How To Plan a House

The title of this blog is Simplify my Life, but it seems like life is anything but simple these days. We're in the process of planning and building a house, and hope to get this done by the end of the year. My parents want to give my sisters and I each a house lot on their farm. I'm the first to try and do this, as my younger sisters are not ready to settle in just yet.

There's a whole lot to do here. Here's a very basic outline of the steps we think we'll need to get done:

1. Choose an area where we want to build (done)
2. Have that area surveyed and divided
3. Obtain that lot from my parents (either nominal sale or gift)
4. Inquire and start the process of bringing electricity and telephone to the lot
5. Select a house plan (We're going modular)
6. Get a construction loan
7. Get the lot ready - foundation, septic, well, driveway, etc
8. Have the House delivered and move in

We got step two put into action this week, as we've been interviewing surveyors and getting proposals on getting the lot done. One of the engineering firms we talked to was someone that a friend of the family had used several times in the past, was pleased with them, and they also came in a full $1500 less than the next firm's price. We ensured that all the proposals contained the same work and went with this firm. We had to send a 50% deposit to them, which was mailed this Monday and pretty much wiped out one of my savings accounts (ING Direct).

We'll try to keep you posted on the process!