Share a gorgeous house surrounded by gorgeous land up on Chestnut Hill along the Montague-Leverett Line.

More information, and photos, can be found at http://westernmass.c.../roo/3968629335.html


Cost:

- $625 month-to-month (includes heat, hot water + electric). This number could go down or up depending on how much propane we use.

- Starting Sept 1 or later

Optional shared 4G internet (or on your own via your own plan)
Optional shared landline phone (~$25/month).

Due Up Front:

- First + Last Month's Rent ($1250)
- 2 housing references
- Proof of renter's insurance policy that includes at least $100K liability coverage
(as an aside, if you don't have it, you should get it-- it's extremely cheap [~$150/year], protects your butt and stuff in case of an emergency, and commonly gets you a discount on car insurance when bundled with it).

The Location:

House is on 4 acres of fields and in midst of thousands of acres of forest with miles of hiking trails out back door. M&M and Robert Frost trails are within walking distance through woods.

-5 minutes to The Bookmill or Leverett Coop or Lake Wyola
-20 minutes to Amherst or Greenfield
-30 minutes to `Hamp
-45 minutes to Brattleboro or Keene

What's in it for you:

-The master bedroom (12' x 13') + goodly amount of closet space
-Basement storage
-On site Washer + Dryer
-Shared huge living area + awesome kitchen
-Shared Yoga / meditaton / retreat room
-An enclosed front porch
-A deck with a sunset view
-Solar hot water May-October = FREE long hot showers
-4 acres of fields with mown paths to ramble in
-1000's of acres of forest right with trails right out the back door.
-Lots of lovely wildlife (birds, coyotes, deer, porcupines, occasional bear)
-Fire pit in summer (fire weather dependent)
-A woodstove to snuggle up to in the winter. Main heat is forced hot air by super-efficient -propane furnace.
-Beautiful flower beds to work with if that's your thing
-Possibility for raised garden beds w/ lots of fencing (note aforementioned deer)
-Seriously, have you looked at the photos? This place is gorgeous.

About the living situation / the space:

-LGTBQ ally / safe space. Green lifestyle.

-Adult, Clean / orderly (but not Martha Stewart), calm, respectful, mature, and FUN, atmosphere. Dedication to great communication and magnanimous (harmonious, even) cooperative-style living.

-NVC friendly, but squirt guns will get pulled if communication devolves to this: http://www.funnyordi...0040c4/i-m-triggered

-If you're into composting, recycling, energy conservation, being stoked there is a special yoga / meditation / retreat room, and general enjoyment of nature (there's a lot of it here) and somewhat-rural living, you would be very happy here.

-Copious artificial scents (cologne/perfume, heavily scented candles / cleaners / detergent, lots of bleach, etc. . .) and big TV's / entertainment centers (TV in your room = OK) and smoking aren't a great fit.

-Occasionally there are friends over for dinner or small gatherings with good food and musical instruments.

-I take a deeply respectful, less-a-renter, more-a-steward, approach towards living in and sharing this amazing home, and hope you would too.

-Shared light outdoor upkeep ( lawn mowing, snow shoveling, and wood schlepping) and general self-sufficient house-savvy (i.e., what to do if power goes out / pipes freeze, etc...) are part of living up here and keeps the rent down.

About your potential housemate:

I'm a 35 year old fabulous guy with over a decade of shared living experience. That does not mean I wish to create a CoOp or intentional community-- It just means I have good housemate skills, and you should too. I have a career as a professional scientist down at U-Mass and a great big community all over the Valley. Generally clean cut with crunchy Buddhist middle. Folksy (fiddle and banjo get played, sauerkraut gets made, etc...). Gentle radical social and environmental justice bent. I look at my potential housemates as potential friends, because more often than not that's what ends up happening anyway.

Caveats / quirks to living here:

- There's no high-speed internet up here. However, you can get DSL-ish speed via a 4G hotspot if that's your thing. Good for everything except streaming NetFlix.

- Cellphone reception is decent but complicated: House has a signal booster for 2G / 3G. This makes internet possible.

- You *will* need snow tires in the winter and a reliable car. The road is hilly and we're higher up.

**Contact me via the Craigslist link above if you're interested!
 

Had to relocate due to job change, so my Montague Center property is for sale. Offering 2% of the sale price to the person who finds a buyer or 2% discount to buyers without a referral. Out of respect for my tenants, pre-qualified buyers only please to help keep disruptions to a minimum. Thank you for understanding.

Description:

Cute two-story home in Montague Center built around 1905. Apprx. 2680sf with large wrap-around porch and fenced front yard on apprx. 2/3 acre. Lovely location with plenty of garden space, with the Bookmill located across the street (www.montaguebookmill.com).

Some pictures can be found here: http://westernmass.c.../reo/3813114875.html

Currently set up as a 2-unit rental. Continue renting both sides, convert back to a single family someday, or live on one side and rent out the other. Both sides are currently rented and have short-term leases. Easy area to rent (our current tenants are wonderful). NOTE: The rent has not been adjusted in over 5 years, so if one so chooses, there is more income potential there as rent includes heat and water.
The two-car garage also offers potential expansion opportunity. Very nice lot with grapevines, blueberry bushes, and mature trees.

--Front unit currently rents for $1200 with 2 bathrooms, LR, DR (or bedroom), kitchen, and 2 bedrooms upstairs and large storage area upstairs.

--Back unit rents for $950 with LR, bathroom, basement, kitchen, and 2 bedrooms upstairs.

--Two-car garage with extra storage area in back for tools and the like (lots of open space in the attic, too, if you ever want to turn it into a workshop, office, etc.)

--Mature coniferous and deciduous trees in the yard, gather (LARGE!) grapes from the front arbor or blueberries from the backyard, neighbor's chickens like to come visit, live in a country setting yet within a bucolic, peaceful town that uniquely offers a variety of amenities (dance at the Grange; shop, eat, or listen to live music at the Bookmill across the street; take an easy walk to the post office or cute grocery store, etc.). You can even hear the river from the bedroom window!

--Wood floors throughout and LOTS of windows.

-Heat: oil (radiators)

-Slate roof

-Large front porch (I used to love listening and watching the rain outside while sitting on the porch weaving on my loom or reading a book :) -Wood floors throughout

--Taxes apprx. $3800

Additional info:

I envisioned exposing all of the original clapboard siding on the house and painting it an olive color with contrasting maroon trim, clearing a few trees from the ample back yard to set up a sunny picnic area and garden, planting espaliers and various fruit trees along the fence, having a few small animals, etc.

In the summer, as I tended to my flower gardens, I enjoyed hearing the live music coming from the Bookmill. As autumn rolled in, walking over to the Bookmill to grab a coffee on a crisp morning and relaxing in a cozy nook there overlooking the river made for some very fond memories.

The conservation area is an easy walk through the back yard. The conservation area offers a tranquil spot for swimming, country walks, and cross-country skiing (dog's are welcome, too)!

The property is in a gorgeous location, is solid and has a wonderful yard. Interior does need some cosmetic work if you want it to look immaculate or want to convert it to a single family (siding doesn't all match, ceiling needs some patching in spots from an old leak that had been fixed after a windstorm knocked some slates off (new slates and flashing were installed), some furniture scraped the walls as tenants moved in and out, etc. Very doable though, just wish I lived closer.

Thank you for your time. Asking $289,000 or best reasonable offer.