A Shell Brothers build in Terra View, two property sales, and a major family pivot that required careful sequencing
The situation
Heath and his wife, Kate, came to me through our personal connection in the local lacrosse community. Their original goal was to move from South Boise to Eagle and create a home where their family and Kate’s mother could live together.
That meant three properties had to work together: selling Heath and Kate’s home in the Silverpine subdivision in South Boise, selling the mother’s home, and buying a new multigenerational home in Eagle. Heath is a financial planner, and he approaches big decisions with a sharp focus on numbers, timing, and risk. I appreciated that, because this move had plenty of all three.
The challenge
After evaluating options, we identified a new home being offered by Shell Brothers in the Terra View community in Eagle. Shell Brothers was new to the Treasure Valley, and this became the builder’s first contract in Terra View. At approximately $1.2 million, the home offered about 5,300 square feet, a basement, a large garage, an RV bay, and the space the plan required.
The catch: the purchase contract was not contingent on either existing home selling. Every step after signing had to be planned so the family was never caught carrying more than they intended. And partway through construction, the family’s circumstances changed unexpectedly. The original need for a three-generation household was no longer there, and Heath and Kate had to decide whether the larger home still made sense.
The plan
Because the builder was motivated to establish momentum in a new community, we were able to secure favorable value early in the project. During construction, Heath spotted unfinished attic space that could become approximately 700 additional square feet. He added that option, bringing the finished home to roughly 6,000 square feet across two stories and a basement.
When the family’s plans changed, we talked through the home, the community, and what mattered to them. Their children were excited about the move, and they chose to continue. That required a new sequence. Instead of selling the South Boise home first, we prepared a small family property on the Boise Bench, an older one-bedroom, one-bath bungalow of about 1,000 square feet, and listed it near $389,000. It sold, and the proceeds went toward the Eagle home.
We then listed the Silverpine home. The preparation and launch lined up well with the market, and it sold during its first weekend.
On the construction side, our inspection found elevated radon, and Shell Brothers installed a mitigation system at the builder’s expense. When the garage slab was cosmetically damaged during construction, the builder resolved it with an epoxy floor coating. The builder stayed responsive, completed the agreed work, and delivered on schedule.
The result
With both sales complete, the financing and equity came together and the family moved into Terra View as planned. By the time the home was ready, comparable new-construction pricing in the community had increased by about $150,000, so the early contract and the attic addition both worked in their favor.
What this means for you if you’re in a similar spot
If you are moving up to Eagle and your new home is not contingent on selling your current one, the order of operations is everything. The right sequence can depend on which property will sell fastest, where the equity sits, and what happens if your plans shift midstream. Plans do shift. The goal is a strategy flexible enough to absorb that without putting your finances at risk.
My background in lending helps here: I look at a move like this the way an underwriter would, asking where the money comes from at each step and what happens if one piece is late. Then I build the listing and construction timeline around those answers.
Thinking about a move like this? Call or text me at (208) 745-2895, or visit chrisbudka.com/schedule to set up a time to talk.
