We have discovered that building a home is not a simple task. First we had our lot cleared & 17 tress removed. We learned that a contract is a very good thing! Our excavator tried to charge us extra for work we had already agreed on. I wrote him a check for the agreed amount and when he threatened to put a lien on the property I threatened to call a lawyer. We've never heard from him again. Next step, we knew what we wanted for our homes design (we have spent many years searching through house plan books) so first step was to get our design onto paper. Our plan designer (Builders Design Group) was wonderful! She had lots of helpful input and she made our idea happen on paper. Then came engineering the plans. The plan designer referred us to a great guy who had this done in no time. We we're then informed that Kitsap county building code was changing (more requirements= more $) and if we wanted to get in under the old code we had to submit for our permit quick.
We had plans, permits & the property but no contractor. We tried out 3 contractors before finding the right fit (& cost).
There have been many learning experiences in the last year. We didn't realize just how much goes into building a custom home, but we've taken our time, done our research, and prepared ourselves. And now its time to build! or at least take then next step in the building process.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
It's time to BUILD
When David & I first married we talked about one day building our home. We have gone through many house plan books and websites discussing what our dream home would be like. Even when we bought our first house in 2003 we knew it was temporary. We had a dream. Now this dream has by no means been a easy dream to believe in! We hoped that it would one day come true, but we had also prepared ourselves for the reality that it is a HUGE project that requires lots of time, money, and planning.
In 2008, we decided that our little home was much too little to hold Dave, me, & our 2 growing girls. It was time to make a decision. Do we just buy another house or do we follow our dream? We started looking for land and figured if we could find a lot that was exactly what we wanted then we would build, if now then we would buy.
Shopping for land is no easy task! We had our list of must's; it Must be in CK school for our girls, it MUST be big enough to have a yard, it MUST be in a good neighborhood. Dave also had "it MUST be able to have a basement", this was up for discussion of course. We looked at a TON of lots. Along the way we learned that while a septic is not a bad thing to have, above ground mound septics are super ugly & so not worth it :) Then one day I just happened to check for recent property listing & saw a lot that had just listed. It seemed to fit our must list so i drove over to check it out. It was PERFECT! I called Dave and told him he had to come look at the lot right away or I would be making an offer on my own. He looked, we loved it, made an offer & in April 2009 we became land owners.
We listed our house in May and it sold at asking price in 36 hours! We we're very lucky!
So now we have spent the last year & a half trying to turn our dream into reality.
In 2008, we decided that our little home was much too little to hold Dave, me, & our 2 growing girls. It was time to make a decision. Do we just buy another house or do we follow our dream? We started looking for land and figured if we could find a lot that was exactly what we wanted then we would build, if now then we would buy.
Shopping for land is no easy task! We had our list of must's; it Must be in CK school for our girls, it MUST be big enough to have a yard, it MUST be in a good neighborhood. Dave also had "it MUST be able to have a basement", this was up for discussion of course. We looked at a TON of lots. Along the way we learned that while a septic is not a bad thing to have, above ground mound septics are super ugly & so not worth it :) Then one day I just happened to check for recent property listing & saw a lot that had just listed. It seemed to fit our must list so i drove over to check it out. It was PERFECT! I called Dave and told him he had to come look at the lot right away or I would be making an offer on my own. He looked, we loved it, made an offer & in April 2009 we became land owners.
We listed our house in May and it sold at asking price in 36 hours! We we're very lucky!
So now we have spent the last year & a half trying to turn our dream into reality.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
I've finally done it! I've started a blog!
OK, I've finally done it. Starting a blog has been an item on my to do list for many years now so that I can share photos & updates with family & friends... but I've just never gotten around to it. But now its time to stop putting it off, So welcome to The Ramm Family Blog.
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