on hold

[toonces]

i was asked by my landlord to tidy up my wood piles as my upstairs neighbor was complaining. i kept all the wood off to the the side of the backyard (even under a bunch of widowmakers from last fall!) but that wasn't enough. as of now, almost all of the wood is stacked on the edge of both of my neighbor's yards, both of whom don't mind. at worst, i let my last pile sit -- again, on the very edge of the lawn, under a death trap -- for a few weeks when i was racking up 60+ hours/wk at work. i guess that was enough.

i was really pissed at first, but now am just semi-pissed. literally, the backyard is where my kid plays, i stack wood, and the neighbor's dog drops big bombs. that's it, that's all. i have, in three years here, never seen her use the backyard for anything other than the dog's toilet and now??? c'mon

so now all my wood gathering is on hold since i have nowhere to process it. big-picture-wise, even though i have my landlord's blessing, i am holding off on the stove itself. even bigger-picture-wise, i'm soooo ready to buy my own house/property and put the wood right in the middle of my own damn yard. we're close but not quite there yet. this must be a message to go on hiatus until better things line up.

 

[weatherguy]

If you can pull it off nows a good time to buy a house, no one tells you what to do or where to put your wood, oh, except for the wife

 

[Ashful]

We got 3.375% on a 15 year fixed mortgage last year, and I hear them quoting 3.25% now. Market is stalled, with more than a few people I know sitting on property they're trying desperately to unload. Definitely the time to buy, if you can find a way to make it work.

 

[bogydave]

If it works out that you can buy, interest rates have never been lower
Then go thank the guy for complaining
Good luck

 

[firebroad]

Widowmaker? Death Trap? Not sure what you are referring to. Maybe some tarps will soothe your neighbors ire until you find your own place?
Can you show a picture of this horrible scene?

 

[chuckie5fingers]

Some banks enven have programs to help first time homebuyers
you can really negotiate a good price from the seller as well.
I bought my home for $74K in2001. It was listed at $99,000 and appraised out at $164,000
good luck toonces
chuck

 

[3fordasho]

Becoming a home owner does not guarantee you won't have neighbor(s) complaining about your wood piles. I think it was in Minneapolis or a suburb close that the city decided that you could have no more than 1 cord on your property... this was in response to a neighbor complaining about someones wood stacks. I have 20+ cords neatly stacked on my .44 acre. I am waiting for the day the city says something because I will then raise a stink about the dozens of propertys in the neighborhood that are not as well maintained or junky looking.

i was asked by my landlord to tidy up my wood piles as my upstairs neighbor was complaining. i kept all the wood off to the the side of the backyard (even under a bunch of widowmakers from last fall!) but that wasn't enough. as of now, almost all of the wood is stacked on the edge of both of my neighbor's yards, both of whom don't mind. at worst, i let my last pile sit -- again, on the very edge of the lawn, under a death trap -- for a few weeks when i was racking up 60+ hours/wk at work. i guess that was enough.

i was really pissed at first, but now am just semi-pissed. literally, the backyard is where my kid plays, i stack wood, and the neighbor's dog drops big bombs. that's it, that's all. i have, in three years here, never seen her use the backyard for anything other than the dog's toilet and now??? c'mon

so now all my wood gathering is on hold since i have nowhere to process it. big-picture-wise, even though i have my landlord's blessing, i am holding off on the stove itself. even bigger-picture-wise, i'm soooo ready to buy my own house/property and put the wood right in the middle of my own damn yard. we're close but not quite there yet. this must be a message to go on hiatus until better things line up.

 

[gzecc]

i was asked by my landlord to tidy up my wood piles as my upstairs neighbor was complaining. i kept all the wood off to the the side of the backyard (even under a bunch of widowmakers from last fall!) but that wasn't enough. as of now, almost all of the wood is stacked on the edge of both of my neighbor's yards, both of whom don't mind. at worst, i let my last pile sit -- again, on the very edge of the lawn, under a death trap -- for a few weeks when i was racking up 60+ hours/wk at work. i guess that was enough.

i was really pissed at first, but now am just semi-pissed. literally, the backyard is where my kid plays, i stack wood, and the neighbor's dog drops big bombs. that's it, that's all. i have, in three years here, never seen her use the backyard for anything other than the dog's toilet and now??? c'mon

so now all my wood gathering is on hold since i have nowhere to process it. big-picture-wise, even though i have my landlord's blessing, i am holding off on the stove itself. even bigger-picture-wise, i'm soooo ready to buy my own house/property and put the wood right in the middle of my own damn yard. we're close but not quite there yet. this must be a message to go on hiatus until better things line up.

Look into a rural development purchase, if your a first time home buyer. Its a gov't incentive program for certain areas. 0 money down and other incentives.

 

[toonces]

i think i'm gonna have to tell the landlord to month-to-month us come renewal time. a lot to think about here. i wonder if my wife would think i'm crazy if i only look for places that have good stove installation prereqs.

 

[firebroad]

You know you're a real wood burner if...

i think i'm gonna have to tell the landlord to month-to-month us come renewal time. a lot to think about here. i wonder if my wife would think i'm crazy if i only look for places that have good stove installation prereqs.

 

[toonces]

welp, we got prequalified by the USDA this week so we are one step closer to my master plan of having a massive awesome wood stack in my (own) backyard. there's a lack of credit history on my spouse's side, so we're going to work on that and apply within the next few months. wish me luck!

 

[firebroad]

welp, we got prequalified by the USDA this week so we are one step closer to my master plan of having a massive awesome wood stack in my (own) backyard. there's a lack of credit history on my spouse's side, so we're going to work on that and apply within the next few months. wish me luck!

You have it!!
Hope you find a nice place. However, excuse my ignorance, but what does the Department of Agriculture have to do with you buying a home?

 

[swagler85]

You have it!!
Hope you find a nice place. However, excuse my ignorance, but what does the Department of Agriculture have to do with you buying a home?

They have a program where they provide loans on houses in rural areas. Can't be in a city, pretty cool program. Better than an FHA loan for many reasons. They are a little picky on condition of the house but a good program to support those buyers wanting to be out of congested areas.

 

[fabsroman]

If you can pull it off nows a good time to buy a house, no one tells you what to do or where to put your wood, oh, except for the wife

That isn't necessarily true. Some local governments have ordinances against wood stacking. I know my sister's town/city does. Of course, I NEVER would have bought something there. Too expensive, not enough land, too crowded, and too many restrictions. You have to get the town/city's permission to even cut down your own trees and they usually only grant permission if the tree is dying.

To the OP, sell the wood and put the proceeds toward the house purchase fund. Getting a house right now is probably the most important thing on your list. Continue processing firewood and selling it as soon as you get enough to cause an issue there. House prices and interest rates will not be this low forever unless we experience another recession rather soon. Trust me, it is so nice to have a place where you can almost do whatever you want. Prior to this house, we lived in a townhouse and there was a million rules with the HOA. I could hardly even work on my cars. They could not be in disrepair for more than a day unless they were in the garage. Been here two years and my Taurus waited from April to September of this year for a brake line replacement and it sat in the driveway during that time. Nobody said a thing. Yeah, I cannot stand to live where there are too many rules, regulations, and nosey neighbors.

 

[muncybob]

Sounds like you are referring to the Rural Housing program? I agree with fabsroman, getting your own place in an area that you can do what you like is so rewarding!! We are so fortunate in that the neighbors we have are nice and 1/4 mile away...I have plenty of land to do what I want and when I want to do it, never a fear of disturbing anybody...priceless! As long as you can take the responsibilities that come along with owning your on place. The Mrs and I will hopefuly never have to move back into town again...we are spoiled!

Funny how getting pissed(as you put it) was the catalyst to getting serious about your own place. Us getting pissed at the oil delivery company 4 years ago was the main catalyst to us now heating with wood!

 

[Lumber-Jack]

i was asked by my landlord to tidy up my wood piles as my upstairs neighbor was complaining.
i was really pissed at first, but now am just semi-pissed. literally, the backyard is where my kid plays, i stack wood, and the neighbor's dog drops big bombs. that's it, that's all. i have, in three years here, never seen her use the backyard for anything other than the dog's toilet and now??? c'mon

So your kids have to play in your neighbor's dog crap, and she is the one complaining?

We just renewed our house mortgage at 2.99%, and now our mortgage payment is lower than what most renters we know are paying for rent,,, even the ones living in apartments. Now is the time to buy.
Knowing what a pain neighbors can be, make sure you buy something far enough away, or with a big enough fence that you have plenty of privacy.

 

[fabsroman]

i think i'm gonna have to tell the landlord to month-to-month us come renewal time. a lot to think about here. i wonder if my wife would think i'm crazy if i only look for places that have good stove installation prereqs.

lol - I was looking at wood burning stoves/furnaces while we were looking for homes. My wife knew full well that was the route I wanted to go while we spent 3 years trying to find the house we wanted to buy. Took all of 1 heating oil bill and 4 months later the wood burning furnace was purchased. The chainsaws and firewood came shortly thereafter.

 

[fabsroman]

So your kids have to play in your neighbor's dog crap, and she is the one complaining?

We just renewed our house mortgage at 2.99%, and now our mortgage payment is lower than what most renters we know are paying for rent,,, even the ones living in apartments. Now is the time to buy.
Knowing what a pain neighbors can be, make sure you buy something far enough away, or with a big enough fence that you have plenty of privacy.

The problem most people have with buying is the down payment. I see it so many times in my line of work. They are struggling to make ends meet and just cannot come up with the down payment. Back in the days of zero down, they could hardly come up with the closing costs but that could sometimes be rolled into the loan too back then. Not so much now. Most lenders want 20% + closing costs from the buyer before they will lend 80% of the purchase price.

We refinanced last summer to 4.375% and we are going to do it again at the end of this tax season. Hoping to get something around 3.5%. When we refinanced last summer, one of my clients said "If interest rates get any lower the economy is really going to be in the crapper and all that will matter is guns and bullets." Really hoping he is wrong.

 

[gzecc]

The problem most people have with buying is the down payment. I see it so many times in my line of work. They are struggling to make ends meet and just cannot come up with the down payment. Back in the days of zero down, they could hardly come up with the closing costs but that could sometimes be rolled into the loan too back then. Not so much now. Most lenders want 20% + closing costs from the buyer before they will lend 80% of the purchase price.

We refinanced last summer to 4.375% and we are going to do it again at the end of this tax season. Hoping to get something around 3.5%. When we refinanced last summer, one of my clients said "If interest rates get any lower the economy is really going to be in the crapper and all that will matter is guns and bullets." Really hoping he is wrong.

One of the benifits of the Rural Developement loan. No down payment. They will even give you more than the mortgage payment for "improvment money".

 

[fabsroman]

One of the benifits of the Rural Developement loan. No down payment. They will even give you more than the mortgage payment for "improvment money".

The OP is in Connecticut. Depends on whether "rural development" is something that is being done there. I know we do not have it here in Maryland. Probably would not go that route myself because the schools would not be the best. If we did not have to deal with our kids being in school, we would be living on a huge farm in the middle of nowhere. Whether we stay in this area after the kids are done with grade school depends on where they go to college and whether they stay around this area after college. Regardless, I am going to buy a farm or three on the eastern shore at some point just for piece of mind. Maybe something in the backwoods of Virginia too.

 

[ScotO]

So your kids have to play in your neighbor's dog crap, and she is the one complaining?

I agree, Lumber Jack. I'd be pizzing to the landlord about all that dog chit in the yard, if that don't work, maybe put it in a bag and set it on her porch for the tenant that complains about the wood....
Then, you could legitimately tell them "I've had enough of your chit, too!"

 

[fabsroman]

Yeah, another thought that came to mind is whether the addition of a stove would make the stove part of the property and not subject to removal upon quitting the lease. If you do go forward on the stove at this rental, I would get it in writing that the stove will belong to you and that it will leave with you once the lease is over.

 

[ohlongarm]

i was asked by my landlord to tidy up my wood piles as my upstairs neighbor was complaining. i kept all the wood off to the the side of the backyard (even under a bunch of widowmakers from last fall!) but that wasn't enough. as of now, almost all of the wood is stacked on the edge of both of my neighbor's yards, both of whom don't mind. at worst, i let my last pile sit -- again, on the very edge of the lawn, under a death trap -- for a few weeks when i was racking up 60+ hours/wk at work. i guess that was enough.

i was really pissed at first, but now am just semi-pissed. literally, the backyard is where my kid plays, i stack wood, and the neighbor's dog drops big bombs. that's it, that's all. i have, in three years here, never seen her use the backyard for anything other than the dog's toilet and now??? c'mon

so now all my wood gathering is on hold since i have nowhere to process it. big-picture-wise, even though i have my landlord's blessing, i am holding off on the stove itself. even bigger-picture-wise, i'm soooo ready to buy my own house/property and put the wood right in the middle of my own damn yard. we're close but not quite there yet. this must be a message to go on hiatus until better things line up.

Neighbors for the most part are a PITA,that's why I've lived my whole life without them,now I have one 600 feet across a ravine and through the woods,not a problem though,I told them when they bought the 15 acres surrounded by park that if they don't like roosters crowing at daybreak,dogs barking and gunshots occasionally they'd better look elsewhere nary a problem.Most neighbors who are a PITA usually don't have a busy enough life so they need to meddle in someone elses,good luck.

 

[Scols]

i think i'm gonna have to tell the landlord to month-to-month us come renewal time. a lot to think about here. i wonder if my wife would think i'm crazy if i only look for places that have good stove installation prereqs.

When we bought our house in August one of the main selling points was that the fireplace would accomodate our stove. If you can buy now, our rate was 3.5

 

[weatherguy]

That isn't necessarily true. Some local governments have ordinances against wood stacking. I know my sister's town/city does. Of course, I NEVER would have bought something there. Too expensive, not enough land, too crowded, and too many restrictions. You have to get the town/city's permission to even cut down your own trees and they usually only grant permission if the tree is dying.

well, yeah, and you could buy a house in a developmemnt with an HOA that wouldnt permit you to burn wood or stack wood in the open for your fireplace but I wouldnt and I dont think the OP would buy a house under those conditions. My nearest neighborhor is about 500 feet and thats too close, we're looking for a larger parcel now to build in the future, would like to have a minimum of 10 acres, ideally larger.