Hi everyone...in case anyone ever checks this blog, we spent the weekend living someone else's dream:
www.lostrivermodern.com
It is the coolest cabin ever in West Virginia. It is about 2.5 hours from DC and totally prefab mid century happiness. I would highly recommend checking it out. The company that produced it is called Res4.
They kept a blog chronicling their quest for their prefab dream here:
http://aprefabproject.blogspot.com/
Enjoy.
Nicole
So, I just stopped by to check out the blog again. We still want a Wee, but reality set it: student loans and the high cost of living in DC. Maybe we will move and then can get a wee then. Who knows. Thanks for everyone's support.
If you would like to read more about other random topics stop by my other blog:
www.schreibtischdc.blogspot.com
So, we have not posted since the 1st...But that is not necessarily a bad thing. We re-assessed our commitment to the wee. And we took Brent's mom and step-dad out to our most favored land.
Good news:
We were reinvigorated by how cool Carol and John thought the land was...lots of potential there.
Bad news:
We might have to complete the wee project on a slightly longer time plan.
Because we have student loan debt, buying the wee all at once might not make sense. So, we are thinking more in phases:
Phase 1
Buy Land
Phase 2
Design Wee
Phase 3
Install septic
Phase 4
Wee Delivery
I know I need to put up a new poll.
Thanks for keeping the faith.
So Brent's parents are coming this weekend and we will head out to look at the land...but we are definitely having some weeHesitation. I love the wee. Brent loves the wee. But are we ready for a wee? Now that we feel like we have found the land, we are having the real conversations about the wee and how it would affect our lives...How often would we really go out there?
In other news, our friend Pam spent some fun links:
http://www.resourcesforlife.com/groups/smallhousesociety/
A wee competitor...but we all know the wee is WAY cooler!
http://www.jothouse.com/
Please feel free to comment!
So I called a few real estate agents about land in Shawnee Land where we saw that land with Grammy last weekend.
I get an email today from the "lender" they wanted to set us up with BEFORE I got the information about the land for sale. I was hot...please people, we need land BEFORE we can get a lender.
The agent sent us the land list straight away after I sent that scathing email. We have 14 lots to pick from ranging in size from .25 acres to 3 acres. Click here to check out the land with pictures.
I know everyone is waiting for a new poll...I will post one before the week is out.
We had a visitor this weekend: fair warning to those who visit, we go weeLand hunting almost every weekend and especially when the weather is beautiful. We found some land that we really like not too far from DC. There is a great view, but the land is more expensive than our budget. For many reasons, especially the re-sale value, we are thinking about this land. I am going to make some calls tomorrow and have some agents email me more info!
I think we are a weeBit closer.
Big day in weewantawee land! I got a call from the journalist today! We chatted for sometime about why we want a wee, what we do, how we found the wees, what my feelings about the weeArchitecture were...fun stuff...
At some point I mentioned that I loved all things miniature. She asked me to get her some more examples. Then when put on the spot, I could think of nothing. Rather than thinking of Mini Coopers or small glasses, I sit there stumped. She then asks if I like doll houses. "NO...no...um..." I should have shouted over to my office mate for some ideas since he listens to me go on and on about mini-things all of the time. But it was fun talking to her and the article should come out in the beginning of May!
We got more information about that land in WV today. We have talked a lot more about the weeHouse logistics in the last few days, and both agree that "location, location, location" has to be our motto. So we need to find the right land.
My co-worker, Jessica, had a rough day today. She wanted to see a post. Hence, my post.
We are moving forward with getting pre-qualified for the mortgage. I spoke to a friend of a friend who is a mortgage broker in Colorado. She thought the wee was the dreaded manufactured home. It is NOT. It is built to Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac standards and is therefore eligible for a conventional loan. We want to shop around a bit for the loan, but are having problems getting people to understand what a weeHouse is all about. The weePeople pointed us in a few different directions.
In land news: while working diligently I found some land only 1.5 hours from DC. It is on a mountain. I found it on Craigslist (click here to check it out). For those of you who don't know, Craigslist is a giant free web based classifieds section of what was formerly known as a newspaper. It is anonymous and we have both bought and sold things there. It is pretty cool.
The guy selling the land sent us this doodle of the land (click it for a bigger view). How cute is that? The ad on Craigslist was a bit deceptive though. We will see if Grammy wants to ride out to see the land this weekend.
Oh and one more BIG development...the blog might be featured in a newspaper!!! We will see what happens but the weePeople gave out our contact info! VERY FUN!
We decided that since it was monsooning outside to take a weekend off from hunting for land. I spoke to Pam, our agent in WV, and she is sending us some information about the one piece of land we liked. We also worked on getting pre-qualifed for a loan. So things are moving along...We also printed out a color weeHouse brochure to choose stuff for the wee. So fun. Can't wait to have people visit the wee on the weekend.
Turns out that the land that we really like is an expensive camping plot. You cannot put a septic system in...no matter how creative. And if you have no septic, then you can't get a well. None of these things bother us that much, but without the septic tank, we have no plan for our grey water. Grey water is water used by the home other than that water which is used in the toilet!
For my enviro-friends, we would need to get a NPDES permit!
Which is disappointing, but we will keep looking. We are also still considering the site we found with the septic already installed. That is a sad story...the husband and wife were going to build a cabin, and the wife died suddenly. That made me feel like we were making the right choice in getting the weeHouse sooner rather than later.
We also really like our real estate agent. Pam took us all around, which was a big help!
New news article about renting v. buying in the New York Times today. You can put in different information and figure out how long you need to stay in your house to make buying it worth it. Click the last sentence to go to that article.
We may have found the land. We went out yesterday to check out more land. The land is near the area of Paw Paw, WV. Love the name. It is right at 2 hours from DC, which we like. And the land is in a subdivision so it has electric and a paved road. All of the lots seem to be 2 acres large.
We saw a few pieces including one which already had a septic system in place. It is for sale for $24,500. We thought having a septic in place would be great. But then we ran into this other piece of land with a great view. Unfortunately, the land cannot have a septic tank on it. But the more we have thought this through, the more we really want to have the weeHouse off the grid. That would mean we would have solar panels, a well, and a septic tank. Along these lines, we also would like to have the more environmentally friendly composting toilet (click here for more information about these).
The land we really like would have to have a composting toilet because it did not pass a "perc" test.
The impediments to "going off the grid" thus far have been concerns with getting a loan. However, as my friend Mike Murphy pointed out: we are not asking for a lot of money and we have great credit, therefore we should be able to shop around to find a lender willing to give us money for the off the grid weeHouse.
And the best part about the land we really like, pictured above, is that they are asking only $8,500 for the land. I think we can negotiate like our friend Dave does...and get it for a reduced amount.
Very exciting weeHouse day.
I know everyone is surprised...we are going to look at more land tomorrow. The good news is that we are going with a real estate agent and looking at quite a few lots.
Click here for a link to see some of the land.
More news tomorrow.
I called quite a few real estate agents today looking for some land leads. This land thing is what is holding us back! Frustrating.
I also stumbled across this radio show of the designer of the weeHouse. His interview is a bit into the interview. The interviewer also talked to someone who bought a weeHouse. Some good insights into the process: we need a crane to put the wee in place!
So, we liked where this land was located. Only 20 minutes from the cute town of Cumberland, MD.
What we did not like was the fact that all of the neighbors had a) NO TRESPASSING/BEWARE OF DOG signs everywhere, b) a VERY scary dog ready to take on the car, and/or c) 12 cars in the driveway, 1.5 of which worked. So, the hunt continues. We have moved a way from the idea of the land needing to be in the woods. Perhaps out in the open, closer to the second photo might work. I am going to start calling some real estate agents to see what we can find. Unfortunately, we were not able to meet Virgil. He had a death in the family.
Keep voting for the house plan! If you can't vote, shoot me an email or leave a comment here and I can add your vote.
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.
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!
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.
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.
