rustbucketbingo
09-28-2006, 08:21 AM
Hello all!
Name's Joel. My wife, 15-month-old daughter and I currently rent the upstairs of an old farm house in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.
We've recently been sniffing out our options for purchasing a home and we stumbled upon a "fixer-upper" on 1.5 acres tucked back against the woods. We really want to stay in the immediate area but it seems nobody's ever selling land. (Well, aside from refugee-camp style, 1/4-acre lots in all the new subdivisions which we're avoiding like the plague)
So this place seemed like a good option. Plus, it's extremely affordable... like less than half of one of those quarter-acre lots... and it includes a house. (It would require a 30-year mortage,which we could hopefully refinance in a few years) After seeing the house, it was pretty clear that there wasn't any point in investing fixing it up... It's that ugly. Nonetheless, it's a house and would give us a roof, running water and heat while we slowly and resourcefully built another on the property, moved in and tore the "dump" down.
Then I somehow miraculously stumbled upon this place. Woah. So much like that last guy, my wife and I have logs on the brain.
Here's a little picture I threw together to give you a general idea of what I'm thinking. I won't purchase the property until I know for sure I can build on it. It seems like the space I've indicated is about the only place that's level enough and has enough clearance from the property line, aside from tearing down the barn thing (which I don't want to do because I want to store stuff in it, and work in it. Then maybe I'll tear it down.)
http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/9448/propertyts2.gif
I'm checking with the zoning board about the property next week.
I also plan on taking Steve and Ellsworth's class in November. I'd like to take the class before I put a contract on the property just so I'm a little more edjumicated about all this stuff. I have very little construction experience but I'm eagerly anticipating digging in.
Anybody know anything about getting a loan for building a log house? Is it typically pretty difficult? I imagine going to a lender and having them look at me in bewilderment when I drop the line, "Yeah, I need a loan so I can build my own log house."
Sorry I wrote so much... but at least I gave you a picture!
[/i]
Name's Joel. My wife, 15-month-old daughter and I currently rent the upstairs of an old farm house in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.
We've recently been sniffing out our options for purchasing a home and we stumbled upon a "fixer-upper" on 1.5 acres tucked back against the woods. We really want to stay in the immediate area but it seems nobody's ever selling land. (Well, aside from refugee-camp style, 1/4-acre lots in all the new subdivisions which we're avoiding like the plague)
So this place seemed like a good option. Plus, it's extremely affordable... like less than half of one of those quarter-acre lots... and it includes a house. (It would require a 30-year mortage,which we could hopefully refinance in a few years) After seeing the house, it was pretty clear that there wasn't any point in investing fixing it up... It's that ugly. Nonetheless, it's a house and would give us a roof, running water and heat while we slowly and resourcefully built another on the property, moved in and tore the "dump" down.
Then I somehow miraculously stumbled upon this place. Woah. So much like that last guy, my wife and I have logs on the brain.
Here's a little picture I threw together to give you a general idea of what I'm thinking. I won't purchase the property until I know for sure I can build on it. It seems like the space I've indicated is about the only place that's level enough and has enough clearance from the property line, aside from tearing down the barn thing (which I don't want to do because I want to store stuff in it, and work in it. Then maybe I'll tear it down.)
http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/9448/propertyts2.gif
I'm checking with the zoning board about the property next week.
I also plan on taking Steve and Ellsworth's class in November. I'd like to take the class before I put a contract on the property just so I'm a little more edjumicated about all this stuff. I have very little construction experience but I'm eagerly anticipating digging in.
Anybody know anything about getting a loan for building a log house? Is it typically pretty difficult? I imagine going to a lender and having them look at me in bewilderment when I drop the line, "Yeah, I need a loan so I can build my own log house."
Sorry I wrote so much... but at least I gave you a picture!
[/i]