...And the number is...

Happy Saturday!

As I mentioned in a previous post, it was time to make a little visit out to our SR to get the real scoop on the number of homes sold in our row.  Good is typically better than bad so let's start there!

Zoom Zoom

The Good
The row that they are currently working on went from just the garage to a full frame in just a few weeks.  Geez those guys move fast...you remember when it use to take months and months to build a home?

The Bad
Drum roll please...There are only 3 units sold in our row.  They will need to sell 6 of the 7 before they start building.  The build time is 4 months and our row is scheduled to be move in ready in November.  This would mean that construction of our row would need to start by August 1, 2014.  So homes would need to be sold by end of July 2014.  Ummmmm...not sure they will be on schedule at this point, but I will keep my fingers crossed.  What I saw was 6 lots without the "SOLD" sign posted...

Where in the world is "SOLD"?

I've read a few blogs that said to avoid moving in the winter if possible...and what do you know...looks like we will be winter movers after all!

& The Not So Ugly
You know...things could always be worse.  I am sure there are other builders out there with more difficult things going on than just my behind schedule issue right?  I need to suck it up and roll with the punches!  My biggest gripe with this is we were told 3 units were sold the last time we were out.  Today, the SR told us she just sold one today (making it 3).  **Sigh**

If you have any comments, suggestions, etc for moving in the winter, please share!  I'm sure our yard will suck right?  LOL

xoxo

Buying vs Buying

Hey there!

bathandbodyworks.com

We all have our issues right?  Well that is what I have been telling myself to make me feel better!  You all know that my hubby and I are building our first townhome, but I can't seem to gear away from all the sales that are currently happening.  Bath & Body Works, Zara, and H&M.  The biggest issue is my BBW addiction.  I have so many candles that I have to 'make up' storage space for them.  The body care items are really just stuffed under one of the couches (our couch has a storage thingy underneath the seating).  Not to mention the summer concert series that was planned before the whole "let's buy a home" thing popped up.  Then there is travel...ahhhhhhhh...what's a lady to do?  Are you a shopaholic (especially for sales)?  Usually if there is no sale happening, I am OK...but girlfriend, as soon as the sale emails start flying in, I'm logging in!  

The good thing thing, since the hubby purchased the concerts, I should be good on that front...but there is no excuse for the other shopping.  This morning was my last time shopping until after we close (excluding vacation).  I pinky promise!!!  

My most recent BBW delivery...Yikes

xoxo

How Many Are REALLY Sold?

Happy Friday!!!

Tomorrow, I will be making another venture out to the site.  I know what you're thinking..."they haven't started building so why is she going out there?"  And you would be right on track, but let me tell you why I go...

You see, we were given different numbers when asked "how many have you sold on our row?"  Keep in mind that they will not start building our row until all (or 6 of 7) townhomes are sold.  For us, we are currently renting, and what this means is once our lease expires, we will be month-to-month, and YEP you guessed it...the monthly rental price (market rate) is waaaayyyy higher than our current pricing.  Just to plant the vision...we moved into our apartment during construction phase two years ago and they have yet to increase our monthly costs...

We just want to have an honest conversation with our leasing office as they may be able to offer us a 3 or 6 month deal instead of paying the market rate.  I know it's highly unlikely that we will be able to hit the delivery month right on, but I would like to get as close as possible.

So, headed back out to see the progress on the row they are currently working on.  By the way, after they finish that row, they are scheduled to start on ours (another reason those sales need to be up).  Personally, I do not believe sales is an issue in the community, but when it's you that need 5 more sold, hmmmmmm, you start to feel a little nervous.  LOL

I will let you know how it went this weekend!

xoxo

20 Minutes of Wiring

Happy Monday!!!

How was your weekend?  For us, it was more fun home stuff!  This weekend, we had our wiring appointment with Trinity Wiring.  I am not sure how long the appointment is supposed to take, but we were in and out in 20 minutes (and that included our rep making a phone call).  Of course they offered everything from HDMI outlets to security and surround sound, but we did not purchase any additional features from Trinity.  We stuck with the standards and let me tell you why...

For the space that we will have, we surely need more than the standards, but the price point for what they would be doing pre-drywall is crazy.  My husband asked if they could install some sort of tube, but the answer was no.  This tube thing (whatever the technical name for it is) would allow my husband to easily do the wiring afterwards.  He would basically have the capability to snake the wires through the tube to the desired locations without running the risk of hitting a 'wall'.  After the rep told us this was not possible on their end, he made a call to double check.  He returned saying could instead run a tube to the attic...which would be terrific if we were looking for satellite solutions!    

Trinity does not currently have very good reviews, so even though we may be stuck with doing it afterwards, we would feel much better spending our money with someone a little more favorable.  This is surely worth an update once we are in and settle.  Stay tuned...

xoxo

Rant Session I

Hi there!

To sign or not to sign...

Am I really ranting already and we just started the process?  Yes!  Here is what happened...

We have met with our SR almost every weekend for the last 1.5 months (partly because I like going out to the model taking measurements and visioning my decor, etc.).  Through all the talks, pictures and diagrams, we were notified that our garage doors will NOT resemble all the talks, pictures and diagrams.  We will have plain white garage doors with no flair!  You may be thinking "well it's just the garage door", and you would be correct.  My problem is it appears like they use the "site matrix" when they want to.  Let me explain.  You see in the document that we were to sign, it told us that we were not going to have dormers.  So at this point, according to the signed documents there would be no pretty garage and no dormers.  

Our SR said it should have the dormers because it's on the site matrix so she had to complete an addendum.  It was also on the site matrix to have a carriage garage...so please help me understand why we aren't following the same rules?  Why don't we complete an addendum for the garage?  My question was why is it that the site matrix only comes into play for certain options?

How about you?  What surprises did you experience?  What am I missing?  Perhaps this is just the beginning of many more surprises!

OK...I'm all better now!  Just had to get that out!  Whew...

xoxo

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Flooring selections up next (with pics)...

Hi there!
Yesterday we had the lovely opportunity to select our flooring, cabinets and counter tops.  Boy...we were in for a huge surprise when we saw that there was only ONE standard cabinet selection.  Of course, they offered more but we were shocked that there was only one standard option.  Needless to say, the standard option was not one we decided to go with!  It was a light color and we wanted more darker colors.  Dannie was our design consultant and we had a great time while there for 3.5 hours!  We were able to decide on things a little easier once we got pass the cabinets.  The selection of granite (and quartz) were good.  Not many choices for quartz but there were a few.  Our focus was to not pay for something we could do later.  However, some things that we KNOW we will not want to do later, we paid for.  Cabinets would fall in this category.  We do not think we want someone ripping cabinets out anytime soon so we paid for an upgraded option.  On the other hand, we want to have the kitchen level all wood.  We found a flooring company before our appointment and had the discussion on the budget and time (and likelihood to match the flooring) after build.  We were satisfied with the capability to do the great room and dining room after build.  So for the kitchen level we will have the kitchen done in hard wood but the great room, stairs leading up to bedroom level and dining room will be level one carpeting.  All upgraded carpet and padding in other levels.  We added a humidifier for the wood because it was a decent price and it would have a warranty.  

If I had any information to suggest for you as you go to your selection appointments, I would just say have some idea of what you like.  Dark wood, lighter woods, 4 inches vs 3.25 inches, granite or quartz, ceramic or tile, etc.  Do not feel like you have to rush...take your entire 3 hours and play around with some combinations.  We were rolling around on the floor (perhaps we were just tired of looking after hour one) trying to get the "right" flow.

We also declined the back splash option as we will do this after as well, but they do offer it if you decide to go that route.  The thing about allowing them to do the back splash is you will not have the "lip" thing.  Doing it afterwards will force you have a "lip".  I did read online of a person who had it installed after close and was able to not have the lip.  So I am not sure...you may be able to do it after close without the lip!

Here are a few pics of our experience and selections.

A few of the flooring options

We upgraded the master bath with mosaic tiles instead of the white pan

Our master bath selections

2nd bath selections (we left these standard as we will redesign this entire space for a more contemporary feel)

One shelf included in 2nd bath

Cabinet selections.  The first one on the left was the ONE standard option

Standard granite options

Upgraded granite options and quartz options

Happy Selecting!

New Visit & Model Pics...

Hi there!

Now that we know what our new [town]home will look like, we took a visit to the community to ask a few questions on standards before our flooring and wiring meetings in the upcoming weeks.  In this model you have the option of things like a Roman shower or soaking tub with regular shower.  There are other options that we need to decide because either they can't be easily done afterwards or the cost is about the same (5-burner stove, back splash, lights, etc.).  We were able to get all questions answered and we are ready to go pick out some 'stuff'!  LOL

Our next decision will be whether we want a deck now or pay for it to be done later.  We will get some quotes in the next week or so and decide.

There are two models available to view...one is more contemporary and the other more traditional.  Based on our current selections, it seems like we are mixing the two.  We have selected the 10ft bump out which opens up the space even more.  Some of the other options we have already selected are noted below in the pictures.  Overall, very nice use of space and I can't wait to get in and start decorating!

What I learned today:

• This month, they are offering $10K on options
• The garage doors are now updated with a glass decoration at the top (sorry I am not sure of the technical term)
• Our of seven homes in our row, 2 are sold and 1 more soon to be sold (NV will not build until 95% of the row is sold)...we knew about their rule before today but I wanted to see if anymore had been sold
• The neighbors have been really nice and helpful!!!  
• I did not see any individual mailboxes...only the community mailboxes

I have pictures of the model if you have never seen an Andrew Carnegie.  I will also update with our options once we have them in black ink.
If you have any questions about the initial phase, just let me know.  I have been learning a lot since this is our first build so I could go on for days...but I will spare you!

xoxo

They no longer offer the fireplace as pictured here in the rec room.  Instead, it is located in the great room as a floating fireplace

Great room 

Kitchen in the traditional model

I will take on adding cabinets to the laundry room as a DIY later

Huge owner's suite

Bedroom #2 (nice size)

Bedroom #3 (same size as bedroom #2...nice)

Instead of the Roman shower, you can have the soaking tub with regular shower (one of our selections)

Option: frameless shower (one of our selections)

Standard

5 burner (not standard)

New fireplace option  in the great room of contemporary model (one of our selections)

A little piece of the beginning...

Hi there!

I will not bore you with all the minor details like how we decided on this particular home, but basically it was a nice size, location was a commutable distance, standards were nice and the space inside was used to our liking.  You ever go into a home and on paper there is a lot of space, but once inside there is one too many hallways you can't do anything with?  This happened in our search and I just couldn't wrap my mind on why the builder decided to do that.  Well apparently it works for some and not so much for others...

Lets talk about the sales pitch!
Our SR was really nice (aren't they all at the beginning?).  She did not waste a lot of our time but she listened to what we wanted and did a great job working out some shaded areas of the fine print.  The SR met with us at various times after normal business hours to accommodate our working schedules!  We finally said yes and began to pick out our selections to get a better feel of the 'real' price.  It really wasn't that bad because their standards were already really nice which prevented us from adding a bunch of stuff at a 'builder' price.  

I should mention that we also had a real estate broker.  One thing I will forever live by is whether you are buying or building, get yourself a representative.  Heck, the seller has one!  Our broker has been our saving grace.  I am not an expert so I would imagine he or she would know what's really going on and what all the attorney lingo is about.  Trust me...you will not be sorry.  Oh and by the way...they cost you nothing!!!  An expert for free?  Sign me up!  

Our broker and SR are in constant communication and so far everything is going alright.  He has been at every meeting with us, breaking down all the paragraphs and ensuring a true understanding.  What an awesome choice!!!

Obtaining a broker was a process within itself because we had to interview people and pick the right person for us.  We ended up going with a referral but the process was definitely worth it.  I thought it was pretty fun to listen to people talk about what they can do for us!  :-)

I will post some pics of the model and floor plan soon! 

xoxo

Let the party begin!

Hello Everyone!!!

After weeks of lurking, I have decided to create a space to share our journey with building our new Andrew Carnegie with NVHomes.  We are super excited (well perhaps I am more excited than my hubby), but he will come through.  For him, the back and forth of having to negotiate on details makes him scream!  I just say "hunny it's part of the process, just keep it moving"!  

You all have provided me with sooooo many lovely details, what to look out for, what questions to ask and most importantly...the pictures.  You all have some amazing homes and I look forward to sharing with you all as well.  

Seat belts are on, so lets enjoy this ride together!  Hopefully my experience will help others like you all have helped me.  I will include more about me on ebonibrown.com once it is ready, but for now we will keep it here.  

xoxo