Why we decided to build... on the same lot

When we bought our house on the lake a handful of years ago, we knew it was smaller than the house we were living in at the time, and we would need to live with less stuff – which was actually something we were okay with.  At the time, we were a family of 3, and really not sure if we would have any more kids.  When we bought the original house on the lake, we knew the windows and the septic system would need to be replaced in the near future.  Additionally, to fit our design style, the bathrooms and kitchen would need some updating down the road.  However, the location was unbeatable.  The lake.  The beach.  The views.  The country vibe.  It was exactly what we were looking for.

front of original house

Fast forward a few months after closing on the lake house to find out we were expecting another child!  Over the next couple years, we found ourselves bursting at the house seams as we accrued more stuff.  Plus, we found ourselves entertaining friends and family more, and we just needed more inside space to do so comfortably.

We started discussing what space we wanted, how we would use it, and where it would best fit with the current layout.  We came up with a game plan to push out an exterior wall and remove our deck so we could expand our family room and eating area (see pictures to the right). Once we had our plan, we started interviewing remodelers.  That’s when reality set in. Most contractors were worried about doing the addition with the original wood foundation under the house. The cost to add a few hundred square feet was WAY more than we thought.  Plus, adding in the cost of tying all the flooring and roof together, replacing the rest of the windows in the house, and a new septic since ours was starting to fail.  That didn’t include any unknowns that might come up... we just weren’t sure that was the best way to invest our money.  Also, that didn’t include the bathroom and kitchen updates we wanted to make down the road too.  Ugh... Back to square one.

Then one night, my husband (a Minnesota real estate agent) left his work computer open with the website of a custom home builder open on the screen. It was a builder he was suggesting to a client.  I started looking through the floor plans on their website and FELL IN LOVE with one.  My husband and I had talked about what we would want if we ever built a house, and it checked all our boxes.  When he got home that night, I was raving about the floor plan. He laughed, and said he looked at that one and loved it too.  We joked about what it would be like to build it, but how hard it would be to move off the lake.  I asked my husband what he knew about the builder – and he said they were legit.  Fast forward a few months, and we ran into the builder at a get together.  We were talking with him and his wife, and I felt like they were honest, good people.  I felt like they met my expectations in terms of what I was look for in a builder.  As we got in the car that night, I told my husband to call the builder and see what his remodel costs would be verses building the floor plan we liked.  

Before we knew it, the builder was out at our property giving us estimates and helping us brainstorm how we could do the project with our tight budget.  It obviously was more money to build new, but the cost of building new just seemed like the better investment.  It’s been scary to undertake such a big thing with a pandemic going on, but when something feels right, you just need to go with it and figure things out along the way.