The Truth About Delaying Our Dream Home Build (Lessons Learned!)
Nearly two years ago, my husband and I purchased 20 acres of land with the intentions of building our forever home. We made the purchase, we secured an architect, and began building the most perfect plans. Yet here we are (in 2025), over two years later, and we still haven’t broken ground. Today, I want to share why we decided to slow down the process and how this choice has turned out to be one of the best decisions we’ve made.
The Initial Excitement
When we first started, we were ready to dive in headfirst. We spent hours walking the property, envisioning where the house would sit and how we’d create our forever home. We met with builders and excavators on the property, and started designing our floor plan. But as we got further into the planning, reality started to sink in. Several factors made us pause and reassess our timeline:
- Finances — because it’s always about money, right?
- The condition of our land — which needed significant work.
- Our current home — which was still serving us well.
We also quickly realized that building a custom home is a massive undertaking, one that requires patience and flexibility. While we were eager to begin, we also wanted to make sure we were making the right decisions at the right time.
The Financial Reality
At the time, we were incredibly close to paying off our current home. We had been working so hard to pay off our first mortgage within five years, and the idea of taking on a new mortgage while nearing such a significant financial milestone felt counterintuitive. We couldn’t shake the thought: Do we really want to give up financial freedom for the sake of rushing into a new house?
To put it into perspective, our mortgage at the time was $1,400 and it was possible that our new mortgage could cost nearly $4,000 a month. With skyrocketing interest rates, this shift felt daunting. Realistically, we could afford it, but it still felt risky. We didn’t want to end up house-poor. We’ve worked hard to earn financial flexibility—the freedom to spend intentionally and save for what truly matters—and we weren’t willing to compromise that for a quicker timeline.
We also considered the long-term implications of our decision. Would we still be able to travel? Would we have to cut back on activities for our kids? We rarely spend money frivolously, but even if we wanted to spontaneously go out to eat – we aren’t questioning whether it fits in our budget today, and we didn’t want to tomorrow, either. These were serious questions we had to answer before committing to such a significant financial leap.
Tackling the Land
When we bought the property, it was far from build-ready. Imagine driving through a jungle—that’s what it felt like! Grass towered over our vehicle, and hidden beneath it all was a mess of junk, trash, and overgrown brush. The previous owners hadn’t used the land for anything other than storing items, and before them the property was used as farm land and pasture.
While builders can often handle land clearing, we saw an opportunity to save money by doing the cleanup ourselves. One of the first things we did was host a clean up party with our family and friends with pizza as an incentive – who doesn’t love pizza? In all seriousness, we are thankful for the people in our life who have stepped up to help when possible. Since then, we’ve taken our time cutting down brush, piling up debris, removing trees, and preparing the land. It’s been a slow but satisfying process, allowing us to connect with the property in a meaningful way.
We also realized that by taking our time, we could better plan the layout of the property. Instead of making quick decisions, we were able to carefully consider where our driveway, future garden, and additional structures would go. This has ultimately helped us create a vision for the land that is much more intentional.
Making the Most of Our Current Home
Although we were starting to outgrow our house, it wasn’t an urgent situation. Our home still provided us with a comfortable place to live and raise our kids. We had a roof over our heads, warm beds to sleep in, and a place to create memories as a family. That realization made the decision to wait much easier.
I vividly remember the night we decided we were going to stay in our home a few more years. We got home from a meeting with our architect, and started to discuss what we could do to keep us in our current home awhile longer. We were begging for more storage in our kitchen, and my first creative thought was to convert the closet in the kitchen into a functional pantry. We ripped the doors right off the closet then and there! If you haven’t seen our closet to pantry transformation yet, I highly recommend giving it a read – especially if you’re in a similar situation, looking to maximize your kitchen space.
Here’s what we started to focus on to make the space better for us:
- Added functionality: We turned the closet in our kitchen into a functional pantry, which made a world of difference in our daily lives. Plus, it looks pretty!
- Decluttered: We started to focus on downsizing, donating, and selling items we no longer needed along with being more intentional about what we were bringing into our home. This was almost healing for me. It allowed me to really assess what I cared about.
- Rearranged spaces: The kids got their own rooms, my office moved, and we transformed the basement into a play area.
These changes not only improved our day-to-day living but also allowed us to shift our focus to paying off our mortgage entirely and start to focus on paying off the land – which we were able to do both in six years!
One of my favorite moments from this season of slowing down? This one—when I forgot my mittens and saw something much better instead.
Why We Don’t Regret Waiting
Looking back, waiting to break ground has been a blessing. This wasn’t a meticulously planned decision—it was a gut feeling that grew stronger with every small sign pointing us to slow down. I’ll never forget how quickly we pivoted; one moment, we were discussing options, and the next, we were ripping off closet doors to create our pantry!
Here’s what waiting has allowed us to do:
- Enjoy the process: Cleaning up the property at our own pace has been rewarding.
- Refine our vision: As beekeepers and a family with specific interests, we’ve had time to thoughtfully plan our floor plan, and where everything will go on the property, from apple trees to an outdoor kitchen.
- Save money: By avoiding a rushed timeline, we’ve sidestepped significant financial stress.
- Research smarter solutions: With more time, we’ve explored alternative building techniques, sustainability options, and cost-saving strategies we might have overlooked if we had rushed into building.
- Gain clarity on our lifestyle needs: The extra time has helped us determine what features in a home truly matter to us and what we can live without.
Taking it slow has given us the freedom to breathe, plan, and feel confident in our decisions. It’s a perspective we’d recommend to anyone considering a big project like this. Rushing might bring short-term excitement, but patience paves the way for long-term peace of mind.
Wrapping Up
So that’s why we haven’t broken ground on our dream home yet. By slowing down, we’ve been able to get things in place at the right time for us, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
If you’re on a similar journey, I hope this gives you insight into the benefits of waiting. Share your thoughts in the comments—I’d love to hear about your experiences. And if you’re curious about our home build, stay tuned! We’ll be sharing more about our property, the building process, and how we’re making this dream a reality, one step at a time.