Island Time

The Evolution of a Project

Three years ago Lisa and I purchased a small, run down, dilapidated ranch style home in one of the few beach communities on Whidbey Island. The community is called Lagoon Point. An older widowed women occupied the home. After her husband passed away she was unable to maintain the home and it fell into disrepair. We bought the home a few months after she passed away (in the home).

Our intent in buying the home was to renovate it and then rent it out. Little did we know the restrictions the county had placed on renovating homes in shore-line communities (beach communities). The biggest restriction was limiting how much money we could spend on renovations. The home structure was assessed at $42,000. As such, we could only spend $4,200 in repairs. That was not possible given the condition of the home.

After the county gave us approval to demolish the home and replace it with a new structure, we took the house down. Although, tearing the house down was not inexpensive. The asbestos inspection, asbestos abatement, and the demolition came to $20K.

After a couple of years of indecisiveness (Do we sell or do we build?) we finally decided to build. Ian has been helping with the construction, and once the project is complete, Ian and Kaylene will buy a 50% share in the cabin.

The process of getting a building permit from the county was a long, long process. We waited sixteen weeks to get our permit, essentially losing most of the summer building season. The rains have begun which will slow construction. We work a couple of days per week on the cabin. I guess that is what we will call it for now, the cabin. The other three days in the week are devoted to Ian’s business.

The pictures below show the progression of the project.

House demolition