I REALLY need to find a Hobby Farm to rent-ANYWHERE in Central to No VA (Farmville: sales)

[WinterBreeze]

Wanted-pretty much anywhere between Charottesville and Farmville. Long Term Rental (MUST BE LONG TERM, the idea of moving is NOT my idea of fun at my age) or MUCH prefer Rent to Own property. Would like to do a "handshake" type of deal with an atty if needed for paperwork to cover both of us so we both can feel good about everything and be covered. Prefer to work with an owner, not a broker! I have been contacted by brokers since starting my search and they start out by having my dream place, then they stick in the fine print and ad on all kind of fees and have the property priced WAAAAY above current market value. No games, I am a nice person just looking for a nice hobby farm place and only want to deal with nice people who understand life with horses/the rural lifestyle.

MUST HAVES-
3 to 10 acres
Be fenced, fences in good repair, suitable for horses (mostly mini's, may have one draft coming with me)
Be small dog friendly (or have a kennel for SMALL dogs)
Trees/shade the more the better!
UTD electric/central a/c and OH please this is a biggie for me, UTD bathroom!
At least 2/1
Private but not remote! Things like a feedstore, Walmart, Hosp. etc should be no more than 15 miles away, even closer is better.
Can be quaint and small as long as it has a barn/fencing/outbuildings-dont need fancy or pretentious at all, like quaint and cozy. That does not mean DRUG OR CRIME OR LOWLIFE AREAS. I am not familiar with all the areas but will research them. A little redneck, no problem,Christmas lights up all year or neighbor with a small herd of cars on blocks in the back yard, no problem. white trash areas, drug or crime ridden areas, areas where every other person is a sex offender or pit bull breeder, forget it, NOT INTERESTED!
Hilly areas ok up to about 600ft elevation-NO MOUNTAINS

WOULD BE NICE
Enclosed porch/dog yard
Outbuildings
BARN!!!! (this will seal a deal for me)
Near to places to drive my ponies
Close to a walmart/feedstore/town with docs/hosp

MIGHT CONSIDER
Manufactured home as long as there is a basement, that is newer but would prefer a "real home"

PREFER BY MARCH 2010,(UPDATE may be able to move within 1 to 2 mo of finding a place, just dont want to drive/move on snow ice but might could make several trips) need agreement beforehand as I am home/hobby farm owner here in FL and will be renting out or renting to own my property that I own with my ex and need to make all those arrangements too, and arrangements to decide which livestock is coming with me and which is being sold. Then again Im not in any mad, mad rush to settle for a less than fitting property and can suffer thru another summer here if I must.

Briefly about me...I am very private, writer/artist and hobby farmer and work from home. I breed pugs and drive and enjoy breeding mini horses. I enjoy auctions, from little junk ones to livestock ones to estate type sales so close to any of those would be great, also near to art shows and fall festivals.Have No Kids or relatives with kids! I do not drink or do drugs. Credit score-not pretty at all due to several factors including mothers death and the ex and the economy in general. Integrity and paying rent on time-well there is no score for that but if there were wed Id be at the top of the chart. I am NOT irresponsible person and I am OLDER, you will get your payments in a timely fashion, I have a mosdest palimony that pays for my needs, plus my income from my horses, writing, art and a few puppies (I AM NOT A PUPPY MILL and ALL MY CRITTERS are CARED for and UTD on all shots). Short of not having a glowing sparkly credit score I can stand up to any background check you might want to put me thru. Presently Live in a small town now that's a 20 mile drive to the BIG city, and 5 min to the local Walmart and feed store and would like to find a similar area. People here say hi and stop on the road for you and look out for each other, want a similar area in a cooler climate. He may or may not join me if he can find a job up there, he is a medical professional and we remain very good friends and still do joint everything including home ownership.

REASON FOR LEAVING FL
Cannot take the hot/humid weather anymore that goes on for 7 months a year, is effecting my health poorly,Ive been here 40 years and its effecting me worse and worse as I age. Also lost both my parents and would like to leave some unpleasant memories behind (being very honest here-not a sob story, just the truth). I am an outdoorsy type who has to spend waaay tooo much time indoors here in FL. Was born in VA and miss it.

[pamelaBeurman]

I know this is an old post. I only have 2 questions though.

1) since when has farming been a hobby?

2) what color is the sky in this alternate reality you inhabit?

[scimitar12]

Originally Posted by pamelaBeurman

I know this is an old post. I only have 2 questions though.

1) since when has farming been a hobby?
Mod Cut

For question #1, I used to think that too, but I have a brother-in-law who runs a hobby farm in Iowa. It is about 15 acres and has lots of old out buildings. He doesn't breed animals; he uses the farm to actually grow stuff like hay and corn.