Locked & loaded + Notice turned in.

Thursday, I received a call from my NVR rep telling me rates had finally dropped back to 4.5% we were looking for. This I had already knew because I've been watching them like a hawk. I told her about the conversation I had with the pm and how he wanted to wait a week to give him a cushion. She said in her experience she had never heard of them not being able to finish a home by the settlement date once it was under roof. She also said that she thought I should take a chance and lock because the rate is paying back money that would go towards my closing. If we locked it would carry me to the 27th of June and if we needed a few more days they can just use that money to pay and hold the rate. If we don't go over than the money will be used at closing.

Soooo....I locked in at 4.5%! I feel like the rate pay back was the deciding factor and happy medium. Technically, he already pushed up my closing date from the original date given at the preconstruction meeting and his extra week would take it to the 29th. I'm so excited I got the rate I wanted!

In other news...

I turned in our 60 day notice to move by the 30th. This made it SO real...I mean we are really building and buying our first and maybe or last home.

To lock or not to lock? + Week 3 Updates

It appears that mortgage rates have started to go lower than the 4.75% hold they've had for the past few weeks. I would really like to lock in my rate but I'm not sure if it's still too early. I called my PM this morning to ask if he thought it would be ok to lock if the rates stay at 4.5% today. His answer was not as reassuring as I thought it would be at this point, especially since he's been telling me how on track they are and even moved up my closing by a few days just last night. He stated he would like to have my 60 days end around the last week in June..."just in case". He said he does not foresee any issues but wanted to make sure he had a week as a buffer. While I understand his point, I feel like his week could potentially cost me thousands of dollars for non existing issue. I know and will own that I am feeling really impatient! My target rate is 4.5% but will settle with NO more than 4.75%. In the end he said I could take a chance and lock if I was really concerned. Not sure what to do?????

In other News....

Week 3 Updates

Monday-Wednesday: Complete framing out the house.

Thursday-Friday: Plumbing and Heating

Monday is our pre drywall and Guardian meetings all at once!

Updated Pic

Guess what?!?!?!

First things first, my sister and cousin are in town for the weekend...yay! Nothing like family, food, and laughs. Also, tomorrow is hubby's B-Day so we're going to have some people over to celebrate. Going to be a busy weekend.

After I got off of work today, we decided to go by the model home to let them get a feel for what the house will look like. After driving 40 minutes in traffic and wasting a quarter of a tank of gas we find that the rep was out in the field and it to be closed. =(   So we decided to take them past the actual house and none of us could believe what we saw!

Wanna see????


WE'VE BEEN FRAMED!!!!!!

For Noey...Our Selections.

Downstairs

Hall Bath

Laundry room

Master bath

Tile for tub and shower

We Have a Slab!

So I guess this means they"ll be framing on Friday!

Pic courtesy of my coworker/neighbor. I'm so glad I have someone that can send me updated pics without having to drive over everyday.

Week 2 Updates

Last week while reading a couple of the blogs I noticed some of the post talking about their weekly updates from their PMs. I assumed these updates were standard practice across the board with Ryan and of course you know what they say when you assume. Well today, I decided to reach out to my pm to see what my expectations should be on our communication. I was able to reach him with no delay and was happy to find getting in touch with him was not going to be a hassle of playing phone tag back and forth. I told him I understood he was busy but would like to know how frequent we would be getting updates from him on progress. He said normally, he will not contact me unless there was a problem. He stated he would be more than happy to talk with me anytime I had questions. I was a little surprised by this as I thought we would at least get some type of voluntary follow up on what's been accomplished.  I guess he could hear the concern in my voice because he offered to conduct a weekly call each Monday to let me know whats scheduled for the week. He stressed the importance of communication and told me he wanted me to be happy and comfortable with the process so he is was more than willing to talk to me at anytime. I was really put at ease with this as I didn't want to be viewed as a difficult and bothersome client.

This weeks agenda

Monday: Finish conduits for electricity and install footers.
Tuesday: City inspection on footers.
Wednesday: Pour slab.
Thursday: Lumber delivery.
Friday: Start framing.

Framing already? Wow that seems really fast. According to my pm everything is happening when it's supposed to; nothing is being rushed. I also asked if he could let me know when we get to 60 days so we'll be able to give notice. Yet again I'm shocked by his response. He stated we are already under our 60 days and will be possibly closing BEFORE 06/24!!!! Of course I'm stammering and speechless with this new information. He takes the silence as an opportunity to again assure me he's not rushing and it is all going according to plan. Because I am a little concerned there may be a delay I decided to hold off turning in my notice until next week. I scheduled a status call with him for next Thursday to make sure everything still on track. If all is still going well, I'll be giving notice next Friday to vacate by 06/30. Although a little scary, I'm a really excited about this news because it means we won't have to pay a prorated rent for July. YAY!!!

Well that's pretty much it for week 1 and 2....below are some pictures I took from week 1. I don't plan on going back over until my sister comes into town later this week. I plan on taking her to see the model so she can get an idea of what everything will look like...sort of. In the meantime, I'll need to rely on my neighbor/coworker to send me updated pics from his phone because gas is super HIGH and I need to conserve!!! I just paid $87 dollars to fill up my tank and the needle is still just under the F! Can you believe that! I'm ready to turn in my SUV for a Honda....LOL!!!

We've got plumbing.

And so it begins!

We rode by the lot this evening and saw they had graded the lot and posted our SOLD sign. I jumped out to snap some pics...of course I always keep a camera with me! Hubby and the kids were not the most cooperative because of a little wind chill...lol. I may need to stop by later this week when it's daytime and a tad warmer to get better pic because these just won't do!

I am not sure what is going on with her face...lol

No one is ready except her.

Am I too late???

I have been freaking out today, questioning our flooring choices. Originally, hubby and I decided not to upgrade the flooring and we would wait a year or two and install tile and hardwood. Now I am not too sure that was the best option and I don't think I can change it. They are scheduled to start working on the house this week and according to the rep I spoke with today thinks it may be too late. The sales rep I spoke who was filling in for my normal rep said if they are scheduled to break ground they have already ordered everything so she's almost sure I wouldn't be able to change anything. Does anyone know if this is true??? Has anyone made changes after their home started building?

Assistance needed!!!

So you all know I have been home recuperating from oral surgery this week and of course all the idle time has provided me time to shop. This morning I dragged the hubby out of bed and off to the Ashley Furniture store to see what we could find. I am sure the associates over there know us by name now since we are always in there but either can’t find anything, or can’t agree on what to get. So weren’t we all surprised when we both was able to agree on a dining room set in under 5 minutes.
The only problem is the set we like was not the set on sale. L After explaining to the sales associate that he would not be able to talk me into the similar set because it is not the set we actually like…even if it is on sale. He realized he was not going to make a sale with us yet again unless he was able to get us what we wanted.  Off  he went to talk to his manager for approval to give us the sale price on the set we picked. Since we are repeat browsers…lol...the manager quickly agreed to honor the sale price. We found out this set is brand new and had just received it in the store. We ended up purchasing the dining room set with 2 free chairs and 2 additional chairs to give us a pub style table and 8 chairs for $1099.

 We were able to get 6 chairs plus 2 free.



I love the shelf and cabinet underneath the table



First time we were able to agree on something...progress!














Now I need some assistance from my blog family. We also need to purchase a living room set for the family room but have been unable to agree on which set to purchase. I want something light and versatile that will allow me to hang bright colored curtains and interchange the accent pillows on occasion. My husband wants a leather set, which is very nice and comfortable but is too dark for me. I am constantly accused of buying everything old looking and beige with no life of color. I can’t help it if I like natural warm tones dang it! Here are the sets we have been debating for over a month. Please give me some opinions and decorating ideas especially for the leather set…I just can’t see having the leather set in my family room.



This is the sofa and love seat for the Lilly. I like this one the most.



This is what the hubby likes.

This is the other set I like it's the Stafford and hubby thinks it looks like old people furniture.

Just got notice our loan is APPROVED...yaaaaaayyyy

Preconstruction Pics

The community pool/playground across the street is viewable from our front door (white building on the corner).

View from the driveway

Driveway from sidewalk view

Patio view

This is where the patio will end

This is on the side where the backyard will begin.

More of the backyard space

Property line goes up against the white fence but there is a water drain line through the property. I think we'll place our fence here.

We're staked out...Corny I know...lol

More stakes

View from the yard.

Our Senior PM Jerry!

This is us...I am definitely not looking my best...just had all my wisdom teeth pulled yesterday so no judging...lol. Thanks to my hubby for being my model...even though you were on the phone the entire time!!!

Preconstruction Meeting

We had our preconstruction meeting today and wow was I not expecting what my PM told me. Now don't get me wrong, I want the house like yesterday but to hear him actually give us a date that is sooner than we thought took my breath away. According to our PM the expected closing date provided there is no weather related issues will be 06/24/2011. OMG!!! I was hyperventilating a little when he told me this. We were expecting closing to be around the end of July not the end of June. According to my PM if there is no major issues it will take him 70 days to build our home. 70 days…that’s it? I asked my PM does those 70 days include love and tenderness??? LOL…we had to rush from there to another appointment but ended up stopping by the lot because the PM told us he had staked out the house. I had been a little concerned our house was going to be too big for the size of the lot for a nice yard space. After walking the lot I am satisfied we will have enough of a yard to enjoy nice backyard gatherings. While we were out on the lot our PM happened to drive through and he stopped to walk the lot with me while answering any questions I had.

Wow! I am really starting to get excited now…like this is really happening. I am so thankful for this blessing!!! I have prayed and prayed asking God to make me a homeowner by the time I turn 30. I was so disappointed when my birthday came and it seemed I wasn't even on track for becoming a homeowner. Now when I hear the saying: “he may not come when you want him to but he’s always right on time” I really have to laugh because I didn’t specifically say on my 30^th birthday. I asked for 30 and I will still be 30 until September…now isn’t that something. LOL!

Here's our lot!!!

Upgrades

As mentioned previously, we only upgraded the things we felt we couldn't live without. At first the process was a little hard to part ways with somethings but as a wise person told me..."honey you only get what you need now and put what you want in later. Remember, everything you add is going to be included in the mortgage payments for 30 years. If you wait a year or two and do it yourself, your only paying for  that upgrade once."  When we looked at it that way it made it much easier to part with somethings.


Exterior
Elevation C with all siding: we chose this option only because  it provides a little more room in the loft and two bedrooms due to the extension.

Interior
Kitchen
The morning room ...reason I bought the house.
The gourmet island...a must have
Slightly upgrades cabinets

We kept the basic flooring because we plan to lay our own tile within a year or two.

Family room
Fireplace with slate surrounding.

Master bathroom
Upgraded master suite with double sinks, glass enclosed shower and garden tub.
We upgraded the bath to include a stone border around our shower and tub.

We received the appliance package including a refrigerator, washer, and dryer.

We added prewiring in both of the kids bedrooms for ceiling fans.

Guardian

I was very surprised with their fees and the fact that they wanted to lock us into a 60 month contract at practically $60 dollars a month. We got them to come down to 36 months but then decided the next day even that was too long and cancelled. We  decided to have a wireless system installed before we move in.

We did add prewire for my husbands stereo system in the family room an additional cable line for the loft area.