Homestretch!!!

We are within a week of the house being complete and then closing next week.  So far the process has been smooth with no issues.  We go check out the house about once a week to see what was added and how things are coming along.  A couple things to note:

1. There will most likely be dings and scratches on things, but they will get fixed.  I'm not being over optimistic as we would have thought moving appliances in the house and routine touchups would not cause any damage. But it happens and its not worth getting worked up over, unless its a major hole or issue.

2. The sod could have been laid down better, so we went around and fixed the seams that were overlapped or just not put down tight.  We did take pictures of some of the larger gaps and spots where it looks like left over pieces were used to fill gaps.  We discussed this and will monitor it to see how the sod takes before closing.

Front of house.  Loving the earthy/lodge look and feel to the home!

Kitchen from the living room.

Our huge fridge!  The doors do no bang against the drywall so that is good!

A couple problem areas in the lawn to watch over time

Living room from the kitchen

2 weeks away!!!

So we are a little more than 2 weeks  away from the house being complete.  We visited the house last week and it did not have cabinets or flooring. Well.....today we have cabinets, counters, flooring and sod!!!

Holy smokes the house coming together quick now.

So far there has not been any real issues with the build. Sure their have been dings and stuff along the way but it has all been fixed. We were given the chance to see a home in our neighborhood that was finished already and it does help put things in perspective when you are worried about little things.

The best thing I can think to describe a house in construction is like waking up to your wife with no make up on. Just give her sometime and she will be beautiful!

CTI Preview

Our Realtor had a preview appointment yesterday so that we could get an idea on cost and colors.  We were able to do this because we live on the opposite coast and will not be able to get to the design center to see and make the decisions ourselves.

There was no issue with us doing this and our SR helped us get this lined up, knowing we were buying the house, sight unseen.

Here are some of the images our Realtor sent us of the cabinets and granite, which we already knew what we wanted.  The hard part was visualizing everything together to pick up a good hardwood.

We like the tiles below but not the accent piece.  From what we were told, you can mix and match the tiles and accent pieces

One thing that we were told different from the SR is the option of a 10lb carpet pad.  The standard is a 5lb pad with an upgrade option to an 8lb pad.  We decided to add the 8lb pad in the entire house.

Here is a breakdown of what we are doing:

Hardwoods - Kitchen, Foyer and living Room, Powder Room and Morning Room.  It was only about $200 more to upgrade to lvl B hardwoods.  Lvl A has good stuff, it just depends on what you are looking for.  It was an additional cost of $1995(Living Room) and $1495(Morning Room) to have the hardwoods installed.  I am trying to get a discount or rebate for that as they would have put carpet and vinyl flooring, respectively, in the rooms anyways.  SR said there was no rebate because the cost is minimal to them, but I will push for it anyways.

Carpet - Basement, Zone 2 (upstairs and bedrooms) and Family room (Room with fire place).  We are going with level B carpet in entire house because it has stain protection and 10 year warranty and level C in the Family room.  We like the top grey color and pile.  There are soo many options for carpet, it gets a bit overwhelming.  I would suggest going to your local home improvement store to get an idea on what you like/want before going to the CTI appointment so you can filter out most of the options you dont like.

Master Suite - Upgrade to lvl C.  It was only about $900 to upgrade over the standard white or almond tiles and it gives the house a more custom look.  We also will add a shelf for soap and stuff for $75, which is better than a cheap soap dish stuck to the wall.

Overall, our Realtor did a great job for us in getting most of the items pre-selected, but we sent her tons of texts and emails every time we found something we liked, which she encouraged.  I would recommend to do your homework on the brands and models to find out what you like.  Both of us have spent hours going through colors and styles online to find ideas we like.  This has allowed us to be specific in what we want and made it easier overall in making our final selections.  Also, our Realtor has a couple clients that are building Ryan Homes in various stages and has been through the process a few times  before us, which has made the process easier for us and her as she knows what we can and cannot do.