Buying a Home the Ryan Way

The following information is courtesy of ryanhomes.com.  I have found it very helpful in learning about the process of purchasing/building through Ryan Homes.

Seven Steps to Homeownership

Buying a Home the Ryan Way

Buying a home is a big decision—one that might seem daunting. While this may be your first time, relax. We've been helping folks find and purchase their dream home for more than sixty years now. Here's how it works.

1  Reserve a Homesite

Work with your sales representative to prepare a cost estimate of the home type, homesite, and features you want. Fill out a few preliminary forms for your loan application, and make a "good faith" deposit to secure your chosen homesite.

2  Personalize Your Home

One big advantage of buying a newly built home is the opportunity to really make it your own. Spend some time to carefully select all of the custom features and color choices that help personalize your home.

3  Complete a Purchase Agreement

Meet with your sales representative to authorize your purchase agreement and make your initial deposit. (Note: We'll return your homesite reservation deposit at this time. In the event that you are unable to obtain a mortgage commitment according to the purchase agreement, ALL deposits will be refunded.)

4  Apply for a Mortgage Loan

Within seven days of signing your purchase agreement, contact a mortgage counselor and complete a loan application. For your convenience, Ryan Homes has its own mortgage company, NVR Mortgage. Why use NVR Mortgage?

5  Complete Your Down Payment

Once the purchase agreement is complete, your sales representative will tell you when the remainder of your home-purchase deposit is due. This deposit, representing the balance of your down payment, is your final payment until closing.

6  Construction Begins

Once your down payment is complete, your mortgage is approved, and the homesite is ready for building, we can start construction. We'll arrange a customer involvement meeting with your project manager and sales and marketing representative to familiarize you with the construction process and discuss what happens next.

7  Go to Closing and Move In

At this point your home is complete and you'll have a new-home demonstration meeting with your project manager. A date and time for closing is set and all final payments are due at this settlement. Once all the papers are signed, you will receive the keys to your new Ryan home.

Where We Started

I've known for years that my dream was to own my own home.  Over the years the dream has grown and formed in my mind.  Hoping all hopes, knowing all knows that one day it would come true.

After many weekends of driving through neighborhoods and seeing all the beautiful homes I could only dream of owning I stumbled into a budding little development - it was perfect from the moment I saw it!  It was small, sweet, and had some of the most beautiful cottage style homes I've seen.

Honestly, my first thought was the sign had to be wrong - homes from 150,000?  There's no way!  I was too shy to go into the model.  It's true - you can be home shopping shy.  I felt it was out of reach.  I was embarrassed of the thought of stumbling around some gorgeous model home that I could never afford.  Oh, so heart wrenching!

I visited that little neighborhood many, many times... watching as these homes began sprouting up like flowers in a beautiful garden.  Long story short, with the encouragement of my wonderful mother, we made our first visit to Ryan Homes and I was so completely blown away of the beauty that a home could offer.  There was a wonderful sales representative to show us around -- and to disappear to give us time to awe over some of the wonderful parts.  He even showed us a home that was nearly ready to be closed on.

He reviewed our financing options and opened our eyes to how affordable building a home could really be.  I had researched for many months on home buying and home building and I could fill pages with all my knowledge but I know there's so much more to learn.  That's where this blog comes in.  I want to share my experiences with you!  I want to show you my journey, every bump, every set back, and hopefully a bit of smooth road ahead, I'm laying it all out there.

So this is where we started.  A hope, a dream, and a simple visit to a Ryan Homes model on 23-SEP-12.