It all started nearly 19 years ago when my husband said to me, “I want to buy a little horse ranch.” We were living in Southern California, in a city with enough people to rank it 36th most populated in the nation -Long Beach. I worked right smack in the middle of downtown Los Angeles and the only time in over a decade I had come within a mile of a horse was when I was walking my dog in the hills near Griffith Park. Without hesitation I said, “Why not?” and we bought our first horse property. A little over an acre in Norco California.
Norco California calls itself Horse Town USA mostly because of its outrageous zoning of 10 horses to an acre. That’s a lot of horses on one acre of land and of course those horses produce a lot of manure. Not to mention Southern California is a desert and Norco is a very dry place so you have to feed, twice a day, to keep your animals healthy and happy. It was going to be hard work and costly but we thought it would be good to raise our new born son around animals. Our house was a cozy little three bedroom/ two baths with lathe and plaster interior walls and a stucco exterior. Thank goodness the roof was sound. With nothing more then changing out all the windows, replacing the floor, all plumbing and electrical, plus a kitchen and bathroo
m remodel, we moved in - TWO YEARS after we closed escrow.
Our first foal was on the ground that spring and before long we reached the maximum number of horses allowed on our property. Needless to say we started looking for more land, or should I say more horse friendly land, a few years after we moved in. The house was not important but the land had to be flat, green and affordable.
Saving every penny, investing in a few rental properties and selling our Norco California home at the top of a real estate cycle helped us to move from Horse Town USA to Ocala Florida, The Horse Capital of the World and into our dream home on 12 acres. We worked hard and it took us 15 years but all I have to say is it was well worth it!
m remodel, we moved in - TWO YEARS after we closed escrow.Our first foal was on the ground that spring and before long we reached the maximum number of horses allowed on our property. Needless to say we started looking for more land, or should I say more horse friendly land, a few years after we moved in. The house was not important but the land had to be flat, green and affordable.
Saving every penny, investing in a few rental properties and selling our Norco California home at the top of a real estate cycle helped us to move from Horse Town USA to Ocala Florida, The Horse Capital of the World and into our dream home on 12 acres. We worked hard and it took us 15 years but all I have to say is it was well worth it!
