Budget Breakdown: It Took $61K—and a Huge DIY Project—to Save This Tiny Portland Cottage

It all started with a very tall cedar tree that towers over Jason Stamp and Lara White’s house in the Concordia neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. The couple had remodeled and added a second-floor bedroom suite to their home, which overlooked the tree in their neighbor’s yard. "People would always be like, ‘What are you going to do when someone buys the house next door, builds a giant house, and tears down that tree?’" recalls Lara.