Hidden Gems: Meet Laura Pilcher

Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Pilcher.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
We built our first cabin in the High Rockies in 2017. I had received a small amount of money from the passing of my beloved Nana, and I wanted to do something meaningful with it. We built the cabin for just over $100,000, working with a local builder and finishing the interior (mostly) ourselves. This first cabin in Fairplay became the namesake for our business – 100k Cabin. Since then, our business has grown to not only building homes for ourselves but also coaching others to do the same.

We pride ourselves on building affordably and with stylish finishes that aren’t always the norm in mountain areas. We prefer a Scandinavian look and feel over mountain rustic. I became a Realtor and am on the Denver and Summit MLS, so I can help in the entire Denver Metro area as well as Summit, Park, and Lake counties in the mountains.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Haha, no! But if it were easy, everyone would do it. I always say we had no special skills or knowledge, we simply had a dream and persistence. My husband and I had never done anything like what we did with our first cabin, and it definitely tested our patience and relationship, but we survived and were really proud of what we created. You don’t know what you don’t know, so we just went in headfirst and figured things out along the way. It’s funny what you can learn on YouTube.

Our hard work paid off in sweat equity, which allowed us to sell the property for a huge profit. That started us on the path of real estate investing, but unlike most, we build our homes rather than purchase existing homes. It is a longer path, but we’ve found it has really paid off. One of the hardest parts is selling the homes when they are finished – we become so attached!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
100k Cabin is known for affordable, Scandinavian-style mountain cabins. We believe that everyone should be able to enjoy their weekends in the mountains of Colorado without breaking the bank. That was the reason we built our first cabin, and it is the same reason why we continue to build homes for others.

When we would go skiing, mountain lodging was unbelievably expensive, so we did some research and found communities close by ski resorts where we could build affordably and deliver a mountain experience that we honestly prefer to the condos you find in large resort towns. It is a cabin-in-the-woods vibe that delivers that feeling of getting away from it all while being close to major resorts for amenities and skiing.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk-taking.
Our first major risk was thinking we could finish a home by ourselves! We did have to call in some pros along the way, but we did it! And we did it better than we ever thought possible. Taking that leap of faith of buying a lot of land in a town we were unfamiliar with and committing to building a home was scary at first, but now I realize that buying land is so smart.

We encourage everyone we know to buy land. It is only appreciating and there is less and less of it available. Our first lot cost $10k, and you can still find lots that cheap… you just have to know where to look. Your dream of a mountain home can be within reach… you just have to get creative.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.100kcabin.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/100kcabin
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/100kcabin