What had 75% made up my mind to buy this place before ever arriving at it and seeing it was the drive to it. Crossing the Castor River Low Water Bridge the first time. I was like OH HELL YES!!!! It felt real tight bringing the bigger 8' wide trailers over the narrow low water bridges LOL. And then Crooked Creek crossing another low water bridge and nothing but dirt and gravel roads. Then pulling into this place at the end of dead end road and over looking a branch of the Crooked Creek. Then stepping inside for the first time and seeing this...... And of course the front porch After doing a complete inspection of the Cabin, Electrical, Plumbing, Well Specs, Septic and general structural integrity. Then doing the same to the old barn and then walking the small Mountain Back Yard. Then very carefully weighing the potential of the Mountain base and open land in the valley floor........... I concluded that there was around $20,000 worth of electrical work that needed to be done..... Like rewiring the entire cabin. I really cringed when I opened this sub panel expecting to see ya know a sub panel with breakers n stuff LOL. And yeah 12/2 on a 40amp 240 going to a 30amp dryer outlet.......... So for 40 acres, a overall nice Cabin, a barn that is 100+ years old and restorable, 4.95 acres of open in the valley floor, with mountain base having a gentle enough slope that with a good bit of dirt work could be extended out level 60 feet into the valley floor..... AT THE END OF a pretty rough dirt and gravel road with 2 low bridges that do get up to 6' under the water when the river and creek are up and can be that way for a few weeks......... That is a good thing IMO BTW. And A cabin over looking a creek branch that flows 9-10 months out of the year. The Asking price was $250,000 after deducting what I calculated it would cost to hire someone to fix the electrical and some structural problems (A couple of rotten logs that would need to be replaced) I made a $230,000 Cash offer with no contingencies, No appraisal and no Inspections. The Realtor texted that offer to the seller, 5 minutes later she accepted it and 20 minutes later it was under contract and a week later I passed the check across the table at the title company closing and they passed the deed across to me. Along with the survey on file with the County and other documents. And NewHome was mine free and clear. I have never fully understood the $250,000 asking price being so low. Other similar properties in the general area with cabins and 20 to 40 acres were all selling and moving at $350,000-$380,000. Best I can figure is that the seller left here for AZ and was desperate to get out from under 2 mortgages. I do know that this place was poorly marketed as well it was only listed on Landwatch and was like 15 pages deep in the listings and had not been updated in 18 Months at the time I saw it other than every 6 months they kept lowering the price by $25,000 to $30,000 at a time. Just seemed weird given how fast and over inflated MO Ozarks land sells for. I did get a appraisal after it was mine and it came in at $340,000 and updated that appraisal after I was done building and adding on and that brought it up to $448,000. Appraiser is as baffled as I am as to why it was priced at $250,000 when I made my offer. I had it appraised and update not because I will sell it, I just like to know the fair market value of my home and property. Here is where the building and adding on stopped and folks that saw it 5 Months ago and see it now are like WOW this does not even look like the same place! and "So whatcha building here a prepper survivalist doomsday compound? LOL Nope just a little as self sufficient homestead kind of set up as it can be, where I can live as sustainably and free as I can be or want to be. It is mine and I am feeling like it is home now. And I love sitting on that porch in the evenings after a hard day of going balls to the wall building and improving! 2026 is going to be a lot more relaxed and slower paced than 2025 was!
Yeah, I agree with you and would have bought it too, in less than a heartbeat! However, they were damn lucky to still have a house to sell you as that is the worse catastrophe of electrical wiring I have ever seen. You are a braver man than me to even live in that place while it's wired like that. I would be too afraid to even turn on a light! Be damn careful until you sort it out. I cannot imagine what the hell they were thinking and it's not like the fire folks are going to be able to get there quickly to help them out. Geez peas! Looking at the photos...aren't you concern that 'Castor River Low Water Bridge' will flood out in a good rain? The photo makes it look like it is only about a foot above the waterline. I mean, knowing you, you'll definitely have eats and etc. to get you through if it washes out but there are other things, emergency things that tend to happen in conjunction as Mr. Murphy loves to take scenarios like that and make them worse...he has a personal vendetta against me. LOL! Is that the only way in/out to the T5 Ranch? Yeah, it really is a beautiful spot...
The fact that in high water that bridge is 6' feet under the water was a big PLUS for me LOL if I can't get out no one can get in That electrical nest in what appears to be a sub panel was the first thing I corrected. It has a actual bar and breakers in it now instead of a bunch of wire mess and wire nuts. I got no problem with DIY'rs doing electrical if they know what they are doing. The one that did this mess had not a clue and is damned lucky they didn't burn the cabin down when they turned the power back on. The rest of the wiring is a real mess but safe enough if I keep the loads low on the circuits. They way undersized everything and did stupid shit like putting 14/2 on 30 amp breaker to power the kitchen. The Old barn was the best LOL when I plugged the air compressor in and touched the tank the tank shocked the piss out of me LOL. I ran a 10/2 out to it in a little 4 slot box and ran lights and outlets off it for outlets and lights until I get the line off the new meter loop to the New Barn main breaker box and then going to seed 6awg from it to sub panels in the old barn, chicken house and Duck house. LOL I will take some pics of the barn wiring mess sometime and post them. It makes that cabin sub panel nest look pro done. EDIT: I do believe they took the approach of if it didn't catch on fire and the lights come on it must be right LOL
Biggest draw back or blessing depending how you look at it. IS that my road is a private road with its own low water bridge that I have to keep maintained and in good shape. And as I learned while rolling trailers in when I was moving, my bridge gets under water and the too small gravel washes out in its lowest spot. Going to correct that with some big rip rap and a little concrete Neighbor on the other side of the valley tells me on rare occasions the little creek gets over my road and on the valley floor 6" to 8" deep but recedes a hour after the big deluges of rain stop. LOL going to build the raised garden beds 16" above the floor to be safe.
Very happy to see your NewHome set up. Congratulations are in order! That property was definitely priced for a quick sell by the previous owner. The reasons why can be variable. Is it because of the potentially limited access IN or OUT if the creek and river waters rise? That is the most obvious reason based on the pics and info you provide. Another reason is something intangible, or not noticed right away. I think you've mentioned in an earlier post that your neighbors are good "salt of the earth" types of folks. So, problems from neighbors should be minimal. What about nuisance wildlife, or other mysterious less-talked-about critters? Because the wooded hills and waterways of Missouri, Arkansas & Oklahoma are known for such legends, are there rumors of any "wild hairy humanoids" living in the hills? I realize it sounds ridiculous, I've never seen one in all my years of hunting, but I have heard some strange sounds while out in the boondocks. Also, when you're out in the woods alone, you develop a sixth sense about when you're being watched, or when something doesn't feel quite right. Or, maybe I've just got an overactive imagination. Best Wishes T5R!
Nope the place across the valley is very similar to this place and went for $325,000. The Cabins are almost identical and were built at the same time in 1991. My best guess is getting out from under 2 mortgages.
Yeah, that sounds exactly what they were thinking, "Nothing's on fire so job well done!" I think I would have ran off generators than chance that $hit. LOL! Glad you got it fixed to the point you won't be BBQ'd LOL!
