Sometimes, all you need is a quick get away from the hustle and bustle of the city to enjoy the peace and quiet of nature. For Melissa Potvin and Michael Schaub, that was just a short drive from Traverse City to 80 sprawling acres in the woods where they can escape to and unwind.
Initially, Melissa thought she may find land on which to build a house, but she and Michael Schaub discovered an 80-acre property with a rustic cabin, perfect for weekend adventures of four-wheeling, hiking, camping and hunting.
The property doesn’t have electricity or water, and Melissa and Michael hope to fix up the cabin to make it usable.
“Right now, I wouldn’t sleep out there, and we want to fix it up in order to be able to do that,” she said. “Building on the property would be costly, so I don’t know if that’s in the plans for the future or not.”
Melissa said the pair visited the property several times over the winter to decide if they wanted to purchase it. Ultimately, they decided it would be the ideal spot for their recreational wishes.
“We wanted the property for recreational purposes,” Melissa said. “It’s a very wooded area and swampy. We know we would be able to make the 25-mile drive about every weekend to spend time there.”
However, just before closing on the property with GreenStone Farm Credit Services, Melissa and Michael found another 40-area parcel adjacent to the 80 acres.
In a last-minute conundrum, Melissa wondered if she and Michael could buy both at the same time.
Partnering with GreenStone Farm Credit Services
When Melissa and Michael found the second property, they wanted to be able to purchase both at the same time, which is somewhat unusual from a financing perspective.
“I had only heard about GreenStone, because I had a friend who worked there many years,” Melissa said. “We were referred to GreenStone by our realtor.”
Melissa, who said she didn’t have any experience with land loans, contacted a few lenders, but in the end, GreenStone was the most responsive and answered all of her questions.
“That’s why I picked GreenStone, it was how helpful they were in answering my questions, and how quick and responsive they were when I needed them,” she said. “Plus, the closing was quick. We closed in less than a month,” she said.
With the initial sale of 80 acres, plus their desire to purchase the additional 40 acres, Melissa and Michael asked GreenStone if they could close on both at the same time to save on closing fees.
Brent Voss, VP of lending at GreenStone, and his team went to work, got everything revised, and the pair was able to purchase both properties together and close at the same time under one loan.
“One of the unique things GreenStone does is that we can combine multiple properties into one loan, and we are able to because of the way we do lending,” Brent said. “Melissa was great to work with, and she was very responsive when I needed items from her like her financials. She was also very responsive when I had questions about what they were looking to do and the property itself, which made the process a lot easier.”
Brent said that Melissa’s and Michael's property is unique in that there’s an older cabin on one parcel and swampy land on another. However, lending for unique properties is one of GreenStone’s expertise.
“Country living lending is a broad coverage term that GreenStone uses for people living in the country away from an actual city. Our land financing options can be used for vacant land, residential land in the country, small acreage parcels, large parcels, part-time farms and even horse facilities,” Brent said.
Aside from GreenStone’s communication and ability to quickly join the two properties together on one loan, Melissa said she appreciates that it’s a co-op. As a cooperative, GreenStone is owned by the customers it serves, so it inherently works in their collective best interest.
“I didn’t know at the time when I picked them that GreenStone is a co-op that is ag-focused and offers rural lending services,” she said. “I didn’t know that until after closing, but I like that part of it.”
Melissa said if she needs another loan or financial services, she will likely use GreenStone again.
“GreenStone gave me all the information I needed to know,” she said. “If in the future something were to happen, I would probably use GreenStone.”
Melissa and Michael enjoy riding their four-wheelers around their 80 acres of land.
Enjoying their new oasis
Melissa said the pair enjoys getting away from the city every weekend, and with it only being 25 miles from her primary home, the drive is convenient.
“We don’t have to travel too far,” she said. “We can go after work, hang out and come home. It’s nice to get away and enjoy nature and lots of animals.”
Looking toward the future, Melissa is excited to get the cabin ready for overnight stays.
“Fixing up the cabin would be nice,” she said. “We want to be able to camp out there during the summer and snowshoe in the winter. There’s also a lot of fallen trees, so we’re focused on a lot of clean up right now.”
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