We're Building a House!

As many of you know, we are building a house. But since I just recently decided to start this blog, I feel I must catch you all up to speed as to where we are and how we got to this place! Just a warning, its going to take more than this post to catch you up to date on our progress.

So here we go from the top...

We weren't looking to build a house or even purchase a lot to build, but sometimes God hands you a sign - literally. Matt and I were driving through my favorite subdivision - which NEVER has any homes for sale and although seems like there are lots available for building, they are NEVER for sale either. But on this particular day in April, there was a small auctioneer sign in a lot and we jumped! We called the next day and were signing a purchase agreement by the middle of the week!

Our original lot...see the "sign"?!

So the majority of the summer, we spent time looking at house plans and trying to figure out what we wanted to build. 1 story or 2 story? basement? bonus room? how much garage space? The options were endless, not to mention we "traded" lots with the people who owned the empty lot beside us. We think we got the long end of the stick on that deal! So our current lot (and the one we are building on) is in a different location and the neighbors on BOTH sides of us are building at the same time! It's a busy place in our subdivision right now.

In the meantime, we decided to do a custom house design, combining elements of various plans we liked. After we finalized our plan, we started meeting with builders and ended up hiring Bart, who we met 2 years ago in the Parade of Homes (like a builder's open house). He has lots of great ideas and we really enjoy working with him.

The month of November was filled with finalizing plans and numbers we felt comfortable with. Matt and I had done quite a bit of homework on what things would cost. We were getting pricing on flooring, cabinets, lighting etc. to make sure we borrowed enough money from the bank to have a nice house, not builder grade, but still be able to afford our mortgage. I have earned the title "Budget Nazi" and am trying my best to keep us on track with the budget for this building project. The last thing I want to do is have to owe a bunch of money at the end of it all!

Speaking of a mortgage - the Bank! What an experience! I will save this for the next house catch up!