The Big Build
I don’t like magazines. Sure, I like to look at pictures of fashion and ideas for decorating a room. There is the occasional story about a celebrity or an inside peek at their lifestyle, but magazines are not in-depth enough to hold my attention.
They are good for waiting rooms at a doctor’s office, and I must admit, occasionally, I have swiped recipes from them.
However, I have been fascinated by magazines about home plans and blueprints for as long as I can remember.
It was wishful thinking. In both my childhood home and the first house my husband and I owned, so much was missing from my ideal vision for more room and storage space.
When we were set to retire and chose our new location, the search for our new and probably our last home began.
My house tours with the real estate agent proved uninspiring. Perhaps one or two homes would have fit my ideal, with much revision, work, and an extended budget, but it wouldn’t happen. Thus, the memory of those house plans. That was it; we would build our dream home and pray it wasn’t a nightmare.
On a beautiful day, I was out with the agent who was taking me to a half-built neighborhood. She wanted to show me a house that was already constructed. The large lake site took my breath away when we drove into the neighborhood. This place had potential!
The house, however, proved to be disappointing. It was so chopped up and closed in that it couldn’t compensate for that gorgeous view.
Leaving the house, I noticed empty lots across the street. The last lot before the cul-de-sac caught my eye. It was on top of a hill, but the property went back quite a way, and the rear of the lot was flat. It was not on the lake but directly across it, and the view was great. I called my husband immediately and said, “I've found the place!”
He came to Richmond as soon as he could. He fell in love with the site, too.
Our next step was to find a house plan that would fit on the site. Out went the plans for a one-story house. The lot wasn’t wide enough to accommodate a sprawling profile, so we looked at new builds in other communities to find the best fit for us.
Our agent told us about a community about 30 minutes away. We toured the new site and met with the builder. I explained my vision to him, and he had us sit in one particular model for 15 minutes or so.
While there, the inner blueprint in me started to move around walls and put on some additions. When I thought I had what I wanted, I presented my ideas to him, and surprisingly, most were possible. Of course, the more you change, the costlier it becomes. I looked at his suggestions, and together with my desires, we devised a plan that I thought we would be happy with. The deal was sealed, the property was purchased, and the construction was included in the builder’s timeline.
The only problem I saw was that we would not be there to watch over the construction. I would make trips as often as I could, but my husband could not make it with his responsibilities.
Therefore, I retired one year before he did so that I would be able to get to Richmond more often. My son, now a Resident at the hospital, had an apartment where I had a place to stay and some time to acclimate to the area.
