As we have right from the beginning of this garage apartment construction saga, we control the debt by paying cash as we go, or use other short term credit options that are religiously repaid as quickly as possible. Funds ebb and flow, but fortunately they become available at a somewhat similar rate as our ability to perform construction. Both move fairly slowly and the symbiotic relationship has worked so far....until now. We hit a self-imposed bump in the road. - As all pondmeisters will attest, one of most fundamental, but rewarding aspects of pond ownership is the view. For us, this was likely the most important. We took the risk of developing this naked chunk of 44 acres of timber and got a pretty decent ROI. Whenever I find myself tiring of the weekend-after-weekend of work/work/work, I go up to the bank of picture windows and rejuvenate.
This is likely my best pic of the view, but it helps to illustrate and justify my recent bout of acre-itis.
The far end of this shot is our dam. It is built between two hills, and is very close to our property line. This next pic, without the leaves on the trees, tightens in on the dam and the hill behind it as the valley winds off to the left.
...and a tighter shot with an approximation of the property line just behind the dam.
Although the owners of the property directly behind us are good folks, we have always maintained concerns for their right to do anything with that property that they please. Even setting a picnic bench or making a campsite would be an eyesore for our cherished view. This is definitely a weak link in our chain.....until now.
We approached our neighbor and pitched an offer to purchase a couple of acres off that end of their property. This all came about as a result of a number of planets lining up to provide good timing. To our delight, they were receptive to our offer. To our dismay, the price to close this deal will easily be the most expensive per acre for our entire package. It wasn't horrible, but definitely higher than the regional average for this type of property.
The entire deal has taken 6 months...jeesh. Why?...it got completely jammed up in banking paperwork at the seller's end. We rode the emotional roller coaster of whether it would close or collapse. Every twist and turn was a nail-biter for us, but in the end we swiped whatever cash reserves we set aside for the water well, drywall, furnace and A/C unit and who-knows-what-else and gave it up to control the 2 acres that are oh so critical to our view. Ironically, now that we have it, our plans are to do absolutely nothing with it. The upside is that it is a very nice filet of the surrounding terrain, perhaps the highest real estate in the immediate area, and there are some nice walnuts and hickories and cherries, along with other varied hardwoods. So....we's broke, but we's happy.
