Caretaker Wanted – 15 Acres with Small Farmhouse in SW Virginia
NOTE: We have filled this position. It is no longer available. We wish you luck in your search for a caretaker position.
Do you have a property that needs a caretaker? Leave a comment below!
We have purchased a 15 acre mini-farm with a solid little country home in Hillsville, Virginia. Nearby towns and cities include, Floyd, Galax and Roanoke, VA, as well as Winston Salem, NC about an hour south in North Carolina (map) However, we are not ready to move there yet, as both of us like our jobs and wish to remain in Denver working for the time being.
So we’re looking for a caretaker who wants to get out of the rat race for awhile and live in the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains. I’ll describe the property below, but first I’d like to outline what we are looking for…
The ideal candidate would be honest, hardworking, drug-free, handy around the house, young enough to do some work in exchange for a place to stay, but old enough to be mature and trustworthy. We will be doing a background check and a credit check so please be upfront about anything we might find.
We would be willing to let the candidate stay there for free if they are handy and can show that they have the experience and skills required to do some fixing up around the house. Nothing major, just stuff like cleaning out the gutters, mowing the lawn, maybe some painting… basically keeping it in good shape. For a small fee (much less than rent prices), we would also be willing to consider someone who may not be handy, perhaps a writer/artist looking for a place to work in peace, or a recently retired couple who want to spend some time in the mountains.
About the place…
This is 15 acres with a 1,200 square foot farmette (small farm house) built in 1950. There is a small stream running along one side of the property and a spring-fed brook running through the middle of the property. About half is pasture and the other half is mostly wooded. There is about an acre or two of “yard” that will need to be maintained (mowed, etc.) but the pasture and woods can be left alone, as the neighbor currently grazes his cattle in the fenced in pasture to keep it from growing over.
There is a two-story barn on the property, as well as a spring house, a wood shed, the one-story home and a few other small outbuildings. There is a small garden area, and a small orchard with what I think are about ten apple trees, although there may be some pears and peaches as well.
High speed internet is available and, in fact, we’d prefer that you get that hooked up so we can communicate. We would consider splitting the bill.
The home is heated with an oil heater, but there is also a wood burning stove. Before the stove can be used however, we want to install a chimney lining, a chimney cap and flashing around the bottom of the chimney where it meets the roof. One of your responsibilities as caretaker would be to make sure any contractors we get out to do work on the place end up doing their job.
The gutters need to be cleaned out, the outside of the house needs painted and there are a few jobs like that to do. I’d also like to get started on a wood pile so we have some well-aged fire wood in the shed. This is all work that can be done here and there. We don’t expect a caretaker to spend more than a couple hours a day helping out. Your main job will be to make sure the place doesn’t fall down, that nobody breaks in, vandalizes the property, etc…
That’s enough about the property for now. We can discuss more details later. Please comment below if you are interested. Tell us about yourself and how we should contact you. Also, if you don’t want your comment to be published, please put “DO NOT PUBLISH” at the beginning of your message.
When was this need published and for how long will you continue in Denver before moving onto the property? It looks very lovely.
I’d love to hear more if this is still an open option. I am originally from DC and am looking to move North, but to a much more simple life.
Wow – this is simply amazing. My wife has just quit her job, and I am to quit in a few weeks. We are looking for someplace to live that is out of the way, and has more trees and animals than people
We were planning on doing a traveling tour thru VA and the carolinas to find someplace. We love nature. With the Appalachian mountains close by, and ocean a day-trip away, Hillsville seems perfect. On top of that, I’ve always toyed around with running a hobby farm with my wife. We ultimately want some land and a small house. This would be a perfect opportunity for us to try this without having to go thru the pain of where/when/how. Income would be savings (we’ve planned for this), plus investment income (i daytrade). So yes, high speed internet would be a requirement – seems we’re on the same page. Being close to I-77 works well – I’ve got family in Hampton VA, and Raleigh NC. Ohh – we’re mid-20’s and more than happy to get a little dirty. Can provide references from current landlord; perfect credit. Please do contact me via email. It should be attached to the post.
Oh my I am so intrested in this me and my husband are wanting to move there so bad we are in northern va right now and my family lives in hillsville we have been looking for a place to go but no luck my husband is very handy hes done home construction for all his life I would love to talk to you more about this please email me for my number.. Cindy
I am very interested! I do receive a disability check from a car accident I was in 4 years ago, but have no handicaps. I am willing to stay as long as you will let me, and can do anything, painting, cleaning gutters, also regular up keep to this property. Please email me back. mamasam79@cox.net
How potentially fortuitous! I’m an archaeologist, currently in Winston-Salem, awaiting my next project. I grew up in a quasi-rural area, and am certain to possess the requisite skills needed to maintain/improve your homestead. Furthermore, I’m a skilled songwriter, and an accomplished historical tailor, and this environ would doubtless prove a boon to these sidelines. Please respond at your earliest convenience. I’d love to speak with y’all over the phone, if this is possible.
Neal S.
Hello,
Professional Caretaker/Estate Manager here…possessing a wide variety of skills that would be of benefit to you. I am well versed with horses, chicken, goats, ORGANIC farming/gardening, have ALL property maintenance experience/skills. If you want your property to appreciate in value, make your guest look at you in awe by the beauty of your property, bring in a little money on the side, then consider us.
I am also very active in the community as an Emergency Specialist with the Red Cross, trained in many skills.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
well i was raised on a farm in arkansas,i just turned 50 ,and i’m tired of city life and wanta go back to the farm in the country.i have steady income,and can work part time if need be.and i have i daugther that might stay aswell.my credit is not great, but i stay outa trouble.so if this interest you. email me and we talk. be blessed.
I know that you have already a lot of candidates for this position, but if things fall through please let us know. We would be very interested. We have friends in the Dugspur. We are both able to come and do repairs, upkeep, gardening, etc. We have a lot of experience in grounds management, carpentry and mechanical maintenance. Thank you so much, God Bless!
Resumes available if needed.
Please check out my site. I would be happy to come out to your property care for it and get it completely off the grid.
Hey there, just incase anything falls through…we are very interested in the position. We have been caretakers for large, off-grid ranches in Mexico, to small, self sufficient homesteads in the aleutian islands operating off hydro-electric. We are looking for a place to live for ourselves as well as a couple horses. We are returning to the area to log with horses. If you happen to know of any other housing/rental opportunities in the area please let us know. Thank you very much and good luck with everything regardless….Josh and Christen
As luck would have it I just read this ad today. Not that I would wish things to fall through on anyone; please keep my information if need be for future reference.
We would take wonderful care of your property. I have experience in taking care of farm property. My ex spouse and I while raising our children always lived on farms or farmettes. We also have a construction business for residential new work and remodeling. We raised a variety of animals; horses, cows, chickens, turkeys, rabbit. I am an organic gardner.
I miss living in VA as that is where I spent the majority of my life. There is nothing more homey then a house heated with wood.
So I will just tuck this ad away and hope that this opportunity arises again.
I wish you and yours peace and prosperity.
Aug 30th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
[...] place.As some of you may have read in a previous post, we were looking for a caretaker for our place in Virginia. Well we found one and she’s [...]