“It seems simple enough”, thought the ageing couple who never lived through a home build.
Back in September 2021, we found house plans online that we were both excited about. The plans were perfect for a sloped lot like we chose on the homestead, overlooking the half-acre pond and South pasture. Wisely, we priced the build using an inexpensive option offered by the plan provider. Thrilled that the estimated build cost was well within our means, we eagerly purchased the plans and began to comb through every detail and proposing changes. Two months later, we had modified plans that were…perfect.
Steven, our oldest, was a big help in the next step – assembling a bid package for prospective builders. We assembled the property survey map, paid for a perc test to facilitate a septic permit, and created detailed specifications for the home (after much debate and some arguments). Weeks later, we were ready to find and hire a builder.
In rural Alabama, the internet isn’t all that helpful in finding local contractors. It’s all about networking. After a few weeks of calling bankers, real estate agents, local building materials suppliers and everyone else who would talk to us, we had a list of five relatively local custom home builders. Each agreed to a site visit. It was March, 2022. After six months of planning, we were eager to hire a builder and move forward.
Builders in rural Alabama aren’t the most sophisticated sort – at least the five we spoke to. One was a framer for many years until venturing out. Unlicensed and probably uninsured, he worked from the front seat of his pick up truck. We weren’t impressed. Another builder was delighted to hear of our project and “always wanted to build an energy efficient home like the one we specified”. When all was said and done, three builders wanted to see plans, but wouldn’t be available to start for at least six to nine months! I hurriedly sent each of the three bid packages via e-mail being as organized as I knew how, thinking that they would be impressed with my organization and promptly reply with bids. Instead, each declined to bid the project. Apparently builders don’t bid jobs around here. One of them told me plainly that it wasn’t worth his while to bid a job he might not win. He would build for us – without a contract or budget at the outset.
Exasperated, I combed through my notes hoping to find additional names of builders I might call. Sure enough, there was one I overlooked. He lives in Fort Payne, is active in the community and has built dozens of homes in the county. Both he and his wife, a local real estate agent are clearly invested in the community. We figured he had to do decent work or would have been run out of town. Better yet, one of his references was the county building inspector. All three references loved his work and working with him. Scotty was our guy!
It didn’t take Scotty long to arrange our first meeting to go over the house plans at the site and talk through the specifications so he could get a good understanding of exactly what we wanted him to build. In the six or so months between this meeting and our initial build cost estimates, pricing nearly doubled to roughly $200 per square foot! There was no way we could afford the home we so meticulously planned. All that time and effort (not to mention thousands of dollars) down the drain. Back to the drawing board.
By June, we had another set of plans. Considerably smaller, the house really doesn’t get us as excited as the first one did. It’s a concession, but our needs would be met. Moreover, were on a race against time, with building costs still on the rapid rise – along with real estate prices.
When we bought the property back in early 2021, our plan was to relocate once the house was built. But, rising mortgage interest rates cooled the greater Atlanta housing market considerably. By mid Summer, we were considering the specter of rising build prices alongside declining sales price on our current home if we stuck to our plan. After much prayer and advice, we chose to sell our Marietta, GA home and live in the small guest house during the build. It would mean moving hurriedly and moving twice, but it might save us financially. It would also get us on the homestead full-time much sooner, so we could advance the many infrastructure projects needed before we were ready to welcome sheep, goats and cattle.
We received God’s blessing with the sale of our Marietta home. It sold within a few days with an all-cash offer well above our list price. Our net after commission was almost exactly what Christi had been praying for. It was truly more than we could have asked or imagined!
