The Old Folks Home

[tntchix]

DH announced tonight that we could get a nicer, bigger, newer home, more easily if we bought in a subdivision, and the only reason we are going to all the extra expense, and effort is because of my chickens. I'm BUSTED! I commented that he couldn't garden like he wanted in a subdivision that the yard wouldn't be big enough. He just rolled his eyes at me. I reminded him that I want a calf, and a pig to raise too. It isn't just about the chickens. He's already checked out crime rates too. Darn it! I really hope the place we go to look at on Saturday is promising. It's not really that he doesn't want a nice place further in the country. He does. It's just a lack of availability for what we are wanting, at this time. He's getting frustrated, and patience is not one of his virtues.

Something else we are both frustrated about is the realtor that the lady hired to sell the place we are renting now. Monday was my birthday. Tuesday the realtor was going to come by around noon to measure, and take pictures, as soon as he got through with his doctor's appointment. I spent all weekend, and Monday getting this place picture perfect. I didn't let my kids, and grandkids come over on Monday to celebrate my birthday, because I didn't want to have to clean up after them. The floors were stripped, freshly waxed, and buffed, not a speck of dust, garage and patio vacuumed, nothing out of place. Everything ready for the pictures.

At 2:15 I called the realtor. I asked how it went at the doctor's, and was he ok, and still going to make it to measure, and take pictures. Oh, he had forgotten. He forgot his doctor appointment, and all the people he had scheduled for Tuesday, because He had TOO MUCH FUN over the weekend. I was flabbergasted! He rescheduled for this Friday. He was not happy either when I said no to a lockbox on the door. If, and when the house is to be shown, it will be scheduled. Lockboxes are for unoccupied homes. As it stands now, he can kiss my grits!

Please don't make the mistake I did and get a place you don't love. It will bug you constantly.

Isn't it nice that they (realtors) make us feel like the inconvenience is our fault for them doing their jobs? On the other hand without a lockbox, prepare for a looonger listing probably. I've done it both ways and the one w/lockbox sold so much faster. Although...that might work in your favor.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I thought I had three broodies starting but they got up after 24 hours. I will keep an eye on them. I would like to have some chicks out of brooders.

I spent the morning mixing feed and scooping pig poop. I have chicks to take out of the bator and then it's back to the pigs. A lone farmers work is never done.

I have too many broodies and too many chicks. I have 12 laying age birds and 5 of them are broody. I had to put 2 pullets in broody jail night before last. I'm pretty sure they're broken now. I only got 1 egg yesterday. 1 hen just hatched 4 chicks, another has 4 eggs due today. She had 10 but kicked 6 of them out. I put them in the incubator, just not sure if I got them in time. She's a pullet. Just can't trust them so I usually break them. There are another 6 eggs hatching in the incubator now that she had started to sit on and then got off and started sitting on a batch of fake eggs. I moved her into her own apartment so she didn't have an option on nests.
Not counting what's hatching, I have a bout 65 chicks that will start laying between the end of October and early February.

Lone farmer blues, I can empathize.

DH announced tonight that we could get a nicer, bigger, newer home, more easily if we bought in a subdivision, and the only reason we are going to all the extra expense, and effort is because of my chickens. I'm BUSTED! I commented that he couldn't garden like he wanted in a subdivision that the yard wouldn't be big enough. He just rolled his eyes at me. I reminded him that I want a calf, and a pig to raise too. It isn't just about the chickens. He's already checked out crime rates too. Darn it! I really hope the place we go to look at on Saturday is promising. It's not really that he doesn't want a nice place further in the country. He does. It's just a lack of availability for what we are wanting, at this time. He's getting frustrated, and patience is not one of his virtues.

...

Our first house was a 3 story condo on a lake. Nice but no elbow room and the first place I ever lived that I couldn't have a garden.
Best advice I can offer is to focus on what you really want. When I lived in Costa Rica, I had nothing but a few changes of clothes, a couple cameras and a tool pouch. I was perfectly content. Back home I had a big house and outbuildings full of stuff. Stuff that I realized I didn't miss or need. You can go with a small house and splurge on land and buildings/fencing for animals if that's what is important to you.
Good luck.

 

[dsqard]

getaclue I have to agree with you about realtors. I have bought and sold houses in Arizona, Florida and Utah. I have not been impressed with a single realtor. I understand they are working commission but I have yet to see a single one earn the 3% - 6% they get on the sale of a house. I plan on making my next one work for that commission when we finally get the chance to get out of here.

 

[Peep_Show]

Ditto the sentiment about realtors. The one I had to sell my Las Vegas home I had to constantly ride herd on.... She even listed the house in the wrong city!

I had an unfortunate incident when I lived in Northern CA where the owner of the property I was renting (who happened to be my sister) suddenly decided to sell, phoned me up and said the realtor was pounding the sign in the yard the next day and did I want to buy the place (knowing full well at the time that I was in bankruptcy due to divorce and, in essence, had NO funds to speak of because ex-husband's lawyer was better than mine), and then it was a nightmare of coordinating with inspectors and visiting realtors, yada, yada because I had dogs and critters. Then a second nightmare of finding a place to relocate to because of said dogs and critters and financial condition. The seller's agent (who I knew casually as a friend of my sister) had to have been the laziest realtor I've ever met as I did a heckuva lot of her footwork as she was "busy" with other stuff, and mind you I had a full-time job and other commitments. It was actually the buyer's agent who took pity on me (evicted by my sister? really?) and helped me find a place to live. THAT was the one realtor that I thought was worth her salt. The rest... Well, I just had a vision of a bulldozer shoving a mass of people over a cliff.

Selling Mom's house my sister (lead trustee) opted for the same lazy realtor who, had we followed her idea of taking the first offer at asking, would've lost us scadoodles of money. I orchestrated the plan to have a set date for all offers to be in and we'd look at them then. Well, of course, buyers' agents HATED that because we wouldn't disclose what offers had come in and they were all hoping to low-ball a fixer-upper, but it worked in our favor and we ended up with 22% over the asking price.

The last property I sold I handled it myself...no drama whatsoever. And, thankfully and the gods willing, it will be THE LAST place I'm ever selling as I plan to stay put... So tired of moving stuff! Last year I maintained and packed and moved three houses and I am d-o-n-e.

Also ditto on the sentiment of buying what you love, not what you can settle with. Keep it realistic, but be true to your bones. I had an agent looking for a place for me and the critters who flatout told me "Lose the dog and we can get you into a place." Lose the dog? EXCUSE ME? That person quickly became my ex-agent as that dog was one of the few precious things I had going in my life at the time. And, indeed, Sparkie was my faithful posse friend through several paramours and five moves. I tell my DH that he's still on probation as Sparkie was with me for 17 years and that's my benchmark of lasting relationships....heheheh. (He loved her, too, as she was an opinionated old Schipperke full of character)

 

[dsqard]

It's funny how it seems that realtors seem to forget what customer service is about. I certainly do not expect to be pampered and I do not mind doing some legwork but when I am doing all the work then it makes no sense to me that a realtor gets a commission out of a sale. I also expect a realtor to know their area and be able to answer questions about the area such as is this house in a good school district area (when I had school age kids) or if you were going to select one of these two builders to build your house, which would you choose and why. I have had realtors that are not able to answer those questions and have had to suffer the consequences because of it. I honestly think I could not go through building another home unless I had the money and the time to find a highly recommended custom home builder.

 

[chickisoup]

Morning

 

[tnspursfan09]

Good morning. We are going home today! No more hotel rooms! I miss my chickens.

 

[vehve]

Good morning. We are going home today! No more hotel rooms! I miss my chickens.

Yay! The doctor gave the all clear?

 

[tnspursfan09]

Yep. No washing the hair for another week. No swimming at all for two months. No roughhousing or running around for awhile, either. No going into the coop for awhile. Next appointment? 6 months. Yay!

 

[vehve]

Sounds like you need to get her a pink helmet

Well that's great news, you must be ecstatic