Can We Afford This?

Yesterday we talked to the bank and to our architect. And so we move on to a subject close to my heart and soul. Money. You'll probably get sick of reading about it long before I tire of talking about it. Our architect wisely said that I must consider the quality as well as the cost. My partner agreed - arguing with that annoying common sense she inherited from her Germanic grand-parents - that otherwise we might as well live in a double-wide trailer. Hmmm, this idea has merit. But 28 years of marriage has taught me there are times when its best just to go with the flow. Except in this case someone has to be the financial sea-anchor to my wife and our architect's grand vision. So I volunteer.

Our goal is to maintain the historic style of the property. On a budget. Our first idea is to de-construct the old barn and re-use the siding, which is one-inch thick long-leaf pine, to clad a metal building that will house the workshop and a small apartment giving us temporary accomodation during the project. We want to replicate the shape of the old barn and so maintain the historic ambiance of this old homestead. Well that's the idea.

But by the time we got through this and all of our other ideas with our architect, I had a distinct feeling that we had bitten off more than we could chew. There is a good case for doing this bit by bit as we can afford it, but for God's sake I am now 62 and don't want to see the final touches to our dream being made from my death bed.              
                               
Money don't get everything it's true, What it don't get I can't use. (The Beatles).

A New Beginning?

It seemed like a good idea at the time. We were ready to get out of the city and wanted to start a business based on my passion for building furtniture. What better than to buy a some acerage in the country where we could live with a bigger workshop and perhaps a gallery that would feature crafts from a range of artisans. We both sorta fell in love with the first place we visited. Sorta? Well behind a very small 100-year old farmhouse clad with vinyl siding; an ugly above-ground outdoor pool; abandonded tractors and farm implements along with a smattering of outbuildings on the brink of falling down, it did have its charm. Sorta. What we did fall in love with was the gentle rolling hills that reminded me of my native England, a stand of live oak trees that are somewhere between120 and 200 years and a strong feeling that this old, tired homestead needed some TLC. And so, after looking at a lot of other properties we studied the "comps", submitted our offer and, to cut a long story short, today we have a contract on a 32-acre property in central Texas.

So begins our story. Appraisals, surveys, decisions, financing, architects, decisions, builders, relationships, decisions, decisions, decisions. It's going to be an exciting, challenging journey.