The Quest for the Perfect Lot

During my AirBnB activities, we met two very nice ladies in Warren, both real estate agents themselves. When we causally mentioned that we were looking for a building lot (not really serious at that point), they pointed us to a lot on the market along East Warren Road. This particular one did not work out for us, but it woke our interest to get more serious. Our ideal lot would be in the order of 5 acres, slightly sloping with some woods in the back and enable some southern or westerly views. We first explored the Mad River Valley area. We then ventured to Waterbury, Moretown, Ferrisburgh, etc. We saw some nice lots, but nothing really satisfied the both of us completely. But our agent said not to worry, we will know when we find the right lot because "our heart will sing". And she was right! 

By late summer 2012, we already convinced ourselves that we still have to commute to Essex Junction for a while. The Mad River Valley, as nice as the area is, was simply too far out. So we looked into Chittenden County again, first Bolton and Underhill, then further north. One day, I dug up some listings of land in Westford. We made an appointment with the listing agent on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012 to check out the available lots.

It was a sunny, but windy day and we walked around the whole parcel of this small development of five building lots. It turned out that we fell in love with one of the lots (the first lot was already under contract). It is a 5 acre piece of land, with some woods and open meadow, the main exposure is facing west, the land is slightly sloping and bordered by a river below. In addition, there is a lot of common land around. Perfect!

Walking the building lot for the first time

Despite some initial noise concerns we went ahead and made an offer for the building lot. A slightly adjusted offer was then accepted by the seller. Of course there were a few hickups along the way (nothing is as simple as it should be). But with the help of our attorney and real estate agent, we could get the legal aspects clarified and the contract to be acceptable to both parties.

So we closed on the lot in November of 2012. We decided to use the lower tax rate for a building completion within two years. Let's hope we make it!

The Story Begins

Designing and building a home has been a dream of ours for the longest time. Not just a house, but a home where we feel comfortable, a place that fits our lifestyle, matches our ideals and simply works for us, and not the other way around.

I am not sure exactly when this desire started, so it must have been a long, long time ago...

For example, we had looked at a building lot in Hinesburg already in 2004. For various reasons, this did not work out. We decided to wait and the timeline ALWAYS seemed to be 5 or 10 years out. 

Building Lot in Hinesburg, August 2004

But when I worked as a freelance photographer for AirBnB in summer of  2012 and had the chance to see many nice homes in beautiful country settings, waiting even a few more years was not satisfying any more. Something had to be done about it. Now!

Building a custom home from scratch sounded like an expensive process. So besides casually looking at building lots, we also considered pre-loved homes that were for sale. We were very picky and only selected a few listings that sounded like a perfect match for us on paper. But when we actually looked at them, nothing seemed good enough. Not even the 80-10-10 rule as proposed by an agent was working for us (80% matches your preferences, 10% can be adjusted and 10% you just have to live with). We soon realized that the custom home route was the only way that would satisfy us. And so the quest for a "building lot that made our heart sing" started...

Almost everyone was telling us that building a house is a most stressful process, filled with a lot of conflicts between owner, builder, architect and all the other contractors. Supposedly nothing turns out exactly the way you had planned and you will certainly exceed your budget big time. So much for the theory.

We decided to approach this with enough planning time, enthusiasm, positive attitude and a certain degree of flexibility and try to make the best of it. We'll see in the end how this turns out. Wish us the best for this adventure!

We started this blog to document the planning, design and building process to share the experience with family and friends. We hope that you will join us in this journey.