Home Concept

Now that our house in NY is gone it is now time to work on our new home. First phase is to pay off our debt..credit cards, retain, lines of credit ect and then start saving for a down payment.

I have some pretty lofty goals and will update on our progress as we hit some milestones. The first one will be when we pay off our credit cards and have the line of credit and car payments left. I am looking at some time around of the first year to get there and have just the cars and a $15,000 line of credit left. This time next year that should be at a zero balance as well. Then the saving starts.

We're not looking for anything extravagent...but I do forewarn Shelly that our house will probably run about $300,000 with a mortgage payment somewhere in the $2000 range. Sure we could buy a home that is already up but there are a number of things we want in a home and although these are just "concepts" at this point, the only way we will get everythinh incorporated into a home is to have one built.

One thing we don't want is a two story house where you're running up and down the stairs. We would definately want a single story ranch, maybe with a bonus room utilizing the attic...something that I could finish on my own. We would like a full basement, maybe raised a little bit so we could use some of it as a living space??? Maybe an extra bedroom or family/game room??? Ideally we want at least 1800 sq ft with three bedrooms and maybe 2 bathrooms.

I prefer tile and hardwood floors but that is negotionable.

The concept for the house is one that utilizes a passive solar design and built using SIPS system. A SIPs is Structuraly Insulated Panels. The cost is greater than that of a conventional stick built house but you can have higher R values for insulation. I am thinking R-30 for the walls and R-50 for the roof.

I replaced my windows in the NY house with triple paned triple low E windows so I want that in any new house we have built. I know Pella makes these so we'll start there when the time comes.

HVAC - I would love a geothermal heating and cooling system. The cost is anywhere from $7k - $15k and higher but the cost savings are instant.

If you're reading this you must have already hit upon a theme, that being energy efficiency. When I bought my first house in 1998 the price of natural gas was .28/therm. Today the price is upwards of 1.25/therm. You have to ask yourself what will the price be 10 years from now? I know oil ran me about $2.15 this winter so who knows there. The point is this... if you have the means and don't take any of these concerns to heart, well....I hope your household income escalates in tune with the increased costs. There's no better time to do it than when you are either purchasing a home or building one.

My goal is to have utility costs (heating/cooling/hot water/electric) in the $100/month neighborhood.

That's the dream anyway.