We've Got a Road

After meeting with our straight shooter PM, who basically said that he's honestly, only been back to our part of the development maybe twice, because there's no road there yet, we were properly tempered. As in, OK, this guy's going to build us a quality home, once he actually gets the permit, which requires the road to be in, which also requires county approval I think. He said that the actual construction of the road won't take long, maybe a couple days, and that it could be any day now. That was stated on 8/8 at 8 AM Pre-con meeting. He also said that he'd let us know as soon as it went in, and when our house was staked out, so we could better visualize the property lines

Well, we drove by over the weekend, and there was a road!!! Actually, it was just grey cement? Maybe a base coat? I dunno...doesn't matter. My excitement abounds.

Me just thinking about what comes next!

Our SR called yesterday and requested some additional monies, that she said she thought she had collected already, and I docu-signed something or another. I'm going to call or text the PM this week and ask for a more official update. From his words, he stated that if they were able to break ground this week, we'd be done by mid-November--assuming no acts of nature, etc.,

While I don't think they'll break ground this week (I'm also no expert), since I think that what we saw was just step one of the road, and not the actual road. However, I'm hopeful that maybe they'll be able to begin by the end of the month, and we could plan on spending our first Christmas in the house? We shall see.

Pre-construction meeting. Both underwhelming and exciting

So on 8/8 at 8 AM (seriously, this occurred), we finally had our Pre-construction meeting--and it was efficient, effective, and a little disappointing. I believe one blogger once said it best when they stated that you'll be your PM's best friend, if you don't ask for a lot of (or any?) non-standard requests. So in part, because we aren't "those guys", I think that's why the meeting went so smoothly.

The process essentially involved our PM going over all of the "things he cared" about when it came to building our house. Which isn't as harsh as it may sound, because honestly, he's primarily concerned about the structure, and materials ordered, and sort of the "major" things--as opposed to him going through our selection sheet line by line and reviewing with us each and every color, siding, and trim and carpet color etc., that we've chosen.

To be honest, I didn't do a good job of writing things down. But our PM did do a good job of addressing almost every question we had. He's definitely got a professional demeanor, and I think that's all that's really important to the process. I don't expect him and I to be bff's or expect him to bend over backwards because we chose to spend a whole bunch of money on building a home. He didn't force us to do it, and he didn't sell us on anything.

Our PM discussed his approach, expectations, hours of operation (in terms of best time and methods to contact him), the things he's responsible for (e.g., if it's about pricing or change orders, contact our SR. But if it's about schedule, timeline, and/or basically anything that involves the site or structure, contact him). Of things he addressed, he spoke of our timeline and how he'll be able to give us a reasonable completion date as soon as they get under way building. Which, is tied into the developer getting a road put into our portion of the development (More on that later).

Before

After?

I'll take some time and re-post the questions and answers, as best I can recall, that I wrote about here
Pre-construction meeting questions

Room for Change

Who would ever want a sunroom? What would one even do in a sunroom? Those are the questions I used to think about when we were first looking at homes, and I'd see the sun room option in floor plans.

Summer in MD

I now think of them differently though. While I'm unsure how much additional I'd be willing to pay for one, especially since one report I read once listed it under the 5 worst home improvements projects for your money. However, I'm thinking that report viewed the addition through the lens of adding on the structure after the home has been lived in, as opposed to having it built while the home was in construction phase.

It's all somewhat of a moot point anyway, because to the best of my knowledge, Ryan Homes doesn't offer such an addition in their single family colonial models, and definitely not in the Avalon floor plans we've seen.

Something simple but with nice windows like this

Thinking about the floor plan addition that to be honest, we probably couldn't afford, nor would it have been a sound investment anyway, got me to thinking about the first house we looked at--the one that "got a away". Albeit, technically, we walked away because Ryan Homes offered us a much better deal and overall home price value. 

Still, the first new home builder we looked at, with the "dream home", that wasn't in the dream neighborhood and school zone that could have even allowed us to justify stretching the budget for, had a floor plan that looked like beneath.

Owe dream home...I think of ye thee everyday...

The thing(s) I liked about this layout were too many to list. Actually, that's a lie--I just don't like looking back at that overpriced, yet super open floor plan, because I keep thinking I'll turn into a pillar of salt! But what I will mention is that when you add the first floor bedroom suite, they don't force you to give up the study! Granted, that suite cost on the order of $27K, but still. That's something I would have cut other things from my current Avalon's budget to obtain.

Anyway, enough looking back and wondering what if...

Won't be me! Nope nope nope!

Permit to build a road: Let's speed this up

Busy weekend last weekend. What, with JUMPING OUT OF AN AIRPLANE and all...

So brave, I let the guy behind me borrow my parachute!

After that, the excitement of the weekend was all downhill. Ok, not really, because there was apparently flash flooding in our state (MD). Maybe not flash, but definitely flooding. Again, not where I lived, but not far from where we "were" considering buying a home and not far from my job either.

Not cool!

We were on our way to Philadelphia however, and didn't return back to town until all the dust had settled. Not too much, if any, house stuff occurred, except for some docusign stuff for home amendments (such as adding outlets and the floor to ceiling tiling).

I did get a phone call from our PM though, actually a voicemail, since I missed his call, once again apologizing for being unable to make our original pre-construction meeting Pre-Pre-Construction Meeting. The main thing that came of that message was his reiteration of the fact: We can't get a permit for your house until there's pavement back there.   

I'll hammer him with questions (see what I did there?) when we actually speak, specifically regarding the aforementioned road we need. Mainly, what's the hold-up? What is actually needed (i.e., survey's, or water table questions or greasing of palms or what???)

Interesting enough, I had tried to look into this (meaning, I googled our street name and the county) and came up with an interesting *.pdf, listing the discussion of our community being planned, as far as 10 years ago. And there was specific mention of concern regarding our lot and something referred to as "uncontrolled fill".

We have no idea what that means, other than context clues, but, it's a tad bit scary, in the sense that Ashley wants to ensure that we didn't build on hazardous wastelands that will give us the opposite of super powers. While I would like to ensure we aren't going to be living on some sort of pet cemetery remake for the foreseeable future.

Ashley's fear

Walt's fear

But on the bright side, we could actually gain super's right? I mean, wouldn't that be cool?

A lot of these guys got there start from uncontrolled fill I bet!

Editors Note. I came across this: What is Uncontrolled Fill?

Road Less Traveled

Is this what's going on in the county permit office?

Still no meeting with our PM. And certainly no groundbreaking news (bad pun) yet.  The reasoning for the latter is because Ryan Homes is still waiting on the road permit, in order to break ground on our portion of the phase.

Going to have to update and zoom in on this later. But we're waiting on Robert's Landing

No real updates or good news other then that. Oh, well, we did last minute decide to have the master bathroom shower tile run from floor to ceiling (an additional $420).  It seems like a nice touch, and it was my idea (yaay me!),  and one of the few design choices I thought of. So there's that.

Also, we're going sky diving this weekend. Random tidbit, but still true--weather permitting. Hopefully, I'll be around Monday to post an update on that!

Pre-Pre-Construction Meeting

So, turns out that our pre-construction meeting is scheduled for 7/25! We're still waiting on loan approval, but that seems like more of a "when" than "if". Everyone (thanks wonderful bloggers) talks about how time flies after the pre-construction meeting, so let's hope that remains the case. Our estimated closing date is in mid-November of this year. Our SR, who's worked with Ryan Homes/real estate for over 17 years, initially thought the closing date would wind up being closer to mid-December. I guess we'll see.

Hopefully, our PM meeting will go better than this

Although, it could easily go like this (not really...well, not easily!)

This meeting seems like such a crucial milestone. It's the first chance to meet the person who by all accounts, is the most critical in regards to the frustration, joy, pain, and just plain overall success of your home being built. When we first inquired about our PM with our SR a month or so ago, she said that he was effective? Took his job seriously? I don't remember exactly what! And that didn't sit extremely well with me. I wanted to hear something like "he's the best ever!" or short of that "I'd love for him to build my house". So while she lauded his ability to do his job, it just didn't sound like he was going to be flexible or a people person or any other number of "I want that! in my PM attributes".

ARE YOU SURE WE CAN'T MOVE THE HOSE BIBS?!?!

So here is the list of questions that we'd like answered. In no particular order:

Exterior/Outdoors

1. How big is our actual site?
2. Explain our plot map
3. How will our home be oriented on the site?
4. We’d like as much flat land as possible. Especially in the rear, directly behind the house and towards the (non-street) side
5. Is there a legend or someway for us to read it, so that we can figure out things for ourselves?
6. How many feet from the front/side street?
7. Where will the transformer be?
8. Will there be a cleanout valve or something, in the event of a clog in the line?
9. What has been your experience with well water and septic systems?
10. What is covered by RH and for how long?
11. What’s going on with landscaping? In terms of
1. Where will trees/bushes/mulch be relative to the house?
2. Are we getting grass or sod?
3. It’s going to be a large lot. Who’s quality control in terms of making sure it’s all seeded or sodded or whatever?
12. How far back into the tree line does our property extend?
13. How many wells? What sizes?
14. How many septic fields?
1. Are any of these shared?
15. How many sump pumps?
16. Will they pour concrete for our driveway in the winter? Or will we be left with rocks or stones until the Spring?
1. What about the walkway?
17. If we want to widen our driveway, mainly the top portion in front of the garage, who do we speak with?
1. When would we do so?
18. What are the dimensions of our porch? Will there be a roof over it?
19. Are gutter guards included?

Structural

1. Are window screens required/provided?
2. Is there a way to turn the dining room into a study? By possibly extending the walls and allowing a double door?
1. The Corsica allows for an option to turn the living room into a first floor bedroom. Is something like that within your power to do for us?
3. What causes floor creaking noise?
1. What can be done to avoid? I.e., Extra support in high traffic areas?
4. Is there a way to add extra insulation or soundproofing in certain areas?
1. For instance, around bathrooms and laundry room?
5. What is done to protect the framing from rain?
6. What concerns or potential issues does he have about building homes during MD winters?

HVAC

1. How many condenser units?
2. What’s the model/rating?

Electrical

1. How many pendant lights in the kitchen, over the island?
2. Can we add an outlet to the garage (for a deep freezer)?
3. Can we add an outlet to the master bedroom closet?
4. Will our circuit breaker box be labeled for us?
1. If not, will there be an electrical plan that we can use to label it ourselves. Rather than just trial and error.

Basement

1. Can we choose basement window locations?
1. We’d like to ensure that they aren’t covered by a future deck
2. What lighting or electrical will be installed down there?
3. Will the unfinished basement have vents?
4. How tall is the basement ceiling?

Schedule

1. What’s our build timeline from the moment you break ground?
2. With our construction going on in the fall/winter, what weather issues could or would cause stoppage/delays? Excluding acts of mother nature (tornadoes, supply shortages, snow,  etc.,)

Confirm Options

1. Looks like there’s a window in the shower for the master bedroom bathroom? True or false?
2. Are there towel racks included in all the bathrooms?
1. What material are they?
2. Are they placed in wood studs? Or just drilled into drywall?

Other

1. Who will have keys to our home?
2. How often will you be on site and personally supervising the sub-contractors?
3. What are the dimensions floor to ceiling in the family room?
4. Can we get a breakdown of the warranties?

That's revision one of the list. I've got a few days to add and subtract as I see fit. So I'll update as appropriate.

Possible sneak peek at our PM's expression?

Strength in Numbers

Still no official word on loan approval yet. Which obviously sucks. But on the positive side, our loan processor expects that once all of our paperwork reaches underwriting, we should hear back from them within 5-7 days. All parties involved, from our SR, to LO,  and even the LP, seem confident that our loan approval is just a matter of when, and not if.  At this point, it's still hurry up and wait.

A part of the appeal of building a new home for us lies within the fact that we as a neighborhood and community will all somewhat be new to one another. I think that will help with the kid transition of making new friends, along with forcing all of us to interact a little more then we might normally, if say the neighborhood was pre-existing.

We're very excited to meet some of our new neighbors. Our SR is planning on organizing a community event in August sometime. That will serve as most of the community's first opportunity to meet one another--other then those moments when you're either sitting in the SR's office at the model house and "random/strange" people come in or you visit and see strangers sitting where you usually sit!

Possible sneak peak at our inaugural community meet and greet

When pre-interviewing home inspectors, one mentioned that it would be a wise idea to start a user group or some sort of internet forum in effort to communicate with others within our new construction community and to stay on top of Ryan Homes, with respect to the inevitable issues and concerns that will arise.  A prime example can be found here: Shame on you Ryan Homes

I'm not sure if we are going to take the lead on that whole "rally the troops" and begin the aforementioned community internet user group or not. I think it's such a phenomenal idea, since it's also a means for all new comers to stay in touch over things like HOA-esque questions, or discussions on adding bus stops, trash referral pick-ups, etc., I'm not usually for being so, well, social--but the pros outweigh the cons (my comfort level), so we shall see!

Electric Slide

We haven't had our "electrical" meeting yet, and I'm unsure if adding outlets later, as in, after the 30 day window, will count towards a "order" change or not. Thus resulting in the cost of the outlet and the cost of the order change.

I was looking at the electrical plans, and trying to figure out what all of the  dotted lines and dashed lines and squiggly lines meant, in terms of will we have enough outlets and what light switches will control what, etc.,

Yes, this line means, ummm...flux capacitor?

I am (or was?) hoping that we wouldn't have to decide on how many outlets, or even ceiling fan rough-ins, until the house frame was up, and we could better visualize the room layouts. And even then, I'm hoping that it'll be the case where I/we can go to the PM and say "we would like for this switch panel to control these lights and for that switch panel to control those lights", etc.,

On top of that, I wish (wonder?), that I could give them recessed outlet plates and have the electricians install them at certain places, instead of the standard ones.

This isn't the exact plate I'd like, but it's close

I know that I want to have an outlet on each side of our kitchen island.
I want an outlet in our master bedroom closet.
I want an outlet in the garage. You know, the funky looking kind for a deep freezer.

Finally, I think I'm picky on what lights can control where from what? Yes, that was probably confusing, but you know what I mean I bet!

For instance, some switches will be tied together in a common sense way *judging by the blueprint*. Meaning, the foyer light should be able to be controlled from the top of the stairs and the bottom. Same as the basement hall light, and so on. But until I'm actually in the house and can confirm with the electrician (or PM) what light panels allow me to control which lights, then I'm kind of in the dark--literally! (See what I did there?)



So, my fiance' thinks we need to sit down with our SR now, and sort these questions out. Otherwise, we'll risk being dinged for "change orders" later. So being better safe than sorry, I'll set that meeting up ASAP.

Ballin on a Budget!

The Design Center experience is easily one of the most exciting parts of the home building process.  Perhaps, one of the main draws to building a home, versus buying a pre-existing property, is the opportunity to select/control the features and finishes in your home.

As a woman, I left all of the structural decisions to my boyfriend!  But, the interior is ALLLL mine *rubs hands together*.  We approached the process cautiously optimistic that we were/would be content with the builder selections, and with our limited budget, set on not breaking the bank to upgrade everything.

You get a car!! And you get a car!!!!!

What the heck were we thinking?!?  After spending so much money on the home of our dreams, we had to have finishes we could live with for at least the first five years of occupancy.  And, after cutting out the basement, we had a little more wiggle room for some upgrades!

Here's a snapshot of our choices:

Lower Level

Engineered Hardwood

Dark Grey color, 5-in. wide planks

Kitchen/Laundry

Cabinets - Timberlake's Portfolio Collection in "Painted Linen"

Granite - New Caledonia

Upper Level

Carpet - Shaw's Greystone HGN68 in Seattle Mist

Master Bathroom

Granite - Virginia Marble in "Burlywood" 

Tile - Painted Ceramic "Florentine" 

Ancillary Bathrooms

Upgrade Level B tile w/white trim

Upgraded 6x6 Beige wall tile in shower

Standard white counter *gag*

Dream (basement) deferred...

After a lot of discussion and hand-wringing, Ashley and I decided to remove the finished basement. In our plan since Day 1, at a whopping $31K, it wound up being the only major ticket item we could finish later.

It felt like going from

Dream

To...

Reality

Ultimately, it made the most financial sense (can you hear me talking myself into giving up on the man cave dream?) to postpone that element of the dream home until a later date, and remain within budget.

Part of the problem was when we initially priced the house and got our Good Faith Estimate, we hadn't been to the other appointments (Design Center and Guardian).  Additionally, we overlooked two big ticket items: a walkout egress (~ $7K) and the Roman shower option ($1K) in the Master Bathroom.  So, with those additions, and other appointments, the basement was the easiest and most cost-effective casualty.

In hindsight, we probably would have budgeted differently and allotted enough money for a finished basement.  In particular, our elevation and hip roof was a big cost item (~ $27K) by itself.

Yet, the proverbial glass is half-full.  Thanks in part due to some other home bloggers who have shown pics of them finishing their basement, we feel confident that it's something we can and will do together (minus the drywall labor).  With careful planning, it won't be nearly as costly as RH quoted (though in all fairness, their estimate appears to be in the neighborhood of $30/sq. ft, which is what my amateur internet surfing says is about right)

The Guardian (low-voltage wiring) appointment

Our Guardian appointment was with the HS Technology group, who are in responsible for helping you decide on the wiring for your new homes' audio, networking, cable, and security needs.
As an electrical engineer, I stem from a breed of folk who tend to be O.C.D. about, well, electricity and wiring, IT, and home networks, etc.. I'm also (no surprise) a gamer (when life allows), and to that extent, so is my youngest son.

Between us two heavy internet users, along with the world of streaming, and two plus other people in the house, let's just say I had specific ideas on how we'd set up our dream home and man cave for optimal efficiency! After reading other bloggers' posts about the Guardian appointment and their experience, I had somewhat of an idea of what to expect and what they actually could and would do.

So while I sort of was hoping for them to help me achieve something like this:

What I thought of when envisioning the Guardian appointment

At the end of the appointment, it turned out to be something more along the lines of this:

Much better idea then what I had in mind, and way more cost efficient

As mentioned, I'd be as transparent as possible with prices, and thus here's a link to the pamphlet that was sent to me: Ryan Homes: Low-voltage pricing

In an ideal world, with unlimited money, I would have had HST do a lot more. After all, they showed us a room they've done that looks like this:

It's actually more impressive in person

That's not to mention what's in store when you walk into their bathroom (also, equally impressive!!!).

Well, we went into the meeting with somewhat of a very reasonable budget and idea of what we wanted to do in each of the 4 major categories as we saw them:

1. TV placement
2. Home Audio
3. Networking
4. Home Security

After arriving at our appointment, we were greeted by Paul, who was, fantastic as a consultant. If there was a rating sheet or survey for him, he'd get a 10/10. No pushiness. Nice order and flow to helping him walk through each of the major categories. And he took the time to explain what can and can't be done, including an extended tutorial of helping Ashley visualize where the wires went when it came to TV mounting!

Ashely before meeting with Paul

When it was all said and done, due to budgetary constraints, we selected the following:

• 2 HDTV pre-wires (family room and master bedroom)
• 3  CAT6 outlets
• 6 RG6 (cable) outlets (1 for each bedroom and one for the family room)
• 1 pair of speakers in the family room
• 1 pair of speakers in the kitchen

The rationale behind our selections went something like:

• Let's get the TV mounted over the fireplace in the family room and master bedroom. In my mind, we're just paying them to hide the cords. In the other rooms, we'll just have to be clever about TV and wire placement.
• CAT6 outlets in the family room, master bedroom, and living room (which will become my study)
• Cable outlets in each room
• Since we wanted speakers (or at least the wiring) in the family room, it made sense to also get speakers in the kitchen so people (and the morning room I suppose) don't or won't have to ear hustle to hear what's going coming out of the family room speakers!
• Editors note: I think, We elected to have the router placed in the basement as a central location from which we can route the LAN cables to the family room, MBR, and office. I just can't remember if it's there in the basement, or upstairs in the living room (office)

We left the meeting under budget, and feeling good about our selections. I need to clear one or two things up (such as where exactly did I have the router placed?) and whether we get in wall/ceiling speakers. However, those are things that can be addressed at pre-drywall!