Showing posts with label Model Home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Model Home. Show all posts

Monday, April 1, 2013

Half Walls VS Pine Stair W/ Oak Handrail, Wrought Iron/White Balusters Decisions, Decisions! Help!


I immediately leaned in the direction of the Oak Handrail with Wrought Iron Balusters - but do we really need it?  $2k for some iron balusters versus $1k for wood?  Or I could just go with none and pay $0. These kinds of decisions are killing me!
Half Capped Wall
Handrail with White Balusters
Handrail with Wrought Iron (easily diy upgrade AC)

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Options - UG!

I can't believe how difficult it is for us to select our options!  We have tossed around a list for a few days now.  We've sent a wish list to our SR to send to NVRM to get a better number for the loan amount. 

Staying within budget is difficult.  We want to logically consider our choices and the cost of them.  We'd love to get the deck but we think it's expensive for its size.  It's also very simple and plain.  We know it's not practical for us to plan on building it ourselves later.  Having 2 weeks to make your selections is very difficult!  It could possibly be because 2 weeks is too long, giving yourself more opportunities to change your mind.  Or it could possibly be because you need much more time to plan a house top to bottoms.


Sunday, March 17, 2013

Visiting the Florence Model Home

I've been talking about buying or building a home for 2 or 3 years now.  My kids have gotten used to this dream.  They often asked things like "when we get a house can I get ..." or "will our house have..."  The excitement or reality of us owning a home is now lost on them.  I believe they actually lost hope that it might actually happen.

Today I took my children and myself to visit the Florence model home and from the second we stepped past the office into the home they've been very enthusiastic!  They took off immidealty to wander the house at lightening speed at first, then circling around to join me again to go through it one room at a time.

This is the first time in a long time they've bubbled up with excitement and actually started talking about all the things they loved about having a house.  It was a side a very rarely see.

Just look at these pictures!

Saturday, March 16, 2013

This is all so fast...


So, over these last few days, before our scheduled meeting with Elizabeth, the Ryan Homes sales representative today, I had been doing a lot of research on Ryan Homes, quality of homes built by Ryan Homes, and customer service satisfaction.  I spent a lot of time on their website, on blogs, on home building sites, and customer complaint websites.  Some of the information I found was very scary.  There was also an overwhelming amount of positive information as well.

To be honest, the negative reviews are scary to me.  I'm a limited income single mom with the hopes of finding a good quality home that will last the years for myself, my mother, and my children.  Money doesn't grow on trees around us.  I've always been a person to read reviews and to do my research, but I also to go to the horses mouth.  I knew that no matter what I learned that we planned to attend the appointment, if only for informational purposes.  Let's compare our process.  I found this on the Ryan Homes website:
RYAN SIMPLIFIES HOMEOWNERSHIP
  1. Reserve a Homesite
  2. Personalize Your Home
  3. Make a Purchase Agreement
  4. Apply for a Mortgage Loan
  5. Complete Your Down Payment
  6. Construction Begins
  7. Go to Closing and Move in

When I walked through the model home's door I saw a very smiley face.  I introduced myself and my mother to the SR and peeked a little at the framed site map and model home floor plans, but it took 45 seconds for us to walk into the office and get right down to business.  Sometimes you just have to skip the fluff.  I didn't want to get too hopeful and wander too much around a model that may not even be within our reach.

Our Process

Friday, March 15, 2013

Is it Trash?

On Sunday afternoon, I was doing my normal week end rounds to pick up the neighbors trash and toys from my yard and street.  I dread this part of my week because I have to pick up gross things that have been discarded by inconsiderate people.  Every time I think one day soon I will have my own space, I won't have to put up with landlords, always fearing of pissing off the wrong people, or eviction threats.

During this routinely day dreamy cleanup I happened to glance at paper I had just pulled out of a wet gutter and see my name on it.  I open it up and it's a flyer from Ryan Homes - Home of the Month.  Is it a sign?  Is it trash?  I set it open on the counter to dry out and go on about my day.


I mention the flyer to my mother a few days later and explain how the deal is really good.  I mention it's a limited time offer on only 1 lot and she encourages me to give the Sales Rep a call.  Since it's already 2 weeks into the sale I had little faith anything would come of it.  The next day I give them a ring, I told my story about visiting the model before and driving through the community often and mention the flyer - UHG - but of course, the house sold and the SR is out.  I was deflated!  The lady that took my call was so very kind though and said she'd try to get in touch with someone to see if anything else was being offered.  I didn't expect a call back because sometimes things are just too good to be true.

Not much later, however, my phone rings and it's the assistant saying that we could get a similar deal!  Woot!!  But she wanted to send me the pre-qualification paperwork to get started and schedule an appointment later that week to meet with the SR.  EEK - the dreaded financing part.  It's one thing to dream about a home but financing one is a nightmare from what I'm told.

Oh, but what could it hurt to give it a try?  If not now, then when?  I agree to setup an appointment with the SR for Saturday and set about getting the information to my mother.  Our plans were to set ourselves up with a home to share, with enough room for her, her grandchildren, and myself.

It was a little rough going at first.  We got the wrong forms, twice.  That was a sign or so we thought.  We got a call saying we would be getting the right forms sent to us but of course it was too late for us to handle the paperwork that day.  We'd have to fill it out and bring it with us to our appointment.  Well, I guess if it's not something you have to work for it's not worth having... right?

Sunday, September 23, 2012

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.