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with the real estate market in an absolute frenzy in 2021, we decided to try and write hand-written letters to property owners that had vacant land in areas that we wanted to build a cabin in. It worked!
a month later, we were sitting in the living room of one of the land owners we had contacted. Out of the 10 letters that we wrote, this property was the one we wanted the most. We signed the deed, wrote them a check, and bought the land completely off-market. we're going to make a youtube video about this soon.
we had actually walked around the area before, but this was the first time we explored it after making the purchase. The lot next to ours had been on the market for almost a year. One day, while we were checking that lot out, we noticed an even better vacant parcel right next to it. That's when we decided to write the owners a letter.
over the next several months we spoke to multiple builders and architects in the area. One thing was apparent right away: this wasn't going to be cheap. We had a dollar amount number in our head of what we wanted to spend, but the quotes we were getting were more, to say the least.
while we worked through creating plans and getting estimates from various builders, we started to clear the lot. The lot is 5 acres and is covered mostly with maple trees that soar over 100 ft. tall. We wanted to keep the landscape as natural as possible and cut the least number of trees that we could.
we spent months working on plans and figuring out how much it would all cost. Quotes from the builders were still steep, so we decided to get the cabin appraised to see if it would even be valued at the estimated cost. Spoiler - it wasn't.
as we worked through the financial aspects of the project, we aimed to continue making progress and accomplishing as much as possible on our own. We installed a gravel driveway that spans almost 1000 feet in length. This started to make the vacant lot we bought a year ago come to life.
after going back and forth with builders and getting finalized pricing, the financial side of the build just wasn't adding up. We knew that our current plans were not going to work and that we needed to go back to the drawing board and start from square one. this was a hard pill to swallow 15 months into the process, but it was the right decision. More content to come on this soon.
we started working with a new architect on a design idea we had for a tower-inspired build. The idea was that we would build vertically instead of horizontally, helping us preserve a lot of the natural landscape and creating a structure that will immerse guests in the soaring maple trees. This design will also allow us to have a lake view during the winter months.
nearly 2 years after we bought the land, we officially broke ground on April 19th, 2023. This was a very special day for us. The countless nights and days of planning and figuring out how to make this happen finally paid off.
Imagine waking up to this every morning. At the Guest House you can.
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© 2023 North of Nowhere, LLC. All rights reserved.
+47 (0) 702 88 12 34 — example@webflow.io — Klubbvika 12, 8310 Kabelvag, Norway
© North of Nowhere, LLC. All rights reserved. 2023
+47 (0) 702 88 12 34 — example@webflow.io — Klubbvika 12, 8310 Kabelvag, Norway