I know it’s been an awfully long time since I blogged last… I have never been disciplined at writing a diary like my mom and my grandmom were. I just get so distracted by everyday life that I seem to find it hard to sit and write on a consistant basis. HOWEVER, I am going to try to be better, but no promises.
Today’s topic is Getting Started.
So where does my new Rent House stand? Just to catch up, I bought four building lots late last year from the Shelby Co. (TN) Land Bank. This took a lot longer to do than I thought it would, but they are all mine now.
I designed a couple of houses just to make sure that I COULD design something that would fit on the weird lots with easements running through them before I put money on the table.
I finalized the house for lot 11 since it was going to be almost impossible to fit something great on it. I wanted a double garage but the buildable area of the lot was only 23′ wide, so there is only a single garage, so I plan to pour a double wide driveway out front so that someone can park in the garage and if there is another car involved, they don’t constantly need to move their car out of the drive way in order to let the other car out of the garage. Plus this is a neighborhood with lots of kids, so this will also give the kids a nice place to play (sidewalk chalk and all).
I’ve pulled a permit to begin construction.
There is lumber laying on the lot waiting for the ground to get a bit firmer (we’ve had a bit of rain lately) so that the foundation can be started and the plumber can do his initial thing.
We’ve got the steel for the foundation all bought, so once the plumber does his thing, my slab guys can get out there and hop to it! Can’t wait until the framing starts!
Three houses have recently been built about 10 -15 houses away from mine. They look a LOT like my house will look in that they were also very narrow lots (20′ wide footprint for the house). They too, have a single garage, but they chose to put more grass and only a single driveway. The subdivision has such narrow lots that there really isn’t a place to park a second car if not on the lot. But that’s their problem.
Of these three new homes, two have sold, and rather quickly too! The builder sold the first one last May and the second around September and the third one is almost finished, they just poured the driveway. Even though I’m not looking to sell mine, at least the comps for the bank (and my eventual mortgage) will be really nice given that there have been a lot of foreclosures in this subdivision in the last few years, these 3 new sales will help me greatly.
I’ll keep you posted as to how the construction progresses. Already a million questions from my builder about windows, cabinets, stained concrete floors, etc.
I’m terifyingly excited! Never done this before and want it to go well!
