When I made the decision to move back to the region full-time from Texas, I was torn. Should I be practical and buy a townhouse in Fargo or Moorhead where I didn't have the upkeep to worry about? Or how about an old farmhouse in the country, where I could admire the architecture of the house but would have to deal with ancient plumbing and electrical?
In the end, I let my dream be my guide. My dream was pretty simple. I wanted a house in the woods with backyard chickens and a big garden. The chickens narrowed the field a lot after I did some homework. Dallas and Fort Worth Texas both allow backyard chickens in the city limits, so I assumed that the small town I was leaning towards settling in (Detroit Lakes) would too. One call to the courthouse told me that no, chickens were not allowed in the city, or in the entire county for that matter, unless the property was zoned agricultural. My views on that can be another blog post entirely.
I kept looking. The 2-acres just outside of town were great, but it was zoned residential. And then I happened on a 5-acre, mostly wooded plot 5 minutes outside of town. Mature maple, oak, birch, and aspen grew on rolling hills, and wild raspberries were thick. And the best part? It was zoned agricultural, so chickens were possible.
I decided to build my dream home. Little did I know what I was getting into. So if you decide to build, keep these thoughts in mind.
Do you have a plan? If you live in a metropolitan area, your builder probably has stock plans to choose from. My builder was completely custom, meaning if I drew something on the back of a napkin, he'd build it. Are you thinking about a one story house? Two story? Multi-level? There are lots of free house plans on the internet to get you started.
How confident are you when it comes to design? In my case, I was responsible for choosing everything that went into and on my house. Everything. The color, style, materials of the siding and the roof; do I want a pillar in the entryway? What flooring - tile, wood, carpet, cork? What style doors? Painted or natural wood? And don't forget the door knobs, light fixtures, countertops, kitchen design, and even where should electrical outlets be. If you don't feel confident, you'll end up with a nice house, but probably a little on the safe side. Hire an interior designer if you're unsure.
What's your budget? The cost that a builder will give you up front is very likely to increase as the project goes on. For example, halfway through the project I decided to go with geothermal for my heating and cooling. It's a proven technology, saves about a third of your costs for the rest of your life, and there's a nice federal tax credit for it this year. But it added $44,000 to my budget! I'm getting about a third of that back on my taxes this year, but it's still a big number. Make sure that you're working with a bank that can tell you up front what you qualify for, and try to put at least 20% down to avoid Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI).
In the end, I'm happy with what I did. I wish I would have opted for tankless water heaters, since it takes a few minutes to get hot water to the other end of the house, but that's a small detail. I have a killer view from my home office of the woods, where big fluffy snowflakes are right now floating through the aspen branches. And this spring I'll work on the chickens and the garden part of my dream.
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