Hello all,

As always, I was away for a long time, and now I'm back. We've been working like crazy on the farm we rented in August, trying to get it into liveable condition. We were told by the owner's attorney to fix it up, personalize it, make it our home, this was long-term, etc. BAH!

Now that the owner has seen the work we've put into it, he wants it back. Apparently, he has decided that NOW it's good enough for his daughter to live in, and he wants us out. To bring his point home (with a vengeance) he gave us 9 days notice to remove our animals (5 dairy goats and 30 or so chickens) from the barn as he has decided to demolish it.

We did speak to an attorney, and according to the laws of La., we're within our rights to demand that he stick to our original agreement. The attorney asked how much money we could spend to prove that he's doing something illegal. The answer? almost none.

We're having to sell our goats,including the beautiful Nubian doeling that was born here Nov. 9 (our first! YEAH!) because the alternative space he has alotted us to make a "pen" is about enough for a very small dog to move around in, and I'm not going to do that to my goats.(By the way, if anyone who will take good care of them is interested in low priced Nubians, let me know- we have three PB Nubian does-1 13 mo. old, one 2yo who gave birth to her first on Nov. 9, and that doeling, plus a Nubian/Alpine mix who needs to be bred but had decent production last season, and a very sweet buck who isn't doing me any good, but might be perfect for someone else. He's 7/8 Saanen, 1/8 Togg-Saanen coloring with wattles, 6 mo. old) Anyway, enough whining- We need to find another place. The rent here is very low, because of the repairs originally needed in the house ($400) and I know it's hard to find an inexpensive place, but.... if anyone knows of something, PLEASE let me know- we can go higher, but not tons higher, mayve up to 550- or so. At this point(although he changes his mind every other day), he seems to be willing to let us stay until December as long as we don't have the barn, don't do anymore repairs, and are willing to put up with him haunting the place every chance he gets.... such a deal! He actually comes here on his days off (5 hr. round trip) to pick up take out burgers at a local drive-up joint and eat on the swing in our yard. Then he wanders around with a chain saw cutting down trees here and there to entertain himself. Talk about disruptive!

We can live anywhere, because we work on the internet, but it needs to be a place that is homeschooling-friendly. We don't mind doing repairs, and we're getting pretty good at it : ) But, there's 7 of us (5 kids 21 mo. to 11 yrs.) and we have the stock for our business with us, so we need someplace that has enough room inside, plus a storage building, garage, barn etc. We're waiting for a small lump sum of money that should be here between now and June,(Title company issue from a real estate transaction) but in the meantime, money is pretty tight.

Now that I've placed my very tall order, any ideas anyone??

Thanks in advance for any and all advice or leads, Kristin

-- Kristin, in La. (sevenstonestile@earthlink.net), January 30, 2002

Answers

Think you have a right not to be "haunted" by him, check with your lawyer for applicable local laws and remedies.

-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), January 30, 2002.

>>He actually comes here on his days off (5 hr. round trip) to pick up take out burgers at a local drive-up joint and eat on the swing in our yard.

Sounds like he needs to get a life.

-- Rick#7 (rick7@postmark.net), January 30, 2002.

Wish I knew of somewhere large enough around here... I'll keep my eyes & ears open. Good Luck!!!

-- Sharon in AL (Sharonspaws@aol.com), January 30, 2002.

We are SO SORRY about your predicament! you will be in our thoughts as you have to move. Wish I had some easy answers (or a zillion dollars for legal fees!)

-- Suzy in Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), January 30, 2002.

Would you be interested in moving out of state? I know that there are a lot of places in Oklahoma that are very affordable. 400 to 550 is plenty of money for rent around here and you ought to be able to find something for that. What if we all sent you the local papers listing what is available? That is, if you wouldn't mind relocating. And in the mean time...we will be thinking and praying for you to find a place. Sounds like the guy is weird to me!!!

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), January 30, 2002.

Your landlord is the one who will need an attorney. If you aren't afraid of him, stay put! Your sherriff will not evict you if you have a contract.

And even if your landlord was perfectly within his rights to evict you (i.e. you were living there PAST your rental agreement) it is still very difficult and takes time to evict someone.

Be sure there are no back doors to your agreement.

You can sue in small claims court and represent yourself--it will cost your landlord time and money to go there. Of course there are no guarantees that you will actually get money (the court doesn't pursue this very well)

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), January 30, 2002.

Gosh Kristin, I'd love those goats. Wish you lived closer as I'd take them. Maryland is homeschool friendly. At least the eastern shore is. Sorry about your problem with your landlord. It sounds like something we almost got ourselves into last spring. Gloria

-- Gloria in Maryland (mullinaxclan@webtv.net), January 30, 2002.

What Ann said. You might want to have an attorney look over the contract to see if it says what you think it says. While you're there, ask him how often a landlord can "visit" a rental property without a clause in the agreement and without apparent cause. If the contract looks good, you might do well to stay put, and maybe get a restraining order on the jerk, er, I mean landlord. At least until you can find something better. You ARE usually entitled to significant notice before he enters your property, as well as "quiet use and enjoyment." See http://www.lawyers.com/lawyers- com/content/aboutlaw/landlord_7.html. Best of luck to you.

-- Laura Jensen (lauraj@seedlaw.com), January 30, 2002.

Wish I could help. Been there, done that, and still have the t-shirt to remind me. Just curious, what kind of work do you do from home? I've become unable to work due to health and am looking for something to support myself and family.

-- Tim Allen (www.goathillfarm50@aol.com), January 30, 2002.

I am also interested in what it is you do?...plus , Indiana is VERY homeschool friendly...that is where I live...only one law at present time...have to attend 180 days...thats it....will look around and see if there is someplace here...do you want realllyyyyy rural or just moderately rural??

-- Kristean Thompson (pigalena_babe@yahoo.com), January 30, 2002.

he doesn't have any legal right to hang out there, from all i know, period.

wisconsin, at least in south/western, is homeschool friendly (and we all seem to flaunt it with them accepting it), and you can rent a place for that much or less in the country. it depends on how far from town you can handle. also there are a lot of folks who ar e willing to do land contracts, etc.

we did get our hovel (we lovel our hovel) for a very very cheap price 2 1/2 years ago, but there are still cheap places for sale compared to most places, and if you are willing to live further out than we are, you can find things much cheaper still.......

-- marcee (thathope@mwt.net), January 30, 2002.

Sorry that I dont have enough room for long term care for the goats but maby You can find some one to care for the goats (pasture them for a few months) until You can find a place to stay. Where in Louisana do u live? If you can find some one to care for them until may or so we will be taking our goats back to oklahoma and can keep them there tell the fall when we return to Tx (houston area) .We have 40 and they are due to start kidding any day now. These are Boer and boer crosses. Might even be able to keep them for You here..we only have 2 acres here and feed hay and grain every day..if u furnish the feed. We are 140 miles from Lake Charles. God Bless. Charles and Celia Steen C and C Boer Goats

-- Charles Steen (xbeeman412@aol.com), January 31, 2002.

First of all, Thank you to everyone who has answered my post, both here on the forum and by direct email. Your support and suggestions are much appreciated, and we're considering our options.

So far in the popularity polls, it seems that Indiana and North Texas/Oklahoma have it : )

BC, Rick7, Laura and Marcee- You're right,he does need a life and legally he can't hang out here. Louisiana law requires ample notice before coming to the property AND he has to be coming for a specific purpose that cannot be put off until the end of the lease, I.E. emergency repairs. However, it's civil law in Louisiana, so i'd have to take him to court to make him stop, and we're back to having to cough up $1000 reatiner at the rate of $150/hr plus court fees, and to be honest I'd simply rather use the money to move, because after beating him in court, he'd find a way to make our lives even more miserable.

Ann, See above, and I have considered representing myself in small claims, as I do have some real estate/legal background, enough to muddle through. But, by the time I could get it pulled together, the barn would be gone, as it's coming down this weekend, so my "victory" if any would be more a matter of principle than anything, and I honestly don't think it's worth making this guy any angrier/more erratic than he already is.

Tim & Kristean- Tim, I tried to email you direct, but it bounced. We sell online through eBay auctions, website and a lot direct by email through word of mouth from previous customers. If either of you (or anyone else) wants more info or needs help getting started, I'd be glad to help. My "real" business backgroun is in marketing and research, and I've been studying eBay for 4 years, so I can help you find products you want to sell (and that WILL sell), share my sources,etc. Our income has been enough to support us, although I admit some months are lean. Just email me. : )

Charles & Celia, I'm going to email you direct. We've got a small area fenced off for them for very short term, but I worry about them being kept in sucha small space- I'm still really new with goats, only got my first one 9 months ago.

Nan, Yes, Oklahoma is a possibility. My husband is from Texas, and I spent half my life there, so OK is not far off... although hubby graduated from UT and when we talked about OK yesterday, he asked me if I knoew how much flack he'd catch for moving there

Kristean (Again)- I hadn't thought of Indiana, but I've gotten a few emails about the homeschooling there, and it seems like a possibility. As far as "How rural?" I need to be able to find someplace that has groceries, as we're not totally self-sufficient yet-far from it- and moving would probably set us back again, but we're not really interested in being close to town. I just don't want to have food flown in by helicopter LOL.

Marcee(again) I asked Randy (DH) about Wisconsin, and I swear I'm not kidding, he started shivering!! I used to live in Pa and upstate NY, so it's not that big a deal to me, but he's a southerner, poor baby. I wonder if they make those all in one piece snowsuits for 6' 2" men?? He'd look like a giant toddler. ROFL

Okay, now I have to stop because I can't get that picture out of my head....

Thanks again to all of you, and keep me in mind if you see something come available : )

You guys are the best!

Kristin

-- Kristin, in La. (sevenstonestile@earthlink.net), January 31, 2002.

Try Indiana. Might be best to try to stay out of Tippecanoe County (the zoning bulls are running rampant) but the rest of them in Mid- central or even Southern would be cool. What about Illinois? Near Amish? Seems like they are pretty neat folk (unless you are female I hear). Anyway, might I just say the landlord is a BUTTHEAD. Good luck in your search. Look online for Country RealEstate. Pretty neat stuff in there CHEAP too at times. I'm sorry, I don't remember the exact e-address. DON'T rent, own. Then the landlord will leave you be.

-- Gailann Schrader (gtschrader@aol.com), January 31, 2002.

KRISTEN, I JUST HAD TO REPLY TO YOUR STORY, AND I FEEL FOR YOU. WE WENT THROUGH SOMETHING LIKE YOUR STORY LAST YEAR, ALTHOUGH WE HAD FINANCED A 40 ACRE PLACE THROUGH A MORTGAGE COMPANY. WELL LIFE GOES ON, DON'T GIVE UP, EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON. WE ENDED UP SELLING OUT IN COLORADO AND BOUGHT A PLACE OUTRIGHT WITH CASH IN NORTHEN ARKANSAS. 10 ACRE PLACE WITH LOTS OF FIXING UP TO DO ON THE HOUSE. IF YOU WOULD BE WILLING TO MOVE TO ARKANSAS, WHICH ISN'T THAT FAR FOR YOU. THERE ARE LOTS OF CHEAP PLASES HERE. JUST MAYBE WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR. LOTS AROUND 100-200 BUCKS A MONTH. WE HAVE SOME FRIENDS HERE THAT JUST RECENTLY MOVED INTO TOWN AND THEY WERE RENTING A 5 ACRE PLACE IN THE COUNTRY FOR 100 BUCKS A MONTH. I WOULD LOVE TO TAKE YOUR GOATS AS WE RAISE REGISTERED 100% FULLBLOOD SOUTH AFRICAN BOERS AND LAMANCHA DAIRY GOATS. BUT I AM PROBABLY TO FAR FOR YOU. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN A PLACE HERE I CAN SEND YOU SCANNED NEWSPAPER ADDS TO YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS. JUST LET ME KNOW, STACY

-- STACY WRIGHT (SENTINELS@CENTURYTEL.NET), January 31, 2002.

Kristin, tell your hubby that some of us went to the other Univ. in Oklahoma and have nothing against Texans. heehee! A little ribbing would keep him on his toes though! Just don't look to own by anyone that hangs a red and white flag in the yard! LOL

I will scan you some of the want ads from the NE Oklahoma, NW Ark. area. There are a lot of gooooood deals around here!

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), February 01, 2002.