Many families are looking to purchase acreage to better fit their lifestyles. Whether they are searching for privacy, peace, or more room, the country is the perfect location.
Chaney Tambling and her husband, Eric Link, wanted the best of both worlds – the privacy of country living, while remaining close to friends, family, and work. Here is their story.
Chaney and her husband weren't even looking for a new home. They had acquired a starter home together in the Illinois town of Herscher just two years earlier. When a friend approached them to gauge interest in some land he had for sale, they quickly decided it wasn’t the right opportunity.
But a seed had been planted. The couple was intrigued by the idea of a home that would give them the best of both worlds.
"We grew up in the country, so we knew we wanted that kind of home someday" Tambling said. Looking at one property led them to looking at more, and soon long-term goals became much shorter.
Chaney and Eric knew they would need help, and Chaney knew just where to turn: Joni Reynolds, lending officer with Compeer Financial.
Laying the right financial foundation with education
"I call her my bank lady," Tambling laughed. “She walked us through our first home-buying process.”
“It sounds crazy, but I don’t have anyone close to me who has ever gone through the usual home-buying process,” Chaney says, noting that her parents and other nearby relatives either live on family land or bought property they had rented and so never went through the search. “I like to understand how things work. Joni is so good at explaining things. The way we could talk, it was as if my mom were helping me buy my house.”
Falling in love with a home that’s just right
Fast forward to 2020, and Chaney and Eric’s interest in moving again raised a new set of questions.
"We weren't financially where we needed to be, so Joni outlined these are the things you need to do," Tambling said. Joni remembers walking them through options. "There were a lot of moving parts," said Reynolds. "I was helping them understand down payment, mortgage insurance, debt ratios. Finally, we were able to agree on where the numbers worked."
Chaney and Eric turned to Compeer, a lender specializing in rural properties, and found in their Compeer lending officer a guide to the sometimes-challenging world of ag real estate.
Numbers or not, when Chaney and Eric walked into one house, they knew they had found their home: A two-story set on a quiet tree-filled acre with a big backyard, spacious interior for entertaining family, and room for a growing family someday.
Meeting in the middle for a place where they are centered
The home they now knew they needed had just one problem – it fell outside their intended price range. But once again, Joni led the way by helping them think through their budget – "I always start with the monthly budget, not the cost of the house," said Reynolds - and with a little help from the seller and realtors (who shaved off part of their commission), Chaney and Eric had what they believe will be their forever home.
"It's perfect," said Tambling. “It’s surrounded by trees. We can barely see our neighbors.” Chaney’s commute to the large-animal vet clinic where she works is mere minutes, and Eric’s is equal to his commute from their old house.
Being able to entertain over the holidays, enjoy a quiet evening in the backyard, and enjoy the perks of their newfound space (like a home gym) has brought peace and contentment to Chaney and Eric after two moves in three years.
A network of support and friendship for the future
One thing that leapt out was the way relationships kept overlapping. A longtime friend of Chaney’s family worked with Joni and made their initial introduction. Chaney and Eric ended up selling their home to Eric’s brother (again with Joni’s help.) Chaney’s friends in Pennsylvania who needed help finding a loan officer who specialized in rural properties, as Compeer does, got a referral from Joni.
Looking forward, Chaney is thinking of purchasing the vet clinic where she works, and likely will turn to Compeer for help with that transaction when it happens.
"The only thing I'm sad about," noted Tambling, "is that we may not get to work with Joni anymore, because I love this house so much, I hope we never move again.”
