David and Lisa, I've been following your discussion threads for months in preparation for starting my own house. You have both provided a wealth of information, insight, and inspiration. Thanks for all of the time and effort that you put into this forum. Del in Norcross, GA

Tim's Forum Posts: 28
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Closed on Property

Posted to Lewis-Chapel-House by Tim in Dunlap, TN on 6/25/2007

Well we can finally call the land ours. It took forever to get the final survey, but we now have clearly defined property boundaries and can see exactly what we have.

Going with Farm Credit was the best decision I ever made. I only had to put 15% down, I didn't provide any documentation, got a 7% interest rate on 30 years, and have a $24,000 loan with a payment of $170 a month. I plan to be as open as I can about my budget and situation in order to help other owner-builders in a similar situation.

I am also currently working on my first ICF build in order to complete the requirements of my certification. The job belongs to an owner-builder who has $90,000 budgeted for the entire 2,000 sq ft living area build. The ICF walls are almost up and they have spent $13,500 and are under budget. I am very encouraged by their $45 sq ft cost and think I can at least keep my project around my original $75 sq ft cost.

Land Auction

Posted to Lewis-Chapel-House by Tim in Dunlap, TN on 5/5/2007

I attended my first land auction today and ended up buying a piece of property at a really good deal. I actually went to buy another so had not even bothered to look at any other lots. Well the first bid for the first lot of the buyer's choice was $5,350 per acre and the got took a large tract opposite the one I wanted. So, I began to get excited that I was going to be able to score a nice five-acre tract for much less if I would just be patient and let the frenzy die at the beginning. Well on the second round guess which lot sold, yep, lot number 1. The one that I had come to buy. Well my wife and I sat there in disbelief and decided that we would just go ahead and leave since we didn't know about any other lot.

This is when it got kind of weird. My wife, Sandra, had been bitten by the bidding bug and just started bidding with no intent of buying anything but getting something at a low price. Well about the sixth round it happened. This man had bid $4,300 per acre and it wasn't moving. My wife said bid so I did. Next thing I know we were bidding back and forth and I said $5,100 and then it stopped. They called the bidding and there we sat with no lot in mind. Sandra pointed to lot 29, and I heard myself say "bidder seven takes lot 29." After the auction we rode to lot 29 to find that we had just purchased the flattest lot on the entire site. We were ecstatic about our good fortune.

So here we are, unless someone comes along today to buy the entire thing for $1.7 million; we now have our five-acre tract. The savings at which we got it is astounding. I figured we have already saved over $30,000 after getting the 5.17 acres for $26,367. This savings will go a very long way in building equity in our house. Sandra said that the savings on land costs were going to buy her swimming pool. Pictures to follow.