Property #1

So you're not supposed to buy the first property you look at, are you? Well, we might.



We booted out of Bridgewater convoy-style with the high-speed realtor leading the way in his car and high-speed Harvey (Mark's stepdad) keeping up very nicely behind him, into the back woods of rural Nova Scotia. As we neared the property in Queens County near Kejimkujik Lake, we were pleased to see that the roads were paved the entire way. Before we arrived we had to slow down while a very large porcupine made his leisurely way across the road. I don't even think he noticed us.

We got there and the house and property looked very cute. It was kind of tragic though - it was obvious that whoever lived in the house had not put a single penny into any sort of upkeep of the place. the steps to the deck, where the main door is located, were so rotten looking that we were scared to step on them. The place was FILTHY and grimy and piles of assorted junk were found in every corner and on every level surface. the sinks and toilet bowls in the bathrooms were black with filth. Someone had broken the inside window pane in one of the bedrooms and left it that way. Jagged glass lined the window frame and cobwebs were visibly blowing in the breeze that the closed window was letting in. The demented little pack of Chihuahuas that lived in the house had left evidence of their lack of housebreaking, and the upstairs floor was simply sub-floor with a thin coat of varnish over it.

Outside, spent shotgun casings abounded starting from about 30 feet from the house and continuing down the property's dirt road into the wilderness. The gigantic garage was filled with old batteries, gas cans, electronics and general run-down junk, and last year's harvested hay crop was rotting in the fields.

BUT...

The frame of the house is solid, and the layout is logical. The unfinished basement is sturdy-looking. The three barns are in decent condition even though daylight can be seen through the shingles.



The land is beautiful and at one time the front yard had absolutely gorgeous landscaping and flower gardens. With just a little bit of work the gardens could be in wonderful shape again, and we found a perfect area behind the house to start a large vegetable plot. There is a dirt road into the woods and we walked down it for about 20 minutes before we turned around. The woods had been logged at one point but are beautiful now and as they continue to mature they will only look better and better.



Hmm... how desperately do they want to vacate the property? It's been for sale for five years, simply because nobody but loggers really buy large tracts of land in the middle of nowhere, and this forest has already been stripped of much of its hardwood, so loggers are not interested. We're thinking of making a low-ball offer and seeing whether they get offended or sell. The house just has to be cleaned to be livable, and then we can fix and change things entirely at our own pace.

We did go see a second property that day, but just as a drive-by. We got lost in the middle of nowhere and asked a local for directions. When he found out which house we were trying to find, he shook his head and told us what a shame it was about that property. We understood what he meant when we saw the place. The lovely farmhouse sat atop a hill with a nice big barn nearby. Surrounding it was a devastation of clearcut ex-forest. Here and there a lonely tree still stood, but it looked like all 87 acres of the property had been completely logged and destroyed. We have learned that the wood is actually more valuable than the land it stands on around here. Whoever bought that property made a killing in more ways than one, and now they want to cut their ties with the land they have ruined. Sigh.

We've got a list of potential properties to slog through, but I'd honestly be happy buying that first one... with a clause that they remove all their garbage!!