We stayed in Saskatoon for 3 nights. We arrived in time for a late dinner on Saturday night, so we just ordered pizza and rested up from the drive.

Sunday morning we woke up at 7:45am so we could meet with the realtors by 10:00. We had a bit of a drive ahead of us and didn’t want to be late.

The plan was to view four farms.

We had begun with a list of about 20! Our price range is tight, nothing over 250-300,000.00.
If we make this move, it’s to find a simpler  lifestyle. Not one with more debt, but instead a lifestyle that would allow us to give our children a good head start as they move into the next phase of their lives. Yes, there are farms in our local area, but the price differences are exorbitant! A 26 acre property with a custom built home here in our area is  over 1.4 million.

That same property in the area we are looking now would be 400,000.00, with the newly built custom home. Yet, if you are willing to put in some elbow grease, you can find much more land for MUCH less. That’s our goal. To buy as much land as possible, with a ‘livable’ home, within our budget. We have our list of must have’s on the property, we know what we’re up against if we choose a fixer upper, yet again, and we’re ok with that. We are willing to do the work.

We have a list of criteria the property we choose has to meet with points on it such as:

-livable house
-lots of land
-fencing for our horses
-shelter for our horses
-good water on the property
-good area with good economic growth
-must be a private property, yet still within easy commuting distance to nearest hospital, fire, etc.

I feel like I’m forgetting some things, but you get the idea of what we’re looking for.

We have tried to find all of the above here in our area, within our price range, and it’s just not been possible. Not with as much land as we would like to have. We’ve had people question why ‘so much’ land then, and there’s no easy way to answer it. It’s our dream, our desire, we know others might never understand, and that’s ok.

The first property we looked at was a true fixer upper. A little more work then we desire, for the return in value.

The old barn, while beautiful, would need to be almost completely redone. The place was not really suited for horses, but rather cattle, as is the case with a lot of these old farms. The home had not been lived in for quite some time, and it showed. The land was 160 acres, and although that may seem like a lot, we know through our research, that the price was too high for what the whole package had to offer. Although this property was priced below our budget, after all the work was done, we would have exceeded that budget. We didn’t “love” the property, so it was onto the next one.

The next property was the same size, the price was at the top of our budget, but the house showed VERY well. It was beautifully renovated on the inside. The outside was quite plain, but fine. There was no fencing, which would mean thousands of dollars. The land had also been used for crops, so it would need to be reseeded for horses. More money.

The barn was alright, needed a little tlc, but again, no fencing so we would not be able to easily use it for the horses. Work would need to be done before we could even move in. An expense we don’t care to be rushed into for a property at the top of our budget.

However, the inside really was impeccably done, and I can see how one would be very tempted by all the ‘prettiness’. It was all just our style too, some modern, with a bunch of antique thrown in. Just lovely! It was a little sad to walk away from it all, knowing in our hearts that what we buy, will most likely not look anything like that, at least not until WE are finished with it.

The property was also just 160 acres, a quarter section, as large as that may seem, for the top of our price range, and the lack of fencing etc., we just didn’t fall in love with it.

After the first two properties, we stopped to take a break at the nearest larger ‘town’. It was really nice! Our realtors took us out for a buffet lunch at a local restaurant. This worked out perfectly as it gave us a chance to ask lots of questions about the local area, the economy, etc. etc.. Both husband and wife had grown up on farms in the area, and had remained their entire lives. Who better to ask all our questions?!

We discussed real-estate, the economy in Saskatchewan, children, fishing, hunting, raising animals, and just about anything else you could think of.

We walked away from lunch feeling much more knowledgeable about the entire area and excited to continue our search for ‘our’ farm.