Can you find it on Zillow, or will you think long-term and define it yourself?
My favorite place in my personal sphere is an amazing lake property. My wife and I built a pavilion-styled "cabin" on a power company leased lake lot 20 years ago, before the last two massive inflation increases, and before the crash and post-crash money print fest.
Over the years, we have established the house and worked to improve our land to make it more fun and meaningful for our lake life, which has evolved into our actual life. Our kids happened and grew up outside on the weekends as millennial Huckleberry Finn characters, exploring, building forts, and day camping and learning the lost art of waterskiing. My wife relaxes, which means we all get to relax and recharge. All my best architectural projects for clients start in a sketchbook, on our dock, with a view and a clear mind.
That particular lake view...the sunset…the smell of gardenia blooms in June...racing the squirrels to harvest our peaches…the farmers market visits to procure the provisions for that night's big meal with friends…the release of stress that leaves your body as you top the last hill on arrival from a full week in the fiat world and visually confirm the house has survived another work week without us.
This house and property, self-designed by young architects with limited funds to establish a lake foothold, could not be built with today's fiat. First, it would not have been appraised because we did not check the right boxes to get a loan. The house is a pavilion with planned additions, so there was no front door; instead, we had glass doors that opened on either side of the house on grade to exterior living spaces. There was no dining room, since our dining room was outside. We only had two small bedrooms just for sleeping and alcoves for overflow and the kids that came. The preferred shower is outside with a view and a ledge for prescription shower beverages, depending on the time of day. All the features that became our most meaningful experiences for us and visitors result from building small and cleverly affording the foothold on the lake for life to evolve.
Over the years, we improved resiliency with solar, planted perennial food-producing landscapes, and created outdoor spaces that blended living indoors into the landscape. We were lucky and aware that when we were young and inexperienced we landed in the right place. It is worth our life energy to create a place we want to live.
This life pavilion on its land is our sacred place.
As the number, you know the number, goes up, and the cost of a house priced in BTC goes down, how will you find your sacred place? Will you scroll through the Zillow options in fiat terms of square footage and number of bedrooms compared to the other options around it situated by a builder after a short-term profit? Or, as a long-term, low-time preference thinker, as demonstrated by the instrument you choose to save your surplus life energy, should you start the journey to create your own sacred space?
Location, Location, Location: Your mission, if you choose to accept the once or twice-in-a-lifetime calling to create a sacred space, starts with finding the right land or evaluating if the land you own has the potential to be your place.
Reflect on your priorities: Why did you buy or like this land in the first place? Building something on a piece of land is a unique opportunity to think about how you will establish your place. You acquired or are considering this land somehow for some reason. Do you remember? Was it the view? Location? Price? Seclusion? Accessibility?
Research the jurisdiction: What had the city or county you will live in planned for this land communicated through zoning or in a land use plan? What are the taxes? Are there opportunities to change the zoning so you can use the land usage to benefit you? Are there any deeded restrictions, and are there utility easements? Are there utilities on the property? If so, what are the available utilities, and where are the power, water, gas, and sewer locations?
Assessing the physical constraints or opportunities: What is the topography? Is it flat, steep, or varied? Do you know what is on the adjacent properties now or what could be there in the future? Are there natural features on the property streams, tree stands, orchards, and rock outcroppings? Do you know how the property is oriented to the sunrise and sunset as the seasons change? Is there a place on the property you want to build? Is that location accessible by road, or do you have to create one?
Ask the big questions: What are your goals for a house? What spaces do you need? Can you design spaces for flexibility over a lifetime of use? Can you create small spaces and use them in multiple ways? How should the custom diagram of the house you want relate to the land, to take full advantage of the site? How might your needs evolve over time so that you can grow space? Will you desire space for multi-generational living? You can answer these questions before purchasing, taking down the first tree, or even closing on the property to know if your goals are viable. Having a master plan lets you see the end goal plan and phase over a long time.
The journey is challenging, like anything that is life changing.
Find land that speaks to you. You will know it.
Analyze your land to align your life goals with the master plan's viability.
Design the house customized to your needs and not the fiat values.
Find the right team that shares your values and understands your vision.
Build that HODL House.
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