We are in Ayrshire and the property we managed to buy had every type of rot you can imagine. We were down to soil in every room at to be honest, at times , was very down heartening. There were many " What have we done?" moments and it seems that each day we find another "project" that needs done.
Our aims for last year were to install a woodburner (to save on oil) and also to remove and replace the old asbestos roofing on the stables. We just managed to complete this in 2012, but be aware, there are no cheap fixes when it comes to solving little problems. These 2 x projects hit us for almost 4.5k
We knew ( no we never
) what we were buying into and planned the year out....Then you find out you have mega heavy clay soil and a high water table in your area and every little down pour turns your fields into a mudbath....So next little project is drainage in the horses paddock and top field where they go....It never ends, I suspect it will be the same with a property that was / is on good order....
Positivies.......yes there are many. My kids are out everyday either tending to horses, chickens, or out with the dogs. They are not afraid of either hard work, or dirt for that matter... they have a glow about them and are learning all the time.
You do have to make the extra effort to ensure that the kids are involved with other interests to keep the social life flowing for them as it is not healthy for them to be too isolated (in my opinion) but when the sun shines and you are having your morning coffee outside with the dogs, horses are out in the field, chooks are strutting their stuff, sheep and lambs are down in the field next to us and Arran is clear in the distance........it's worth every penny...