Let us Begin, Shall We?

Everything comes in steps… this is so true when building a home!  Originally, Mike and I tried to get a construction loan when we were looking at a different piece of property.  We wanted to purchase this piece rather quickly so we could get it up and weather tight before snow flew.  With the bank we were going through (which came highly recommended but we had a horrible experience with) it just wasn’t going to happen.  We got our deposit back on the land we were trying to purchase through the bank and went on our merry way since it seemed impossible to get a quick loan, and even a land loan at that point since it was going to take MONTHS to get!

So that’s when we found out about the land we just purchased.  We were lucky and knew the guy that was selling the piece and was willing to do seller financing on it.  No banks, but still a process.

Really, it’s a smart thing to try to buy the land first, sit on it for a while, and then roll it into a construction loan.  Our meeting on Friday went really well.  We went to our own bank this time and we had been prepared with questions and information for the woman that met with us.  She told us that we really did our homework!  One of our biggest concerns is whether we could use the land as collateral, and she assured us that we could.  It’s interesting how construction loans work- and here’s why.

No matter what bank you go to, their construction loan program is different.  Some will give you 90% of the value of the home, some will give you 80%, and some will even give you less.  They require a lot of information up front before they give you the actual loan.  For instance, we need to get together the material list (which we have already, just not in their format), a septic approval, and a building permit, my last pay stub, and at least two years of tax information.  All simple things really, but let’s put this into perspective.

Mike and I have spent hours putting together our material list and getting prices on the materials and all that good stuff.  I can’t tell you how many hours we have spent doing this already.  Even though we have this to start, it may change.  For instance, the town in which we are building does not have their own building inspector so they require us to get an approval from the state on energy related things.  We were going through this energy sheet last night and have had to change a few things already due to U-ratings or R-values (U-ratings seem to be related to your doors and windows and the energy efficiency of these and R-Values are your insulation and the like).  Reading through some of their requirements gave us both a bit of a startle.  I’m not saying that we weren’t creating an energy efficient home, but some of their rules did seem a bit silly.  But, we have to abide by the code- AND we have to fill this form out and get approval before we can get a building permit. 

The beginning stages are such a process!  So in order for us to get the septic design approval, we need to get into our land- but in order to get into our land, we need to get the first portion of the driveway put in and have the lot cleared so the septic designer can dig and do a perc test.  In order to get the first portion of the driveway put in, we have to go for a driveway permit, which may also require a State of NH wetlands crossing approval, depending on what the road agent says.  The “wetlands” on our land isn’t really wetlands either though- it’s seasonal run-off.  It would be silly to not put a culvert in for something that gets wet like it is currently for a couple months out of the year.

So where do we start?!

Well, we found the most important pins on our land yesterday, which is a good start… and I have a call in to the Road Agent for the town in hopes that he can meet with Mike so him and Mike can discuss the driveway and the plans thereof so we can skip the extra time it will take to get approval from the state.  Hopefully from there we can have Mike’s Cousin draw the design for the driveway and we can submit that to the town with the check for the permit and get that approved.  Once that’s approved then at least the ball gets rolling.

In the meantime, we’re trying to fill out the energy efficiency form (which has me confused because of the hieroglyphic like lingo, but at least Mike knows what most of the items on the list mean) and try to get that approved so we can add that to the building permit and submit that once we get the septic stuff done.

It’s all a process… but at least we are starting now so we can hope that the house could potentially be completed by Thanksgiving. It would be so nice because I want Thanksgiving at my house this year!! 

Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.  - Henry David Thoreau