Back in 1974 my husband and I built our first house in Barrington NH.
We were able to qualify for a program called Farmers Home Administration now known as Rural Housing. We were approved for an un-subsidized loan for $25,000 at 8.5%. With that money we were able to build a 24x36' full dormer-ed Cape on 1 acre.
The house required a lot of "Sweat Equity" 
We cleared our own land!
And stained the siding by hand! The house had an unfinished second floor which we studded, sheet rocked and finished ourselves!
We sold a mere two years later for $35,000-a whopping $10,000 profit!
My husband had a yen for "land" so we headed North to Danbury, NH and purchased an old Farmhouse (known as "The Big House") with a Barn on 2 acres. The property also included an additional 10 acre woodlot with road frontage...just in front of the Danbury school! The price...$21,500.
After only 6 months my husband spotted a small house in "Downtown" that was For Sale for $1000...
but had to be moved!
My husband proposed the deal to what was then"Indian Head Bank" (in Concord, NH) and they gave us a loan for $13,000 to include moving the house (to our 10 acres),putting in a custom foundation,a well, a septic system,paying for Utility work and having the house (To be known as "The Little House") put on its foundation!
The payments for "The Little House" were $108/monthly
The school kids were let out (chairs and all) to watch!
Twelve years later we sold the "Little House" for $35,000.
In 1984 we moved to Concord, NH and bought our present home for $65,000. Our rate was 11.4%.
We rented the "Big House" with an option to purchase....and sold in a few years for $50,000.
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THE BIG HOUSE
Purchased 1976 for $21,500
Sold in 1989 for $50,000
Sold again in 2005 for $258,00
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I FIND THIS ALL.......AMAZING!!!
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Joan Mirantz - Joni is a Realtor® with Keeler Family Realtors, a locally owned, Customer Service oriented Firm.
Joan Publishes a monthly Newsletter "Food For Thought" under the pen name Realtor Sherpa.
(Joan also answers to Miz Maven and Miss Joni.)
Joan works in Buyer and Seller Representation with concentrations in the Merrimack Valley Area and towns surrounding Concord NH - the Capital City.
"I love what I do, and it shows in how I do it"
Joan - The appreciation of real property over the years is mind-boggling. In 1972 we bought a small Cape in a suburb of Boston. Paid a whopping $43,500! And we had a rate of 13.5%! In 1977 we sold it for $89,000! When I went back to Boston a couple years ago the same house was back on the market for a mere $390,000!!
If I had only had the foresight to rent it out for about 10 years.....LOL
I love that photo of you dragging that tree! Or was the tree dragging you?
Awww - come on Joan! LOL If I can still do it, so can you!
But....in the interest of full disclosure.....I have already told the hubby that this is the last rehab we do. We may buy more properties, but someone else is going to do the grunt work. My old bones just don't hold up as well as they did 30 (or 40) years ago.
Hi Joan,
I loved this, you've certainly done your fair share of work (and then some) over the years. Clearing the land...my goodness, good for you.
BTW, I came by this post as a result of a comment on William's in S.D.
Joan, I loved reading this post and had a big smile the whole time. The pictures were perfect ! I love the one of you tugging the brush away and the one of the school kids all sitting on their chairs watching the house being moved....
I find it all amazing too. Thanks so much for writing such an amazing and interesting post. Your husband is quite the wheeler-dealer !
Jo
Hi Joan,
Great Story :), reminds of my days flipping homes during university - A LOT OF SWEAT EQUITY INDEED!!!