Plat Maps, Is that what they're called?

We went to walk some land this weekend. Yesterday we went to the Cherry Hill property. It's close to our current house and has a great school zone, but the lot is not situated right. It's a 3-acre lot, but almost 1.5 acres of it is just driveway. It's an L-shaped lot, so a lot of the land is unusable. 

Then we went to another lot on Poplar Creek. It's beautiful back there, and this was a big 8-acre lot. It's in a decent school zone--good for elementary but not so much after that. But the lot itself is nice. A heavily wooded area, but a good flat space we could clear for a yard, etc.

Here's what I'm confused about. I cannot get these real estate agents to call me back. It's bizarre. You'd think they'd want to do everything they could to sell this land, especially in the current market. Todd says he thinks it's because my voice sounds young and they assume we can't afford it. But I could be some big movie star or whatever. It's just strange to me that they won't respond. It's bad business. When I worked at the publishing company we were required to return phone calls within 24 hours. And we had to call back same-day to authors or agents, even if it meant staying late, etc. I just don't understand not calling people back when they want to buy stuff from you.

Tip of the day: walk the land, even if it looks great or terrible from the street. (unless, of course, they're some obvious neighborhood issue that makes it a definite no.) But even better, have an agent walk the land with you so you know exactly where the boundary lines are and you have someone to answer the questions you have while you're there.

Spring Fever

I'm not sure if it's the weather or something else, but lately I've felt a tremendous pull to clean house, eliminate junk, keep only what I need, and use less. It's been in the 70s and 80s here lately, really beautiful weather, if a little hot in the afternoons. But I have done my best to keep the AC off in the house and the car. I've got the windows open and the fans blowing. The benefit is that right now I feel like I'm sitting outside in a lovely breeze, rather than actually being inside looking out my wall of windows while sitting in my comfy leather armchair (a hand-me-down from my parents, who got it for $15 at a furniture store sale). 

I think this weekend we're going to do a major evaluation of our personal property. We just don't need the things we have. However, I still feel a pull to buy more. I'm going to start asking myself these questions before I buy:

1. Do I need it? (Or is it more likely that I already have a handful just like it at home)
2. Do I love it? (Not just like it, but love it. Does it inspire me in some way?)
3. Is it worth it? (The space it will take in the house, the effort to keep it clean and in good shape, and the money that could be spent elsewhere . . .)

On a related note, I stopped by Whole Foods to get my groceries yesterday. It was ridiculously expensive. I can't do that again. But I'm excited because our farm share starts next week--fresh veggie and meat straight from the farm. Yay!

Location, Location, Location

We've been looking at land. I was up 'til 1:00 last night searching realtracs for property in our price range, school zone, and acreage amount. It's not been easy. A few popped up last night that looked good. One had this amazing view. What the pictures don't show, however, is the massive power plant immediately to the left of the shot. In fact, I think they PhotoShopped out some of the wires. Not exactly the view you're looking for when you're going for an environmentally friendly house. So, back to the drawing board. We're still hoping that the property my parents' neighbors own will work out. That would be amazing. Heard today that it's 16 acres of meadow on the other side of the big hill they live on. Sounds beautiful. 

On the house side of things, we're trying to research some eco friendly builders and architects in our area. Haven't found many yet, but I'm sure they're out there. The struggle is finding green options in a moderate price range. It just doesn't seem to be widely available yet; it's still quite pricey. I want to make decisions that will help the earth we live on, but I need to be able to pay the mortgage at the same time. And no luck so far finding much on cottage-style homes with an eco bent, most are contemporary or modern. Still looking. If anyone has any resources, please let us know!

Nothing to Report

Nothing to report. I've asked agents (via email) to meet us at the property, but with no luck. My parents' neighbor has a lot of land behind his house that he is considering selling. That could be ideal--we'd be so close to them. And we've spoken to some friends about the idea of buying a bunch of land and splitting it up among us. I think that would be an amazing opportunity for community. 

About the house, it's been interesting seeing our different opinions come to light. We've never had a hard time agreeing on a house before, but now that we're talking about building the house we'll live in for the rest of our lives, most likely, it's a whole new ball game.  One this is for sure--we don't want a modern house. Our look is much more traditional--even the idea of a Federalist-style house is appealing to me. The challenge will be doing a "green" house in a traditional style. I've only seen contemporary or modern designs in magazines, etc. I want something that feels like home to me.

Day 1

Just two years ago the idea of living an eco-friendly life way out of the fringe of society--at least to me. The environmentalists I knew were mainly in the music industry, a little hippy, definitely Democrat, and usually pretty cool. I live a small life: I'm the mother to two, I work from home, I'm not cool. I'm a most-of-the-time Republican and I'm deeply religious. But I've become convicted. It's time to make some changes.

We joined a CSA. We quit buying paper napkins. My baby drinks from glass baby bottles. And I buy most of the kids' clothes used at consignment sales. And I don't think anyone notices, which I count as a good thing. My point is, we're not freaks. We're not extremists. We're normal people making small changes for a big difference, I hope.

A long-time dream of ours has been to build a house on a few acres of land. My primary reason is aesthetic--I love the idea of seeing beautiful, rolling landscapes out my kitchen window every day. Second: I want the kids to have a yard to run around in. Our 0.18 acres on a steep incline isn't conducive to play. So why not merge the two, build a sustainable, eco-friendly home while we're at it?

Today was the beginning of that journey. We found a couple pieces of land that look promising, and we've called the real estate agents. One emailed me the plot graphs, which are completely confusing to me. This is going to be an interesting road we're traveling!