July 25, 1995

We got bids back from all but one of the 8 companies. Surprisingly, almost all the companies came back with bids that were close to each other, except for one company that somehow missed the fact that we had sent scaled drawings and over estimated the size of our house by 40% with a subsequent increase in their cost bid. Needless to say, we did not choose the company that couldn't read a scaled plan accurately.

We were impressed with the dealer at Wilderness Log Homes who worked tirelessly with us to put together a package we felt we could afford and be comfortable with. We also met the local Wilderness Dealer, Dennis and Cheryl Timmerman, at a home show who helped us put together a complete building estimate with the help of a local builder. Dennis had 15 years experience with Wilderness and was in the process of building a new Wilderness home for his family. One sticky point was the standard Wilderness contract which stipulated a 20% down payment. Of course we didn't have that kind of cash, but the dealer agreed to a 5% down payment, 3% now and 2% when the final blueprints were completed. We signed the contract and sent it along with a check to Wilderness.

Now all we need to do is sit and wait for the first set of preliminary plans to be completed. We are all excited!

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