My parents built the house they're in now when I was about eight years old. It was an interesting experience. One that took years. I remember there being house stakes at the end of the driveway at the house we lived in. Then, finally, there were stakes on the property my parents purchased when they first got married, that's where they built. I suppose, now that I'm doing this on my own, I understand why the first set of stakes just didn't happen...
Above and beyond the cost of the house and quote you receive after your Color Selection Meeting, there are A LOT of other expenses. That's where the PPIs come in. We haven't set a dig date yet but I'm begging you, if there is one thing you take away from this entry, please let it be my plea to allot appropriate amounts of PPIs.
When we met Brian at our lot on September 12 (bolded for anyone trying to keep an accurate timeline) at our land, it became quite clear, this wasn't going to be a "plop the house on a lot" kind of thing. The land sits near a lake, on a slope, without public water... That makes things fun!
Luckily, our excavator was also available to be at this meeting. He was able to get an idea of the types of grades Brian was talking and I could see him formulating how much fill, etc. that was going to require. So, 200 TONS of fill and a decided walk-out basement later, we had a plan. But, these are things that make a Wayne Home so streamlined. I don't remember anyone ever coming to my parents beforehand and telling them how much of what they should budget for. It was all much more fly by the seat of your pants - Which would send The Hubster and I into hysteria!
After the meeting with Brian, The Hubster and I looked at each other and I knew we were thinking the same thing. "How on earth could we possibly afford this on this lot." Frankly, a little too late to ask that question. The land is paid for. It's where we're going to build a house. So after a drive back to his parents' house for the much-needed "talk me off of this ledge" moment and a kiss from our son, we made the 45 minute drive to Greensburg.
That was an agonizing trip. It started out with tears. Feeling like I was so close and now, once again we were going to need to walk away from it. It ended with a Devil may care attitude. We knew we could do this. We budgeted for this and, frankly, we have probably over budgeted for this. But, it's the emotions you go through.
When we got to the office, we met back up with Brian to talk about a few structural changes to the house and flush out any vague references to, say, dissolving an entire bedroom in to the master...
Then, we met with Tracy. She is so wonderful and calm. We went over all of our color selection items and signed off on them. The only thing we changed was the color of the carpeting in the den. We started with a conservative gray... now it's blue. It's beautiful but, it's blue!
To be honest, so far, the lot inspection day has been the most stressful and any meeting where you hash out the logistics of anything is going to be stressful. Now, if the bank cooperates, we'll have a dig date in no time...
Until Next Time,
Ciao!
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