Beyond the Image: Part 3
Perfect piece of land, but it was way too expensive and didn’t permit the type of building I wanted to create.
Hello and welcome back to the third part of the series Beyond the Image, where I share the story behind the house featured in Super Finnish’s marketing. This series will take you through my inspiration, the five and a half months of building, and where the house stands today. In this post, I’ll delve into the details of my dream lot and how I managed to buy it. I hope you enjoy it!
I mentioned my tight budget in my previous blog post; I wanted to find a lot for about $55,000 to $66,000. Oh, how easy it is to decide to go over budget when you find a piece of land that is perfect and has this and that, and a bit more besides! You can come up with ten ways to sell the idea to yourself and give yourself permission to exceed your budget. That could be a dramatic mistake and ruin the entire building project.
It was time to put my real estate expertise to use and make the purchase happen, on my terms!
The land was perfect: 2.5 acres with some height variation without being too steep. It had so many old trees that I knew I wanted to save, if I ever got to buy the lot. I spent a couple of hours walking around the land and quickly began to form my vision for it.
The real estate broker had almost given up.
I called the broker as soon as I got back to my car. This time, the broker was actually great. Super helpful, knowledgeable about the area, and familiar with the neighbors and other details. They mentioned that this lot had been listed for a long time, which was lovely news for me!
The lot had been marketed in a somewhat misleading way. The previous owner had obtained permits for a massive main building and a huge garage that could fit one or two buses. I realized that this was likely the reason the land hadn’t sold yet; the location was too remote for such a fancy house and more.
The permit the previous owner had obtained was already expired. This was actually good news for me, as it’s easier to get a completely new permit than to adjust an old one. I called the city to speak with the head architect in charge of permitting in the area.
You couldn't tell by looking at it, but the land had many elements that made it quite strictly protected.
The city's first reaction was, 'You absolutely cannot build in this area!'
I quickly found out that the area was protected because of its significant surroundings. The architect crushed all my dreams by telling me that I would never get a permit to build on this land. They were strict, unnecessarily strict, almost mean. My first thought: F*ck! The land was perfect!
I drove back home, calmed down, organized my thoughts, and came up with a game plan. I thrive in moments like this. Bring me a problem, and I’ll solve it! The architect's meanness was disappointing, and it hit hard against my dreams. But I collected my thoughts, rolled up my sleeves, and got to work!
If they got a permit, then I will get one too!
I realized a fact that would be on my side: someone had already obtained a permit to build something on this land. So, my negative thoughts about the previous permit and the ridiculousness of the size of the building shifted to an annoying smile. I understood that someone had already done what I wanted to do; it just happened a while ago, before the building restrictions became much stricter.
I got back home, the home that I had already sold but was still living in due to the contract I made with the buyer. I called the architect again and informed them about the old permit and how it had been granted previously. They did not seem pleased with this fact; for some reason, they were not aware of it. I explained that if it had been possible before, and nothing major had changed in the building restrictions in the area, I should be able to obtain the permit again. They negatively promised to look into the case and call me back in a few days.
No need to call me; I’ll call you!
Patience is not my best virtue, so I called the architect two days later. They told me that they had discovered there indeed had been a permit previously. It had been approved by the government agency because of the significant nature of the area. When an area is considered that special in Finland, there is a separate agency that needs to approve the plans, not just the city. Lucky me, my dream land was in an area like this.
The architect made it clear that I would never be allowed to build anything as big as the old permit had approved. Yet another jackpot for me! That was not my plan. My plan was completely opposite; I wanted to build something very small that would only be used as a “mökki,” a Finnish summer house. Once the architect learned more about my plans and had the facts about the previous permit, they started to like my ideas. They actually became fairly supportive of my concepts. They gave me a good green light that my plans would most likely be approved, and I would get a permit for them. It just had to go through the official process, which I could only do as the owner of the land.
I ended up spending hours walking around the land. Even before making an offer, I was able to form a clear idea of how to position the building and plan the functionalities on the lot.
Time to put in an offer!
I had kept the broker informed about the issues with the city and the potential permitting challenges. They were surprised by everything that was happening! When I shared the good news about my conversations with the city, they realized that the sale of the plot was somewhat complicated. There aren’t many buyers interested in purchasing a piece of land that would only permit the building of something small like I was planning. It was a dry land plot with strict building restrictions.
The plot was originally listed for about $85,000, but due to the work I had done with the city, my knowledge, and the facts about the stringent building restrictions, I submitted an offer of about $17,000. It was a bit of a take-it-or-leave-it situation. If they left it, they would most likely not sell the land at all.
After a round or two of negotiations, I raised my offer to about $22,000, which ultimately closed the deal. I got my dream piece of land for less than half of my budget! It wasn’t easy, but it was totally worth it.
Jussi-Pekka Kajaala
Nordic Visionary, Creative Entrepreneur
