wow

Ok, so today was not a bust, but we did not find the weeLand yet. That is ok.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune did a fun story about weeHouses. Check it out by clicking this sentence.

I will post some pics of the land we saw today tomorrow.

headed out to the weeLand

We will post pictures when we get back!

a wee break

We had a great time in Berlin. And now we are ready to throw ourselves into wee.

The Alchemy Architecture website added some new plans at the website!!! And there are pictures there.

Here are the links to a few layouts(use your mouse to click on the links to the houses):
1. weeMontana - of course, since we are from Montana, we LOVE this wee.
House Plan

2. Our favorite wee - the red one with the extra room upstairs.
House Plan

3. Another cute wee
House Plan

4. Our second most favored wee - This one is great!!!
House Plan

So this week's poll: Chose a wee!

The poll is on the right hand side again. Pick one!

more wee Answers

I chatted with the lender who has done some weeHouses before. His main message was that whatever we do with the house it needs to have "comparables" in the area. This means homes in the area that have similar features so they can loan you the proper amount of money. This means the composting toilet and solar panels are most likely out...or at the least cannot be our sole plumbing and electric sources. (I did bring up the fact that that makes it difficult to start using environmentally friendly alternatives, etc, etc.)

He also explained that weeHomes are not manufactured homes, because weeHomes are built to Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac standards, not HUD standards. HUD standards are a lot lower. The weeHouses are built to site standards such as BOCA or IRC.

The house needs to get a certificate of occupancy to get the loan, so that means the foundation
must meed the county guidelines.

We can get pre-qualified and he suggests we call him once we have found the land.

We won't be posting for the next few days, as we will be on vacation! See you when we get back!

Oh and here are two interesting articles about small houses and why buying a house is not always the best idea.

more weeLand

Land Prospect:
Found this place on the internet. 5 acres and the current price is $26,000. I spoke to the real estate agent selling the land, Virgil Twigg, and he said the land had been on the market for some time. What a great name! Hopefully, this will put us in a good bargaining position. The land is about three hours from DC and totally wooded.
Click here to see the google map of the site.

weeVideo

Watch a weeHouse get put in place!
Click here to see the Youtube video.

Answers to some of our questions

A few friends have already mentioned they want a wee too, which we are very excited about. I like being a vanguard!

The wee People are great. Not only did they check in on the blog, but they got right back to me with answers to the questions I sent them. Not all of the questions were sent because some of the questions were not appropriate for them.

Here are the answers, somewhat altered:
1. What is the definition of a “house” for tax and zoning purposes? Have any of your other customers had problems calling a weeHouse a house?

When a weeHouse is placed on its foundation, it legally becomes a piece of real estate, and for all intents and purposes is viewed as a site-built house.

2. What kind of foundations do wees have?

You can choose either a perimeter foundation, or a pier foundation for your weeHouse. The pier foundation tends to be the more economical option, but with a perimeter foundation you have the option to dig out a storage space, or even a full basement.

3. How do composting toilets work? What are the implications of using one?

Composting toilets are not standard in weeHouses. We would be happy to design one into your weeHouse, but the majority of the work happens as site preparation, not as something factory-installed. You can find a lot of information on composting toilets on the web, but the basic idea is that it uses little to no water and produces compost that can be used on a garden, etc. It's the route you'd want to take if you were looking into an "off-the-grid" weeHouse, or if you wanted to be especially environmentally sensitive.

4. How much electricity can the solar panels provide for the wee?

That depends on how many you have, and how much sun can reach them. You could potentially power your entire weeHouse this way.

5. Have other wee owners been able to convince homeowners associations that these are not manufactured/trailer homes? A lot of land we saw said no "manufactured homes." We assume this means no trailers.

You'd have to speak to the associations directly to get more information on this. You would want to be sure to have clarified this before you purchased the lot.

6. How much does transporting the wee to the location cost? Are there difficulties getting it to a remote location?

Delivery costs $7/mile. A weeHouse in the DC area would be shipped from our factory in central PA. Remoteness, in terms of distance, is not a big issue. What you need to watch out for are lots that aren't accessible for a crane and large truck, or heavily-wooded lots that would require significant clearing, which can be expensive.

7. How long does it take to build a wee?
We estimate 6-9 months from the time you sign the initial contract until the time when your module is delivered.

wee Adventure

Well, we headed out to the wilds of West Virginia. I noticed on the way that the google map I had did not show the same map as I remembered from the website. The google map was for Chestnut St and the listing said Chestnut Dr. In any event, we found a trailer park with small cabins, so that might have been the proper place.

What we learned today:
We would rather live a little further north than Augusta, WV.
We don't want to live in a trailer park...oh wait, we knew that already.

It was a lot of fun going out there and quite beautiful. We ended the day in Shepardstown, WV, which we both liked and thought was super cute.

We are looking forward to going further west in MD to check out this area that Pam keeps telling us about.

Here is our list of "new" questions:

What is the definition of a “house” for tax and zoning purposes? (E.g. minimum size, plumbing needed, electrical, heating, foundation specifications)? From: IRS, local government, and mortgage company

What kind of foundations do wees have?

How do composting toilets work? What are the implications of using one?

How much electricity can the solar panels provide for the wee?

How do you qualify for a construction to permanent loan? Does the lender require detailed plans? Can we get pre-qualified for a loan? How much?

How much does it cost to install a well and septic system?

What are the zoning restrictions in Jefferson and Berkeley counties, WV? Is there a way to look up housing covenants? Have other wee owners been able to convince homeowners associations that these are not manufactured/trailer homes?

What does the “no” after “vacation” mean on the real estate listings? If it means no vacation home, what are those restrictions?

How much does transporting the wee to the location cost? Are there difficulties getting it to a remote location?

How long does it take to build a wee?

How long has it taken from design to installation?

So, lots of questions. Will get the new poll up this week.

a weeLead on a piece of land

Found a promising piece of land today!

Description:
GREAT HUNTING/RECREATIONAL 1.148 ACRE TRACT, WOODED WITH HUNTING CABIN, ACCESS TO POND, FACILITIES/BATH HOUSE AND 8,000 ACRES OF PUBLIC STATE HUNTING LAND.
Location:
AUGUSTA, WV 26704
Price:
$20,000 and was built in 2005.

We need to find out more information about the land, etc...but this would be just great. We could already spend time out there and then keep the little cabin in place once the weeHouse is installed.

the weePeople

Big weeDay! I called Alchemy Architects because we wanted to find out if they were going to be exhibiting at any similar events to the CA BOOM show out in LA in a few weeks. We wanted to go not just to see the show but to also see Hai/Marika and Laura/Christian out there. Unfortunately it is the weekend after we get back from Berlin and the tickets are a little too spendy....

Well wouldn't you know, one of the architects answered the phone when I called. SO fun. I feel like a groupie. He even knew about the blog site. He made a guest posting adding some comments about the siding color poll.

He said that they would let me know when they were out on the east coast again so we could maybe meet up. He just put in a place in Pennsylvania and I asked if we could do a drive by...we will wait on that.

In any event, I was really excited to have talked to someone from the weeHouses...my office mate said I should go into selling them...ok well he really said I should go into selling miniatures.

Keep voting! Luckily red has moved ahead of orange...

wee thoughts

We need to get on the find a piece of land aspect of things.

Upon further discussion, Brent and I are really liking the red weeHouse to the left. It would sleep four and that might be a better option.

Another friend, Danni, mentioned that we should be concerned with snow removal. I need to ask the wee people about this. I think since the houses were born in Minnesota, we should be fine, but good to double check.

Our friends the Rutters are totally excited about the wee too, which is big fun. We are going to take a day trip to Deep Creek Lake to check out that area!

a wee Budget (very wee)

So, Brent's dad did some research about prefab homes and found a great website with much information. While I was playing around there, I found a site where you can post your adventures building a prefab house...hum.

But looking at the other blogs I found this great list (we all know how I love a list):

Budget
1. Land Cost
2. Structure Cost (the weeHouse itself)
3. Transport and Set (from the factory to your foundation)
4. Indirect/Soft Costs (drawings, permits, fees)
5. Sitework (including the all-important foundation)
6. Taxes (this is an expensive line item)

So, we need to look at these before going any further.

This is our rough Budget:
1. $15,000 for ~ 2 acres
2. Hum
3. Hum
4. Drawings= ~$1000, the rest=hum
5. hum
6. Not much..haha

So. Till later.