Well, it's been somewhat of a depressing/stressful week. Last Saturday we had a meeting with our contractors and found out that the house we thought we could build in our budget was in fact, about $200K over our budget. So if were were to stay within our budget, we'd be making a lot of compromises, like for instance, not finishing the entire 2nd floor, downgrading everything in the kitchen, not putting wood flooring in, downgrading the windows...downgrading, downgrading, DOWNGRADING!
Now, our budget was pretty damn reasonable considering that the land is free and clear. Many people were shocked that we couldn't build this house. Even with all the downgrades, we still would have been way over the max of our budget. We could do it, but it would mean not doing anything else. Literally. No vacations, no dinners out, no weekends away. Not to mention what if, God forbid, something happened to one of us or one of us lost our jobs. It's not out of question with the state of the economy and although things look pretty secure for both of us right now, I've always lived by the mantra 'it's better to be safe than sorry."
Besides, why bother going so far over budget for a house that we can't even finish completely! Then we live in a construction zone for who knows how long and project after project has to wait year after year to get done and that's if we can even afford it. Then throw a baby (someday) into the mix. Not good. So I spent the weekend with my stomach in knots because although Al thought we could do it if we really stretched ourselves, I knew we couldn't.
We had many many talks together this week and came up with the conclusion that, bottom line, we cannot build this house and enjoy life. Period. So we will downsize, not downgrade the house and hopefully be able to afford to finish everything. And we need to talk to the contractors again and let them know that they need to make this work within our budget. If they need to take a cut in commission to keep our business, well, I'm hoping they are willing to do so. 20% commission is reasonable in a stable economy, but very optimistic in this economic climate.
So, over the week, we looked at a number of house plans, none really meeting all our needs and none that we could both agree on. We've considered going back to modular if we can't work this out with the contractors, but Al really fell in love with this house and I like it a lot too. So, while I was at Spin last night, Al came up with a great idea. What do you do when you feel like you are backed in a corner and have no where to go? You turn to your family.
Al III is going to take the footprint of the house and make it work so that we can build this house. We are taking off almost 600sq. ft of the house, but the exterior will look exactly the same. It's like we have our own personal architect right in the house and although I was reluctant at first because I truly want this to be our project, I think it's a great solution to our problem. We are going to present Platinum (our contractors) with our ideas tomorrow when we meet with them again.
Whoever said building a house was stressful knew what they were talking about! Keep us in your prayers and your fingers crossed!
Now, our budget was pretty damn reasonable considering that the land is free and clear. Many people were shocked that we couldn't build this house. Even with all the downgrades, we still would have been way over the max of our budget. We could do it, but it would mean not doing anything else. Literally. No vacations, no dinners out, no weekends away. Not to mention what if, God forbid, something happened to one of us or one of us lost our jobs. It's not out of question with the state of the economy and although things look pretty secure for both of us right now, I've always lived by the mantra 'it's better to be safe than sorry."
Besides, why bother going so far over budget for a house that we can't even finish completely! Then we live in a construction zone for who knows how long and project after project has to wait year after year to get done and that's if we can even afford it. Then throw a baby (someday) into the mix. Not good. So I spent the weekend with my stomach in knots because although Al thought we could do it if we really stretched ourselves, I knew we couldn't.
We had many many talks together this week and came up with the conclusion that, bottom line, we cannot build this house and enjoy life. Period. So we will downsize, not downgrade the house and hopefully be able to afford to finish everything. And we need to talk to the contractors again and let them know that they need to make this work within our budget. If they need to take a cut in commission to keep our business, well, I'm hoping they are willing to do so. 20% commission is reasonable in a stable economy, but very optimistic in this economic climate.
So, over the week, we looked at a number of house plans, none really meeting all our needs and none that we could both agree on. We've considered going back to modular if we can't work this out with the contractors, but Al really fell in love with this house and I like it a lot too. So, while I was at Spin last night, Al came up with a great idea. What do you do when you feel like you are backed in a corner and have no where to go? You turn to your family.
Al III is going to take the footprint of the house and make it work so that we can build this house. We are taking off almost 600sq. ft of the house, but the exterior will look exactly the same. It's like we have our own personal architect right in the house and although I was reluctant at first because I truly want this to be our project, I think it's a great solution to our problem. We are going to present Platinum (our contractors) with our ideas tomorrow when we meet with them again.
Whoever said building a house was stressful knew what they were talking about! Keep us in your prayers and your fingers crossed!
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