I’m not against it, just don’t want to put myself in a stressful spot with a monster mortgage if things go sideways.

Can someone help me with an idea or two of something we can build in place of the home we will tear down which can still honor family and the significance of the spot the home once sat on?

San Antonio is an rich vibrant city full of affordable housing, tourist attractions (Alamo, riverwalk, sixflags, white water and more), military bases (Fort Sam Houston, Lackland Air Force Base, and Randolph Air Force Base) and surrounded by great suburbs (Stone Oak, Alamo Ranch, and the Dominion).San Antonio reclaimed its spot as the nation's fastest-growing city in 2023. 

You're spot on..usually 10+ or 20+ acres and rural can be a challenge for most lenders.

If you have natural gas to that spot for a tanked unit, swapping to a tankless is cake.Insulate the garage door if that isn't done.If you are local and handy, you can do a DIY mini split in there for under $1000.

Quote from @Todd Anderson: Todd, you are spot on the builder financing option.

Oh, and my colleague's name is in the spot where it says "John Smith" in case you didn't figure that out.

With the number of attraction spots in and around the Shenandoah Valley, you could certainly make the case that there are homes in the area that are within a “vacation destination” should your primary residence be less than 65 miles from any of these attractions or locations.

Some are willing to eat $150k on the spot.

They're multi-million dollar investors and tax professionals and they're content is spot on.