Drinkin-N-Thinkin
Active member
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2011
- Messages
- 30
Since I was a kid, I wanted a cabin in the woods. For the last seven years or so, I've been exploring different geographic areas of interest until I narrowed down the area I wanted, based on my criteria. As gasoline topped $4.50 a gallon (the first time) I decided I didn't like the $250 transportation costs per trip related to towing the parachute (I mean trailer) and would be better off buying a place and storing my toys there.
My property critera was as follows:
1) I'm a snowmobiler so it must be on or very near the snowmobile trail.
2) It must be on a county maintained (plowed) road.
3) It must be a wooded lot.
A) I don't like cutting grass.
B) I like the privacy, quiet, fresh air and beauty of the trees and surrounding nature.
C) I don't like cutting grass, especially on a vacation home where I'm not close.
4) The lot has to be big enough to put up a workshop where I can build the cabin from scratch, and have some storage space so my target (i.e. budget) is about 2~3 acres for this area.
5) I must be allowed to erect a garage first with no time limit before putting up a house. A lot of towns in this area allow you to put the garage up first, but require the house to be built within one year of erecting the garage; outside my budget.
6) It must be all high-land or at least no low-lying areas as wetlands are protected and therefore, you can't build on them in this area which would limit my options.
7) Would prefer an area zoned R1 (residential as opposed to business, or agricultural).
Tough sell.
I literally browsed the realestate ads daily sometimes which got me very familiar with the area and what properties were for sale and even their locations. Many had some of the qualities, not all so they were all deal-breakers leaving me time to save my pennies. My thinking is I would rather get what I want, even if it is outside my range as long as I save for it and pay cash (or borrow in small increments) to minimize my interest costs, I can sit on it and do no improvements until I save enough for the next phase.
To make a long story short, the housing collapse happend in 2007 and a property that was previously out of my range was reduced and appeared on my radar. It looked perfect! Lucky for me, we had a three day holiday the next week so I drove up to check it out and two months later I was the new owner of a very nice high-land wooded 5 acre lot just off the trail where I could build a garage with no time limit for the house!
I hope to share the progress and the problems I encounter and how I solve them as I build with this forum as I have been reading this for ideas and insight, too. Hopefully, something in here will help someone as I have been helped in the past by others.
I have some obvious limitations--logistics: this property is about 400 miles from my home, so I'll only be working on it when I have some vacation time or holidays. That being said, I will also need to incorporate some local professional help to accomplish some things that I either cannot do or need to have done to keep a schedule. I intend on this being a fun thing and want to work on it at a pace that keeps it fun. I also live check-to-check like everyone else so as I save alittle, I'll do alittle.
The front
Future driveway entance
The garage building site on the left with future trail in the distance
Straight on view of site
Driveway in with site in the background
The contract was made for the building and I had to set the batton boards for the position. My original plan was for building to be built on a slab, but the concrete guy I met never called me back. Bummer. Plan "B"--put the posts in the ground and pour the slab later. My original building size was 30X50X12, but in delaying the slab, I increased the building to 36X54X14.
The other end of the lot where the driveway loops back to the street
My property critera was as follows:
1) I'm a snowmobiler so it must be on or very near the snowmobile trail.
2) It must be on a county maintained (plowed) road.
3) It must be a wooded lot.
A) I don't like cutting grass.
B) I like the privacy, quiet, fresh air and beauty of the trees and surrounding nature.
C) I don't like cutting grass, especially on a vacation home where I'm not close.
4) The lot has to be big enough to put up a workshop where I can build the cabin from scratch, and have some storage space so my target (i.e. budget) is about 2~3 acres for this area.
5) I must be allowed to erect a garage first with no time limit before putting up a house. A lot of towns in this area allow you to put the garage up first, but require the house to be built within one year of erecting the garage; outside my budget.
6) It must be all high-land or at least no low-lying areas as wetlands are protected and therefore, you can't build on them in this area which would limit my options.
7) Would prefer an area zoned R1 (residential as opposed to business, or agricultural).
Tough sell.
I literally browsed the realestate ads daily sometimes which got me very familiar with the area and what properties were for sale and even their locations. Many had some of the qualities, not all so they were all deal-breakers leaving me time to save my pennies. My thinking is I would rather get what I want, even if it is outside my range as long as I save for it and pay cash (or borrow in small increments) to minimize my interest costs, I can sit on it and do no improvements until I save enough for the next phase.
To make a long story short, the housing collapse happend in 2007 and a property that was previously out of my range was reduced and appeared on my radar. It looked perfect! Lucky for me, we had a three day holiday the next week so I drove up to check it out and two months later I was the new owner of a very nice high-land wooded 5 acre lot just off the trail where I could build a garage with no time limit for the house!
I hope to share the progress and the problems I encounter and how I solve them as I build with this forum as I have been reading this for ideas and insight, too. Hopefully, something in here will help someone as I have been helped in the past by others.
I have some obvious limitations--logistics: this property is about 400 miles from my home, so I'll only be working on it when I have some vacation time or holidays. That being said, I will also need to incorporate some local professional help to accomplish some things that I either cannot do or need to have done to keep a schedule. I intend on this being a fun thing and want to work on it at a pace that keeps it fun. I also live check-to-check like everyone else so as I save alittle, I'll do alittle.
The front
Future driveway entance
The garage building site on the left with future trail in the distance
Straight on view of site
Driveway in with site in the background
The contract was made for the building and I had to set the batton boards for the position. My original plan was for building to be built on a slab, but the concrete guy I met never called me back. Bummer. Plan "B"--put the posts in the ground and pour the slab later. My original building size was 30X50X12, but in delaying the slab, I increased the building to 36X54X14.
The other end of the lot where the driveway loops back to the street
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