We have made an offer on what we hope will be our perfect prepper property, and it has been accepted by the seller. That means that after darn near a full two years of searching in the Redoubt, the South, and the Mid-Atlantic states, our search for what we hope will be the perfect prepper property is drawing closer to a successful conclusion.
Let me see what I can share with you without providing too much information that would violate our privacy and operational security:
The house: The structure is relatively new and appears to be in very good shape, although we have yet to have an inspection done. It has a big deck and a kitchen that my wife finds acceptable. The listing was live for just under 60 days and we are one of the few who have visited it so far due to the coronavirus and, possibly, due to its remote location. We offered $10,000 less than list price and the offer was accepted.
The land: We have less than 20 acres and most of it is wooded, but there is a meadow in to the South of the house which is where we will pace the garden. Although solar power is not in our budget, there is sufficient southern exposure than it would work well. There is a lengthy driveway which is off a private road shared with other land owners.
Water: There is a stream running across the property, which you can hear from the deck. The drinking water is gravity fed from a 1,000-gallon cistern. That’s great because it means we have water if the power goes out.
Heat: The cabin has two wood stoves – one on the main level and one in the basement. Most of the acreage is wooded, so there’s no shortage of firewood. There’s also a heat pump to keep things from freezing if we aren’t home. We’re hoping the air conditioning is needed only occasionally.
Privacy and security: This is well off the beaten path and requires four-wheel drive to access it during the winter months. You are not going to stumble on this place by mistake. No one can look in our windows unless they’re flying a drone. There is one other house in sight, and I would estimate that it is a quarter of a mile away.
Food: There is plenty of hunting and fishing in the area, as well as space for gardening. We have seen some berries and will be planting more, as well as fruit trees. We have plans to add bees and a chicken coop in the future. Rabbits are a possibility down the road.
Storage Space: There is a separate two-car garage with enough extra space to fit my workshop and equipment. One of the basement rooms will also become a dedicated storage room, which give us plenty of room for our shelves and bins of gear, boxes, #10 cans, and 5-gallon pails.
Next Steps
Now that we have an accepted offer, we have six weeks or so to inspect the house and look for issues, test the water, pull permits and make sure everything looks good. I’m going to drive out there again and accompany the home inspector so I can see any potential problems first-hand rather than just a digital photo a week later. We’re also going to visit the local village and closest town, see where you can get a decent cup of coffee and where the closest grocery store is. Maybe talk to some of the neighbors, find out what they do for high speed Internet, and see if UPS will deliver to the door or not.
If everything goes smoothly, we hope to close before August 1.
We encourage you to read more about our property search or prior episodes of our diary.
