The ledger

What this build has cost, from zero, updated as each phase clears. Small numbers on purpose. The point is a finished home without a thirty-year mortgage, shown with receipts.

Why one number is missing: the land is owned outright, but its purchase price stays off this page. Price plus county plus timing is enough to match a parcel against public transfer records, and that is a name. So the land sits here as acquired, amount withheld. If that ever stops being a risk, the number fills in.

$1,600
Committed
$0
Paid to date
~$2,175
Known estimate

Every line the build has a number for is below. Most of the post-gate costs are still honest question marks, and they fill in as the work reaches them. Nothing here is projected before it is earned.

ItemStatusAmount
Soil and perc evaluationCommitted$1,600
Septic construction permitPlanned$400
Septic inspectionPlanned$100
Well notice of intentPlanned$75
Well drilling and pumpPlannedTBD
Building permitPlannedTBD
E-911 addressPlannedlow or none
Storm-shelter engineeringPlannedTBD
Foundation stampPlannedTBD
Gravel driveway and accessPlannedTBD
Septic system installThe forkTBD
LandOwnedwithheld

The big swing is still ahead. The perc result decides whether the septic is a simple gravity system or an engineered one, and that single line can move the budget by thousands. Until the dirt decides, both stay live: about $2,100 conventional, about $2,300 engineered, on the fees known so far. The install itself is the dominant cost, quoted only after the result.

The two numbers we're chasing

Filled in honestly as they're earned, never projected:

Mortgage avoidedPendingthe financed cost of a comparable home, minus this one
Cost saved, self-performed and AI-orchestrated vs hiring outPendingper phase, as they close

This page mirrors the build's cost ledger, the system of record. Figures are cleared for public view. The location never gets more specific than Cumberland County, Tennessee, and the land price stays off until it can't be used to find the place. Watching the build? Follow the field notes, where each of these numbers gets its story.