We're lucky. The place is solidly built, with a good, dry crawlspace under the main house. On the other hand, it's under-insulated, completely drafty, and the mechanical equipment is a little questionable. Okay, a lot questionable since it's in unconditioned closets in the garage. And there's a huge freakin' hole from the mechanical closet into the crawlspace. But beyond that, it's all good. Not much needs to be remodeled.

The property (2 acres, no mule) is full of native, low water grasses, plants and fantastic rock gardens. And there's a monster composting system going on (and a llama farm next door, free manure).

We've got five months to get the place ready for us, which includes adding offices for my husband and I over the garage, a few minor cosmetics, a new roof, and doing all of the energy upgrades we need to knock down the utility bills...

Wonder how green we can be and not break the bank?