Since we've had this in the works for weeks before we could actually pull the trigger, we had already gone through and made most of our selections. I sat down tonight intending to jot them all down in a separate tab for this blog. Well, 2 hours later and I've only made a dent. There are soooo many selections that you have to make. It makes me thankful that we aren't building a custom home. I can only imagine how intense that must be.
A few notes on the selections I did manage to recount:
After seeing the model, we knew we wanted the Waverly. And my husband quickly fell in love with a lot where we can have a walk-out basement. Our community is a small one -- just 24 RHs, plus 13 more from another builder. It's one long street that winds around a hill (plus two extra cul-de-sacs). Most houses either have hills going up in their backyard, or slope down in the back. Even though we're waiting to finish the basement ourselves later, we couldn't resist the walk-out. My husband loves to do woodworking, so we're also going to turn the basement media room into a wood shop -- with a service door and extra laundry tub.
Other basic upgrades: The morning room and extended laundry were musts for me, and we also loved the luxury master option. We did debate a good bit on the bonus room. In the end, we decided that the extra space for guests, and additional office/den space, was worth it.
Despite the fact that they're not all listed here yet, we have made the selections. BUT (isn't there always a but?), we did come in a few $$$$ more than I had anticipated. It all adds up so quickly! I'm waiting to get the final mortgage numbers back from NVR to see if we can pull this off, but trying to brace myself in case we need to make a few cutbacks.
Is there anything that you had planned on for your home that you had to give up because of cost? Still happy with those decisions?
I gave up a two-story great room, second floor laundry, front porch, and a 3-car garage. Those weren't due to cost though, just availability. I can't complain too much. A first floor laundry is still better than having it in the basement. We plan on having an elaborate back patio put in, this will probably make me forget all about the front porch. As for the garage, our house is just too wide for the 3-car. We only have two cars but the extra storage space would have been nice. We will probably end up getting a shed to store our riding lawn mower (we are on half an acre) even though I think sheds look tacky.
ReplyDeleteWe made sure to get every option that was structural. Those are things you cannot add later. Everything else can always be changed and upgraded at any time. We almost didn't get the 4' bump out or the 9'' ceilings. We quickly realized we would regret those decisions down the line and not be able to do anything about it.
Oh, there is one thing I wish I would have gotten but didn't. A window in my laundry room. For some reason I let my husband talk me out of it. I shouldn't have listened to him. He doesn't even do the laundry! It's not that big of a deal anyway. How much time would I really be spending in there?
We were a few dollars over where we wanted to be on our initial monthly payment estimate so my husband gave up his finished basement. As we waited six months the rates kept dropping. Turns out we could have easily still had the finished basement from RH. It would have been nice to have it done during the build than have to shell out the cash for it later, but now we can customize it to our needs and tastes. In the end, it all works out!
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