Rollercoaster

Let me tell you, this project is not for the lazy or weak. There are a lot of ups and downs.

First, let's start with the highlight of the week. Wednesday I had the pleasure of going to speak to some staff at Walden University about our tiny house. My good friend and college roommate was part of their Green Week committee and asked if I would be willing to come in over lunch one day to do a little Q&A about our house and the process. The good news is, they caught me on a good day. It seemed to me that the stars were finally aligning. The final documents needed for the loan had been notarized on Monday. I thought we were all set to meet with the loan guy next Tuesday. I was a little nervous no one would come out to hear about our tiny house. However, I'd say we had about 15 people been the Minneapolis campus and the folks who joined via webinar (which I consider a major win!). Of course, I'm not a tiny house expert, and I know very little about building - so there was only so much to learn about me. But going back through the journey was a welcome reminder of why we've been attempting to jump through all these hoops for the last ten months (and counting).

Of course, the tiny house high could only last so long. By the time I got home from work that evening, Brent had gotten all sorts of frustrating news from our bank lender (who is impossible to track down, by the way - it's as if he doesn't understand who the client is in this equation). First, "sweat equity" is not allowed in construction loans so we will not be able to participate in the building of our tiny house without being subcontracted through someone else. Secondly (and most importantly), even if we sign the paperwork on Tuesday for the loan, we won't be able to "close" on it for 30-45 days, which means we likely won't have access to the funds until mid-July. This was a big one. Since according to the time line our architect drafted, we were supposed to be applying for permits in March/April so we could break ground in June. Now we won't be applying for permits until mid-July.

Luckily, our general contractor and the Dunwoody team seem to think they can still work with this schedule and still be done by December. We'll have more details on Tuesday after the meeting, but the way it stands currently, it sounds like we've averted the crisis.

Hopefully we'll have more good news coming next week! (A girl can dream...) In the meantime, everyone have a wonderful holiday weekend, and thanks for stopping by!

Another Box - Check!

We have good news! (Seriously!). We met with our contractor last week and signed our contract with him - the last step before we go for financing. In the end, the team ended up exactly as it was originally.

The rooftop deck is back in the plan. We still have a lot to get through between now and move in date, but we are definitely not too far from "on track" in terms of the original time line.

Hopefully by next week we'll have all the documents we need for financing, then we can sign our lives away to the construction loan, and then we can apply for permits. Once we do that, maybe this will start to feel real.

It's a lot. And each step feels like we've done so much, and yet we've barely taken any steps. But the best things in life don't come easy, which we all know. This blog is a reminder to me of all that we've accomplished so far, and I know that at the end of this road, our tiny house dreams will have come true.

I apologize for the negativity in the last few posts. Those last few hurdles were tough. I'll do better - I promise! Thanks for being on this journey with us.