More farm shopping this week. We ventured into West Virginia - it was only two hours west of us here near Washington DC so that's a good thing. Not too far from "civilization." But far enough away to feel rather in the middle of nowhere.
First house was in Lahmansville,WV. Absolutely beautiful farm house built in the 1860-1880s. Five bedrooms upstairs all with beautiful moldings, hard wood floors in many bedrooms, fantastic turned handrail leading upstairs. Lots and lots of space - there was a 6th bedroom on the first floor that could be an office. The kitchen was recently upgraded and there was even a cellar to use for storage. It had two barns, an old outhouse, and a little storage building and was very close to major roads. It was only 20 acres with no wooded areas and a woefully undersized pond (according to my husband - I think it would have been made larger). This was my favorite house because it just screamed FARMHOUSE at me. But my husband did not like the land.
Second place was in Augusta WV. It was for-sale-by-owner on 87 acres. Only 15 acres were clear - the most was in woods. There was a HUGE pond with a little bridge/sitting area. The house itself was quirky - it was originally built around 1840 something and the central part was a log cabin. During the civil war, that log cabin was a muster location where the troops would go to get their salary. According to legend, a soldier was shot in the house on the stairs. And there's even a gravestone on the property - little girl was 11 when she died. The house was super tiny - cute, but super tiny. I smacked my head on the doorframe when I walked in. I couldn't live in a house where I had to cringe every time I walked into the super tiny kitchen. No land to build a kitchen on either AND it could have been a set on deliverance. The driveway was 1/2 mile long and THAT was OFF of an already long (3/10 mile) dirt/gravel road. Transportation would be monstrous at certain times of the year.
House three was also in Augusta, WV on 60 acres. There were no barns but there was an equipment shed, a three-car garage, and a really nasty looking dog kennel (they had a boarding business). The land had good clearance and wooded areas with a few ponds. The house also had a log cabin section which was turned into the master bedroom. Unfortunately, when they added the rest of the house on, they made it the same height so I felt like I was going to smash my head on the beams, the bedrooms upstairs were super tiny and the three of them didn't have any closets. I don't think two of the rooms had enough space for twin sized beds even and one room didn't have a door. This was my husband's favorite. I really didn't like it at all.
Last house looked fantastic on paper but it was super creepy. They realtor said that the last owner put a lot of money into the place but other than painting the porch (which was nice in that it wrapped around three of the four sides) and a new roof, it was hard to tell. The interior of the house was disgusting. The kitchen was god awful ugly with burnt wood cabinets (they were wood that looked like someone used a wood iron on to burn on the markings). Most of the rooms were panelled which just contributed to the dark and creepy vibe. It had beautiful land, a huge pond with a little dock, and good sized out-buildings but I couldn't live in that house.
So, we're back to looking...again. I don't think we're ever going to agree on a property. Why do I say this? Because we've been renting for eight years because we could never agree on a house to buy.
First house was in Lahmansville,WV. Absolutely beautiful farm house built in the 1860-1880s. Five bedrooms upstairs all with beautiful moldings, hard wood floors in many bedrooms, fantastic turned handrail leading upstairs. Lots and lots of space - there was a 6th bedroom on the first floor that could be an office. The kitchen was recently upgraded and there was even a cellar to use for storage. It had two barns, an old outhouse, and a little storage building and was very close to major roads. It was only 20 acres with no wooded areas and a woefully undersized pond (according to my husband - I think it would have been made larger). This was my favorite house because it just screamed FARMHOUSE at me. But my husband did not like the land.
Second place was in Augusta WV. It was for-sale-by-owner on 87 acres. Only 15 acres were clear - the most was in woods. There was a HUGE pond with a little bridge/sitting area. The house itself was quirky - it was originally built around 1840 something and the central part was a log cabin. During the civil war, that log cabin was a muster location where the troops would go to get their salary. According to legend, a soldier was shot in the house on the stairs. And there's even a gravestone on the property - little girl was 11 when she died. The house was super tiny - cute, but super tiny. I smacked my head on the doorframe when I walked in. I couldn't live in a house where I had to cringe every time I walked into the super tiny kitchen. No land to build a kitchen on either AND it could have been a set on deliverance. The driveway was 1/2 mile long and THAT was OFF of an already long (3/10 mile) dirt/gravel road. Transportation would be monstrous at certain times of the year.
House three was also in Augusta, WV on 60 acres. There were no barns but there was an equipment shed, a three-car garage, and a really nasty looking dog kennel (they had a boarding business). The land had good clearance and wooded areas with a few ponds. The house also had a log cabin section which was turned into the master bedroom. Unfortunately, when they added the rest of the house on, they made it the same height so I felt like I was going to smash my head on the beams, the bedrooms upstairs were super tiny and the three of them didn't have any closets. I don't think two of the rooms had enough space for twin sized beds even and one room didn't have a door. This was my husband's favorite. I really didn't like it at all.
Last house looked fantastic on paper but it was super creepy. They realtor said that the last owner put a lot of money into the place but other than painting the porch (which was nice in that it wrapped around three of the four sides) and a new roof, it was hard to tell. The interior of the house was disgusting. The kitchen was god awful ugly with burnt wood cabinets (they were wood that looked like someone used a wood iron on to burn on the markings). Most of the rooms were panelled which just contributed to the dark and creepy vibe. It had beautiful land, a huge pond with a little dock, and good sized out-buildings but I couldn't live in that house.
So, we're back to looking...again. I don't think we're ever going to agree on a property. Why do I say this? Because we've been renting for eight years because we could never agree on a house to buy.
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