We have looked at real estate on and off for years. A couple of years ago we drove way out to Cowichan Lake to look at a fixer-upper on 1/3 of an acre that we could barely afford. And when the listing said fixer-upper, it actually meant, this house is in pieces, the bathroom has no fixtures, and most of the siding on the outside needs to be put back on. Last year, we went and saw a couple of other places we could barely afford, but now they were on bigger properties, with bigger, nicer houses. Though admittedly, one of the houses did look like it was about to fall down the side of a giant ravine, but beggars can’t be choosers, right?
We’ve been talking about it again, and looking at what’s available. Once again the properties are larger, the houses are nicer, and we can still barely afford them. There’s a pattern developing here. 
We could wait forever and bigger and better properties will continue to be available just barely in our price range. But one day we’ll stop waiting, and decide that now is the time to make the plunge and go for it. That if we want to realize our dreams of a homestead and some steps towards self-sufficiency, we can’t stay where we are forever waiting for that elusive perfect property to appear.
Both of us are starting to feel like, maybe, that time is now. For several reasons. The most important being that the properties that are becoming available in our price range are actually starting to be big enough and nice enough to suit our needs. We will still end up having to go up island a little bit, but I’ve been posting on a home learner’s group from up island, as well as reading up lots about the area, and I’m actually excited about that now. There is a group of unschoolers in the area, many of whom dream of homesteading (or are living that dream already). There are tons of beaches, parks, hiking trails, etc., including some within 10-20 minutes walking distance of a few of the properties we’re interested in. And we’ve looked at real estate closer to where we are, but for an extra 20-30 minutes driving time, we can get a lot more land and bigger houses in the same price range. It’s the different of 1/5th to 1/3rd of an acre in the city, or 1 1/2 to 3 acres up island. We come from Calgary, and in reality, 20-30 minutes driving time is no biggie. I used to have to take a bus an hour each way to school, and up to an hour and a half each way to work. Where we’re looking is actually about the same distance to the unschooling park days that a local unschooler organizes from where we are now.
Another reason being that currently, we live in a co-op. In a lot of ways we really love it here. There are lots of other kids around almost all the time. Some of our best friends (both mine and Meredith’s) live just a few houses down from us. The rent is seriously cheap. (You should see some of the reactions from mortgage brokers/realtors when we tell them what we’re paying here, ha!) It’s not a low-income place, which is good for us because we wouldn’t have qualified, even though our take home pay barely covers our costs. But the cheap rent has allowed us to get on our feet, and get control of our debt, and in a few month’s time we should be out of debt. So what better way to celebrate than to go right back into debt? Ha! Seriously though, that debt being gone opens up a world of possibilities for us. We could do lots of traveling, buy a fancy car, get all new furniture, buy a house… If we stayed here, our plan is just to continue putting it away in savings until we find a property we want to live on. So yes, we will go right back into debt and still likely be living pay check to pay check, but at least we will be living the life we’re wanting to live. And it means that by moving out, we’re opening up a highly sought after spot for someone else who needs a chance to get on their feet too.
Living in a co-op is not all it’s cracked up to be sometimes either. Like most volunteer-run groups, there are a small amount of people doing work for the majority (and we’ are one of the small amount). We’ve had mold problems that I have been complaining about and trying to get fixed since we moved in, and continuously told that the co-op doesn’t have the money to fix it. I’ve been nice about it (at least in my opinion). I mean, if we don’t have the money, we don’t have the money, there’s nothing anyone can do about that. But now another unit is complaining and it looks like theirs is going to be fixed. That really makes having my own place highly attractive. 
Anyway, these pictures are all from several different places we’re going to go see this weekend. Some of them look promising to us, but we’ll see. We’re not in a rush. We’re in a good spot now. But I am so excited that we may very soon be starting our steps towards our very own homestead. (We’ve decided our goal is to be at least semi-self-sufficient before December 2012… You know, just in case. 
) Some of these places have separate cabins we could rent out for a bit of help paying the mortgage too, or use for family, and couch surfers which I think could be a pretty cool experience for the girls too.
And in the meantime, I’m reading all about raising rabbits, goats, and chickens for meat, milk, and eggs; as well as fruit trees, honey bees, building a wood-fired oven, gardening, and pretty much anything else I can get my hands on about small-scale homesteading.
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You are in a very good position being able to buy when the market is “low” since you don’t have a house to sell. I hope you find the perfect place. Even though buying a house means going into debt, at least it’s one that is building on your future. Can’t wait to hear how the hunt goes!
I know! That’s another attractive part about buying now. There are lots of houses on the market, but not many are selling, and interest rates are at an all-time low. It’s a good time to be buying because we have the luxury of taking our time and making sure we really love a place, but because we’ve been kind of looking over the last two or three years already, we also have a really good idea of what we want and if something is perfect we’ll be able to jump on it. I’m excited, but kind of scared too!
The debt isn’t really that bad though. You are paying a housing fee no matter what, so it’s not like you are having an extra fee. It might be more a month, but it is good debt.
I have started thinking that a homestead might be what I want too. Especially with Calgary being anti everything.
Yeah, way better debt than the debt we’re paying off every month right now. I will be glad to see the end of that!
I have wanted to homestead for a while, but the idea has grown over the years. Originally I imagined a little garden with some chickens. Now it’s grown into a large garden with a green house, as well as chickens, goats, rabbits, maybe a pony. Obviously, it won’t happen all at once but we want enough land that we can do any or all of that if we want to.
How exciting for you. Having a house dose put you back in debt – but when you are done paying it off…it’s YOURS. It’s equity and it’s such a satisfying feeling to have your own home. I would love a proper homestead as well, but right now all we can do is garden. Our city won’t allow chickens and until they change the by-law we are just doing what we can. Good for you. I can’t wait to hear more of this adventure. -Debbie
Thanks Debbie! I’m excited too, but if we do it it’s going to be a HUGE change and a lot to decide on. So silly that some cities won’t allow chickens. Where I am currently, we can have up to four chickens as pets, but not for their eggs, but if we were to eat the eggs from our pet chickens that’s okay….