I stumbled on a great website to find out more about ponds and where to build the house on the land - pondboss.com.  Their forum led me to Mike Otto.  I am looking forward to having an expert come to the land and give us some good advice. There is alot to know about where to build a pond and how to maintain one.  You can actually have a nice clear pond to swim in that isn't a cement city pond. 

Four years ago my brother called and asked did I like the little plant I had taken home from his land in the country and did I want some more.  I said sure.  He said, "no, do you reeaaalllyy want some more?" That is when I decided to go into partnership with my brother and buy 189 acres.  After buying the land I couldn't spend much time there.  The land was raw and there wasnt any power or water.  At that time my husband John played the skeptic but my brother and I plugged away.  I researched and found out who to talk to and how to get power and water on the land.  It isnt that hard to do, so don't be afraid of trying.  I had socked away a little money of my own and paid to have it all done, including putting a nice road to the cabin.  That was another story!  I spent countless hours researching what kind of structure to put on the land.  You know how guys can be, leave it to the wife to figure it all out.  Late nights and early mornings I spent at the computer and finally found a company near the cabin that built Park Homes.  This was the perfect solution for me. 

Although the land was my brother's and mine alone as our investment property, I did want my husband to feel like the cabin was at least a part of his home, so I offered to share the cost of it with him.  He came up with some kind of 3/11ths formula being the best for his budget and began paying 3/11ths of the cabin itself while I paid for the land and all of its imporvements.  So I found the local guys that had good reputations, got the land near the cabin cleared, the septic put in, the fence built, and now the little place is really coming along.