"The" Piece

After months of searching, I finally found a nice lot. Its just under 4 acres, very wooded, within 25 minutes from my work, within my price-range and on a really nice quiet street. It has its troubles (150 foot vegetative buffer on the front and one side), so I have a lot of work ahead of me, but I am so excited!!! I am so much closer to owning my own home!!!

However wonderful this is, now the work begins...

Busted Lot #4

Lot 4:  This one is the saddest yet.  I found a 5.05 acre slopping wooded lot on South Pond road in Winslow, ME.  I fell so in love with this site. I took a ton of pictures, already started planning where my house was going to go, how much I was going to offer...  

During all my excitement, however, the man across the street came over to warn me about a small (actually large) issue about the land.  Turns out the former owner was an idiot!!!  He owned some type of construction company and instead of being honest and environmentally conscious, he potentially destroyed the perfect lot.  

When I first walked the property, I saw all sorts of junk and debris all over the place.  It's a bank owned property, so I knew that if I were to purchase it, I'd have a little bit of cleaning up to do, but that was okay.  The peak of the hill was already clear and waiting for my house design.  The wind was blowing and the view toward the back of the property was beautiful.  And when I followed the path to the back end, I noticed that a very secluded and gorgeous field opens up and a small part it was included in the 5.05 acres.  I was ready to sign papers.  Even after the neighbor told me about the previous owner, I figured, how could it go wrong?  This is it!

As the post title states, this was another busted lot however.  The previous owner, for some stupid reason, decided to dump left over construction debris on a small section of the property instead of paying a small fee to properly dispose of the materials.  I took pictures and measured the dump site so that I could discuss the issue with my father and the local law code enforcement officer, but thought all was well.  I'll be able to fix it and make this the best site for my home.

However, after much research and discussion, it turns out that purchasing this property would put me financially in the worst position.  The law code enforcement officer told me that I had to get an environmental assessment ($1200) and have all the material dug up and hauled away.  If its non-toxic and just 2x4's with some nails, it would only cost the price of renting a backhoe and a haul of gravel to fill in the site.  It would cost a bit for my small salary, but I could negotiate the price with the bank and knock it off the cost.  At this point, I was still feeling pretty good.

After speaking to an engineer and environmental guy, it turns out I might get stuck with a huge financial burden.  If the previous owner dumped old carpet and old sheet-rock, I would have to haul the materials to a dump in Norridgewalk and they charge a pretty penny to dispose of the material.  This is probably why the owner didn't do it himself.  My dad used my measurements to figure out how much material we might have to dump and it could run into the thousands.  I still thought it would be okay.  How could someone dump that kind of stuff on his own land?  However, after looking again and taking more pictures, I found lots of metal scraps, old carpet pieces and plastics.  Quite the cleanup costs.

Even after the cost of the cleanup, I might still not be out of the woods.  All that material being there for as long as it has, I may never be able to get good water and soil samples.  The chemicals could have already leeched into the surrounding areas and the site might be unbuildable and later unsell-able if need be.  And the bank is selling "as is" and taking no claim to anything.  "Unknown...unknown...unknown"  is written all over the real-estate paperwork.  Isn't that illegal?  Its clearly known to the town, the code enforcement officer and all the neighbors.  If it wasn't for the guy across the street, I would never have know, purchased the property and have been stuck with this mess.  I hate the idea of suing, but I would have made the biggest stink to get my money back.  ALL my money!  There should be a law against selling "as is" in this type of situation.  Maybe there is and just need to find it.  

Anyway, back to square one in the property search.

The Back field.

The possible house site and the top of the hill.

What a shame!!! : (

Still Planning

Wow, its been a while.  No, I haven't stopped planning.  I still want that perfect house one the perfect piece of land that fits perfectly into my small single-person budget.  "The Perfect Home"  I know there really isn't such a thing as perfect, but I have my hopes and dreams.

Since September 2008, I have been searching the neighboring towns for the lot, the lot.  I had a few pieces that almost panned out, but I kept running into issues.

Busted lots:

Lot 1:  A small 2 acre lot on Bog Road in Vassalboro, Maine.  It looked perfect.  It was a slopping wooded lot on a bend in the road.  The neighbors were out of sight behind the trees, the school was in walking distance and the lot across the way was an open field.  I thought it was heaven until it was purchased out from under me.  I was so upset and almost cried.  However, it was some force larger then me looking out for my interests.  As it turns out, the lot and surrounding areas has bad water, contaminated even.  Glad I didn't go with that.

Lot 2: Found another perfect lot on Pattee Pond Road in Winslow, Maine.  I was so excited.  Dead end street, no sign of neighbors, and 6 acres.  While it was lots of land at a good price, I knew that the back side of the property was all wetland.  I was okay with that as it insured that I would have little to no neighbors.  The lot across the street was also for sale, but purchased out from under me.  Again I was upset, but wanted the 6 acre lot instead.  Then I found out that the best part of the land, was not a part of the 6 acres.  How crappy.  Thats what I get for looking at land under 4-5 feet of snow.

Lot 3:  This lot was a little out of the way, but I found a really cute 3 acre lot at the very end of the Rock Garden Estates drive in Belgrade, Maine.  The moment I drove in I was in love with the place.  There was already about seven houses in the estate, but they were all so beautiful.  It was such a well kept estate that I was immediately excited.  However, after the initial excitement wore off, I realized how intimidated I was.  The estate was for rich families with 2.5 kids, a golden retriever and they all took turns hosting the monthly BBQ or holiday party.  The estate fees were not that bad, but with my single-person salary, it meant PB&J's for two meals a day, 5 days a week or no showtime.  It was on the wrong side of town anyway, so I decided to keep looking.

Idea Stage

For as long as I can remember, I have been planning and designing my own house. It has always been a dream, but as I get older and my financial stability gets better, I have come to realize that it is actually possible. As a single individual with a very small income, I might actually be able to afford to buy a small piece of land, then design and build my own house. It technically won’t be mine until 30 years after the initial loan and everything is paid off to the bank, but it will feel like mine, and that’s the important thing.

I have been searching the internet for sites that will help me in this process, but haven't been very successful. Everything I find is so general and not very helpful, so for future home dreamers, I hope this blog will be helpful to you. As my project progresses, I hope to publish every little detail. For now, it is just a dream so this entry is very short, but as the dream slowly dissolves to reality, I will keep you posted.