Journey to the Farm (Part 6) - Timing is Everything

Part 6: Timing is Everything

Life had just begun to settle back to a normal level for us. We had started to put thoughts of the farm behind us. Tyler and Melissa were doing well and his treatments were starting. We were just about to move back into the renovated barn we had lived in for most of our time as a family. Then we got another phone call from the seller's agent from the farm.

Laura came to me after she got off the phone and told me what was happening. The buyer's who had outbid us were not looking like they could remove their subjects. Now I am not privy to what the specifics were, whether it was a case where the sellers were not happy with things and did not want to extend, or if the buyers just couldn't close the deal. Either way, we were advised that the sellers would be entertaining backup offers. What an interesting turn of events. My stomach turned at the thought of getting on this roller coaster ride again. I anticipated the next heart break.

So we sat down with Laura's parents and talked about it. Then we got everyone else in the same room and talked about it. Everyone seemed to be in favour of putting an offer back in. I will admit, there was some among us who were more inclined to lower our previous offer, given the situation. In the end we felt that the last offer we had tabled was something that all of us were comfortable with, so we went back with the exact same terms we thought we had all agreed on. This time we put it in writing. 

The backup offer was tweaked slightly over the next few days as we ironed out some little concerns. In the end, it was accepted. A short time later, the other buyers backed out or failed to complete. Our offer was tabled and we began the flurry of nailing down our subjects.

Financing almost kept us out of this wonderful opportunity. We tried every which way to get the best rate. We ended up going with more of a business oriented mortgage. The numbers worked. We spent several hours meeting with lawyers to get all of the business paperwork finalized. We met with accountants to setup the company. We worked together to establish the baseline rules for our organization. 

We ended up having a very loose structure. Every couple owns a 1/4 share between them. The accountants worked with us to nail down the payments and how to work our loan into our arrangement. It was a long couple of weeks but at the end of it we were able to remove subjects.

We were now the proud owners of Meadowbrook Farm. It was late fall and we would take possession in mid-January. Everyone went back home and started the long process of planning and packing. We would meet at the farm a few more times, with the seller's permission, to figure out how we would live together.

Part 1: An Unexpected Conversation
Part 2: Gathering Community
Part 3: End of the Line
Part 4: The Fifth Element
Part 5: Intermission
Part 7: Planning Community