Since you hate the house and you’d have to build a barn, I’d recommend listing what it would take to make this your perfect property. Add up the costs including what it takes to house your family and horses while things are being built.
Then compare to the other properties where you’d want to build an indoor arena and they have less average.
We did it the opposite. Bought a house we liked and built the barn and put up fence. I only wish I’d attached an indoor while I was doing it.
Twenty two years ago, we bought a house that was run down and not what we wanted. The land and neighborhood were perfect, and we planned to renovate the house. Unfortunately, the sale of our old house then fell through and the housing market crashed. This meant that we had to use up the money that we had earmarked for renovations. We have finally done most of the renovations.
Even though we were unable to renovate the house for 20 years, buying it was the right decision. We love the land, and were able to deal with the house
Since your husband is in construction I find it somewhat odd there is hesitation solely on the structure
We aren’t really hesitating on the property, but I wondered if we should be (I want to make sure I’m not blinded by the indoor). It honestly surprised me how many people said they would pass, and gave me some things to think about.
We did pass originally on the property because the price wasn’t where we needed it to be to build a new house. They found another buyer, but that buyer wasn’t willing to take the property as-is. So they are now considering our offer because we are in a position that we can take the property as-is.
When I was house shopping last year, we looked at all sorts of properties because there were things that were important to us that you can’t always get a feel of from pictures (neighborhood, privacy, what you see from the house, etc.).
I used to say I didn’t care what the house looked like if I loved the horse amenities. One of the properties we saw had a lovely indoor arena, lovely barn, paddocks with sheds, fenced & cross-fenced, irrigated. But the house. Oh, gosh. Well, I was wrong. I do care what the house looks like.
Based on your posts, it sounds like the cost of re-doing a house or having the money to do other things isn’t so much of an issue. Maybe building is more expensive where I am, but I can’t imagine that buying a nicer house outright (those you said that had nicer houses and the properties were worth more money) would be more expensive than tearing down what is there now and building new. Heck, if you have money burning a hole in your pocket, buy one of the nicer places and build your own arena!:winkgrin:
Since your DH is a contractor you probably see it differently. I couldn’t handle tearing down, dealing with permitting, getting an architect to draw up plans (nevermind even deciding on what I’d want a house to look like!), and going through the whole building process. Is that house on well and septic? Do they need to be moved if you put a new house in a different place? What restrictions are on the land? Why does the basement take on water?
I would pass on that property. Too many things in the way for me to want to do it. But I suppose that’s why I haven’t struck it rich in the house-flipping world!
Were it me I’d keep looking.
[QUOTE=Pocket Pony;8803668]
Based on your posts, it sounds like the cost of re-doing a house or having the money to do other things isn’t so much of an issue. Maybe building is more expensive where I am, but I can’t imagine that buying a nicer house outright (those you said that had nicer houses and the properties were worth more money) would be more expensive than tearing down what is there now and building new. Heck, if you have money burning a hole in your pocket, buy one of the nicer places and build your own arena!:winkgrin:
Since your DH is a contractor you probably see it differently. I couldn’t handle tearing down, dealing with permitting, getting an architect to draw up plans (nevermind even deciding on what I’d want a house to look like!), and going through the whole building process. [/QUOTE]
lol - I wish money was burning a hole in my pocket. There are a few things that make this situation unusual. The house is priced very competitively, but has an as-is clause. That makes it harder for a typical buyer, so the seller has to choose between getting less for the property, or possibly waiting quite a while for a buyer that can buy as-is. Our offer is basically the land price (so the fencing, indoor, outdoor, and existing house are “free”).
Because DH is a contractor, building a house is a little cheaper for us because he doesn’t need to profit from building our own home. We already have plans (it’s a house DH has built before), so we don’t have that added stress.
What about finding the perfect piece of land with a great house and building a barn with an indoor arena? Depending on what you build, it might be cheaper to do that than tear down and build a new house. We looked at both options and ended up finding just the right property (nice house but it needs work, ideal barn with indoor arena, great use of the land, huge lit outdoor arena and new fencing). It took us over 5 years to find it (in our price range LOL), though!
Buy it. Knock the house down. Live happily ever after 
Are you talking about a particular place that is in the NW suburbs of Minneapolis? If so, I looked at that house years ago and I HATED the houseI know the house you are talking about!! I looked at that house years ago and I HATED the house. I said it reminded me of a habitrail (those old hamster cages with weird connections).
[QUOTE=Tiffani B;8803765]
What about finding the perfect piece of land with a great house and building a barn with an indoor arena? Depending on what you build, it might be cheaper to do that than tear down and build a new house. We looked at both options and ended up finding just the right property (nice house but it needs work, ideal barn with indoor arena, great use of the land, huge lit outdoor arena and new fencing). It took us over 5 years to find it (in our price range LOL), though![/QUOTE]
Unfortunately, my mom needs to move sooner rather than later. If it was just us, we could wait for the perfect property. At this point, while we don’t need something immediately, we don’t have an unlimited amount of time.
[QUOTE=Sabino;8803800]
Are you talking about a particular place that is in the NW suburbs of Minneapolis? If so, I looked at that house years ago and I HATED the house. I said it reminded me of a habitrail (those old hamster cages with weird connections).
I live not to far from there, and you are right, it IS a lovely chunk of property and so close to Crow Hassan.[/QUOTE]
:yes:
Didn’t know it was for sale again. But what a small world!!! I’d say buy it and burn that house down and start from scratch. If I recall, the house is too close to that little lake, we did wonder about flooding in the basement.
Also, when we looked at it, was before the current owners re-did the barn. The indoor was tiny back then.
[QUOTE=Kodidog763;8803610]
It is a split entry with an awkward addition on it, and the house is positioned in a wet spot. It’s just not practical (cost-wise) to turn the house into something we want. For our home, it makes much more sense to build new on a better site. We plan to be there until we are ready to retire to a townhome. However putting just enough money/effort to make it liveable as a MIL apartment (which we’ll only need for a limited # of years) is do-able.[/QUOTE]
Ugh, having looked at lots of older homes with DIY-style renovations I can imagine what you’re looking at. Not only is it a lot of money, it’s a lot of time and a lot of headache. I would definitely go for a new house for yourselves and, if Mom is not a good fit as a roommate, find a workaround to the code to convert the old house for her.
Funny, reading what you quoted made me think all you had to do was take out the sink and maybe hide the plumbing 
I read it as “sink AND work space AND appliance space AND storage.” Does your husband do work in the county or jurisdiction that has this requirement? In our experience, having a good working relationship with the guys in the zoning and permitting office has circumvented a lot of these kinds of situations. We have found that each employee interprets or applies the conditions just a bit differently and they’re totally willing to discuss the technicalities or what is in vs what is out (vs what may be overlooked :winkgrin:).
I would still lean a bit towards framing the situation as setting up a commercial training business. All of your desired activity seems permissible under that scenario and there’s a million logical reasons a business plan “may” never come to fruition. I can’t imagine they’d fault a business owner who built a facility (including housing) and never got off the ground. Alternately, what if a real business had been on this same site previously and legitimately built a second residence? When you moved in and changed to a private facility, are you expected to leave the second house vacant? I would doubt it.
LOL. I’d bet good money being married to a contractor has given you a broader perspective of “potential” than the average homebuyer!
[QUOTE=Sabino;8803810]
Didn’t know it was for sale again. But what a small world!!! I’d say buy it and burn that house down and start from scratch. If I recall, the house is too close to that little lake, we did wonder about flooding in the basement.
Also, when we looked at it, was before the current owners re-did the barn. The indoor was tiny back then.[/QUOTE]
Yep, the house is too close to the lake. And habittrail is a perfect description!
Having just looked at the farm pics (Google is a wonderful tool!) I would jump on that property! Looks like heaven to me!
Built your new house, tear the old one down. Then, when YOU need to go on, everything is ready and up to date and you’ll increase the value of the place!!
Sounds like you may have piqued interest in that property.
May want to consider making your mind sooner rather than waiting much longer.
It may not last long.
With all what you have added and the other poster’s new information, it sounds like a good place to try your luck, buy, tear down, rebuild to suit you.
Good luck, sounds like an interesting adventure for you.
Dang, is this just for you? Or are you going to make it a boarding and training facility again? (Looks like the old site is still up for the place. That’s awful about the guy and the horses.)
[QUOTE=Velvet;8804219]
Dang, is this just for you? Or are you going to make it a boarding and training facility again? [/QUOTE]
Since the barn is gone, when we rebuild, we would build a smaller private barn (maybe 6 stall or so). I might take in a boarder or two for company and to make it more likely to get a trainer to come to me (multiple lessons as opposed to just one lesson), but we would not operate as a large boarding/training facility like it was previously.
If the one on 8.75 acres suits, I would make a reasonable offer on it since it has what you need for you and your MIL. The payment difference isn’t that great and knowing exactly what it will cost vs building new is worth it. We did what you are thinking about. We bought the place with a fixer upper, planned on building a new one but then really fixed up the little place. It is not ideal (small, can’t see the barn from the house), but maybe in the future we will revisit an addition or whole new house.
I’d buy it and do a new house. A new barn on that place would be wonderful. Indoor arenas cost a small fortune to build from scratch, especially big ones.
I would rip the current house down, and rebuild in the better location. And build an annex, fully attached, for your extra family member. A MIL suite, fully part of the house, with a connecting door in the hallway. The fact that it’s not separate, doesn’t mean it can’t have a decent little kitchen for the occupant of the spare ‘bedroom’s’ use. Since DH will be the builder, then who will know about a roughed in kitchen that gets added later?
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