Go Time!!

When I finally got a chance to look at the sheet with the flooring options we selected and compared it to the master option list generated by Ryan, I noticed that the carpet runner was selected on that sheet as well.  Not sure if this was a double charge or not since Ryan sends you off to a 3rd party flooring place for your floors.  We figured it gave us an excuse to go walk around the model again. We get excited each time we walk through.  Talked to the SR and it turned out it was a double charge.  She made the correction and off we went. :-)  We asked about the progress of the house and she informed us that they should be breaking ground the 2nd week of June and that we should be receiving a call from her to schedule a pre-construction meeting with the PM. Not sounding very adult like, I looked at her with a huge smile and said, "SHUT UP".  oops. Couldn't help it.  Our dirt ground may turn into a hole soon.  yippie!!!!

Need to finish painting our condo so we can put it up for rent.  Man, I hate painting.  1 bedroom and 2 full baths to go.  Then it's time to paint the trim.  Did I say I hate painting yet? I really hate painting.  I must say, the Wagner Turbo Roller is pretty sweet.  Does help cut down on time.

Options Options Options

Here is the updated blog with the options we got:

• Elevation C with a roof over the door
• Hardwood in the living room and dinning room
• Hardwood stairs with runner
• Morning Room
• Upgraded carpet & padding in the living room
• Upgraded padding for the entire upstairs
• Upgraded MB tiles
• Roughing for ceiling fans in all bedrooms, living and morning room
• Pre-wiring for two pendents over the kitchen island
• Gourmet island
• Gourmet kitchen set up (Ended up getting a microwave and oven set up instead of a double oven)
• Changed the sink to a single 9" deep sink instead of two
• Extra bathroom in bedroom #2
• An extra cable outlet
• An extra power outlet on the floor of the living room so we didn't have to run wires to the wall 
• Stainless steel appliances (Incentive)
• Recessed lighting through the main floor (Incentive)
• Hardwood in foyer, kitchen, and powder room (Incentive)
• Trim in the dinning room and foyer (Incentive)
• Finished rec. room basement (Incentive)

I believe that's all we got.  Options definitely add up quick.  I tried to see if they would throw anything in, thinking we were spending so much money that they'd give us something on top of the incentives to make us feel all bubbly inside, but no cigar.  Did anyone have any luck with getting them to throw in any options other than incentives?  I was pretty surprised that every little thing was pretty much an option. Oh well, I guess that's why they say you're building your dream home.  But we're happy with what we got. :-) 

Our Guardian experience wasn't too bad.  The guy wasn't a high pressure guy, so that felt good.  But he did kind of talk to us like we were little kids.  Just ignored it figuring he figured we didn't know anything.  We ended up just getting security for the house.  Wasn't too sure if we really needed it, but figured we'd just cancel after our contract ended if we didn't need.  It is a multi year contract though.  I believe 3 years.  Didn't get any wiring done for speakers, though I wanted to.  I just couldn't justify the cost for them.  It's pretty pricey.  Most of the Guardian stuff was pretty pricey.  I'm going to see if the PM will either let me wire before the dry wall goes up or like Sgt Rich, install PVC pipes.  Crossing my fingers but not much hope. 

It has begun

I've been reading several posts and it got me excited to join everyone and document our journey toward our new home.  After months of house "window" shopping, maybe next year conversations, debating of when the right time was, pregnancy and a baby, new or used debates, and tons of "just looking" statements, my wife and I somehow stumbled into the Shakespeare model built by Ryan Homes in Clarksburg, MD.  We totally loved it but was a bit skeptical due to the bad reviews we read online.  We talked to several people and just figured that with such a large builder, you're going to have good and bad reviews.  Crossing our fingers.

At this stage we've already gone through the option selection process and I'd say that we have been really pleased with our experience.  I believe we put a contract on the house in late March.  Our SR has been very friendly and helpful.  There was no pressure at all to buy or upgrade any of the options.  She basically just answered our questions and let us decide if it was worth it to us.  There was a good amount of incentives, finished rec room basement (NVR mortgage incentive), upgrade #1 floors in foyer and kitchen, upgrade #1, countertops, upgrade #1 cabnets,  upgrade #1 bathroom tiles, and finished master suite sitting room.  I believe that was it, maybe I'm missing something else.   I'll place our options selections in another post.  We're basically waiting for the pre-construction meeting with the PM and SR at this point.  I believe they said that may not happen till June or early July. 

I hope everyone enjoys our journey as much as I've enjoyed reading about everyone else's.