Friday, March 14, 2014

Welcome to Howling Woods Farm


AS OF MARCH 15TH OUR PROPERTY HAS BEEN SOLD TO MELISSA AND PETE.

Thanks for the interest in Howling Woods Farm.  We are Troy and Heather of Dover Foxcroft, Maine.  We both grew up in Pennyslvania and moved to Maine in 2006.  In 2007 we brought this property and built it into a homestead.  We are planning to move out west in the summer of 2014 and we are selling the property as a working homestead with tools, equipment, and furnishings in place.

A quick synopsis of the property:

  • 20 mostly wooded acres
  • 2-3 bedroom plus loft house/camp
  • 1 Full bath
  • Full walkout daylight basement
  • Fenced dog yard
  • Garden spot
  • Chicken coop and goat shed
  • Fruit trees and ornamental shrubs
  • Sugar maples for syrup production
  • Woodstove as primary heat 
  • To be sold furnished and as working homestead (two dairy goats and chickens)
  • $93,000 Firm- As is* 
*This price is firm as it only covers what we still owe on the property, we are not looking to make a profit.  We are more interested in offering the homesteader life to the right individual.

Now to get into the specifics of the property.  Dover Foxcroft is located in the center of Maine about 1 hour northwest of Bangor and 2 hours from the coast.  This property is located three miles from the center of town and three miles from Sebec Lake.  This is a four season property that has been occupied year-round since it was built in 2005.  It is located one half mile in on a dirt road that is not town maintained yet plowed in winter by residents of the road.  The road is in rough shape and a vehicle with higher clearance is recommended although any car can get by with caution.

The house was originally a one room camp that  the previous owners built a three story house off of.  The original camp now has two bedrooms, closet space, hallway, and attic storage above.  The three story house is a one half flight of stairs up from the camp.  It consists of a kitchen, living room, and bathroom on the main floor.  The loft makes up the third floor.  The bottom level consists of a full walk-out basement with a roughed in third bedroom that we currently use as our bedroom.  The basement opens to the fenced-in dog yard.



Living Room

Kitchen


Looking at Kitchen from living room

Kitchen with cathedral ceiling 

Bathroom

Bathroom


The land consists of 20 acres with about two of it cleared by the house. The woods are a mix of softwoods and hardwoods.  There is a small orchard consisting of apple and pear trees.  A garden is in place with room to expand.
 A Row of Lettuce in the Garden

Our First Few Apples from the Orchard

A newly built 12'X28' goat shed with room for hay storage and a milking stand is in place with fencing.  Two experienced milking goats come with the property.  There is also a 6'X14' salt box style chicken coop.
 12'X28' Goat and Storage Shed

Chicken Coop

Chicken Coop Side View

The house is heated primarily with the woodstove.  The woodstove is located in the basement on the concrete floor and provides enough heat to heat the main house.  We installed a ventless propane heater for back-up in the basement, for the purpose of being able to take vacations and leave the house for the day without worry of frozen pipes.  The original camp is heated with electric wall heaters.  We choose to use the camp strictly for storage in winter and sleep in the main house for ease of heating.  A wood or pellet stove could be installed in the camp if desired.
Wood Stove

Ventless Heater



Due to the mostly wooded nature of the property, your yearly firewood could be harvested from the land.  Any remaining seasoned and stacked firewood would be sold with the house and is located outside of basement door for easy access.  Through the years, sugar maples in close proximity to the house have been left standing for potential maple syrup production.

The property has multiple recreational opportunities from your front door.  The ITS snowmobile trail is accessible from the property.  The dirt road continues past the house several miles offering ATV riding, snowmobiling, horseback riding, mountain biking, or dog walking.  Due to the road being private with very few permanent residents, the road sees very little traffic.  We are located close to many other recreational opportunities.  If you are interested in some of the recreational activities nearby take a look at Troy's blog @ Troy's Blog.

With its location surrounded by woods, the property and surrounding woods have an abundant wildlife population including, deer, fox, coyote, skunk, fisher, porcupine, turkey, grouse, and even the occasional moose.  In fact, we chose the name Howling Woods farm because hearing the howling of coyotes at night is not uncommon and a thrill to hear.
 Deer in Driveway

Wild Turkeys in Driveway

The property has a well so no water bill.  With wise usage, the electric bill is about $60 a month.  Property tax is less than  $500/year.   The only other monthly expense with the property is optional phone and internet. (DSL available)

The previous owners installed electric, plumbing, septic, etc.  The house is livable as is although rustic. Like most homesteads, having handyman skills is a plus to make any needed updates or improvements.

Due to moving out west with what we can fit into our RV, we are leaving behind all tools, equipment, furnishings, and our two beloved dairy goats and flock of laying hens.
Our two dairy goats with our young buck in the middle.

Free ranging chickens

We would love to sell this property to someone interested in living the homesteader lifestyle.  We are even willing to teach a prospective buyer the ways of  our homesteading life.  This would ease our minds and ensure an easy transition and provide valuable information to the new owner on what it takes to run the homestead.

**We would prefer not to owner finance if at all possible.  We will consider this option only if it's necessary for us to move within our timeframe.  Do not hesitate to contact us if owner financing is your only option but we will put preference to offers not using owner finance first.  Any owner financing would require terms of no more than 5 years, at which time you must be able to get your own financing through traditional methods or pay the balance off.  We would need a payment of at least $850/ month.  Preference would be given to offers with as large a down payment as possible.

Please call us at 207-564-2919 with any questions about the property.  The best time to reach us is in the evening between 5PM and 9PM.  It's best to call between these times as not all messages left can be understood and returned so if we don't call you back, please try calling us again between 5p-9p.   troyzohner@msn.com can also be contacted for questions via email.