I’m stoked. Things are falling into place in a good way. I’ve had a design consultation and the heart of the design work can’t take place until this fall. This means I can return the financing and make much better plans.

Taking the financing when I did would mean some belt tightening for the next five years, so being able to return it now is rather a relief. I’ll be eligible to take it again June of next year, by which time I can lay some budgetary groundwork to make bearing the payback much easier.

Moving the build to next year means I have time to gain skills, so that puts self-building back on the table as an option. It also adds a new possibility of hosting a build workshop, so that others can come and learn, meanwhile shortening the duration of the build. I understand there are lots of stick framing workshops going on, but not so many SIP workshops, so that could make it a strong attractor. And SIPs go up fast anyway, so the end of a workshop results in a closer-to-complete build.

The mean little voice in my head is saying that I’m just putting off my project for another year the way I always do. Next year, next year, next year. Maybe so and maybe no. I’m investing in proper design and construction documents, which is a proof of commitment and is a plain expenditure in its construction process. It’s the first money I’ve put into it, not counting the fee for the financing, since the financing is going back.

Apropos nothing, I’m seeing that while lots of informative sites have grown up around tiny houses, very few of them have anything for vardo and caravan builders. Maybe it’s time to launch a new site?