A Leap of Faith

In January of 2010, I took a leap of faith and purchased a piece of property on which I had visions of building my own house. This was something that had been in the back of my mind for a long time, just waiting for all of the right pieces to fall into place. At that time, the economy had taken a tumble and the real-estate market was in the toilet, so it was a bit of a buyers market and I'm all about taking advantage of economic opportunities. Aside from that, any savings I had in the bank was making nearly nothing on interest/appreciation so I saw little risk in taking that money and putting it into an undervalued land investment.

It was important that the land I ultimately settled on would meet a number of specific qualities/requirement for what I wanted, some of which included:

• At least 1/2 acre in size.
• Not in a subdivision, and thus with NO Homeowners association to dictate or restrict my use of the property.
  
• A naturally wooded area with a very gentle slope from back to front.
• Perched on top of at least a small hill, so that water would flow away from the property in most every direction.
• Generally flat for a nice usable yard all the way around without hills/slopes to navigate or drive up.
• An excellent spot for an in-ground pool in the back.
  
• Not in the city limits so there are NO city Taxes, encumbrances, or zoning requirements to adhere.
  
• City water and sewer service available to the property so no septic system is required.
  
• No immediate neighbors and the potential to remain fairly secluded.
  
• Located in close proximity to work, shopping, parks, and entertainment (e.g. a large recreational lake).
• Easily accessible to major highways and airports.

Believe it or not, the lot I found had ALL of these qualities, and more. So I decided to take the leap of faith, make a bit of a lowball cash offer on the property and attempt to purchase what appeared to be a nearly perfect setting for construction of my next home-to-be. As of January 27th, 2010, this became a reality and my name was put on the deed for a lot in extreme southern Durham County, zoned RR (Rural Residential), affixed less than 4 miles from RTP, I-40, I-540, and the Southpoint Shopping complex, also within about 5 miles of a northern tip of Jordan Lake, centrally located right between Raleigh, Cary, Durham, and Chapel Hill. How could this be? Well, it was.

So - I've decided to set up a blog to record my trials and tribulations of taking on such an endeavor so that others could learn from it and possibly assist them in the future, as well as tracking my own progress for reference purposes. I encourage your comment/feedback.