Can’t You See It???

What do you mean you can’t see anything there?… [I say with raised eyebrows]

Right there… [pointing] that’s where the house is going to go. Over here… [pointing to the other side] this is where we’re going to put the well. And the septic… it’s right over there. The driveway will go up through here and around that side.

Oh, and here… [pointing, while looking completely enamored with all of Nature’s beauty] right here is the only spot where you can actually see 2 of the 3 creeks at the same time!

Trust me, once you get inside the tree line, it makes more sense. It’s a little bit cleared out in the middle there.

That’s pretty much how the conversation with my mom went the other day when I drove her out to have a look at our property.

Her first look.

Unfortunately, from the road, she just couldn’t see the forest for all the trees. (She wasn’t prepared for a deep-woods hike… in the scorching hot sun… with no tick prevention.) So she’s pretty much taking our word on it that the boo coo bucks we just shelled out to purchase this choice piece of land was actually a good move.

I have to admit, had I not walked deep into that forested property and seen for myself — and had it explained to me firsthand from someone who clears and develops land for a living — then I probably wouldn’t have been able to “see” it either.

At this point (over a year later from when we first discovered this property) we have met, hashed, and re-hashed all of the minute details and intricacies of this property so much that we now know this 5-1/2 acre collection of trees, rocks, dirt and creeks like the back of our hand!

A sampling of the people we’ve discussed this land with:

• The guys who actually surveyed the land (twice, in addition to contemplating it a third time while taking into consideration some new ideas we had in mind)
• The original owner of the land
• The person who bought it after him (as an investment)
• Practically every administrator in the planning & development office which oversees the plotting and platting of all land within the county
• The guy from the electric company who placed the original poles on this mile-long private road
• Almost every single neighbor whose property surrounds ours
• And the developer who originally cleared the land and “saw” everything that made this piece of land so unique

The point of this article?

Simply to verify that it is a very difficult process to:
a) find a piece of land; and
b) to be able to visualize where the house will go and everything will look when all is said and done.

My advice:

#1 Don’t buy your land on an impulse. If at all possible, try to meet with as many people as possible who could offer advice and opinions. They will “see” things differently than you.

#2 From there… trust your instincts. Go with your gut, rather than “settling” or going with what might be the “easiest” option.

#3 And finally… Take your time!
Now I see why they say most people take a year or more to decide on the details — things like property and house design.

A year ago, we were ready to go with the first log home design that we thought up. And we were ready to build it on land that didn’t really “fit” us — just because that’s how the cards were falling. We were choosing immediate gratification rather than focusing on the big picture. It’s as if we weren’t truly seeing the forest for all the trees at that point in time.

We were so eager to start building the log home of our dreams that we almost “settled” for a nice log home in a nice area instead of waiting for an awesome log home in an awesome area. We’ve now come full circle and we’re getting exactly what we’ve always wanted. Thanks to a little PATIENCE!