We are a family whose blood runs red and black. That’s right. We’re Georgia Bulldogs. My wife and I both went to college there. I even got my master’s degree there. Heck, we were still living in Athens when we got married.

We’re back in our hometown of Columbus, GA now, but my in-laws still have UGA football season tickets. My wife and I have spent many of our wedding anniversaries in Athens. Our anniversary falls right before football season but after school starts, so we love to enjoy the buzz of a new fall semester when we can. Suffice to say, we’ll always have a connection to the Classic City.

When we were expecting our first child, I got to thinking… what if he goes to UGA like his mom and dad did? Then we had another one. They are only two years apart. What if they both go there? As a relatively new parent, the cost of college weighs on me. Luckily, here in Georgia, we have the HOPE to cover tuition. However, housing is a significant component that will continue to rise in cost.

The Pitch

So, here’s my pitch. We should build a college house. It would be a 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom house with a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom garage apartment. Our oldest would start living there after his freshman year since living in the dorms is fundamental to the college experience at UGA. At first, we could rent out the other two bedrooms to two of his most trustworthy friends. Later, when our second is old enough, he could move in. We would use the garage apartment to attend football games, have family weekends, and welcome guests. Heck, if our kids are responsible enough, we could rent the garage apartment out as an Airbnb when we’re not using it.

Pros

Okay, let’s talk pros and cons. The pros come first. Assuming both kids finish college in four years, we stand to save a lot on housing over that approximate six-year horizon. With the rent collection, we could even break even or make money on college housing. By the way, this might be a great time to upgrade out Columbus home’s furniture. We could move our old furniture from my in-law’s beach house up to Athens. Next, having a place to stay when visiting Athens will facilitate lots of family time. We love our kids, and we love Athens. I don’t see either of those things changing any time soon. Another wild idea is that we could start a family business to pay our children for their labor. They can start saving for retirement at a young age. Finally, this project will create affordable housing for whoever uses it in the future.

Cons

Now it’s time to talk cons. First, this is a big project. I’ve never built a house start-to-finish, but I want this to be a DIY project. We would have to learn a lot to accomplish this, and I wouldn’t want to do this without full buy-in from the entire family (more on that later). Next, building and owning a rental house could come with legal issues. I would have to be in compliance with all relevant regulations. Finally, there is a risk for failure. This kind of depends on the metric for success. Possible failures could be exceeding the time or money budget, making a costly construction mistake, or placing too much strain on my family. Of all these, the last one concerns me most, so we’ve got to band together as a family to do this.

Alternatives

Another option would be to just buy a place in Athens. Maybe a condo or something self-contained. Sure, there would be less responsibility, less maintenance, no lawn to mow. But what would be losing? For one, there’s a lot less leverage from buying a place rather than building on your own. We would gain time but spend more money. But more than that, we would miss out on the experience. This big idea is about the experience, not just the destination.

The Plan

So how will we accomplish this? Here’s my plan so far. My wife and I both volunteered with our high school’s Habitat for Humanity chapter. We participated in a couple new builds and got a lot out of it. Plus, it was a great service-learning experience for our college applications. I think we should do the same with our kids. In fact, we should volunteer as family unit. It would be a great way to give back to the community while learning a ton together as a family.

We’re looking at about a 15-year time horizon here, but I bet that will go by quickly. As a fun first step, we should make a birdhouse. I’ll write about that when we do it. Between now and then, I guess we can be shopping online for land in Athens, although I’m not sure when we’d be ready to buy. Another thing we can do right now is look at house plans.

Speaking of lots, you probably know what matters most: location, location, location. We should look for a lot that’s on the UGA bus line or within walking or biking distance of campus. Great things to look for are the areas that will be getting UGA bus lines or bike paths in the future. If we can buy before construction is complete, maybe we stand to save or make money when the property values go up. My in-laws football tickets come with a parking pass, so we probably don’t need to worry about transportation for football weekends. Some areas I’m thinking about are the new VetMed area (bus route), Oconee St’s intersection with the loop (bike trail), the Winterville area (bike trail to be built), and the Whitehall area.

Next Steps

As I mentioned before, my first step almost seems silly: build a birdhouse. But my kids are little, and we are busy. I think this is the perfect way to get started and include the whole family. Happy building!