Out of Town

I'm in Miami until the end of the month. So, I don't expect there to be much progress in the while I'm away, but I'll let you know if there is.

Building Villas on St. John

So, Steve left me a comment to let me know about three blogs that document the process of building villas on St. John. All three villas are beautiful. Wanna check them out?

Bo Atabey:

Reef Madness:

The Bongo Bongo Blog- be sure to check out their post on their estimate and actual costs. It is pretty scary thinking about how much over an estimate you can go.

Let me know what you think or if you know of any other blogs that might be of interest.

Wow! That Was Fast.

Today, less than two weeks after submitting our finalized plans to the Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR), we got a call from our architect/contractor that our building permit is ready to be picked up. That was quick. I'm not sure why it happened so quickly, but I'm not complaining. We didn't need to make a single change either. I really wish I had met this architect/contractor sooner.

Now we just need to wait for our updated estimate and apply for our construction loan. I was just complaining about feeling stressed out and now I feel so excited. I hope this feeling lasts because I know the bank and building process will be very stressful.

I Don't Handle Stress Well

I've heard that building is stressful, but this is ridiculous. We haven't even started to build and I am stressing. I can't stop worrying about whether it is the right decision and if we can afford it. We got an updated estimate for the downstairs and the entire house. We met with our contractor and asked for an estimate for just the upstairs. He said that we should get it on Wednesday. The downstairs estimate is MUCH higher than before (Wouldn't that make you stress too?) The estimate is higher because we increased the size of the interior and the cistern, the price of certain materials went up, the contractor included the cost of a kitchen (which we initially asked him not to do),... So, yeah it should be higher, but I wasn't expecting it to be so much higher. I'm really worried about the cost of the house and the approximately 9 months that it will take to build. Plus, my mom really wants me to build too, which is great, but stressing me out a little also. I need to figure out a way to relax, especially since we haven't even started to build yet. Got any ideas?

Sometime this week, the contractor is also supposed to take us to see a few of the houses he has worked on. Maybe getting a closer look at his work will help me relax and get excited again.