I               requested               an               increase               for               money               to               drain               the               property.

Because               it               was               an               emergency               situation,               the               loan               with               the               increase               in               funds               came               through.

I               then               hired               a               local               construction               business               to               bring               in               their               heavy               equipment               to               drain               the               property.

I               asked               him               to               dig               three               huge               trenches               to               drain               the               water               out               to               the               back               wet               lands.
               The               property               had               been               a               pasture               for               dairy               cows               and               was               part               of               a               huge               farm.

For               three               generations,               cows               grazed               on               this               part               of               the               farm,               and               kept               the               grasses               down               to               allow               the               water               to               drain.

Each               summer,               the               farmer               hired               some               high               school               kids               to               clean               out               two               small               ditches               to               keep               the               water               flowing.

There               is               a               pond               in               the               back               acre               that               watered               the               cattle               all               summer.

That               is               now               grown               in               with               water-loving               grasses,               but               still               floods               after               every               rain.

The               grass               grows               tall,               thick,               and               very               fast.
               One               of               the               first               things               I               needed               to               do               was               to               have               a               concrete               pad               put               down               for               the               dog               kennel,               since               the               huskies               stayed               outside               all               year.

I               walked               the               contractor               through               the               yard               to               where               I               wanted               the               pad,               and               made               sure               to               point               out               how               moist               the               ground               was.

I               told               him               that               if               he               thought               it               was               going               to               be               too               wet               for               the               heavy               equipment,               I               showed               him               another               location               closer               to               the               house               that               was               more               firm               where               he               could               but               it               instead.

He               told               me               it               would               be               no               problem.

And,               so               work               began.

They               carried               the               concrete               to               the               back               with               a               bucket               loader               and               dumped               it               in               to               place.

The               pad               went               in               and               so               did               the               bucket               loader.

It               sunk               four               feet               in               to               the               soft               soil               and               he               had               to               bring               in               his               bulldozer               to               pull               it               out.

He               was               not               a               happy               camper               and               lost               money               because               it               tied               up               two               of               his               huge               machines               for               several               weeks.
               I               did               not               own               a               camera               when               I               first               moved               in               and               could               not               take               a               pictorial               record               of               the               events               unfolding.

The               trenches               were               huge.

The               excavator               that               dug               them               was               half               as               long               as               the               house,               my               five-room,               one-story               ranch,               and               almost               as               tall.

The               top               of               one               of               the               treads               stood               over               5               feet               from               the               ground.

It               was               huge.

The               first               thing               he               did               was               to               drain               the               lake.

The               water               used               a               natural               spill               area               that               led               in               to               the               wet               land,               and               this               is               where               he               began               the               first               trench.
               He               began               the               first               drainage               trench               at               the               point               where               the               water               drained               in               to               the               stream               through               the               trees,               and               kept               opening               up               the               land               until               he               came               to               the               point               I               thought               the               drainage               pipes               were               located;               four,               4"               pipes               that               channeled               the               water               from               around               the               foundation               of               the               house.

I               watched               as               the               last               scoop               dug               into               the               land,               and               the               water               rush               out.

The               flow               of               the               backed-up               water               was               so               strong               and               so               fast               that               it               actually               swept               the               2-ton               excavator               back               in               to               the               trees               from               where               it               started.

The               driver               had               to               pull               himself               up               out               of               the               flow               using               both               the               scoop               on               one               end               and               the               bucket               on               the               other.

I               really               did               not               think               he               was               going               to               make               it.

But               he               did,               and               when               he               came               out               of               the               cab,               he               said               he               had               never               seen               so               much               power               from               so               small               of               an               area               when               he               opened               up               that               last               bit.

It               seemed               that               the               water               was               backing               up               for               the               entire               8               years               the               house               sat               on               the               property.
               I               did               some               research               on               the               sale               and               building               of               the               three               houses               put               on               this               section               of               land,               and               found               out               that               the               developer               removed               all               the               top               soil,               something               that               is               no               longer               allowed               by               state               law,               and               had               collapsed               the               underground               water               drainage               systems               by               bringing               in               tons               of               gravel               to               replace               the               tops               soil.

The               water               began               filling               the               property               as               soon               as               the               underground               drainage               collapsed.
               The               part               of               the               farm               that               was               once               the               pasture               for               the               dairy               cows,               sits               in               a               spoon               where               all               the               land               beside               it               is               higher               on               three               sides.

All               the               ground               water               coming               from               the               surrounding               hills               passes               directly               under               this               part               of               the               land.

That               is               why               this               was               such               a               good               pasture               because               the               grass               grew               so               much               faster               than               the               sections               used               for               growing               feed               for               the               cattle.
               When               the               excavator               opened               up               the               ground,               I               could               see               the               soil               structure               of               the               land               down               six               feet               from               the               surface.

It               seems               that               this               land               consists               of               two               feet               of               gravel               lying               on               top               of               four               feet               of               thick               heavy               clay.

This               is               an               ideal               situation               for               ground               water               to               stay               just               below               the               surface               and               flow               through               the               gravel               to               the               stream               out               back.

It               is               a               self-watering               system               that               keeps               all               the               vegetation               thick               and               lush               all               summer               long.

When               many               of               the               lawns               in               the               surrounding               homes               dry               because               of               the               lack               of               rain,               ours               is               lush               and               thick.

We               are               the               only               ones               mowing               when               all               the               surrounding               lawns               are               brown               in               mid               summer.
               The               trenches               remained               open               for               two               months               to               allow               all               the               backed-up               water               to               drain.

Some               of               the               neighbor               kids,               including               my               son,               made               use               of               them               by               playing               army               war               fare.

At               least               they               were               getting               better               exercises               then               because               they               were               actually               doing               the               moving               and               not               just               looking               at               a               screen               and               pushing               buttons               on               a               controller.

The               only               problem               was,               they               were               knocking               much               of               the               soil               back               in               to               the               flow.

I               had               to               put               a               stop               to               it.
               When               I               finally               closed               on               the               loan,               I               had               two               of               the               trenches               filled               in               and               the               top               of               the               soil               leveled               and               planted.

I               did,               however,               leave               one               of               the               trenches,               the               one               where               the               pipes               open               from               around               the               house               spilled               into,               to               make               sure               that               I               had               fixed               the               drainage.

This               turned               out               to               be               both               a               great               idea               and               a               nightmare.
               The               old               grass               soon               began               growing               and               within               a               month               filled               the               sides               and               bottom               of               the               opened               area.

This               blocked               the               water               flow               and               it               began               backing               up               in               to               the               basement               again.

For               the               next               couple               of               years,               I               had               to               go               into               the               bottom               and               dig               out               the               grass,               which               was               no               easy               feat,               twice               each               summer               to               reopen               the               flow.

The               opening               was               over               300               feet               long               and               the               roots               of               the               grass               went               into               the               ground               for               6               inches.

They               were               deep               and               tough,               and               it               was               back               breaking               work.
               Then               in               2005,               I               decided               to               kill               off               the               grasses               at               the               top               of               the               opening               and               plant               perennials               to               have               a               beautifully               landscaped               stream               running               down               the               right               side               of               the               property.

What               a               challenge.

It               worked               and               with               much               work,               that               is               still               going               on               today,               I               have               a               beautiful               stream               flowing               surrounded               by               flowers,               shrubs               and               ornamental               grasses.
               This               was               only               one               of               the               problems               with               water               in               the               basement.

Over               the               next               15               years,               we               ran               into               several               other               problems,               stories               of               which               I               will               leave               for               another               time.

Even               though               I               had               major               problems               with               the               property               shortly               after               moving               in,               I               am               in               love               with               this               place               and               over               the               years,               have               developed               it               into               a               paradise               we               enjoy               all               year               long.






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