I should probably also add that this won't be "the house" if you know
what I mean. The farmette life is what we ultimately want to get into,
so this house is merely a stepping stone. Buy it, fix it, make it
beautiful, live in it for a while and put it on the market. Wrong
attitude? probably not.

We're specifically looking at 3 bedroom houses, around 1600sq ft. No
plans for kids (unless a couple of big goofy dogs count) but we've both
got massive amounts of hobbies and would like to have a room or two to
dedicate to them.

I'm prepared for the "sweat equity" part. I haven't done a lot of home
repair type things, but there's no better way to learn than by studying
and doing. A house with 100 minor things to fix would probably prep me
for the farm later, i suppose, and by that time I'll have enough tools
and skill where I (hopefully) won't get in over my head.