Follow along as I build and decorate my house!

It closed!

The lot I purchased is .4 acres. The back portion was once part of an orchard or farm and was cleared for agriculture decades and decades ago. The stones cleared from the field make a lovely pile in what will eventually be my front yard. The front portion of the lot is old growth forest with several very large maples. We are having to cut down about a quarter of it for the driveway, which is breaking my heart… but hopefully I’ll be replacing some of the trees soon. 

The house is a small modular home which will be built in Indiana and driven up early this summer. It’s 1156 square feet and has two bedrooms and two bathrooms. I’ll put up a floorplan in a moment. There will be a one car garage and a small patio out the sliding door.

In the fall of 2019, I bought a lot here in lower northern Michigan. I’ve been attempting to close a Rural Development construction loan ever since. I had not anticipated facing a lockdown, intermittent lack of government funds, rising prices, and multiple appraisals. But it has finally closed, and we will begin to build my house. Soon. I hope.

The living room is 24’ x 14’. Which sounds enormous but I think it’s going to be just right. I considered putting my office in the second bedroom but, I had a two-bedroom condo in Long Beach for many years. I used the second bedroom as a TV room/office. When I sold the apartment, I realized I’d spent most of my time in a very small part of the place. I want to use as much of this house as I can, therefore, I’m putting my office at one end of the living room. You’ll see how this works out down the road.

The loan I’ve gotten is for low-income buyers. Low interest, no PMI and a possible subsidy. That, and the low-ish cost of the house are making this affordable. I’ll still have to cut corners wherever I can. I’ve already started acquiring things I’ll need so that I get as many bargains as possible… but more on that later.