Moving out of my rental house just south of Fuquay Varina, NC (about 40 min. south of Raleigh) the week of the 18th. Thought I'd be a good tenant by checking to see if anyone was interested in taking over where I leave off! It is a cinderblock on slab, 3 bedroom. Good thermal retention (if it's warm by day but cold all night, you gotta open the doors to warm it up in the morning, though). Propane hook-ups (two or three propane companies service the area, so comparison shop), also 220 hook-up for stove if yours isn't gas. No appliances whatsoever provided.

Heated by propane box heater in middle room (you'll want to put in ceiling fans to distribute the heat better) with a smaller, unvented heater in kitchen. No AC installed (don't need it if you close up during the day, and open windows at night). Some minor here-and-there problems with plumbing (nothing that you can't work around - she's not great about getting things fixed. Mostly slow to fill toilet tank and weird sink drain set up in kitchen - you gotta leave the outside access pipe open or it floods the cabinet), but it is county water, so no pumps, etc.

Sits on 35 acres, mostly pine trees and fields (she will no doubt have the lumber company up to thin or cut the trees soon - no idea how much they'll take). Currently, the view of the road is blocked, as are most neighbor views. Neighbors are typical country - some cool, some strange, some just plain ornery. No trash pick-up (although I see some roadside cans, so there's probably a private company you can talk to). Big yard, she doesn't really care what you do with it. We used all organic methods for our "lawn" and gardens. Barn across yard for storage and shop space. Probably okay with small livestock (chickens, few goats, maybe). Dogs outside only, cats inside with great show of reluctance and a pet deposit (make a point that I had cats, too, if it helps). Keep eye on pets out by driveway and fields out back, as locals use the access roads for off-roading and motor bikes and don't slow down).

Landlady is pretty much non-existent. Came up here maybe five times that I know of in as many years. Mostly just to make sure you're not burning the place down. She's old and spends a lot of time at the beach with family. Send in rent on time, keep law enforcement "visits" to a minimum and you're her best tenants ever.

Current rent is $425.OO, although she may raise it - don't know. Last raise was a year or two ago from $400. That's fairly normal rate given the area. We ran about $60/mt on elec in winter (space heater in bathroom - it's a not well insulated add-on and gets COLD), $40 in summer, water is estimated (it's the same every month), with a "catch-up" bill to make up any over use once a year - we got the lowest level at about $15 monthly - we have no water appliances like dishwasher, etc. Went through about two or three tanks propane a year, depending on weather and cooking.

If you're interested, e-mail me seperately or respond here and I'll pass your name and number on to Mrs. Johnson.

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), March 09, 2002