I purchased 5 acres in May of 2012.  The land had no buildings and no utilities.

My most immediate need was to begin improving the land.  To do this required tools on site.  I had nowhere to store the tools.

For a while, I rented storage.  The problem with the storage was that there weren’t any facilities near my property.  I was driving 30 miles just to pick up tools.  Then I’d drive back.  Then I’d return the tools to the storage when I was done.  Then drive back.  It was over 120 miles each day, and I was wasting valuable time.

I had planned to build a small outbuilding.  I couldn’t (at the time) find anyone who would deliver concrete.  I realized that I was going to have to buy a lot of bags of ready-mix concrete.  Where was I going to store them?  It was one of those situations where you find yourself chasing your tail.

I ended up going this route…

First, the good:

The barn is on skids, so you don’t need a foundation.

I got the style of roof that I wanted–to shed snow.

I also got the barn doors, so I could put big items inside.

There’s a loft in two places inside.  This increases storage capacity.

I couldn’t have built this for the price.

The bad:

The financing is ridiculous.  You’ll end up paying for your barn 4 or 5 times over if you pay at the rate they schedule.

Terrible service on the part of the financier.  There are no statements sent, no emails, no nothing.  They send you a coupon book and you never hear from them unless you call.  You have to call to find out your balance.

I’m not sure if I can recommend doing this or not.  It’s something for you to think about.

I plan on pulling the barn onto a foundation.  I don’t want the skids to rot.  I’ve poured the footing so far.  Winter caught up to me before this project was finished.  Hopefully we’ll complete it this summer.

The PVC you see sticking up is there in case I want to pull cable into the barn.