Kel,
I totally feel your pain. We have been in a tiny little guest house for almost two years. We sold our house and thought that we would build right away, but waiting on plans and builders pushed us back. We are about four months from moving in our new house. Just focus on your build and the time starts to fly by. There are others on here that have the same situations...you aren't alone!

by the way....we farm and have been praying the rain would hold off so we can get our crops out, so you aren't the only one there either!

Kel, We also did the same thing. We sold our house prior to even beginning construction and moved into a rental. We were there a little over a year and have been in the new house about a week. Let me tell you, it IS worth it. For me, not having the stress of two possible mortgages was a huge relief. In the end, our rental turned out to be "trying". We had rats and the kitchen was completely a challenge to cook in. I work from home and my office was in the laundry room. BUT, as DH says, it made our new house seem all the better. Keep your chin up! This is temporary and the end goal is worth it. Jaymie

Kel: Just try to take it one day at a time Kiddo....get used to having many ups and downs with the build but as jaymi says it will be worth it in the end. And remember we are here for you when you need to vent or have any questions.
PS - We also had mice and our water pipes kept freezing and the landlord was never available to fix things in our temp. rental. It was not fun...luckily we only lived a couple of miles from the build so we spent most of our waking moments there anyway.

Well, at least I haven't seen any rodents here yet! I work at home too, so our 12x14 living room has two couches, my desk and work area, and the kitchen table. Talk about an open floor plan! The kitchen is too small for the table (and just about anything else). It is going to be very hard, but I'm hoping it will be worth it in the end. Although, having me, my husband, two kids, two dogs, and a BUNCH of stuff in approx 700sq ft will be tight, I'm almost afraid that after the new house is built that I will miss my family a little!

I've been there! Maybe next time I won't be so cheap and will spring a few bucks more for a nicer rental.

The worst was when, as a bachelor, I moved from 4360 sf., plus finished lower level and a three car garage to a one-bedroom walk-up apartment with no guaranteed parking and an off-site rental storage unit. Pretty bad, when you get dressed in the morning and realize your favourite boxers are two miles away!

We just moved into a tiny apartment on Sunday! These posts made me feel so much better. I am sitting here still surrounded by boxes wondering what in the world I just did. We sold our house very quickly and closed in 3 weeks. It happened so quickly and I am still mourning my old house. :( My 3 girls are all sick, too!!! I also work from home and can't seem to get organized. I just keep dreaming of the huge office that will be built in my new home. :)
Keep the positive stories coming. This too shall pass...right????

Kelly
(Ohio)

jmjmommy - it looks like we have a lot more in common that our names! I too am sad about leaving the old house. It is the house I brought my babies home to. I've only been out for a couple of days, but I'm already forgetting all the things I didn't like about it! We closed in three weeks too, and it seems like I didn't really have time to prepare for actually leaving the house.

My girls are not sick, but I was diagnosed with mono today! I've had fever for two weeks, and I really thought I was going to die when we were moving this weekend!

What kind of work do you do from home? I do transcription for two local doctors (which is what I should be doing right now!)

The baby thing got to me, too! I kept walking around the house crying -- the memories of those sleepless baby nights pacing the hall, their first little smiles, steps, words, etc.... I had a really hard time packing up the baby clothes. My youngest is 19 months and I'm not sure we'll be needing those little clothes again. We are excited about our new yard, house, and a great school district, but the move was way harder than I thought it would be.

I teach for one of the virtual schools. I am so blessed to be able to work in education at home!

I am so sorry about your mono! I had it a few years ago. Rest as much as possible (while dealing with a move, working, raising your kids, building a house) ;)

Kel,
When I first read your post, I thought I wrote it. I can't even tell you how many times I have said to myself or others, "I'm not having fun yet!". We moved into our "tiny brown house" as our 4 year old calls our rental in June. Our build wont be done until May 09. After reading some of these posts, however, I am thankful that we have no pests (knock on wood). Hang in there. They say it will be worth it in the end. However, I'm afraid we might get used to this "low maintenance" way of life in a rental!

Is building a house supposed to be fun??? I can think of many descriptive phrases for the experience and "having fun" is not even close to the top of the list! :)

Oh I can definitely relate! We just moved into our shop apartment about 3 weeks ago. I also cried thinking about all of the memories of our old house (DH thought I was crazy!), but I'm finally starting to get out of that funk. I think it helps to finally have some of our stuff unpacked and some of the boxes out of the way.

In a way I'm very jealous, I would love to work at home, but on the other hand, sometimes it's nice to get away from that depressing temporary apartment-try to get out of there for awhile-go visit your new house, or go shopping for something for the new house. Just remember, this is only temporary! Try finding one thing that you absolutely love about your new house and focus on that, for me, that's the sunsets, I try to catch them everyday, and I tell myself each time, this is why we are doing this!

Hi all- I am in the same boat and feeling somewhat better reading your posts. We too closed on our house and moved in three weeks- just in time for my son to start kindergarten. I am still mourning my house (where I brought my babies home) and to make matters worse, I have to go there 2 times a day to get my son on/off the bus. Heartbreaking for me but thankfully, my son seems fine with it.
We sold quickly and our build has not even started. The road is in and some trees cleared but we are easily looking at 9 months in our rental. 3/4's of my house is in storage and although everyone says I should "enjoy this simple living"- I miss my stuff and my space. We are living in the center of town and with the train/traffic- I am having a hard time sleeping. My son and the baby are fine though and both think the elevator is very cool. The train commute is definitely working for my husband so i guess it is just me:(!
OK- enough of the pity party- I'm keeping my eye on the prize and am happy to know others can share my pain.
Thanks for letting me vent. Good luck to everyone!

Yeah, it's hard to keep things in perspective isn't it? I was complaining about my kitchen purgatory the other day and just had to stop myself -- when you listen to yourself it sounds pretty whiny. "Whhhaaaaa... I only have $25,000 to spend on my kitchen....wwwhhhhaaaaa..."

Try telling your neighbors in your tiny rental how crappy it is and how sad you are to be there -- and then remember that *they* aren't going to be moving into a brand new house in six months. Helps to keep a good attitude.

At least we have each other to vent to :o)

I'm new here (big time lurker) and just had to post. I'm feeling your pain too. I refer to this rental as my "dog urine smelling rental with big brown spiders". YUKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 4-6 weeks and I"m OUT!

I can SO relate. While I was and continue to be very, very thankful for having sold our other house so quickly, this is hard. It was three weeks from contract to close on the house we sold, and finding a rental that would take a short-term lease and a dog was no small task. The first rental that we thought we had lined up based on a handshake agreement was rented out from under us 4 days before we were supposed to close and move. So, we had to scramble, and where we ended up is referred to as "the rental from hell." We've had bad electric connections which required visits from the power company and an electrician, rodents, spiders, unidentified bugs, and a broken water pipe which flooded a corner of the "master" bedroom without being discovered until we started smelling the mold. (As crappy as the house is, though, the landlord is great, and very responsive when we call with a problem.) Plus, two days after we moved in, our beloved dog went missing for 3 days in the middle of a snow and ice storm. (Fortunately, a wonderful person found him 3 miles away dodging traffic on the highway and we were reunited because of his microchip.) And with this year's rain, the build has taken way longer than we anticipated...which means more time in the lovely rental.

We think we are 3-4 weeks away from finishing, if the builder's last estimate can remotely be believed (a subject for another thread). It can't come soon enough.

I keep telling myself it will be worth it. But boy, this has been one trying year.

t-mac, I am so happy that you got your dog back! We also have dogs, and they are the big reason we are in a crappy rental house! They went from running like wild animals when we let them outside to having to be put on a lead to use the bathroom. (They live inside, only go outside to potty). I had to take my nervous Border Collie to my dad's house to use the bathroom the first day because she was so scared! "Dad, can Annie (the BC) come over and poop at your house?" It was hilarious!

Hello everyone,
I gotta add my tale of woes too! We've been our little rental house two weeks tomorrow. Our house also sold fast, however the closing has been delayed 3x, but tommorrow it is a go!! We've got two adults, two very active five and six year olds, 3 dogs and a kittie crammed into about 600sf. It was the first house I could find in their school district. This past weekend, every hole that water could drain out of backed up. I'm not sure, but I think the toilet water was in the bathtub! Fortunately the landlord came right over and called roto rooter. I was praying he didn't roto up a dog toy or barbie doll! Fortunately it was just roots. Good news is the started excavating our lot last week and are pouring footers today. Bad news is we've had our first change order to the tune of 7400.00 We are putting in a pool too and in order to not have steps up to the pool they have to build a 40 something foot, L shaped retaining wall, which will ecentially be a brick fence on two sides. So that was a big big shocker. We have started a blog if anyone is interested in watching our progress. The address is www.debandcathi.blogspot.com I am so glad to have found this forum : ) the support and encouragement you all provide is wonderful. Cathi

jnjmom- funny you should mention the neighbors. I was in the middle of ranting to my very sweet one yesterday about the poor quality of the the finishes in our condo when I realized that she and her newlywed husband bought their place. Talk about putting your foot in your mouth!

ccinindiana- bad new on the change order. Our already delayed build is stalled again- this time because the town will not approve the rear entry 3 car garage. My husband and I are already streesing about how much $ and time making a change will cause.

Anybody else building in the town where they are renting? If so, don't you just love the daily reports you get from everyone you see on just how little is happening at your property! I don't even have to bother driving by- a trip to Dunkin Donuts gets me all the updates I could ever want.

Hang in there everyone.

Well at least you guys have SOLD your houses. We're living in a rental, waiting for our house to sell (been on market 6 months.) We can't even dream of starting to build until the house sells. However on the plus side, we love our new jobs in our new town and we actually LOVE our rental! Yes it's a bit smaller than our other house by about a third, but we really don't miss the space and it's only about 400 square feet smaller than the one we will be building. It's preparing us for downsizing. The only thing missing from our rental is a gas range and a nice master bathroom. Other than that it is perfect (for us.)

Here is a link that might be useful:

What a charming rental....you were lucky to find one that nice.......good luck on selling your house.....and also in building your new one......two huge stressors!!!! (You might find you like this so much you might just decide to stay there~~)

We've been in our rental since 7/1 and its not too bad. Hopefully the build will start in October, but its possible we may be waiting until spring. We keep changing things - the house, the lot and our budget (lower). Its all becoming very very tiresome. I am overwhelmed with all the decisons. Im the type who researches every little detail and Im starting to lose it.

I thought I would miss our house when we sold it, but I actually dont. Its a relief not to have to upkeep it like crazy for possible buyers, not to have any more yardwork and have less house to care for in general. I feel like I can finally try and focus on the build. We payed a little more to get our rental than we planned to, but I am so glad we did. Its more comfortable than the other place we were considering. You never know how long it will actually end up taking. (Like the Money Pit "two weeks, two weeks")

Cant wait till this is all over! Im not having fun either!

Count your blessings! While being stuck sleeping in a 700 sq ft rental, it sure beats sleeping in your new 2500 sq footer while still making the mortgage payment on the last one!

I think all of us that made the choice to sell first/concurrently while building are so much happier! I cannot fathom carrying both mortgages at once. I always dreaded building, until I realized all my stress was based on selling the current house. (I probably shouldn't mention that we found a really inexpensive rental in our hometown that was on a lake, should I?)

Hang in there- it sure beats the alternative!

Fun? Oh, honey-- it ain't about the fun.

It's about drinking so much you don't remember a darn thing about it, so that you are actually willing to do it again when the time comes.

In 2001 we tore down the 75 year old house we'd lived in for 25 years and built our forever house. Yeah, right. In '05, together with our two daughters and their families, we bought half a farm in Tennessee . . . planning to all build on it, and have one 15-acre plot for sale.

Our former "forever" house sold to the third looker. We rented from them for 9 months and May 1 moved into a rental 3 bedroom townhouse about 7 minutes from the build. Very convenient location . . . but stressful living! NO floor space!! One bedroom is for sleeping, one for office, and the master bedroom and closet is crammed full of art and other things we didn't want in the actual storage unit. In our office, we need those truck back-up beepers on our office chairs or we collide when we both back up at the same time.

We had endless troubles and endless outflow of $$ for months. Our Indiana Amish framers came down here and framed the house in a month . . . amazing. Then it sat for 8 solid weeks with nothing happening. Finally we got proactive and are now about ready for insulation.

I'm not sure this is fun. The first house was so stressful because I wasn't sure I could pull off getting everything to go together at the end. The house turned out great, so I've had more confidence this time, but again I'm lying awake at night thinking and rethinking decisions.

On the plus side, much about the house has turned out perfect and there's a fabulous view from every window.

I'll let you know if it was worth it when we move in, assuming I survive.

I can't complain, as I am still in my 'old' home, which I will miss dearly... all the memories - sigh. However, with two mortgages over 5.5K/month each for well over 2 years since we got rid of our last tenant & tore the 'new' house down... We just leased our 'old' and... at least we'll be down to one mortgage. Still emotional & after building a house, the 2nd mortgage seems like pennies, which is shocking. Someday this will all feel normal - I hope!

I love this thread! Makes me smile & realize that my family is not alone! We did sell our house, thankfully... last spring. After one week into this 600 sq ft apartment my 3 year old daughter broke her foot. A few weeks later my 6 year old son, sprained his toe. Then about a month later (at one of our hundreds of house appt's) my daughter fell and hit her head on the floor...we ended up at the med check with a STAT CT scan of her head. We are blessed as everything turned out OK, she was fine, only a concussion but we were dealt with 6 hours of vomiting after we got her home. Yes, we too have big brown spiders! The kids keep getting bites....I killed 3 this week alone. And yes I do realize, we should have gotten a bigger place for the 4 of us....but my thoughts were to have every extra dime go towards our house. We are now in our sixth month of apartment life and everyone is adjusted. I don't feel like the ceilings are coming down on me anymore.
I just hope that we can keep on keeping on and get this house built sooner rather than later.
Oh yeah, I'm not sure I'm having any fun yet!

mom22kids- glad your daughter is ok. I feel like every time we have a house appt., one of my kids gets hurt. The older one (5) wants to be a part of every conversation with the builder and the baby (15 months) just wants to explore. Fruit snacks only last so long:)
We figured a babysitter could be the way to go- easier to concentrate and accomplish more but even that didn't work. Builder opens up the plans to discuss the basement and the phone rings- the baby is sick and won't stop crying. Oh well- little by little it is coming together.
Good luck to you guys- especially with the spiders!