Let's Talk About Houses

**I've been working on this post for quite a while.  Two months at least.  I started it while I was in the middle of the second Hunger Games book, and then I picked back up when I started the third (Which I've finished now and my review of the trilogy is soon to come).  I accidentally posted it at that point and quickly had to revert it to a draft because I wasn't finished.  I guess that didn't matter because it posted to those who follow my blog anyway, so I apologize for keeping some of you hanging!  Tyson is sick tonight so I have some time to sit down and pick up where I left off!** 

I'm not quite finished with The Hunger Games trilogy yet--two books down, one to go.  I'm enjoying the third but not hanging by a thread like I was with the first two.  That means I'm not dying to read with every spare minute I find in a day and in this moment I'm going to satiate that itch I've been having to blog.

If you've been dying to find out "where I've been" as a recent post falsely claimed to report, you're about to get the earful.  (eyeful?)

Let's start at the beginning.  When Tyson finished school in May of last year, we started looking for employment and housing and ultimately decided to move back to our hometown area.  The main reason being, it was the only place we could find a decent job.  The other reason being, my parents planned to go on a mission this year in April so as a help to them and also to our financial situation we made plans to move into their home while they were away.

The place we found to rent until that time was great for us.  A senior couple in my home ward offered it since their grandson and his family would be moving out the day before we needed to move in.  Talk about timing (or fate?).  It was a beyond-belief blessing since they asked only 1/3 of what any other rental properties in the area asked for rent. 

We moved in August 2010.  Winter was a little rough because the house didn't retain heat well but we made it work.  We anticipated the arrival of April so we could pack everything away in storage and settle into the home where I grew up.

Unfortunately, I received a phone call from my father a few months before that time, telling me their mission was off.  It kind of threw us for a loop, seeing as how that plan weighed heavily on our decision to move back home

We started considering our housing options.  Supply greatly underweighs demand in the housing market out here and any house within our price range worth looking at is gone within the day it's posted for sale.  It's pretty amazing actually.  We kept our eye on utahrealestate.com and called as soon as we saw anything we were interested in only to find it was already under contract. 

It didn't take long for us to decide building would be the way to go.  Especially since Tyson has construction experience and we could gain a significant amount of sweat equity.  We looked, and looked, and looked, and looked, and looked, and looked (get the picture?) at house plans but couldn't find anything that completely satisfied us.  Rather than settling for something we didn't love I drew our own plan and worked with a draftsman to make it official.

In the meantime, we were browsing the market for a lot to build on.  We found a few locations that we loved but either the size or price weren't right.  We knew we had free land on my family's farm but building there meant we couldn't sell it.  It meant staying there f.o.r.e.v.e.r.  We weren't sure we could commit to something like that right now.

But time kept passing and we were never able to find a lot that appeased us so we considered more and more the idea of building on the farm.  Six acres.  Free land.  Clean slate and plenty of space to do whatever we wanted.  Maybe we could/would stay there forever?  And if we couldn't/wouldn't, we could rent it out or possibly sell it to someone within the family?

The idea became more economically practical than any other so we decided to go for it.  I contacted the county to find out what we needed to do to get the six acres we wanted deeded to our name and learned there was a 5-step process: 1) Get the land surveyed and passed for a minor subdivision, 2)  Confirm that the lot size meets land use standards, 3) Explore the soil of the land, make sure ground water is no less than 6 feet below the surface, and pass a percolation test, 4) Purchase a well permit, 5) Receive public right-of-way access.  All five steps needed to be complete (not necessarily from 1 to 5) before the land could be deeded to our name, and the land had to be deeded to our name before we could break ground.

I made phone calls to contractors, surveyors, and analysts, asking for quotes and making appointments.  The figures started adding up real quick.  Let's just say, the land would have been free but it would have cost somewhere around $30,000 to get it prepped for construction.

We just bit the bullet and kept trekking on with our plans.  While I spent every spare minute planning flooring, cabinets, paint, lighting, etc., a surveyor completed the minor subdivision, I sent the application and payment to get our right-of-way permit, I worked with the Water Rights Division to get my well location documented and paid for, and we confirmed that the lot size met land use standards.  All we had to do was step #3 with the soil.  We did our own experimental perc test and found we could be assured we would pass.  Big relief.  Then Tyson took a backhoe out to dig the 10 foot exploration hole for the analyst to see the soil and he hit ground water at 2.5 feet.  Not good. Really excitement-shattering, actually.  There are ways to fix it but they are time consuming and add even greater expense.  Not to mention that this year is a considerably dry year so who's to know to what level ground water could/would rise during wet years?  We just decided we weren't willing to spend the money to get around it or risk what headache ground water could/would cause in the future.  We decided we wouldn't build on my family's farm.

So where?  We went back to looking at lots and still couldn't find anything that fit what we needed.  We sort of lost hope and decided we would just buy and get it all over with.  That was no better, the situation was still the same.  Every house we were quick to call on was already under contract. 

So here we remain in our beloved little rental.  We finally decided we just need to sit back and be patient because the right house will come along......but will it?  We've been tampering with these ideas for over 7 months and we still have no idea what we're going to do.  It seems like everything good in my life and Tyson's life has just "happened."  Why isn't anything happening?

My faith is not shaken.....I'm just kind of at my wit's end and my flaming hope has diminished to a faint flicker.  Something has to happen.  I know Heavenly Father is watching over my family but that's why there are times when I feel like He knows more than anyone that we need help.  Why can't he just make things happen?  Why can't he move mountains and provide us a home?

Of course those are irrational questions and of course I know the answers to them.  I'm just trying to be patient to see what his plan has in store for us in the housing department because it really is not even close to anything that we've worked for or hoped for so far.  But it will be OK in the end and we will be grateful that our life panned out according to his plan.....yadda yadda yadda.

I know.  I just can't pretend that I'm not a little bit stressed, frustrated, and scared right now.

Heaven help me.