I am a single homesteader with a fairly good job. I am living in a rented house now for 750.00 a month. I can pay this ok but it leaves no money for a down payment on my own house. I have tried to go the route of no down but that doesnt work for me. My lease will be up Oct 2001 and I would like to have some plan of action by then. If anyone has been in this situation and has had success getting your oun house I would really appreciate any advice. Thanks Roxanne

-- Roxanne Walden (hmstdlady@webtv.net), October 15, 2000

Answers

Try working some extra jobs or overtime and set all aside to be a down payment. You could also maybe work out having the sellers finance the down payment.

-- Mike (AR) (mike.jennings@eritter.net), October 15, 2000.

How transportable is your job? Around here $750 a month would rent you just about a mini-mansion. $400 a month rents a pretty nice house.

Do you really need to live in something that expensive to rent? What other rentals are available. If your landlord can rerent for more, they might let you out of the lease.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), October 15, 2000.

We did "contract for deed," and it worked well for us. Make sure all understandings are on paper. We were buying a house about 16 years ago, and had a fire that destroyed everything. The owner had put a double morgage on it, unbeknownst to us, and had the house underinsured, so it put him in a real bind. We had insurance on the contents, not much, but enough to buy a ten year old trailer, some beds, and a washer, since we had four small childern to shelter. It was a big ole' stink (he told the whole community we had the HOUSE insured, and were spending big bucks that weren't rightly ours). When it went to court, it all worked out; the owner had to give US money, enough to put a downpayment on our present property, and move the trailer to it. We were several months without water and electricity, but in the long run, God knew what He was doing. But you better believe we had a GOOD look at the paperwork, the second time around!

-- Leann Banta (thelionandlamb@hotmail.com), October 15, 2000.

I agree with Ken S; $750 sounds pretty high for a rental property. Of course I don't know what area you live in, and maybe that's reasonable there. If you were able to rent something else for a while, even if it wasn't somewhere you liked, you'd be able to save up money faster. I did that years ago--lived in a rat-trap trailer house for about a year so I'd be able to get something nicer. Worked out pretty well, but I had a heck of a time keeping my little mitts off the savings!

Is there a possibility of doing some kind of sweat equity on prospective houses? Buying a fixer-upper at a discouted price?

I recently bought a 14 acre parcel of land in north TX through the Texas Veteran's Land Board; no down payment, about $400 in filing/administrative fees, about 800$ in earnest money and 5% sale price to a realtor, 4% interest for 30 years (I'll have it paid off in about five years). Didn't pay all these fees at once; it was sort of strung out over the course of about two months. You don't have to be a vet to buy thru this program, but the properties are not usually really prime real estate. I lucked out and found a good piece of land, tho. The only other state I know of with this type of Veterans Land Board program is California.

Also, have you ever looked at listings for properties being auctioned by the county for delinquent taxes? They usually don't finance, but if you can save up a chunk of money for down payment, a bank/mortgage company may consider financing even if it's a fixer-upper, especially if you have good credit and stable work history.

Hope this helps!

-- Hannah Maria Holly (hannahholly@hotmail.com), October 15, 2000.

You might consider taking in a roommate now, to begin saving immediately. Is there an extra bedroom someone might want? Yes, it means less privacy, but may cut your costs enough that you can have a chunk saved before the end of the lease. $750 is a lot of money, 3 times our mortgage (which will be oaid off in a few months,and am I glad--took 10 years what with renovations too).

-- Anne (HT@HM.com), October 15, 2000.

I used my tax refunds to purchase our farm. I used them for the down payment and financed the rest for 5 yrs on our land doing a land contract. We purchased 35 acres that had just been clear cut and the only building on it was an old tobacco barn. If you want this badly you will find the strength to "pioneer' it for a bit as we had to. Its not for everyone but it worked for us and now, not even 5 yrs later our farm is paid for and we have all the modern conviences we didn't have when we began. Just a thought on how to get started. Good luck!

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), October 15, 2000.

Roxanne,

Where are you? $750 here in SW Washington, is pretty cheap.

We were able to get ownerfinancing. You have to look pretty hard to find that around here. Eastern Washington may be easier to find owner financing. We also lived in a 2 bedroom trailer (family of 6 w/4 teenage boys) for 2 years to get back on our feet and save some money for a down payment.

Financing is available for just about anyone unless your credit really sucks. It definately helps if you have some money to put down. The financiers really look at you differently, more seriously, if you have some money in the bank, it doesn't even have to be that much.

A 2nd job sounds great if you have all the time in the world, no family or other responsibilities. I guess it comes down to how badly you want what you want. Our kids have always been willing to try new things and look at them as an adventure. Besides, we've been worse off than in a 2 bdrm trailer.

Hope things work out for you and you're able to save some money and find your dream. Feel free to e-mail me if your in my neck of the woods. Amber

-- Amber Quillen (mikeandamberq@hotmail.com), October 15, 2000.

Roxanne,

Where are you? $750 here in SW Washington, is pretty cheap.

We were able to get ownerfinancing. You have to look pretty hard to find that around here. Eastern Washington may be easier to find owner financing. We also lived in a 2 bedroom trailer (family of 6 w/4 teenage boys) for 2 years to get back on our feet and save some money for a down payment.

Financing is available for just about anyone unless your credit really sucks. It definately helps if you have some money to put down. The financiers really look at you differently, more seriously, if you have some money in the bank, it doesn't even have to be that much.

A 2nd job sounds great if you have all the time in the world, no family or other responsibilities. I guess it comes down to how badly you want what you want. Our kids have always been willing to try new things and look at them as an adventure. Besides, we've been worse off than in a 2 bdrm trailer.

Hope things work out for you and you're able to save some money and find your dream. Feel free to e-mail me if your in my neck of the woods (Thurston County, WA). Amber

-- Amber Quillen (mikeandamberq@hotmail.com), October 15, 2000.

If I had not taken serious steps towards increasing my income, I knew I'd never get anywhere. My job pays enough to cover the bills, with nothing extra for a savings account. I worked additional part-time jobs for almost two years, and it was physically exhausting, and I never really made much $$. I never had any time for myself, either. So, the perfect solution for me was a paper route. (I know, you guys are probably sick of me and my paper route!) But, now I have two full days off per week, I have extra time in my day because I'm up early, and the money is great. It takes me one hour a day. My financial situation has really changed for the better. I know this isn't for everyone, but for those of us still in the city, it's an option. It's also great exercise!

-- Cathy Horn (hrnofplnty@webtv.net), October 15, 2000.

Two great jobs for decent cash are airport porter (big tips during holidays - foreign tourists on holidays don't care about the cash, they're on vacation) and parking lot attendent Lots of free time to read, draw, discover the theory of relativity, excavated your navel, etc just be sure to get a lot with an enclosed booth with heat and AC). Both jobs provide decent wages plus the opportunity for tips (learn to smile really big and act interested in people's lives and they'll love you - remember that just listening and agreeing will let them know that you care, no need for imput on your part!) and both of these jobs pick up during the holidays, when you need the cash most. Should be able to get them part time, also.

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), October 16, 2000.

We are planning on using the equity in our house for the purchase (outright) of bare land, hopefully having enough left over for a well and fencing, and to start building. In your situation, I would look for someplace less expensive to live, to start with. I know in some areas that may be hard to do, but you said you were living in a house -- in most areas, if houses rent for $750/month, an apartment will be a couple hundred dollars less. If you could suffer that for a year or two, saving all the difference, you would have a few thousand dollars set aside for a down payment. I don't know if you have children, but I've heard of a family with ten children living in a one-bedroom apartment (a perfectly respectable family, not in the ghetto) so lower your living standards a little bit, temporarily, and keep your eyes on the goal. Go over your budget with a fine-tooth comb, and cut out all the fat. Then put just a little bit back in -- you won't last long if you try total deprivation! Allow yourselves a treat once in a while, but otherwise hold to your budget. And everything that you cut, SAVE!! Don't spend it! If you get a raise, put the raise in the savings account. Read the Tightwad Gazettes (try the library). Look for free entertainment (the park, the library, going for a walk, etc. We used to check videos out of the library rather than renting them, when we had a working VCR). Cut back on the Christmas and birthday presents -- start a tradition of just one gift per person per occassion. And make it something that will be useful in the future (we started giving our girls things for their *hope chests* when they were about ten). If you are makeing care payments, look into selling off those cars, and replacing with an older model, paid for (and in good shape). Or if you live in town and can walk most places you need to go, or use public transportation, and you have two cars, get rid of one of them. The exercise is good for you! And be sure to bank your savings. If you have older children who think they have to have new, name brand clothes or other luxury items, make them get a job and earn their own money. And as long as they are living at home, they should contribute part of their income to the family expenses. Buy your clothes second-hand (if you are examine everything very carefully, you can find a lot of really nice stuff that way and won't look like you're clothed out of a rag-bag!). I could go on, and maybe you are already doing all this and more -- but maybe someone else will read this who needs some ideas. Good luck.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), October 16, 2000.

Roxanne, I took a very different approach. I bought a piece of bare land, with a creek running through it, and a spring, which I was able to develop for drinking water. I REDUCED the amount of hours I worked from forty to twenty-four per week. I hauled some pine trees which were standing dead, but sound, to a mill, had them cut into lumber (very inexpensive). Built a one room cabin with a sleeping loft. It only took six weeks to get it very livable. I heated it the first winter with only a quarter cord of wood (it was very well insulated, and very small).

Over the years, I gradually added on to it, like five times. It ended up being a pretty nice place, 1400 square feet, and I lived there for 20 years.

The great thing is that my land payments were onl $125 per month, and I was able to buy materials a little bit at a time, thus never getting into the mortgage routine. You realize that if you finance a house for thirty years you will pay for it two or three times, (or even more, depending on the interest rate). I only paid for it once.

My plan was to take the money I WOULD have been spending on a mortgage and investing it in more property. This I did, and ended up building five more houses, four of which I rent, and one of which I moved into. All were built for cash, and the main reason is that I never let the bank into my pocket, and I never got a credit card.

I have to tell you that there were some very interesting, and some very trying times (there was no electricity for the first couple of years, and it got to be a drag living in one room, with an outhouse, until I'd saved up enough to do the THIRD addition, which included a "real" bathroom). In the short run, it would be "easier" to go ahead and get a mortgage, but then you're likely to be paying for the house for thirty years, which sucks. You'll find that almost the entire mortgage payment is interest, with a tiny fraction going to principal, until you've been paying for a few years. After fifteen years, you'll be paying only about half the payment for interest, and half to reduce the principal.

A suggestion which has worked for some folks, who can't or don't want to, build their own home: buy a very cheap old mobile home, and move it onto a piece of land. After you save enough to buy a house for cash (which won't take long, if you save your money--after all, you're not paying all that interest), get the house built, and sell the mobile. Trouble is, lots of folks aren't good at saving, and end up staying in a dumpy mobile home for many more years than they thought they would.

Good luck; hope you figure out what's the best way for you!

JOJ

-- jumpoffjoe (jumpoff@echoweb.net), October 16, 2000.

Don't forget when you do get the land, you should build a temporary shelter so that you can be living rent free on your land while you build your house.

-- JC (survivors00@hotmail.com), October 19, 2000.

I have written some articles about starting a homestead with no money. You can read them at my website. Scroll down to Will Wendy Weed or Wander. Also....we offer homestead internships. It doesn't cost a thing but your time. You can read about that on our web page, too. Wendy Peace and Carrots Farm Calais, Vermont wsm311@aol.com http://www.homestead.com/peaceandcarrots/

-- Wendy Martin (wsm311@aol.com), October 19, 2000.

First thing you need to do is minimize your expenses. If you have credit card debt, pay it OFF and do NOT use your cards again. You would be amazed at how much money you will find you actually have once you're not giving it to a credit card company every month. That stuff you bought on sale ends up costing you more due to credit card interest, as well as the fact that its often broken, worn out, or lost long before you've paid it off.

If you have other debt, once the credit card debt is gone, start working on paying that off. If you have $5 extra this week, put it on a debt, don't "treat" yourself to McDonald's psuedofood. Separate "wants" from "needs" and be RUTHLESS with yourself in this regard. What's really more important to you, escaping from the rat race to your homestead, or a serving of lemon chicken in a restaraunt you have to spend time and money to drive too?

Stop eating out. Make and take your lunches to work. Eat at home. If you don't already know how to cook from scratch, learn. It's practice for when you get out to your homestead. Pizza can be a really cheap meal if you buy ingredients in bulk from discount groceries and make it at home. If you feel really really inadequate to the task, check a local Y or community college or vo-tech school - they often offer basic cooking classes for very reasonable fees.

Buy as many groceries as possible from salvage groceries or bakery outlets. Shop several; all salvage groceries are not alike. Some are real dumps that you won't want to even eat canned goods from and some sell cheap food that you can't tell from "regular" grocery store items, except for the fact that the box may be crushed or dented or otherwise cosmetically marred. Bakery outlets routinely sell baked goods for pennies on the dollar, and have "special" days where certain items are even cheaper. Take advantage of them.

Reduce your monthly rent. Get housemates or move into shared housing. Yes, you will lose some privacy, but ... well, its a choice you have to make, less privacy now in trade for far far more autonomy and privacy later. And remember, spend EVERY PENNY you save on reducing debt; then once you're out of debt sock it away in savings.

I don't know if you have debt, I'm just saying IF you do, get rid of it. That's your most important order of business. Paying interest is like opening the veins in your financial wrists.

There are lots of other ways to save money - shopping second hand clothing stores, selling your car and riding the bus or a bike if that's a viable option in your area (I lived in Portland Oregon for almost 2 years without a car because of their excellent bus system and the fact that there were bike lanes EVERYWHERE) Selling your car (if possible) will not only save you money on gas and repairs (and potentially get rid of a car payment) but it will also free you from the need to keep up insurance payments. If you at least reduce your driving to the absolute barebones minimum possible, you should be able to reduce your premiums because the mileage is lower. Car pool, bike if possible, walk as much as you can, ride public transportation at every opportunity - I got a lot of reading done riding the bus in Portland.

Instead of taking expensive vacations, use your vacation time to visit potential homesteading areas. Friendly homesteaders may be willing to put you up, or you might be able to find an intentional community in the area where you can stay a week or two to see what its like (on a working basis). There are internship opportunities as well, though most of those require a longer term commitment, usually of several months to a couple of years. Plan on camping, not staying in hotels/motels. State campgrounds will have shower facilities and are usually quite reasonably priced. Check into youth hostels - these are scattered all over the country and are very reasonably priced. You don't have to be a kid to use them either. Do a web search on "youth hostel", there is a web page with a list of the locations of youth hostels across the country.

Something else to look into is to see if there are community garden plots available in your area. Might be sponsored by a private gardenign group, or even a division of the city government. They are usually quite reasonably priced for seasonal rental. Not only will you get practice for later, you can save some money on your food bill by "growing your own"

There are tons of ways to save money but these are some of the best. Hope it helps.

-- Soujourner (Sojournr@missouri.org), October 20, 2000.