MLB and I went to a wedding this past Saturday. It was a nice wedding with a nice reception, but that's not the reason for this post. While having a lovely discussion with a couple that runs in MLB's crowd, I learned of a plot of land for sale about 40 miles away from the current YFNN homestead.
In the past, MLB and I have discussed building a house in the future on a 2-5 acre plot, within 30 minutes of downtown big-city, but it's never really gone anywhere. Mostly because it's a lot of work to find a plot like that around here, we can’t buy it with cash at this particular moment in time, and neither of us are all that committed to it right now.
However, This particular plot sounds like it's a pretty solid fit for our future homestead goals. It's about two acres of grassy land seated about 20 miles outside of the downtown of our large city. It's just outside the city limits of a nearby upscale suburb, has easy access to major highways, is within the limits of city water and sewer, and in a good school district. The plot is free of structures, except for a recently built (1998 construction) two-story 1400 square-foot 4-car garage with finished second floor. We're certainly not ready to build yet, but the property seems to be listed at a very good price, and from what we've found out, the seller is motivated (divorce, etc.).
Now, re-read that last paragraph. Did you catch the "important to YFNN" part? Those that know me certainly did.
Let me be a little more descriptive regarding the "important to YFNN" part.
This structure is a two-door, 1400 square-foot 4-car garage already supplied with 100-amp electric service, city water and sewer, and equipped with heating and cooling. The lower level's got a slab concrete floor with floor drains, and is currently in use as a woodworking shop for the current owner. The second floor is fully finished with a full bath and living area.
…
Oh baby.
…
So, that leaves me in a bit of a quandary. Do MLB and I make a grab for this property even though we're not financially prepared (we can't buy it outright, but I'm pretty sure we can afford it fairly easily), and we're not ready to build a house, yet? Do we want to take on additional property taxes, even though we won't really be using the property in the next couple of years? Do we even want to consider such a impulsive decision?
To be honest, MLB and I haven't even discussed this thoroughly yet. She may be just going along with it for right now, letting me fret and calculate and analyze and estimate for a while. In her mind, this may be completely wrong for our long term plans.
I'm a firm believer in collecting data, analyzing what you collect, planning, meticulously preparing, and slowly making decisions based on sound analysis and logic. But, man oh man, do my knees ever get weak at the idea of a huge climate-controlled garage and shop with a second floor office, room for an automotive lift, and enough space between me and the neighbors to fire up a racecar or loud motorcycle in the middle of the night.
My analytical and painstakingly-detailed inner nerd is battling with my gasoline-powered, chest-thumping inner manly-man!
Help!
YFNN
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1 comment:
You absolutely need to jump on this. This sounds like a DREAM property and it won't get any cheaper. Even if you consider this as an investment, you're still not out a thing because you can resell. And you are currently in a fantastic BUYER'S market. You've GOTTA do this! It'll never be less expensive than it is right now and if you're committed to the area, GO FOR IT!
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