In Oklahoma you can rent with acreage and have barn on the property. A girl on my yahoo list found a rental now far from me with 20 acres and several outbuildings and they are paying even less I believe then they paid in their previous rental with 2.5 acres. I am in OKC area, commute about 20 mins for hubby to get to work.

Better yet, work out a deal with a fellow goat breeder to "lease" your does to and then get them back once you are set up. I have a similar arrangement with a friend whose hubby might get stationed elsewhere for 2 years and I will just keep her goats here, keep the milk and any kids born duing that time but she remains the owner and will get them back when they return. This is a "what if" scenario but I think would fit your case.

Jana

 

I know that there are rural rentals here in KS. (We are 45 min from KC and 45 min from Topeka.)

 

And if you can't find a home/land deal, you may be able to rent a home and separate land--while not ideal, it is a temporary solution. Doesn't Mill Valley do this? Someone on here does, and with a baby no less! Heck, if your travels take you to middle, TN, we have 4.5 acres across the street just sitting there and the house next door is vacant and could probably use a renter!

 

Move south. Northern states will be difficult to find what your looking for, my experience. But, if you are fixed on that spot check local farm store bulletin boards ( also put up ads), ask at the town offices, look for homes that would suit and see if they are occupied. Many times you can rent an empty house, but you have to ask and work at investigating who owns it and what they plan to do with it. Sometimes, you can trade services for housing if the property needs attention. You can not be shy when it comes to finding a place for you and animals, especially farm animals. Good Luck. Jennifer

 

There is land and homes here in So. Mississippi to rent. Not hard to find.

Tamera

 

True Jennifer- empty houses abound here but they need repairs and fencing is old so it will mean some work.
But we would have welcomed someone like you to take over an older home with a pond and fencing for labor and utilities.
The house is now about to be torn down due to water damage but there are many places where grampa's old home is needing a caring hand. Don't give up your gals! Snoop around - someone will be glad to have you.
Lee

 

Wow.......this is interesting, I just responded to the post about how you got started in goats and mentioned moving from western NY to Virginia and no less....for the same reason, couldn't find a job teaching. I remember trying to be optomistic when I heard in the fall of 1992, almost my last yr in college that NYC had just laid off a million teachers. YIKKS! Ok, I'm still thinking that there, not in our end of the state. But then the economy in NYS got bad thanks to then govenor, Mario Coumo! Because of that there were teacher layoff all through the state. The institutions that once housed mentally ill were closing. Because of the union there state workers were bumping left and right, more layoffs followed and tax hikes! Soooo....after a 2 yrs of trying to find a teaching position I decided to look out of state!

So I really understand where you are coming from. Been there too! Here in Virginia the cost of living is far less than in NYS. No school tax or town tax, just state. The taxes on a 100,000 house here is $330 a year. If you are a smoker you can buy a carton of cigarettes for $35.00 here. Every time I go home to western NY I am always amazed at how high in price things are.

In Virginia where I live you can find farm rentals easy. There are budget cuts, but there are opportunities in northern VA and over the border in NC.

Now......I am going to tell you this: There are 7 acres, just up the road from me. We live in the country and on a dead end dirt road. You can buy those 7 acres without a down payment. If you are interested I can give you the ph number. Good luck and hope you find your dream place!

 

Hope y'all are able to find something, that stinks!

 

sent you a pm

 

a friend of mine with a 6-pack of Great Danes and more in foster care for the Dane rescue was in a similar situation and not about to give up the Danes. Its pretty hard to find a rental that says 6-8 Great Danes are ok!

She put "wanted" ads on Craigslist explaining her situation and goals and she got the most amazing offers from folks. Of course you have to do your due diligence on any Craigslist deal, let's not hijack the thread here, but there is also a pot for every lid as the saying goes, you gotta broadcast the size and type you need to start...

 

when newly married some eons ago, the landowner changed his mind about us keeping 2 horses on a small lot next to the house--i went knocking door to door, where ever i seen something possible (and i wasn't picky, anything was 'possible!") and found a barn with small pen adjacnt for a very tiny fee per month. the man was kind, his place was nice, the barn leak free. i really lucked out it being so close, but it took some serious hunting to find it. i agree, craigslist, word of mouth will more than likely find you more than the regular real estate channels. best to you

 

My aunt has an empty house in Greenville, NY...I can ask her if she still wants a renter. Is that close enough? No fences though, no barn.

 

I currently live on leased property. It's about 7 or 8 acres with a single wide trailer in great shape. My landlord even built me a barn. I live in Va and the rent on my property is $575. Before the barn was built it was $500. It had fencing for the horses and with a little effort on my part using electric fencing, it holds goats. My boyfriend and I just bought our own farm and will be moving soon. I bought a few rolls of electric net fencing from premier and we put our goat fence up in about an hour. We've used the net here on the rented property and it works great for keeping unwanted animals out and the goats in. You can never turn it off though. It has to be kept electrified all the time. It is very reasonable for fencing though, especially for fencing in rented property. You can easily take the fence with you when you go.
Good luck!
Anita

 

I live about 45 miles (interstate all the way) from Atlanta where there are lots of job oppertunities. The area where I live is very rural, with lots of farms with cows, horses, chickens, etc. Cost of living is quite low and rent is very reasonable here and if you cross the state line into AL land prices are even lower. We are renting a farm right now and are making temporary upgrades to existing barns for our animals and will be using the Premier electronet fencing. I hope you find an ideal solution for your family.

 

If you feel like moving to TX, lots of people around us lease acreage with homes. Good luck!

 

What does hubby do? Might be able to help you find something in our area and there are homes w/ property for sale/lease. Most have outbuildings.

 

How far from Ft Drum are you ?

Since you are on the family farm have you thought maybe Hubby needs to go back to school to do something else that he can make a living at ? There are all kinds of programs that will help with that . How about kicking it up a notch and really trying to make a living from the farm ?

Patty

 

I see small homes/cabins/trailers and with acreage for rent around here all the time. Texas would be a good choice.

 

you guys are all so thoughtful. thanks for the ideas, ive been surfing the internet nonstop.
dh is a computer guy, im staying at home with our toddler right now.

texas sure does sound nice, the entire sw does really, well just about anyplace warm and not here sounds about perfect right now

so the problem is, how do we find a place like this from afar? i guess we could pack the car and just start driving? leave the goats with grandma for a couple weeks and send out a scouting party? i wishthere were adds that read- "old empty cabin, 2br, decent kitchen, bigyard with goat shed, nice little creek..."

thats a GREAT idea about the temp fence rolls, i could have a fence up in an hour with that stuff!
amybody ever put goats in a uhaul? we could maybe do half our stuff and half goats... in the spring with better weather....

 

I haven't done u-haul, but seriously considered it. Russ Edgar has a transport service and when I was trying to work out my transportation, he couldn't get a trip together but told me about the time he helped a friend move goats in a u-haul by making a panel that had a gate in it to fit the back of the truck and held the door up (ventilation, you know)

You can call a realtor and see if they deal in rentals, or if any of their clients would consider renting instead of selling. Or, if you're interested in an area near anyone on here, ask around if someone wouldn't mind poking around for you. I love property stuff and have gone out to land around here to take and send more pictures of places than what can be found online for folks before. Craigslist is also an option. In the Farm & Garden section, I frequently see farmland for rent. Or, like you said, enlist Grandma to watch the goats and go scouting.

Too bad you can't buy right now. My neighbor has his house for sale and there is an old milkroom on the property, because it is part of what used to be a cattle farm. Oh, the milk room is to die for, and they're just using it for storage! And there was a barn with a concrete floor that they tore down and park their RV there. It has septic, electricity, and water service just for the RV! The house is super cute... okay, too bad I can't buy another property right now! I will not covet my neighbor's house... I will not covet my neighbor's house..... I will not covet my neighbor's house...

 

UHaul used to rent horse trailers where I lived. I would imagine you would have a big cleanup bill if you put goats in a regular uhaul trailer.
School districts in Texas are always looking for computer people these days. Mine just hired another one. With all of the technology now they have to keep adding staff to keep up.