My wife may be inheriting a small ~5 acre plot with a small barn, detached garage, and old farmhouse built around 1890. The plot is beautiful and in a rural area ~20 min outside of a popular city in Michigan. Also, supposedly a vineyard is going in across the street, which may make the plot more desirable. The problem is the house is in disrepair and would need lots of work (I'm considering just knocking it down and starting fresh). Also keep in mind this isn't a "true" inheritance, as we may only get a good discount on the property and still need a mortgage to take it on.
My wife and I would be willing to live here short term, but because the land isn't in the city proper, it gets lumped in with the wrong zip code and the schools are mediocre. We don't have kids yet, but hope to soon. What I'm really trying to think of is a way to monetize the property so we can keep hold of it but not live there.
The obvious idea was to rent it, but I'm not sure what the rental market for 5 acre farms really is as it seems people at that price point would rather just buy a home. I also thought of boarding horses, but a look online showed me plenty of options nearby with way more property and amenities than our little plot could offer, all at a reasonable price.
Does anyone else have any creative ideas on how to use the property to make some cash, if only enough to cover ~6k a year in taxes so we can keep the property in the family while not living there?
Added (1). The property is already partitioned/fenced out so we could certainly consider renting plots for farming, though not sure how much a couple acres of farmland rents for or if it's big enough for anyone to waste their time.
Selling it down the road would be an option, but short term the expectation would be that we hold onto it.
Keep in mind that even if we "buy" it, we would be getting a deal much better than market value. That said its def an emotional thing.Been in the family for 100 yrs
Read more: I might inherit family property and old home, looking for ideas to make it financially viable
