A new adventure

A proverb I created: Never get overly excited or upset about success, failure, or changes to your best-laid plans.

In December 2023, we decided to embark on an adventure to build a new house on ten acres and start a family ranch. We joined the ‘Mighty Network’ social media platform to connect with other like-minded future ranch owners. We began a conversation with my financial advisor to determine the best financial approach. I used the ‘ACTS Ranch Calculator,’ available on the website at that time, to explore our ranch options and estimate costs. We started researching the type of house we wanted to build, specifically ‘Barndo’ steel buildings. We also began working on prequalifying for a land loan with Cross Country Mortgage, an ACTS-recommended lender. At this point, we were ready to go all in.

We made another property visit on December 9th to confirm our decision. The property is stunning, with pastures, groves of trees, numerous man-made ponds stocked with tilapia, beef cattle, and wild horses. The most remarkable thing Sue and I noticed was how wonderfully quiet it was—no road noise, no hustle and bustle, just peace. There’s also a pleasant, constant breeze due to the absence of structures and concrete, unlike in the city or suburbs. After this visit, our decision was essentially made.

Reservation

On or about December 12, 2023, we paid a $2,500 ‘Parcel Reservation Fee’ to secure our spot to purchase land at ‘Panoplia Ranch’ in Highlands County, Florida, about an hour and forty minutes from where we were living in Valrico. We had our Land Stakeholder Zoom meeting on December 14th and met with TJ, the CEO and founder of ACTS Decentralized Real Estate. The meeting with TJ was fun, allowing us to learn about him and to share our plans. Our goal was to sell our current house after the first of the year, purchase the 10 acres, and build as soon as possible. We liked the idea of starting a ranch with cows, pigs, and chickens, but our primary focus was building our house and establishing a ‘family compound.’

Finance and pre-qualify

As December progressed, we continued prequalifying and exploring alternative mortgage lenders. I spoke to our financial advisor Michal and told him of our plans. Based on what I had learned to date from the ACTs ‘ranch calculator’ and looking at our finances, we were in good shape to move forward. I spoke to a number of mortgage brokers and they all seemed to be on board, the rates were not good but we could prequalify with all of the lenders I spoke to. The one issue that came up (eventually) was that many lenders do not like to do land loans or construction loans; if that will do it the rates/terms are not the best. For anyone who is really serious about doing this, look into credit unions in the area where you are wanting to buy/build - they are by far the best option. Like I mentioned earlier, we had just begun and over the months things did change. I had also begun researching different home builders and design sites to determine what kind of custom home we would build this time around.

Plans and Designs

We started looking at plans and home construction types. We were originally thinking we would build a Barndominium and we found a lot of good designs at: www.jlbarndominiumartists.com. We also found designs we liked at a site recommended by ACTS: thebarndominiumcompany.com. I even went as far as designing a metal building using the design software at worldwidesteelbuildings.com. All of the people that I communicated with at these sites were very polite and helpful. I would recommend them all from my experience with them. But alas, this was not the way we would go with our house build, but that comes much later in the story. That’s all for December.

End.

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• ranch