A New Adventure!

 

We recently purchased some land, not too far from where we live now, and we are having a house built on it for us.  We currently live in a very large century-old home that is much too big for just the two of us. We're looking to downsize, and we are looking ahead to our senior years where we will want one floor living.  The new house will be just over 1600 sq ft, about half the size of what we have now.  The home is being built by students in the Building Trade program at our local high school.  They are supervised by a master builder, who hires subcontractors who are willing to teach the students their particular trade.  We of course, pay for all the materials and the services of all the subcontractors, plus all the licenses and building fees.  We also made a donation to the program.   We're trying to build green as much as possible too.  We drive by the site everyday to and from work, plus my husband's bus company transports the students from school to the work site!

The work has begun!

The concrete for the foundation will be poured Monday.

This past weekend was spent visiting several home improvement places - from Home Depot to some locally-owned places.  We've talked to two kitchen designers and are trying to figure out exactly what we want, and   of course, how much it's going to cost.  Our plans call for an open concept kitchen, dining area, and great room.  There will be 2 bedrooms, plus an office, and 2 baths.  We will have a finished walkout basement, a mudroom/laundry room, and 2 car garage.  We have an estimate on cabinets and granite counters from Home Depot, and we're waiting for a similar proposal from the local designer.  I hope we can work with the locally owned business.  We are buying all the lumber from them.  It's exciting, but there are so many things to think about!!

And then of course, we will have to sell this old house.  The good thing is that we've already done a lot of major work on this house -- a new roof within the last 5 years, a new driveway 2 years ago, and a new heating system last fall.  Most of the rest of the work is cosmetic.  We don't have a mortgage on it, so that will be one pressure off us when it's time to sell.