As we enter the final stages of this house, we’re starting to look at options for the next project. We’re fully prepared for this one not to sell immediately, but we also want to have sifted through some possibilities so that we’re ready to go if it does sell right away.

Going back to the beginning, our original search for a “mountain house” began very small:

That’s 14 Finch Lane, a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom cabin in Cherry Log Mountain. It was small, simple, and rustic. It also had a noisy little stream in front of it. It’s major downside was that it was on a small lot, and located right off of the main road into Cherry Log Mountain, so there would be noticeable drive by traffic. The other downside was that anyone we talked to said “what if you have friends visiting?” This house didn’t have room for any guests.

The final house that we were this () close to buying was a new construction cabin with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. This one ticked off all of the boxes except for being secluded. The sellers (Sissons) were willing to sell us the adjoining lot at a decent and fair price, but as you know, that’s not the path we chose. It is still for sale. http://nathanfitts.com/homes-for-sale-details/L-540-CHERRY-LAKE-CHERRY-LOG-GA-30522/236754/260/

The point of this is to highlight that we built way more house than we personally need or want. Even the cherry lake house is bigger than the house we live in now! However, we do like to think that if we were to actually live in, or spend a lot of time in, a house up there, our friends would want to visit us. Maybe we’re delusional.

We’ve come up with a few things that could be the next project, and the list continues to grow. My main criteria are that it has to be at least marginally fun and profitable. We are all ears to ideas or thoughts from anyone, so let us know what you think! Here’s the top of our list right now, not in order:

• Rent out the existing house
  • This will only happen if the house does not sell by late spring/early summer. We do not want to rent this house out, but it would not be a bad problem to have. It would be a positive cash flow every month, but it would also mean that we have both a ton of cash and a mortgage tied up in a rental property, so it’s not the ideal scenario. It would also limit our ability to start another adventure. However, I think Brittany would have a great time furnishing and decorating it to get it ready for rentals. On the downside, we would need to put in a hot tub, which we have vowed to avoid.
• Sell the house and do nothing.
  • If we sell the house and have not found the right next project, we won’t start something new. Yes, “do nothing” actually means “Dave brainstorming, researching, iterating, and building financial models for 100 ideas”, but from an investment standpoint, this would be a break until we hit on an idea we like. This is not a probable scenario.
• Build on lot 12, 14, or another in River Escape
  • This seems like the easiest option. However, I’m not sure we want to build another $300,000 house. I struggle with building something that we (or our friends) wouldn’t or couldn’t buy. Everything else we’ve done personally has been to simplify things (including our phases of “yard simplification” and then “life simplification”), and a 2600 square foot vacation house doesn’t line up with that. The selling process for the existing house will affect this decision. If it sells quickly and for the asking price, it will be a lot harder to pass up the lot next door to do it all again.
• Small (not tiny) house compound
  • Yes, I love this idea. In fact, I love it so much that it’s going to get it’s own post. If this isn’t the next project, it will be a project at some point. I hope you can handle the suspense I just created.
• Bears Den Mountain
  • This will also get it’s own post after we visit the land again this weekend. This is a small tract of land that has already been divided into 5 lots. We considered it before, and it is still on the table. There are a few similar pieces of land that would allow us to do the same thing. We’d be committing to building at least a couple of houses. Ideally, we’d manage to keep things smaller than what we’re doing currently.
• Build OUR house
  • If we were certain of where we wanted to live, we could build a house to actually live in. Unfortunately, we don’t know where that is. We’re lucky in that we have the abilities to make a go of it just about anywhere, but how do you pick out of “everywhere”? The only way I see the next house being one we live in is if we decide to move to Cherry Log/Blue Ridge, but maybe we’ll have a revelation.