Remote Living > Housing
Selling a home equipped with RE
SparWeb:
I guess this thread deserves an update, so that it doesn't collect any false impressions.
We gave up on the idea of moving, for several reasons:
1) nothing interesting was available, and
2) the horse business plan would not turn out a satisfactory bottom line.
We made two agents "work for it" by getting them to agree to find and show us places for sale before we would list our own. We never got to the listing phase for our own home because nothing in the area came close to as nice as the place we have now.
Which is good! In a way it confirmed that we're happy where we are and have no reason to leave. This week we've been surrounded by beautiful golden autumn leaves.
george65:
I have done pretty much the opposite to you.
Moved out of the suburbs from a $#|+ area to what turns out to be virtual paradise. Other place was huge from a suburban POV, this one is 4 times bigger.
I liked what I had at the other place a lot, it was pretty ideal but the area just went downhill at a million mile an hour from an upmarket suburb to a place where the jobless welfare sponging whom didn't want to work or assimilate made their enclave. Place was in the family 75 years so was hard to let go although I have been surprised how little I have missed it.
New place is very luxurious and 3 times the size but Lots of work on upkeep. Maybe not the ideal house but the area is great. Once we have the place as we want, it I'm sure things will be different.
Only had a play self sufficient power set up at the old digs with panels, Now I have been testing a 1.6 Kw setup and a 5.7 and they are working great.
Ready to set it up properly on the roof now and happy with the layout and know what to expect. Today I have made over 16 KW at mid afternoon and hoping to crack 20 for the day. Still have some minor issues with the test setup tht will be cured when I go permanent so 20Kw on a clear day should be very easy.
I had the brother in law over last night to discuss the relaunch of my business. Haven't worked properly for about 5 years now first due to illness then family issues. We came to the area and bought the house with getting things going again in mind. I'll be doing a trade show in 2 weeks which should be an indicator of how well I have picked my mark. Everything says I will do well here, I just have personal fears and doubts but hypocritically, cannot come up with a sound reason why it should not work perfectly.
It's good to hear you did a business plan. So many people are ignorant to that and when you suggest one, they dismiss it as not being needed or only or big businesses or whatever. I say the smaller the enterprise the less room you have to make a mistake so the more important it is. Unfortunately people also allow themselves to be terribly fooled by wishful thinking and base everything on the best ( or fantasy) scenario not the worst case. When thec counted on utopia does not eventuate, they get in trouble, loose everything and then blame the Gubbermint, the economy or anything but their own ignorance.
I have a pretty simple Stop/ go formula with any new business I look at. If it does not look profitable based on the worst case scenario x2, then I walk away. Ironically most people tend to base things on the best possible scenario times 2 and then get into a lot of trouble and loose a lot of money if not everything.
I have not done a business plan for this, Done it before so long and the only variation is not something I can even guess let alone calculate.
the risk will be about 1000, maybe 1200 bucks so pretty much chicken feed and less than the returns on one job. If I can't pull one rabbit out this hat I'm REALLY in trouble beyond the business.
You have done well to conclude the best place for you is where you are. Saved yourself so much stress and effort moving and a heap of money as well. Cost me near $100K here just in fees, takes and professional services involved in the process.
That said, the way the prices in this area are going up I'll be in front with the property value this time next year.
Enjoy yourself where you are knowing you are already in the best place you can be. :0)
SparWeb:
Not so opposite, it sounds to me.
Both my wife and I picked up some business sense along the way, and we have seen what fooling ourselves looks like, especially when visiting other horse boarding operations that have obviously gone downhill.
We didn't rush the business plan either, and talked to a number of folks, even a bank, to be sure we had a realistic picture.
BTW, the secret sauce for a successful horse boarding ranch is there is a minimum threshold size. Roughly 40-50 head are needed to be profitable:
Start with a small fortune (2 million CAD), buy lots of land, build a facility bigger than the threshold size needed to be sustainable, and factor in two employees because that's the size it needs to be to reach that threshold. Anything smaller and you're working your a** off 7 days a week for peanuts!
Wait a moment...
If you have a small fortune like that, why the he11 would you blow it on a horse barn, when you can invest it in stocks and get 10% growth while you watch TV instead!? :o
So those of use who don't have a few megabucks just lying around should find something better to do with our lives than go into horses.
armadillo:
I sold an off grid home a year ago. To be perfectly honest, solar power scares away a lot of people and it took 5 years to sell the place. The home was on 200 mountainous acres, best suited for hunters, survivalists and hermits. It probably would have been hard to sell even if it was tied to the grid, but most prospective buyers were pretty ignorant of solar. Things seem to be changing slowly.
The buyer asked me hundreds of questions before and after the sale and even had the head electrician from the local solar supply company come out and look at it and explain the electronics. Although the buyer doesn't have much knowledge of electricity, he's finally beginning to understand it's no big deal.
SparWeb:
Thanks for sharing your experience, Armadillo.
Even if it won't be soon, a day will come when this place needs to be sold.
I will really appreciate knowing what worked and what didn't.
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