In March 2003, I bought my first house in Damariscotta, Maine for just $225,000.00. I looked for almost a year for the right property. I wanted a property that I could continue to work on and always be able to get out of the property what I put into it. Over the past five years I have continued to work on the house. It's a classic bank cape built in 1754 on the middle of five acres surrounded by forest but minutes to downtown. The house is about 98% original including five work fireplaces on three floors. Just this spring, my insurance company appraised the house, and the house only, for $489,000.00. I have no mortgage. I have furnished the house with antiques that continue to up in value rather than depreciate. The house is amazingly energy efficient. It's 3200 square feet on three floors, I keep it at 70 all winter long and we have a long winter, my fuel use is only 250 gallons.

Now that I have the house pretty close to completion, I am going back into my art business which is of fine architectural prints and house portraits. The house portraits take a week to produce and sell for about $1,500.00 and I usually do three per month plus print sales. My cost of living is only $23,000.00 for everything. I have zero debt and 51 years old with about 20 more years of working as an artist and being able to put about $60,000.00 a year into the bank. Plus the value of the house which is now around $650,000.00. I bought the house with money earned from my art.