UGH. Are we going to BUILD??? (Part II, Land #2)

Bob and I know the market very well. We know what's out there, we know when something new pops up. Sometimes, it's hard not to check the real estate websites every day. So it took me by surprise when Bob said "what about THIS property?"

It had been listed for about a month. It was LAND - no house - so maybe that's why we had overlooked it. It was a little higher than what we wanted, price-wise, but it was in the perfect location. Exactly where we've been looking. It was ~30 acres, almost all pasture. I.e., no trees, except along the edges of the property. So any house you build will be roasting in the sun for 10-20 years. But it was worth a look, right?

It was initially a 60-acre pasture, and the front pasture area along the road had been purchased two years ago by someone who built a new horse boarding facility. Kind of gaudy (with a HUGE riding arena), but at least the area adjacent to the property in question was fencing/pastureland.

The front of the boarding facility, and the riding arena.

The pasture/fencing (try to look past it and see the beauty behind it :))

The property is on the other side of the fencing. That is a large (450') poultry barn on the property. Bob wanted to tear it down/sell the parts, I wanted to convert it to a basketball/sports court. The ceiling is low in part, but maybe we could elevate the roof in the middle or something. How fun to have a covered basketball court!

The LOOOOOOONG driveway (the property starts just past the treeline)

Oh, I WISH you could see the video with the 180 degree view!! It was sooo pretty!!

Siiiiiigggggh. Here's the breathtaking video. I know. Heartbreaking (that you can't see it!)

I'm from Texas, so I like views and lots of sky. After seeing the property, I told Bob I could definitely see us there. I imagined sitting on the front porch and looking out on that view (probably 100 acres worth of other land to look at). So pretty! I still didn't want to build, though. You always hear about how much more it's going to cost than you had planned - and I already wanted a lot! I also feel like you can get another room or two out of an existing house (because of the lower cost psf). And. God has really been working on me in terms of removing my obsession on houses. I think it's due to living in a rental for so long. It could have probably gone either way - either I'm bursting at the seams to have a house to design/decorate, or I'm numb and just ready to settle for anything. (I'll give you a hint - it's the latter). I just didn't want to build. But Bob was getting excited and was asking me what I wanted in a house, how I would plan it/lay it out, so I started warming up to the idea. And then. And THEN.

Five days after our attention was drawn to that property..... it's under contract. !!!!!!!!!!!!!! We were stunned. It was like getting punched in the gut. Everything had seemed to be falling into place - Bob got tenure, we found a beautiful piece of land in the perfect location, Bob and I were agreeing on what we wanted in a house.... 

Bob went into a tunnel of cynicism, and I went into a period of mourning. I'm serious. When I told my friends about the emotional roller coaster I'd been on since finding out it had been sold, they said that those were literally the stages of grieving. It hurt. But one breath at a time, one step at a time, we moved forward, telling each other over and over again that God knows best and he must have something better for us. 

So.we.still.wait............................................................................................................