Cheyenne here! This is a post I have not been excited to share. I have been dreading it actually. My husband and I decided not to build our house, at least not for another year or so. I held off sharing this with all of you because at first I was really angry about it all. I don’t consider myself an angry person; in fact, I have been told on several occasions that I am annoyingly optimistic. But I really was having a tough time being optimistic at this point in our home building journey and did not feel like this was something I could talk about without being a downer. I wanted to wait and share our news and update all of you once we had a plan in place and I am excited to say that we do!
Reasons we are Not Building our House: Cost of Building Materials
People trying to build right now or even renovate, have felt the sting that increased materials prices, specifically lumber, are causing. Our situation is no different, and this ultimately is the reason we are unable to build our house this year.
Twenty-twenty was supposed to be the year we started to build our forever home on our family property, HartLand. When our initial quote came back much higher than expected this past fall, we decided our only option was to wait it out and try again in the spring of 2021. Spring has come and gone, and unfortunately, I have to say prices did not only not go down, but have continued to increase.
After we got the last quote from our builder a few weeks ago, my husband, Kyle and I felt completely defeated because it was even higher than the quote we received in the fall. We felt like we were running out of options. If you remember, before we decided to build our house, we had planned to purchase a house together. When that option dissipated, Monica generously offered up the idea that we build a house on her and her husband Paul’s new piece of property. We graciously accepted, and Monica and Paul spearheaded the subdivision and permit process for us. The time between our decision to purchase that other house and right now is about 3.5 years, so we have been waiting for what feels like forever to have a home that is just ours. The mantra I tell myself almost daily is: “Good things come to those who wait.” I sure do hope that is right!
What are we Planning Now?
So what is our next step since we are not building this year? We thought very hard about what the logical (and financially sound) thing to do is while we wait for prices to drop. We own our land, we have a well, and pretty much every type of permit I think someone in the state of Pennsylvania can have as a landowner. So, walking away and buying another house was not an option. Our only real option is to continue to wait and pray that prices come back to normal for us. So, while we wait, we will be moving into a studio apartment.
What is our Next Project in the Meantime?
We are building a pole barn! Because we already own the land, our house and driveway driveway placement is mapped out, our well is drilled, and we are not investing in building our house this year, we decided to flip-flop the order we planned to build out our homestead and are starting with our barn! We had always known we wanted to have a separate barn/garage for additional storage just as Monica has at her Four Gables home. We hope to one day have a fourwheeler, Can-Am or maybe a boat and will need ample space to store everything. So, a barn will be the perfect place to start! We are working with a great local company to build our barn and are scheduled to start and finish the barn in September 2021.
Pole Barn Inspiration
The Silver Lining to All of This Waiting
As I mentioned above, I like to look at things with optimism and after I’ve had time to process all of this, I have found the benefits of waiting to build our house and truly do feel good about our decision. I wanted to share these incase any of you are in a similar situation right now and need help finding your silver linings.
- We will get more for our money by waiting. With higher prices right now, we were going to have to cut things we wanted to make it all work. Hopefully now, we will be able to have some of the upgrades we wanted when the time comes.
- We have more time to save. Though we are building the barn, it will cost significantly less than what we would be paying for our house right now. We can continue to save and put that money towards our dream home.
- We will get to live (alone) together much sooner than expected. Though our time living with my mom-in-law Monica has been great and something I am truly grateful for, it will be incredibly exciting to finally have a place for just Kyle and I to have together.
- Lastly, and most importantly, we have even more time to plan out the details, colors, finishes, and accessories for our home and I cannot wait to share them with you when the time comes.
Thank you all so much for following along and being with us during this process!
Until next time…