I am pursuing building a house in Croatia. It will look something like the photo above, except with a garage in a basement, instead of the ground floor as in this photo. This is a quite common house design here. This is another big project (although more personal) that I have been working on. In Croatia you have to be your own contractor and get price estimates and hire all the subs. I am learning a lot through this process. This school year I have been working on the house plan with an architect, as well as interviewing installers and getting estimates for everything from electricity to plumbing to the heating system. I have come to the decision to build here for several reasons:
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| My building site |
Because I cannot get a loan from a US bank on a house in a foreign country and mortgages are uncommon and risky in Croatia, I have decided to raise the funds for the initial construction. I also will avoid long-term debt this way, especially good as I live on the generosity of other people. Once I get the house finished enough to be able live in part of it, I will gradually finish the house around myself with money that would otherwise have gone for rent. This is also the way Croatians build houses, gradually over a span of several years. Donations toward the initial house construction can be made at right on this blog.
