Let the games begin

I've created this blog so that I can track the progress and the trials and tribulations of building our dream house. A little background.

For more than 20 years, we've owned and lived on this wonderful property that is 3 acres pretty much right in the city. Up until about 2 years ago, our house was at the end of a dead end road with 7 acres of dense woods next door. Enter mr. developer who purchased the 7 acres from the estate of the lady who'd owned it, and built 31 houses. We now have 31 new neighbors, most of which are really not very nice, and our peace and quiet is, well, over.

When the development signs went up, we seriously discussed moving. We quickly realized that to get what we have now, we'd have to move WAY outside the city and we didn't want to do that. The answer was to move into our own back yard and build a new, farther from the street house.

We went to a lot of home shows and looked at a lot of stuff (one can dream), and finally settled on a contractor, and a house plan that this particular contractor had already built. Unfortunately, it was WAY too big, almost 3,000 square feet, but the contractor assured us that could be fixed. We worked with him, paid him money, and worked with him to get a workable plan that was about 2400 sq ft. After 6 months, we had a "final" meeting to finish up the plan, hoping we could get something workable and then hold it for a while until the economy got better. The "final" plan was horrible, scribbled on the back of a cocktail napkin pretty much and totally not final. We realized that this guy had too much baggage with this house and could never change it to what we wanted, so we thanked him and walked away.

Fast forward 2 years. The Fed announced that interest rates will remain exceptionally low for the next year or so and it seems that NOW is the time. We decided that, although the original contractor was a nice guy, he was not nearly organized enough to actually complete a house. I emailed the local master builders and they gave me 2 references. We picked the one that just looked the best to us and signed a design agreement with them. In less than 3 months, we had our dream design, all the "stuff" (floors, plumbing, etc....) picked out and a set price for what we want to build.

The next step, and where we are now, is the financing. We've applied at a great local bank and are now waiting for the appraisal on the new property to be complete. Once that's done, we'll be closing (hopefully) on the construction loan.

In the mean time, the house plans have been out to be engineered, I've been working with a local landscape designer, and the contractor is preparing everything to be submitted to the city for the $30,000 building permit.

Stay tuned......this week, hopefully a positve answer on the financing, a new kitchen plan, (I'm in LOVE with these cabinets), and more landscaping.

This blog will chronicle the building, landscaping and decorating of our new 2400 square foot dream "retirement" home. I'm beyond excited!