If you grew up in the suburbs with neighbors on all sides, a coffee shop within ten feet, and the roar of traffic in your ears, but then you decide to start your own farm and move to the country, it might take you a bit of time to adjust to the many changes. You’ve already looked into HELOC rates, home equity loans, interest rates, and monthly payments from your lender to purchase the farm, and now it’s time to settle in and see how you like life as a farmer and living in an old-fashioned farmhouse. If you’re a little worried, though super excited about living on a farm, the guide below will help put your mind at ease and settle in nicely.
Living on a farm is a lot of work.
No one who has moved to a farm would unrealistically think that it would be easy, but this bears talking about anyway. Living on a farm is a lot of work. It’s up with the roosters and work in the field to get your crops in so that you can get the high yield you’re expecting from your farm. There’s a lot of research that goes into having successful crops on a farm.
For example, if you’ve decided to grow corn on your farm, you’re going to need to know about high yield corn management, so do your research on it before you plant, not afterward. You want the acres of corn you planted to end in high corn yields with bushels of corn you can take to market and sell to feed your own family.
Renovate your farmhouse as soon as possible.
You’re going to want to renovate your farmhouse as soon as possible, not only to make it more functional, but also to make it feel like home. Home improvement is the perfect way to modernize your old farmhouse and make it the cozy home you want it to be.
Once you have the land and crops situated, it’s time to start looking for the best way to pay for a home renovation that won’t break the bank. As a homeowner, you want a low monthly payment on any personal loan or home improvement project you take on. You can put the home improvements on your credit card, but the interest rates are higher than getting a home equity loan in most cases.
For home renovations, a home equity line of credit, such as HELOC, might be your best bet through a lender that will get your monthly payments within an affordable range. Your best bet is to start small with your home improvements, do the most important home renovations first, and then do more when you know your crop yields will be a success.
Don’t waste the teachable moments.
While farming your land and renovating your farmhouse are important duties when living on a farm, never forget to take advantage of all the teachable moments a farm has to offer. There’s always something educational happening on a farm, for the kids to the adults who live on the farm with you. For example, if you’ve opted to have animals on your farm, teach the kids to collect eggs from and feed the chickens, get them out to milk the cows in the mornings, or let them help with small tasks in the fields. There are so many teachable moments when you live on a farm that you can’t get them all in during a single day.
These are just a few of the things you need to know about living on a farm and a few tips to help you settle into your new life. Enjoy your time farming, and don’t forget to stop and smell the fresh air because you can’t get that living in the suburbs.
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