What? It's only money!?!

OK, so we're not perfect. Well, pretty far from perfect to be honest. And before I get too far down on myself, you're not perfect either! Anyway, reality is stryking home where it concerns our credit. Now we're not destitue, and we make all right dough for 1-1/2 incomes. But it was not all that long ago that we were one income, and it was sometimes a challenge to keep up with the bills and expenses. But we've had our eye on this project for awhile now, and have been buckling down in our discipline. And since Sandi went back to work last year, we've been able to get ahead a bit by paying off credit cards and doing things like the septic system and moving the old house.

The thing is, the bankers don't give a crap about any of that. They're robots. Data entry clerks. Heartless worms caught in a poison trap that is the economy, hanging on only by the depth of thier corrupt parent organization. OK, maybe that last was a bit harsh, but it is true that the economy is in turmoil and as it was caused in part by irresponsible lending practices and over-valued real estate they now have greatly revised and restricted criteria for handing out credit.

So because of Sandi's return to work, our tax returns don't reflect our current income. And credit score standards have gone up with the price of oil, so what was a year ago "good" credit is now only "fair" credit and they seem to want "excellent" credit. That's not a killer for us, as we're on the "good" side of "fair", but in terms of ultimately borrowing over a half-million dollars we're on the edge.

There's another hitch too. We don't have a builder. We don't want a builder, but how can an anonymous investor know whether we know which end of a faucet to connect a pipe to? I understand it, and we'll have to deal with that aspect hopefully without a great deal of additional expense. The one builder we talked to early on wanted $5,000 a month to manage the project. We can't do that. Not with the house we want. So we need someone to sign but mostly stay out of the way. Referrals accepted!

So the bottom line is, we're stalled on the launch pad. The possibility is very real that we may need or choose to wait until next spring, due to weather. It would not be a good thing to have open framing in the rainy season, and I know from experience what a drag it is to build stuff outdoors when it's near freezing inside.

We're meeting with another financier later this week, as well as the original framing contractor who also happens to be a general contractor. He told me that things are so slow in this area that his earlier price to us would drop another 15%, so that may be a good thing.

Will somebody please loan us $300,000? You'll definitely get an invitation to the housewarming party!