Hi, my name is Freddie and I design and build custom homes, at least, I used to design and build custom homes. I'm retired now. I made enough money on building homes that I retired early. Now, I live at the end of a very private and exclusive cul-de-sac and am proud of the fact that I built all the homes on my street.
There are seven beautiful homes on our street with each house located on nearly a three acre lot and with each home custom designed by me and the buyer. Although each house is uniquely different, they are not all so different that they do not blend with the architecture of the others. My house is dead center of the horseshoe. We all have 3 bedroom 2 ½ bathroom homes that run around 3,000 square feet, which is more than enough room for two people.
It is a beautiful area where I live. The air is fresh and the scenery is pure country with lush meadows with wild flowers, rolling hills, and mature trees filled with nature. Just a short drive to town supplies me everything that I need. We have a grocery store, hardware store, gas station, bakery, small market for fresh local farm grown produce, and what else do you really need? If you must, a short drive on the highway will take you to the mega-mall where there's a Wal-Mart. Only, I'm tired of malls, highways, and driving anywhere.
I love my neighbors. We are all very close friends and there is a reason for that, which I will get to later in the story. Only, I am so happy how this private community of ours evolved. It almost didn't happen and certainly was not the way how I had envisioned it. Let me begin by telling you some of the history.
Originally, I bought this large lot of land years ago, a twenty acre parcel on speculation that one day, I would build twenty high end homes for those who could afford it and who were over 55-years-old. I figured that the money that I made from this development was my nest egg. In the back of my mind, I had envisioned building my own little retirement community for when I retired. Only, nothing ever works out as planned. The township torpedoed my plans. An outsider of sorts, probably, I could have gotten the appropriate permits had I greased lots of hands. Still, there was no guarantee that bribery would work anyway. New to the neighborhood, certainly, it is illegal and could backfire on me with me playing the patsy and going to jail for bribing a public official.