Recently we moved into our dream farmhouse on seven acres. We had been on the hunt for about five years when we found it. Along the way, I learned a few things that made the likelihood of finding our place a little better. Here are my tips and tricks for how to find a farmhouse and homestead.
How to find a farmhouse and homestead video
https://youtu.be/rUK1UfIXjY4
For the last ten years, our family lived in a beautiful 1925 Craftsmen Bungalow. (Well, you know, after a ton of work.)
It had hardwood floors, crown molding, original kitchen cabinets, built-in bookshelves, a window seat, archways, a clawfoot tub and a big old front porch. I could go on about the character, history and beauty of our last home.
So, why on earth did we seek out this new farmhouse of ours?
It had everything we wanted on the inside, but it only say on a quarter of an acre. It would work just fine for a small family, or a couple, but we wanted land for our five kids to roam and explore. I had my heart set on a massive garden, honey bees and a dairy cow.
I not-so-patiently looked high and low for a place that we could call our own little homestead. The problem was that I usually found places that had beautiful land, but a character-less home. OR I would find the most beautiful farmhouse, but the land had no privacy or charm.
I finally figured out a few tricks for finding our dream property, and I believe I could have found one sooner if I had only tried this method sooner. I guess in a way I’m glad I didn’t because ultimately I love the place we found and the timing of it, but I do believe these tips and trick could help you find your own farmhouse and homestead!
How to Find a Farmhouse and Homestead
1. Use a site like realtor.com where you can change the search criteria. Enter in your zip code to begin the search.
2. Under “more filters” expand the mile radius to 20.
Now, here’s the thing Mr. and Mrs. Bass (aka my husband and I) had to come to terms with. If you are looking for an old farmhouse with acreage and character, you can’t be married to the little town where you’ve lived all your life.
Sure, you might get lucky, and find one. But, you may be looking for years and never find it.
I even expanded my search a bit beyond 20 miles, by putting in zip codes from other nearby towns in my area. (I wish realtor would let you put in a bigger radius, so I could have skipped that step.)
3. Under “Lot Size” choose Minimum 2 acres. If you require more than that, maybe try for a minimum of 5.
We would have been ok with just 2, if it was in the right setting. I have seen charming two acre farms where we could do everything we wanted, if they had the privacy of a dead end gravel road or something.
The most important step: the age criteria
4. This next step is the reason we finally found our farmhouse. The AGE criteria.
Do you wanna know how many 90s homes we drove by, because we saw that they had a little acreage with them?
My husband certainly has a picture framed in his mind’s eye of me cocking my head sideways and muttering something about how I could make it work if we just did this, this, this and this.
I am SO glad we never settled for any of those places. I’m sure I could have made them livable and pretty, but how do you truly add character to a house that has absolutely none?
Under “Home Age” put in minimum of 75 years.
The day I did this search on Realtor, I came up with no less than 3 contenders. We actually were debating between two properties, when we finally decided to move forward on the one we bought.
5. Check back often.
You may not find anything on day 1 like I did, but that’s ok. If you keep doing this search for your area, I bet you will come across something in a year or two.
6. Use your imagination in the house. Things like carpet, paint and an ugly kitchen can all be fixed. The less the place has been renovated over the last 50 years, the better.
Ignore the trends
7. Think restoration, not renovation.
I love all things HGTV, Home Town, Fixer Upper, Property Brothers…I would rather watch any of those over sitcoms and movies.
When you are thinking about buying an old farmhouse, you need to ignore the shows and the trends. These homes were built with intention and craftsmanship. In my opinion, any home that was built 100 years ago and is still in good condition, was built to last. Otherwise, it would have crumbled away years ago.
When you are walking through the property, imagine how you can restore it back to its former glory. Skip the expensive renovations, like knocking down walls, replacing historic windows and removing the lathe and plaster.
Most importantly, do your research before you dive in!
I learned a lot of this from my friend Sara Jo, at Bryarton Farm, who is restoring her 1893 farmhouse beautifully! I have also learned a ton from Paige over at Farmhouse Vernacular. If you are in need of some restoration guidance and motivation, give these ladies a follow on IG and Youtube!
Do your due diligence
8. Don’t skip the inspections.
People have an irrational fear of old houses, because in our culture they are seen as money pits. Back in the 90s and 2000s people were bulldozing them to pop up something new, because old houses were seen as completely worthless.
I have noticed that most people would rather buy a new house, with cheap flooring and builder grade finishes, that even consider looking at an older home.
My husband and I have lived in a 100 year old home for all of our adult lives, and have had nothing but a great experience. But, here’s the thing. We did not skimp on inspections. At our new place, we spent nearly $2,000 to get everything inspected from top to bottom before we even considered buying it. We had a separate foundation guy and a mold expert come out, as well.
The person who bought our house did the same. After the inspections, he brought out an electrician, plumber and foundation person.
Both of us moved forward confidently with the purchases, knowing exactly what we were getting into. We had to fix a few things before our buyer would purchase ours, and we had to have the sellers give us a credit for a few things.
Don’t be scared, but DO figure out what you’re getting into.
A few years ago, we put an offer on a place that had significant foundation issues. I really wanted the place, and before I was fully aware of the issues I wanted to just put in a full price cash offer with no inspections. After having the foundation guy out I was so glad I didn’t. He felt that the house would be better bulldozed than fixed up. Lesson learned.
Be optimistic, but realistic.
Also, make sure to get a high quality appraisal and leave on the appraisal contingency. This little step saved us almost $30,000 on our recent farmhouse purchase, when we found out we offered too much.
Be patient
9. I truly hope you find your dream farmhouse faster than we did, but don’t just settle on something because you think you’ll never find it. I am so glad the places I tried to rush into didn’t work out. I’m an old house lover that sometimes tried to convince myself I would be ok with an 80s ranch, just so long as it was on acreage.
I’m so glad we waited it out.
Now, go forth and find a farmhouse. I wish you all the best!
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We have a beautiful farm site, that is located close to a wonderful small town, and then close to a hwy that can take to you a larger city, also just 2 hours south of Minneapolis. So… easy access but off the road enough that you will have just a couple cars go by everyday! And within walking distance to a river for floating. It has 6 out-buildings, including a barn built in 1877 and the original log cabin that was built around the 1850’s is now built on to, making it into a 3 bedroom 2 story house. HUGE beautiful oaks and walnut trees add to the esthetics. It is starting the fall season in 2020, if anyone is interested in knowing more about purchasing this historic farmstead, please contact me! Its a beautiful place!
My family is unfortunately in a place that we will soon be selling our beautiful family farmhouse which was built by my great grandfather in 1927 and has been well maintained and lived in by his children up until my great aunt’s recent death at age 102. My grandfather was a florist, and farmed the land which, all but an acre or so, has been sold off over the years We are all heartbroken to see this property leave our family, especially when many people inquire with plans to make it a duplex for rentals. We have spent inumerous holidays, cared for our againg family here and have visited many times with the intention of finding moments or days of solice and rest from a busy world. We have all dreamed of how we would restore the home ourselves to make it more livable for our families, unfortunately we are not in a place that this could actually pan out. Our home is in a quaint village in NJ, off the beaten path with many 18th century homes, and is listed as a historic home in the village. Our desire is to find a buyer who will love and respect the history and character of the home as much as we do. I do believe there are people out there, somewhere. My question is, how do I go about finding them?
Hey Lisa – Really helpful tips. I have a big, 95 y/o English cottage-style home, in Los Angeles, with built-in mahogany, lattice windows, fireplace, huge dining room, archways, big breakfast room with built-in china cabinets and desk, big bedrooms and a large finished attic room with actual staircase. But, there’s also mold under the house, aling with corroded water line so very little water pressure, and gas line that had to be turned off to our heater so we’re “freezing” all winter. Not to mention termites and oeeling paint. As a senior, I can’t fix any of it and it’s hard to think of leaving. But, I’m trusting God for His plan revealed and what my next step(s) will be!
I congratulate you, the farmhouse is very nice and suitable for your family, I am also looking for something similar is not easy but I know that with the help of God and the councils it will be time to find it, God bless you !!
You can actually set up a search in Realtor.com and the system will email you when a home is placed on the market. You can do the same on Zillow. I am a Realtor in FL and had the same desires as you. In the end for us, we also could not be married to the town we lived in and loved. (Which was becoming quite congested anyways). We searched high and low for two years. We found a property on 5 acres that we love and we are enjoying the wildlife and the fixups to make it ours. P.S. I recently bought the same farmhouse bed as yours from Target through your link. I love it!
I love the tip about having all the different inspectors come out! I got mad snooping skills, I can find out anything about my ex in minutes ?More important to use those skills to scope out a homestead!
So I watched this video on YouTube and kind of scoffed. We have been looking for a small farm for well over 2 years now. Every time to find one it’s sold before we can even see it. But I thought, eh, I’ve got nothing going on so I did it and a crazy overgrown Foursquare on almost 3 acres just outside of town popped up. It’s a little scary looking outside but the inside is pretty nice looking AND it’s a great price too. I sent it to my realtor tonight and while I’m not trying to get my hopes up for them to be dashed, I am pretty excited to hopefully get to see the property.
Hey, Lisa! SO glad you guys finally found the homestead of your dreams! Cannot WAIT to see it all unfold! Regarding your realtor.com search, what I have always done is entered all my search criteria (you sure are right for us old home lovers – age criteria is critical) and then click on the MAP option and just move your mouse up, down, and around the MAP and it can expand your search manually that way. I agree, it would be WAY easier if realtor.com just offered its users a larger search criteria! But, that’s what I do if I want to see more homes that match my already-entered criteria in a larger area. Since I live in CA and we don’t have as many old homes as the rest of the country, sometimes I even go all the way up to OR or WA!!! #lifegoals xoxo
Lisa,
Thank you SO much for posting the link to Sara Jo at Bryarton Farm! She and her house (and family) are amazing! We are renovating our 102-year-old farmhouse, and I picked up several great ideas there! It is a site that I will return to often, much like yours. I really appreciate you sharing all that you do, even links to other helpful and enjoyable blogs. Can’t wait to see your progress this year on your new home. Thanks Again, Tina
Super excited about this post. I never realized there’s so much into finding the perfect (for us) farmhouse. I honestly thought they wouldn’t be listed or that you could go back to many years. Lessons learned. Thanks! Pinned.
Lisa thank you so much for this post. I been searching for a farmhouses for a while and this will make it easier. I love how you and your family are willing to share and teach us all. Love the old and simple way of living! Best of luck!