After a whole bunch of life changing events over the last few years we have decided to make a big move to the warm, sunny West. I won't be needing any firewood where we are going and even if I did, moving it across the country wouldn't make sense anyway. I stopped production in the spring of 2015, but being on the three year plan and a mild winter have left me with around 4 1/2 cords on hand. The house will be going on the market soon and as much as I hope any prospective owner would see a few giant wood piles as a plus after they see the great wood stove in the house, I fear that they may look like a pile of crap that makes the back yard look even smaller that it is to most people. I know that all of us here can appreciate the value of 4 1/2 cords of scrounged, hand split Black Locust and Red and Oak so I am looking to you all for your thoughts.
I'd wait to see if perspective buyers are interested (I would be ) and if they are not, a Craigs List ad would make that pile disappear quickly and it would put a few extra bucks in your pocket. Money you likely wouldn't get if the wood went with the house. Good luck with the move.
Obviously, most on this site would be stoked (intended) to find a nice woodstove and wood to feed it at a potential residence. Wood heating has lost some of it's luster to low natural gas prices, but some folks like the "nostalgia" of burning. It could go either way.
It's pretty much like a swimming pool. Some buyers will think a stove and a years worth of wood is a plus and others will see a wood stove as a big minus let alone a huge pile of wood out back. My guess is a clean stove with hoop ring of wood will sell the best. It'll look like backup heat if there is a power outage. As I recall you are in Weschester county, I'm on the other side of the river. Full time wood burners are rather rare this close to the city. 99.5% of the potential buyers aren't going to be interested in wood as a primary source of heat. I'd sell the wood and make the yard look clean.
That may be a problem selling it though. Especially when delivering it in an F250 would take so long that I'd never make any money.
I like XXL's idea of putting one on C-list to see what you get for offers beyond the lowballers you will get. Someone might offer a decent price for the lot when they see what you've got. Never know. How much time until you move to Nevada ? Most RE agents will tell you to lose the wood stove and stacks of wood before showing. It's a bargaining chip you put in the buyer's lap whether they want the stove and wood or not.
Our agent thinks the stove and some wood will be a plus. The time frame is loose. We will rent for a year so we can take some time to find the right place to buy so once we have a buyer we can leave. We are thinning out our crap and tidying the place up. One tractor and one saw have been sold. I am way too attached to most of my wood processing tools to part with them though.
Good Luck to You !! - I'd like to think that quite a bit of soul searching and conversation went into your decision. -to where are you heading ?
Going to Henderson, Nevada. A town not as well known as its neighbor, Las Vegas. Vegas is pretty much the only city that I can make a decent living in and live well in my line of work (showbiz) other than NYC. We have put a ton of thought into it. We are killing ourselves just to keep up here in the burbs of NYC. Out there I can make about 80-90% of my NY money with almost 1/2 the cost of NY living. Its almost like getting a raise. My wife got her azz kicked by cancer a couple years ago and the winter weather really beats her up, and it will be nice to own a vehicle for 10 years and it not turn a pile of rust! There are other pluses too, but those are some big ones. I will miss the Northeast as it has been my home for all my nearly 46 years. We will miss our woodstove, it is probably the nicest thing we bought for the house! We actually went up to the factory and hand picked the stones.
That's about 400 miles south of where I'm at....It can be a little warm down that way in the summer...Good luck with the move!
I think I would offer up the stove and wood for sale. If it doesn't sell, let it go with the house. Although it may be harder to sell this time of year. Or maybe someone will have it fresh on their mind that heating is expensive and jump on it. Or offer it to a friend or coworker in need at a discount. Either way, good luck with the move. I know it was a hard decision.
If is were up to me, I would sell the stove and wood. Or take the stove with me. You could set a price for the stove and a cord of wood that is above what you are getting for the house. If they buyer wants, they can buy it or you take or sell it outright.
My first thought also. The price of the house will probably be the same whether the stove is there or not. You don't have to give it away. The buyer can have it at a premium or it goes with you. If the buyer lowballs you, take the stove out. Or maybe the buyers are great people and you give them the stove. Or run an ad here on FHC, maybe there is someone here that wants it.
We have decided to leave the stove. I'll have little use for it in Vegas, especially when we live in a rental home for a year or so. Our agent believes it will be a plus in the sale f the home. I'm really looking for somebody who knows the value of the wood and has the equipment and gumption to move it.
Flatbedford we've thought of you and your wife often. Want to wish both of you the best with this move which is a big move and a big change. As for what is best with the wood and stove, I'd probably go the way it sounds like you are going. In addition, I'd contact Woodstock for some brochures telling about the Fireview. Have plenty of pictures to show them. Perhaps some testimonies from other Woodstock owners, preferably Fireview owners. In addition, I'd have information about that wonderful oak you have and how it rates on the btu scale. You no doubt have figures for how much it has cost you to heat your home these past several years and that will help. In addition, for sure tell the benefits of having that oak on hand for more than a year. I would also be prepared to throw in a saw or axe or maul or some wood related tools if it would sweeten the pot once you have a prospect. As for where you are going, yes, be prepared for some hot weather in summer but also be prepared for some very cold weather in winter. However, the winter are short and nothing like you are accustomed to. Also be prepared to be able to enjoy the outdoors more as the weather will be much more favorable for it and you will no doubt most definitely enjoy the lower humidity. But that can be a two edged sword. When you go back to the NE, be prepared to feel like you've arrived in Hell if you go during the summer months. The humidity will definitely get to you then. My wife and I well remember what it was like every year coming back to MI from AZ in the spring. Man, that humidity was tough getting used to. But then, I've never liked sticky weather. Good luck on the sale and the move.
I'm dealing with the same thing, we are trying to sell too. My woodshed is 50'x8' and full, 20+ cords. I listed the wood on the sellers disclosure as "negotiable". I explained explicitly to my agent that negotiable means, if the buyer is interested in the wood we can work it out depending on the sale price, if they are not interested I can remove the wood and the shed, basically I'll do whatever it takes to make the sale go through. Our house has been shown 6 times in the last 9 months. We've heard comments from three, and two were about the wood. One was "nice woodshed", the other was "must be hard to heat", I don't think either were serious and the people were just making a comment for the sake of making a comment.
