After much debate about "roughing" it in the future garage, we've come to the conclusion that we will just rent until the house is built. For one thing, we don't yet have land to build on, and we don't want to rush that process. Even if we did, we would still need to live somewhere before the garage got built, and finding a month/month lease is even harder than a six month lease. So, renting it is. In times like these, I miss the easy care free days pre-kid. If we were doing this back then, we would totally just be camping until winter hit. It would be an "adventure". We would drink a lot of wine and find ways to stay warm and join a gym in order to take showers. But, with a two year old running around, it doesn't sound so much like an adventure than my own personal stay at home mom version of hell. No thank you.
So, renting it is. That however brings us back to the fact that it is EXPENSIVE to rent here (with a dog). No dog, no problem. It would be easy to find a reasonably priced place. But the dog is here, and here to stay. So, what can we do? Move to the next town over while we build, which has significantly less expensive rentals. Cons? It means a 20-30 minute commute for Hubs to his office (which is conveniently located 1/2 mile from our current home) and to the future build site. So that is a bummer, but otherwise, Junior isn't in school yet and I work from home, so we won't really be impacted that much, aside from living in a smaller house. No biggy there. Vacuuming a 3000 sf house is very overrated. Bring on 1500 sf of less cleaning please!
That's where we are at now. Now if only I could get a craigslist rental response from someone not residing in nigeria, that would be terrific!
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Monday, June 16, 2014
Complications
So far the house sale is marching forward just fine, but that is where things start getting complicated.
First, the fun stuff! We have been furiously designing the house (Hubs is an Architect) and putting together a cost estimate for the build out. The latter might sound droll, but I have a sick obsession/love for spreadsheets, so I am actually loving that part. Not to mention, it is fun picking out theoretical appliances And finishes when I need to fill in a line item. When it comes time to actually pick them out it will be more complicated of course, as Hubs will likely want to have some input. For now though, its all just fun daydream land.
Now for the complicated. Where are we going to live for the next 6 to 12 months while we build? Renting is an option, but around here, if you can find a 2br that allows a dog you are lucky if it costs less than $1250/mo. Bozeman is easily one of the most expensive towns to live in Montana due to the university and tourism. The reality is there aren't 2br apartments, so we would probably end up with a 3br, which start at $1250 and go to $1500. Over the course of a year, that is a lot of money in someone elses pocket that could otherwise pay for things such as fencing. So, we aren't wild about renting.
Staying with family is not an option, as we have no family in town. Camping, even in an RV would work through September, however it is not an option with a toddler and Montana winters. Just the thought makes me cringe from the potential stir crazy cabin fever. So, what is another option?
Currently we are debating very quickly building the garage first. It will be a three car detached garage. We would borrow a friend's RV that we would stay in while the garage is being built. Then we would install the wood stove intended for the main house in the garage temporarily, park the RV in the garage so that we still have a kitchen and toilet/shower without having to install plumbing, and set up the garage like a studio apartment. We would likely put up temporary walls so that Junior has a quiet and dark sleeping area.
Thats the current thought. Now we just have to settle on a piece of land so that we have somewhere to park said RV when our house closes. Oh, and of course put everything else in storage I the mean time. If anyone has a suggestion on another live/build option that I haven't mentioned, let me know!
First, the fun stuff! We have been furiously designing the house (Hubs is an Architect) and putting together a cost estimate for the build out. The latter might sound droll, but I have a sick obsession/love for spreadsheets, so I am actually loving that part. Not to mention, it is fun picking out theoretical appliances And finishes when I need to fill in a line item. When it comes time to actually pick them out it will be more complicated of course, as Hubs will likely want to have some input. For now though, its all just fun daydream land.
Now for the complicated. Where are we going to live for the next 6 to 12 months while we build? Renting is an option, but around here, if you can find a 2br that allows a dog you are lucky if it costs less than $1250/mo. Bozeman is easily one of the most expensive towns to live in Montana due to the university and tourism. The reality is there aren't 2br apartments, so we would probably end up with a 3br, which start at $1250 and go to $1500. Over the course of a year, that is a lot of money in someone elses pocket that could otherwise pay for things such as fencing. So, we aren't wild about renting.
Staying with family is not an option, as we have no family in town. Camping, even in an RV would work through September, however it is not an option with a toddler and Montana winters. Just the thought makes me cringe from the potential stir crazy cabin fever. So, what is another option?
Currently we are debating very quickly building the garage first. It will be a three car detached garage. We would borrow a friend's RV that we would stay in while the garage is being built. Then we would install the wood stove intended for the main house in the garage temporarily, park the RV in the garage so that we still have a kitchen and toilet/shower without having to install plumbing, and set up the garage like a studio apartment. We would likely put up temporary walls so that Junior has a quiet and dark sleeping area.
Thats the current thought. Now we just have to settle on a piece of land so that we have somewhere to park said RV when our house closes. Oh, and of course put everything else in storage I the mean time. If anyone has a suggestion on another live/build option that I haven't mentioned, let me know!
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
The ball is rolling...
Our house is under contract! The offer came in Sunday night, and then all the expected back and forth wrapped up late Monday night. It was so exciting. I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that we did a shot of patron to celebrate. Well...they were more of a 3/4 shot, it was a Monday night after all.
After that shot though, we looked at each other and realized how much we had to get sorted out in the next 7 weeks! Thank goodness the buyers wanted a later closing date. Just how much do we have to sort out, you might ask? A lot. Here is a list off the top of my head.
Stuff to Sort Out:
1. Decide to buy existing farm or buy land and build. The rest of this list only pertains to the latter.
2. Depending on land covenants of vacant land, find somewhere to rent or an RV to borrow for the next 4-5 months while we build.
3. Design house and master plan the farm/equestrian facilities so that the plans and permit applications are ready to go on the day we close on land.
3. Put almost everything in storage, and sell extra furniture (we will be downsizing from a house that is massively too big for us to something much more reasonable).
4. Move.
5. Build house.
6. Move again.
7. Build rest of farm.
8. Obtain horses & chickens. So friggin' excited about this one.
It will be an adventure, and I simply cannot wait to get started! Hurray!
After that shot though, we looked at each other and realized how much we had to get sorted out in the next 7 weeks! Thank goodness the buyers wanted a later closing date. Just how much do we have to sort out, you might ask? A lot. Here is a list off the top of my head.
Stuff to Sort Out:
1. Decide to buy existing farm or buy land and build. The rest of this list only pertains to the latter.
2. Depending on land covenants of vacant land, find somewhere to rent or an RV to borrow for the next 4-5 months while we build.
3. Design house and master plan the farm/equestrian facilities so that the plans and permit applications are ready to go on the day we close on land.
3. Put almost everything in storage, and sell extra furniture (we will be downsizing from a house that is massively too big for us to something much more reasonable).
4. Move.
5. Build house.
6. Move again.
7. Build rest of farm.
8. Obtain horses & chickens. So friggin' excited about this one.
It will be an adventure, and I simply cannot wait to get started! Hurray!
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