A decision has been made, kind of.

The last 4 months have been really great. In October I paid off my last debt, business has been slowly picking up, Wayne work is actually running on a full schedule, (not typical for construction during this season) and in the beginning of March I am scheduled to hit my 5 month emergency fund. Pretty exciting!

This winter we have still been discussing our future living arrangements. We have looked at a few houses. I have been on RMLS multiple times a week to see if I can find something that strikes my interest. I have learned that I am a new construction type of woman. I love fresh new homes, up to date fixtures, cabinets, lots of room and big closets. I realized that the most renovating I would want to do it painting, a weekend tile or backsplash project, decorating and finishing touches. Wayne dreams of acreage, a shop and room away from neighbors.

Right now, we cannot afford our dreams combined together. We keep finding that we have to compromise in some way. Obviously that happens, it's normal. But we don't really want to move then end up settling with something we aren't happy with, or with something that is going to be a major fixer and a money pit.

I made a discovery last week and it has our wheels turning.

Here is our ultimate dream.

A 1400-1800sqft house with a two car garage, single level. An ADU on the property which would include a two car garage (Wayne's shop) and single bedroom apartment above it. (We plan on Wayne's mother living with us down the road.) All of this on 2+ acres.

I was browsing on RMLS at raw land and found a few that we would be interested. The top two are around 5 acres, one is in an optimal location for us. We drove passed the lot and it is a little too close to other neighbors, it is slopped and the property doesn't look like it is very usable. There would be A LOT of clearing and excavation.

The second is a little further way, is larger, flat, partially cleared, and has water, power and septic installed but unsure of how much maintenance it needs.

Then I found this!

This would be a perfect ADU. It is super affordable. We could build this first, live on the property for 2-3 years while we save to build our single family home. 

We are running with this idea. We have contacted our selling and buying realtors and are just starting the financing process. Even if these two pieces of raw land don't end up working out we are happy that we officially have a plan and goal that we can save and follow through with. We can always wait for another piece of raw land to come along if we decided that location is more desirable for us. In the end, this will be our dream home, forever home. 

Now that we have a plan and have figured out how we are going to reach our dream I am feeling more content. Saving and planning our future will be more fun, because we know where we are headed next.