2002 Volkswagen New Beetle Sport

After saving for the full purchase price and searching from spring to summer, I finally found the ideal car for me.  It is a 2002 Volkswagen New Beetle Sport.  It is a Limited Edition model that is black with these one-of-a-kind red rims and a cream leather interior complete with moonroof and heated seats.  It is in superb condition with low mileage.  I couldn't be happier.

I worked with two of the nicest men you'd ever meet at Gladstone Auto Sales.  It's a small car lot that's north of downtown Kansas City, Missouri.  I've always liked the area and I once lived just to the west in the quaint arts & crafts town of Parkville.

Jim is the owner and has been in business for nearly 38 years.  He's so old-fashioned, he's not set up for credit cards and kindly takes checks.  It took a trip to the bank to process my debit card!  John is a friend of Jim's who drives a dump truck on large construction sites and helps Jim out on the car lot in between trucking jobs.  No pressure, no hassle and none of the negative associations folks have of car sales.

I sent John and Jim a thank you card with a gift certificate to a local restaurant to offer them my gratefulness.  Now that's the way to do business.

Old Blakely Candy Kitchen

A historic property is for sale in my favorite Missouri Ozarks town of Mountain Grove in Wright County.  The Old Blakely Candy Kitchen is up for sale and it's a steal at $10,900.

Many years ago the Blakely family made candy in this building and the large marble slab used in the candy-making process is still inside.  It has been used as a workshop and as storage for many years.  The candy company sign is still posted on the building.

The building is 70 x 20, and taxes are notoriously low at only $71.42, like you'll always find in the Ozarks.  Interested buyers should contact Ozarks Country Living Real Estate in Mountain Grove.

Ozarks Resort for the Winter

I will be spending November through February or four glorious months in the Natural State at the Bayou Resort at Eagles Rest on Lake Norfork in Gamaliel, Arkansas.  I am so excited.  I need a break and I'm tired of the stress and worry of having my dog be outdoors for the winter.  She's always been indoors, except for the past two years.  I figure she's done her time outdoors.  She seemed to be fine about it, but I don't think it's ideal.  I figure if I spend the next two or three winters away and summers too starting next summer, then work here without any living costs for the other five months, I'll have enough money within that timeframe to buy my own place.  So it works out in all ways.

This is a one room cabin, which is what I will have, except with one bed and a loveseat.  Perfect.  The kitchen comes completely stocked, except for food, of course.  The bathrooms have been newly remodeled and they look nice.  There's satellite TV with HBO and Cinemax and WiFi, so I will be sticking with my regular routine of working online and watching TV.  I love working at home.  The beauty of not being tied to an office is that I can take it on the road.  Not many jobs you can say that about.  The owners gave me an unbeatable monthly rate and their emails were so nice and sweet.  You won't find many innkeepers like that.  I'm not sure why most innkeepers have such an aversion to doing business via email.

This will be my view.

Here's some interesting information taken from Bayou Resort's web page:

"When out on the lake you'll see there are no homes or buildings on the water's edge.  With the exception of one small area, all buildings are on ridgetops well back from the shoreline.  This is because it is illegal to build on the "Corps Strip," a federally owned band of land all around the lake.

"Without the Corps Strip, Norfork Lake would not be the pristine, natural experience it is known for.  Instead of buildings, you see hardwood forests, limestone bluffs, and cedar glades, all diverse eco-land types well populated with wildlife and wildflowers.  This natural beauty comes at the small price of having buildings set back an average of a quarter to a half-mile from the water's edge."

Here's an aerial view of Fout Boat Dock, which is right next to Bayou Resort.  It's my understanding that what makes a resort in the Ozark Mountains is access to boating, fishing and water sports, such as scuba diving, water skiing and swimming.

And here's the swimming pool.  I'm not so sure I'll be taking advantage of this though, unless there's some warm winter days and they keep it open.  Ozark winters are mild, but there is snow.

It will be nice to have life with just myself and my Saint Bernard again.  I'm certainly looking forward to it.  Peace and quiet.

UPDATE:  I've actually cancelled my reservation.  I'm pretty surprised myself.  Call me superstitious, but my oldest friend called me up out of the blue and whenever that happens, it's always a sign that my future travel plans are out of sync with what's good for me, hence the change in plans.

Land with Mobile Home

This one-acre parcel has the most gorgeous trees.  I just love it.  The mobile home is very nice too.  It's got a kitchen just like my mobile home did in Hays, Kansas, and I loved that kitchen.  And it's only $19,500.  Can't beat that.  But it will still be a couple years before I have my house money saved up.  Car first, which is happening in just a few months!  Exciting, for sure.  I feel like this blog is turning into my search for the perfect home, which is fine.  I suppose after I find it, then I can devote my entries to photography, sightseeing and life.

This land and 1986 mobile home is near Houston, Missouri in Texas County, which puts it in the Ozarks region I like the most, south-central Missouri.  It is 980 square feet with two bedrooms and one bath.  It's on rural water and electric, so I've got all the amenities of home, but with all the beauty of the countryside.  It's on a dead end road.  Yearly taxes are only $54.57.  Can't beat that either.  Here's a photo.  Click on the link to be taken to the realtor.

The property above is my favorite because those trees are just incredible, but the location is not ideal for me.  A little too far north for my tastes.  I prefer being further south.  But you couldn't ask for a better setting.

I found another one closer to Mountain Grove, my preferred go-to town, as I call it, so that makes it extremely desirable.  It is also a two-bedroom, which is all I need, and a newer one being a 1995.  It's on two acres, so more land, plus there's a fireplace in the living room.  Here's a photo of it and clicking the photo will take you to the realtor.

It's also in my favorite Missouri Ozarks county of Douglas and close to my favorite swimming hole, Bryant Creek.  It's in a real pretty area.  It is selling for $24,000.  It has a well, so some utility savings there.  I don't know the taxes on this one, but property taxes in the Ozarks are very low.

And one final one even further south in beautiful Ozark County near the very tiny town of Theodosia.  Ozark County is right on the Arkansas stateline and is one of the most heavily forested and gorgeous counties in the Ozark Mountains.  Also, two bedrooms, a 1973, but it's on two lots, so not as much land.  It's priced at only $16,900 and is 1,260 square feet.  It's got a nice deck.  Here's what it looks like and the photo takes you to the realtor.

This one has the advantage of joining the government lake line, so it is protected forest, which makes up for that lack of acreage.  And it is a mere three minutes to Theodosia Marina and Bull Shoals Lake.  It is on rural water and sewer, and comes with furniture, all appliances, and a stand-alone wood burner. Taxes are $90 a year.  All three mobile homes have CA/CH.

Something like one of these is what I'd like to find down the road when I've got my home money saved up.  Good price, a little bit of land, all utilities and a nice mobile home.  If I can find a cabin or a small house that is not in town, that would be great too, but cabins tend to run more money and houses tend to be in town.  I don't want to spend a ton of money to live well because I'm not into being in debt for anything, so I will be buying a place outright.

Another option is that I could find land and buy it.  Then find a mobile home and buy it and move it onto the land.  I found a nice mobile home for only $5,500 in the area, so moving costs would be low.  It'd sure be nice to have it already set up; less expensive, I'm sure, and much less of a hassle too.  Otherwise, I'll have to be on rural water and electric, or pay to have a well drilled, a septic system put in and electric ran to the property.  That can add up.

UPDATE:  The first one with the idyllic setting has dropped from $19,500 to $17,500.  The second one in Douglas County near Bryant Creek has dropped from $24,000 to only $16,000.  Wow!  That's quite a price drop.  The third one is the same price and still on the market as of November 2010.

Cheap Acreage in Wayne County, Missouri

I've found some of the least expensive land I've ever seen at Missouri Real Estate Multi-List.  It is my absolute favorite real estate site because it includes the entire state.  It keeps a blog that shows the properties that have been added for that day.  This makes it really nice because you don't have to do a new search all the time and hope that you've found everything that's recently been added.  It's easy to keep up with new listings.  This is the link to the Missouri blog and this is the link to the Arkansas blog.

The land below is through United Country which has a reputation for listing cheap acreage.  It's nice there's a realtor that is doing this.  I've read a few times on various forums of others singing United Country's praises for having inexpensive land listings.

It's four acres for $4,000.  $1,000 an acre is not a price you see much more these days.  Here are some pictures.

 

This picture below is nearby and shows a different season. 

The land is on Highway TT near McGee, Missouri.  It's a very short north-south highway on the far right of the map.  Wayne County's got a nice big chunk of Mark Twain National Forest, so you know it's breathtakingly beautiful like all of the Ozark Mountains.

Beautiful Lot in Eureka Springs, Arkansas

There's this lot in Eureka Springs that I'm head over heels for.  I'd love to buy it and it is a steal at $5,500.  Here's some pictures of it.  If you go to Kind Regards on HubPages, I've written an article that includes a picture of a house and the houseplans I've created for it.  It's listed through K-C Realty.

Enjoy the holidays everyone.  Happy New Year!

Goals and Saint Louis

I have two goals right now.  The first one is buying a car, a very specific car.  And two is buying a house.  My home could either be somewhere in Kansas, in the Ozarks, Kansas City or Saint Louis because I need to be near my Mom.  I'm always looking at other places for retirement, which have included Bulgaria, upstate New York, New Hampshire, Boston, the North Shore, Cape Cod, and even Rhode Island and Maine; that's practically all of New England!  But it may very well likely be the place I choose coming up.

I want to buy a New Beetle in the next year or two.  It'd be nice to have a 2009, but it'll be a few years before they even come down to less than the $13,000 mark, which is still too much for me.   I'm seeing 1999-2000 ones for around $4,000 and 2002-2003 for $5,000 to $7,000, more in my price range.  These cars hold their value.  Just as a bit of trivia, the New Beetle debuted in 1998.  I had a 2003 for awhile, so that's when the love started.

I'm good at saving money.  Luckily, it's a strong natural trait of mine, so depending upon how much I save, when I want to buy and the car that grabs my attention, we'll see what I'll be driving.

After I buy my car, I'll be saving for a house.  And after the house, my nest egg.

I was going to stay on here until my Mom passed on.  I really hate to say that, it sounds so inappropriate, but it's one of those things that comes up when thinking about the future.  She is someone I take into consideration when making plans.

At times staying here has seemed like the right thing to do because she loves my company.  The thing is it will be many, many years from now before she's gone, and truth is, I don't want to live here that long.  There's other things I want to be doing, plus I prefer living alone.  And I'd really like to spend some time with my Saint Bernard.  I'd like her older years to be spent indoors like she's used to.  She's outdoors right now and I just don't like that.

I do some cooking for my Mom and the dishes and the garbage, but my presence isn't necessary.  She misses me when I'm gone and I like spending time with her, but my brother is here to make sure she is OK overall.  There's no medical need for it as she's very healthy, but she doesn't have a car anymore and her grocery trips are lessening, so she does need someone nearby.

Since I'm obsessed with real estate, I'm always looking.  Here's one of the places it has taken me to most recently.

I've discovered Saint Louis through HUD and all the houses there are very nice and very cheap, plus they have brownstones.  I absolutely adore brownstones and to have one of my own is likely why I feel so good about considering Saint Louis.  That and the energy there is really good.  After discovering the wilderness, small towns and the countryside, I don't know if I can permanently commit to a new city, but with prices like this, I may want to live there for a few years.

It's interesting because most cities don't have houses that are as nice in this price range.  Plus, I'd have the Ozarks in my backyard.  Technically, Saint Louis is in the Ozarks on the very northeastern edge.

The one I totally fell in love with which I think is under contract right now is $20,000, and it has $5,500 in repairs, though it doesn't look like it needs any.  Here it is.  I just love it.  It's pink!

There's two more that are architecturally similar and a great deal cheaper.  This one is only $4,000 and it is when I first saw this style of architecture.

Below is another one selling for $10,000.  I like the way it looks.

There's one in which I absolutely adore the interior.  It's got these fireplaces and this vibe that is just the coolest.  It feels like New Orleans and Boston in the '80s and '90s.  I love that!  The outside reminds me of a school, which is a little bizarre, but I like it.  Here it is.  I'd say it's my second favorite.

This last picture is where I noticed that vibe I was talking about.  It's so great.  I really miss that.  After all, that is the generation I am from.  There's quite a few brownstones with two units.  Makes me feel like being a landlord.

The first fireplace is so pretty.  I really like it.  The only thing is this place has four bedrooms, which is too big, although it doesn't list a living room, a dining room or a kitchen like all the other listings do.  So, perhaps I'd turn two of those four rooms into a living room and a kitchen.  That would be perfect because then there'd be one bedroom and one room for an office.  Just what I want.

This house is only $9,600, so it is affordable.  I just hope that there are properties like this listed there in a few years.  It would be terribly disappointing to not find any similar properties in the future.

This is my original plan.  There will be modifications, of course, but nothing terribly drastic.  It's nice to move onto different projects now that I've set up a good income after searching for more than a year for how to make money online by doing good old-fashioned work like you'd do at a regular day job.  There's no way I'm going to scam anyone.

Between Mechanical Turk, Demand Studios and a little from my Mom for helping her out, I am saving between $500 to $1,000 a month.  That is awesome!  And if I was a real animal, I could save over $2,000, but the burnout factor would be too high.  Another one of my goals is savings.  I was hoping for $2,500 a year, but now I've managed to double-triple-quadruple that amount.  Very, very happy for that.  It's nice to always have money in my accounts.

Eureka Springs, Arkansas

I wrote an article about my trip to Eureka Springs, Arkansas.  It is such a fun and colorful town.  It is a must visit for everyone.  I've never seen anywhere like it.

Here's some of the streets.

Here's some of the amazing architecture you'll see around town.

Here's how you get to many of the shops, galleries and restaurants.  This one goes to my favorite restaurant, the Oasis.

Here's one of the many springs the historical town is noted for.

There's a pavilion and park right in the heart of downtown where musicians play for free.

There's so many grand and beautiful hotels in Eureka Springs and some are reportedly haunted.

Basin Park Hotel

Flat Iron

Crescent Hotel

Palace Hotel

Tall Pines Inn

This is one of the stills I took of ES&NA, the Eureka Springs and North Arkansas Railway.  I like how it came out.

Here is an old building mural advertising the magnificent Crescent Hotel and it's ballroom restaurant, the Crystal Dining Room.  It has become the logo for my blog.

The second mural for the Crescent Hotel is pictured in the right-hand column for sending me an email.  But since it is hard to see that small, here it is in a larger size.

I just love the murals in Eureka Springs.