After signing paperwork for 2 hours, we’re finally done!! They are expected to be done with our house at the end of July!!woohoo! But we can take as long as the end of October to close if we want (signed a 9 month contract with a 6 month build time line). Within a few weeks, we’ll have a meeting with the construction manager on the lot to look at the survey and make sure it’ll be a walk-out lot, etc. The office manager will process our contract and within a few days, we’ll get an email with logon instructions to our build on their website where we can see the contract, change orders, and homeowners guide that will give us, among other things, all the people/places to contact to start making our design choices (cabinets, paint, flooring, granite, lighting, fixtures, etc)! How exciting, we can’t wait!! And maybe we’ll even be in during the summer and can enjoy the pool!
About a year ago, we found a builder that we love. All of his floor plans seemed very well thought out and like something we would have designed ourselves! We had planned to wait a few years, but with interest rates at record lows, having found our dream floor plan, and having found a neighborhood we love with close highway access, with the perfect walk-out lot on a cul-de-sac, we’ve decided to start the build process!! We reserved our lot last week, signed our mortgage paperwork yesterday (5% 30 year fixed with a 1 year lock!!) and will be signing the contract with the builder in the next few days!! We are putting the house on a 6 month build time line, but will be writing an 8 or 9 month contract, meaning our house should be done in 6 months, but we can take 2-3 more months to close and take possession so that we can line up the close of our existing house or just take more time if we want.
The highlights of the house:
- 5 bedroom, 4 baths. One bath is on the main floor as well as one bedroom. The bedroom will serve as the playroom while our kids are small and then will probably be converted into a study/computer room for them as they get older. I’m SO excited to get all of the toys out of our family room, living room, dining room, etc!!
- The laundry is upstairs, which I love, but not touching any of the bedroom walls so it shouldn’t be too noisy if I do laundry at night.
- There is a guest suite…a room with its own attached bath…that Lauren has named “grammy’s room”.
- The 2 kids rooms are separated by a Jack n Jill bath. The bath is a bit different than the floor plan, instead of a linen closet in the hall, that is one big long hallway bathroom with a giant tower storage cabinet between the kids sinks…then they have a separate door into their toilet/tub.
- Love our walk-in shower. Lauren has recently started to love to take showers with me at the gym after we go swimming and the master bath shower must remind her of the gym shower bc when we go look at the model, we can’t drag her out of that shower!
- Granite counters in the kitchen, I can’t wait!
- We will have a walk-out lot and at some future date will finish the basement to include a media/family room, a bar, a 1/2 bath, and a small table/dining area. And of course Billy’s “computer workshop” will be down there.
Here is a drawing of the front of the house, we chose the “traditional” elevation:
And the floorplan
main floor:
second floor:
and a sketch of something similar to what the basement will look like:
We took pictures of a spec home the builder has that is similar…only differences are no main floor bedroom, 1/2 instead of full bath on main level, and this is the craftsman elevation instead of the traditional. It’s not quite done, but gives you an idea:
Hawthorn II
Then here are pics of one of the builder’s model homes that is very similar…only differences are no main floor bedroom, 1/2 instead of full bath on mail floor, and there is a wall between the kitchen and great room creating a separate hearth room…we don’t have that wall separating the spaces.
Maple II
We are pretty excited! I’m also excited because this is our “forever” house, so we’ll never have to move again!!
I had to leave for work early this morning, which means that Billy had to get Lauren dressed (of course I already laid out all of her clothes) and do her hair (that’s the scary part).
Billy just emailed me this:
“This morning when I walked out of the bathroom with a brush and the hairbands, she asked me in a worried voice “Do you know how to do this?”
She then checked his work in the mirror after and was not too impressed, but let it go. =)
