1. What if we claimed it's for a bed and breakfast? >>> A B&B is a business and requires zoning approval, business permits, inspections, business insurance, and tax considerations on a federal, state, and local levels. The purchase of the home for use as a B&B is a purchase of investment property and also requires zoning approval, business permits, inspections, business insurance, and tax considerations on a federal and state levels. 2. Or would it be better to say it's for 100% personal use to treat it as a primary residence for better interest rates? >>> You can only have one primary residence. Claiming both homes as a primary residence would be FRAUD. Your homeowner's insurance company would also consider this FRAUD. Be aware too that insurance companies share information on homes insured including past claims and homeowners. This would give your insurance company grounds to claim fraud and not cover any claim on either home. 3. Maybe a mortgage broker would give us a break if we do 2 mortgages at the same time? >>> Doesn't hurt to ask. I would expect though that since one is for a principal resident and one is for a rental investment property with differing interest rates it will not be discounted. 4. A friend suggested we officially rent out our own house with a fake lease and move into the other house as our primary home, but that sounds too fishy to me, doesn't it? >>> You would be committing FRAUD against the bank, insurance company, and IRS. 5. We were otherwise thinking of constructing a guest house on our own property (lots are large - it's a rural area). >>> Check your local zoning laws to see if you can and what restrictions there may be. Many areas do not allow more than one home unit on a property regardless of the size of the property. We live rural on 10 acres and it is not allowed. 6. The property doesn't have to be joined officially, in case we in the future want to sell it again. >>> Once officially joined it is doubtful that they would separate the properties. Without the properties being officially joined you can not get a single loan to cover both. The bank will easily determine this when a title search is done. 7. We would use the house for a combination of extended family visits and short term vacation rentals for a few years (we are expecting our income to go up substantially in a few years, so we wouldn't have to rent it out later). >>> If the house is rented it is an investment property with rental income. It may be converted to personal property but when you sell the home you will have to claim recapture of the depreciation taken while a rental. 8. (From another poster) If you were just short term renting it out I don't see why that's fraud it financed with a home loan. All these folks that are renting out houses or vacation properties don't have busniess loans, they have home loans. >>> The may or may not have a home loan but once they rented it out it becomes a rental investment property and they claim it as a rental investment property to the IRS and insurance company. Saying it is a 2nd home and not a rental (and not claiming it as a rental investment property) is FRAUD. There are some very helpful folks here offering some good advice to help you find a mortgage product and keep you from getting into legal trouble. Buying a home (whether your principal residence or an rental investment property) will involve your mortgage lender, credit bureau, lawyer, title company, insurance company, and eventually the IRS since it gets copies of your mortgage interest. I suggest you talk to a mortgage lender to see what options they suggest and then talk to a tax adviser about owning a rental investment property. IF you would actually go talk to a tax adviser you might find out that it's to your ADVANTAGE to claim it as a rental property! Gosh, YOU SHOULD really go see the thread "Principal Residence" on the Household Finances Forum ... it sounds just like what your asking about!

Well, we had our first viewer today! The lady [50's and single] very impressed! Exactly what she has been looking for. Loved the location, property, and privacy. We shall see what will happen. Loralee: 1) We cannot subdivided any smaller than what we have. We have a large Dairy farm 1/2 mile North [cannot smell it], and a large beef farm to the west. Even if we could, it wouldn't be worth trying as those neighbours would fight it, as it would cause problems for their livelihood. If you look at the one photo I posted with the 2 cattle sheds you will see in the far distance our dairy neighbours house. Ours is small and plain in comparison, so I do not think we over built. 2) We built 5 years ago as our old mobile home we had already lived it for 17 yrs old just wasn't cutting it anymore. We built with the intent to live here till we retired, but life has a way of changing plans, and my husband's job place closed down and he bought into a prospering business, everything we do is in town, and with your farming background, then you know what the BSE meant to cattle farmers, which we were as well. Sometimes you need to know when to cut your loses. Its time for a new chapter of our lives to begin. 3) We are renting our our cultivated acres to our dairy neighbour, and rent out our pasture as well. My husband manufactures large bale wagons as well from his shop in the back. No more farming for us. 4) The quality of our land is not exactly for potatoes. We live on a gravel ridge, with awesome drainage, but is better suited for cattle. The cultivated land is great for alfalfa, or cattle corn. We know our property is directed at a specific buyer, and are willing to wait. It only takes one person. Not too worried if Wpg people aren't interested. 5) Yes, we did get different realtors opinions.

You can replace the shingles; they are special order at Home Depot. I got some a few years ago to replace missing ones on my grandmother's house. They have all styles, including the wavy edge ones and they are cement. The originals back in the day were asbestos, so be sure you don't crack or break any of them. Shutters do need to go and you can beef up the window trim. Red would be pretty, and so would Crisp Romaine.

Have you considered a larger more sheltered entryway? Do seriously consider putting a roof between the left (garage) wing of the house and the right wing of the house for a larger covered portico, and adding porch/portico lighting in the ceiling of the new portico/porch. As you extend the roof, put your support posts literally against the inner sides of the two wings of the house (rather than crowding the entryway with posts closer together). ... One option would be to extend the roof on the right wing of the house: https://willophx.com/home-tour/ ... Another option would be to create a hip roof portico (preferably without the double bulky posts) : https://www.georgiafrontporch.com/portfolio_category/hip-roof/#prettyPhoto[gallery2935]/0/ ... Another option would be to create a rounded front for a flat roof of the portico, https://in.pinterest.com/pin/490610953134023345/ ... with the rounded part front of the flat (or nearly flat) portico roof extending in front of the front exterior wall of the house so it shelters the rounded front steps. By making the roof top of the portico deeper between its upper part (roof/balcony) and its lower part (ceiling), (with or without a railing), you could bridge the distance between the height of the two roof lines.