Labor Day weekend seems an appropriate time for a new blog post.

Randy Sherman completed demolition a little over a week ago.  The picture below was sent to me by my mother after her visit up north last week.  I expected Randy would take everything, but he left the outhouse behind, which is actually kind of cool.

So, what happens now?  As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, construction is currently on hold.  Put simply, I will not risk my financial future or the lake property by getting a large mortgage with the exorbitant tax bill that will come with new construction.  That does not, however, mean that I’ve given up on construction altogether.  I want to rebuild.  Thankfully, neither the APA nor the town of Hopkinton have any time limit for that rebuild.  I double- and triple-checked this before I made any decision to move forward with the demolition.

That demolition, and latest tax bill, has pretty much wiped out the money in the savings account.  But, I’ve got a plan to replenish that account.  Since I had already planned to pay between $300.00 and $350.00 a month for the mortgage payment and my share of the expected tax bill, I’m going to take that money each month and put it into the savings account (well, I’ll likely put it into my own savings account each month and then make a deposit whenever I happen to be up north).  As other money becomes available, such as tax refunds, that money will likely go into that account as well.  If better investment possibilities come along, I may move that money around to maximize returns.  For example, my current mutual funds, while a bit risky, can offer better returns than the roughly 1% APR currently garnered in a savings account.

Once there is enough money in that account, then construction can move forward.  How long that will take and how much will be enough is yet to be determined.  The last estimate from Randy for a one-storey building was around $40,000.  The estimate for a two-storey would be just over $50,000.  If we bump out construction for several years, the estimates for construction will obviously go up.  There may also be other issues that will require funding over the next several years, such as repairs to the boathouse.  But, having the cash in the bank will forego the need for a mortgage or a monthly payment to be made.  Granted, the taxes will still go up (the average tax bill of the properties around us is $4,200.00/year), but at least I should be able to cover that if I am forced to do so.

The length of time before construction begins will also be dictated by how much others choose to contribute to this effort.  I don’t expect the same kind of financial commitment that I’m making; as I said, this was the commitment I had planned to make had I gotten the mortgage.  But, every little bit helps.  I’m hopeful everyone will be committed to paying their share of the tax bill.  Without construction, and indeed with no building remaining, the current taxes should not go up significantly; the monthly commitment noted on the Google spreadsheet was something less than $17.00 a month.  And, again, if you want to take care of the whole thing at once, such as when tax refunds arrive, that is acceptable as well.

In the meantime, I am also looking into the possibility of purchasing a used travel trailer to park on the property as something that will be usable until construction.  It may not enable any full family reunions, but it will give us something in which to sleep and eat.  I’m still looking into this and will update the blog when any decision is made.

That’s it for now.  I’ll let you know if there are any important developments that come about.