Where seldom is heard a discouraging word

I've only been promising this update for two months, so I'm thrilled to be finally posting some news on the house-front.  Tres and I signed for our construction loan last week, which means (aside from getting that much closer to "grown-up" status), we will be starting official site prep this week, with construction to follow shortly.  Whew!


This all began with the premise that (after extensive searching), we would be happier building our own house than buying something pre-existing.  Finding this amazing property clinched the deal and we were off.  But what to do?  We visited a local builder, but the plans weren't exciting and frankly not terribly affordable.  We searched online plans, but nothing really stuck out and how do you possibly narrow down the choices in any meaningful way?  There was just too much to know where to begin.  We visited some pre-fab options and they were beautiful, but again not really financially reasonable.  A friend had a friend who was an architect, we met over beer, and click!  It was perfect, we shared the same vision, and we knew we'd get just what we wanted.  Now, right at this moment, reality should have smacked us in the face.  We are certainly not wealthy, not even well-off.  We were fortunate to have saved and been bequeathed a little money by our respective grandparents, but this was the only reason we could afford any sort of house, it was NOT going to get us anything fancy. . .

And so that's where we found ourselves by early September.  Through our savings, with pre-building costs still accruing, and plans for a beautiful, modern, perfect one-of-a-kind dream house we could not afford.  Now, just to be clear, our plans weren't extravagant - I'm not talking McMansion here - but neither were they reasonable for us.  There was a lot of heartache, second-guessing, guilt, and regret, but eventually, we realized we needed to make a choice.  Ultimately, we love this property; we're proud of the work we've done (relatively insignificant though it may be) and we're eager for the possibilities that this land offers.  We had to cancel the dream house.  It was hard for us, but we are not without hope.  We've had to go in a very different direction -  hiring a builder in our price range means we have very little say on personalization (the plan, materials, etc. are pretty much set, with very slight variations on a limited number of items) - but it also means we get to keep our property AND we get a house.  We won't be featured in Dwell, but it will keep us warm and dry; it will be a place where we can raise our children (sorry if that's a shocker for any of you, but it's definitely on the horizon), where we all continue to grow and learn and change and love.  It will be a home.