A day or two later, she told me she’s done with living in the city. She wants to build in her (rural) hometown roughly 20 road miles from our current house. This is an idea we have toyed with in the past as her family has land there waiting to be gifted to us at any time and it’s three miles south of a small town. Until now, its only been talk. I thought about it and told her I was all for it and that we needed to look at finances and talk to a builder. Relocating doesn’t affect my work much but it might require her to change jobs. She’s an insurance producer and as a courtesy to her agent and the other girl in the office, she let them know she will be looking for other employment as the drive will be way too far after we relocate. The idea came up about her working from home and she is in talks with her boss about setting her up to do just that. This would be great between her getting to stay home with the kids during the summer and the $$$ we’d save on gas! Regardless, this move is happening.
The plan is for this to be our last home. We want it big enough to finish raising our kids (8 and almost 5) and not so big that it’s too much to deal with when we’re "old". lol. Of course, our budget will play a big roll in the final product. I have a list a mile long of wants! The needs are really a shop and the house. The shop will either serve as storage for excess stuff while our current house is on the market or storage for all our sh!t while we live with her parents if our house sells before the new house is done. Then it will serve the obvious purposes. Some must haves on the house are foam encapsulation instead of traditional insulation and either geothermal or a highly efficient heat / air unit on zones. There’s rebates on both through the co-op that serves that area. The shop will either be a 30×40 or 30×50. I’m leaning toward the larger size. My builder is a coworker and cuts friends and family a great deal. He’s built houses for many guys I know and there’s only been one guy who complained about anything. And that guy was still happy with the house and the instant equity he had in it at closing. When we initially spoke with our builder, we presented him with the plan we liked. He recommended we go to a local architect and look at some plans that had less hall space. We did and found a plan that made more sense and utilized space much better. It just so happens that plan was recently built a few blocks from our house. We went and looked at it and decided that was it with a few modifications.
My wife and I have our respective lists of desired features. Of course, mine includes a whole house generator because that would just be f’n awesome! lol. Realistically, that will probably have to wait a bit to get the shop done and the features of the home that we want. Her list is mostly eye candy type stuff like those giant front doors. Only she wants one for the back door as well… and they’re expensive! lol
Financing is in the works now. We have prepared for several prospective scenarios including an unexpected jump in interest rates and the possibility going over budget. Our plan is to break ground on the shop ASAP and on the house in February. Our hope is that we can close before the beginning of school in August 2017 so the kids don’t have to change schools mid year.
So here is my question for you all. If you were building today, what features would you want in your new home? Big or small, lay’em on me! We have a pretty diverse group here, so I figured who better to ask! Even if something is suggested that isn’t financially feasible, it may possible to make inexpensive arrangements now so that down the road it’s a possibility. And think "down the road" also… I’m 41 now. What will I wish I had done when I’m 71?
After closing, we’ll have room for any GC members passing through town and a spot to lock up your griz for the night!
:gcrules:
