The contractor we hired began the first week in April and promised that this little 2,000 sq ft. cottage would be completed by the end of June, then the end of July with concrete promises & fingers crossed to have it finished before school started.  

I am also sure many new cottage industries (and jobs!)

Or price the cottages at northwood in avery ranch and subtract the lot--you should walk their or some other "cottage" model homes and see if you can find a floorplan you like so you can see your space you're building.  

As others said the oil unit needs to be switched with a gas furnace.Our cottage used to have a oil furnace and once gas was ran down the road we switched it.

My biggest pitfall was a combination of:a) Not knowing that the cheese could (or would) move, and then it did combined with b) Negative cash-flowI had a system going where I would buy/fix/rent and then do a cash-out refi, Was making great money this way, but picked up a little more negative cash-flow on each deal.

The lasted was a few months ago, I had a property under contract in West Texas and a storm made the vinyl siding look like swiss cheese and totaled the roof. 

I will either be having a martini with blue cheese stuffed olives with lunch, or iced tea ;-)These are the lots my partner and I want, the value is there at full price, but if I can get them cheaper obviously it's better for my bottom line.

I got a real deal a month ago, a 2/1 950 s/f cottage in a good area with a great lot.

I am still wearing my #25 jersey today, just to rub it in the face of all my cheese head friends.

Usually it is a "guest cottage " with one or two bedrooms not two 4 bedroom houses.