April 30, 2014 Sod!

The sod is finally down and we also started to build our patio! It is so nice to have a yard, although the puppies are enjoying the rather large gravel aka sand box during the patio build duration. First patio then fence, hoping for a smooth build duration!!!

Updates! Feb 23, 2014

Well we are all moved in. Our 30 day check came and went. We have had no serious problems or concerns. the house is wonderful. We are now seeing nail pops, which is expected. We will not have sod until after the ground thaws, we are hoping early April.

 First lets list the things I love- (there are so many I am sure I will not get all of them)
1. My morning room. Having Coffee at the table and looking out at the morning sky is a beautiful expierience.
2. My closet, my closet is HUGE! I love my closet.
3. The kitchen and appliances. I love my new appliances.
4. The utility bills. With a household of 9 every little bit helps and energy star is wonderful!
5. The huge driveway and 3 car garage ... so nice to fit all the cars in the driveway and not do the "hokey pokey" to move cars around when someone needs to leave.
6. The windows, I have windows everywhere I love getting the natural light inside of the house.
7. My master bedroom and bathroom. The bedroom is huge and easily fits my king-size bed and more. The bathtub water stays hot and I fill the entire tub with out it turning cold 1/4 of the way through and the shower with the built in bench is huge and wonderful.
8. The family room and gas fireplace. Although I have always loved a wood burning fire place, I adore my energy star so much that I understand and appreciate the need for the gas fireplace. It really is very pretty and it does get warm. It creates a nice atmosphere and I love it.
9. Lastly my freshly painted (because I needed some color we picked the smallest room) Guest bathroom!

We have not painted the other rooms yet, mostly due to the nail pops.

The nail pops will be fixed along with a few other minor repairs by Ryan homes. I am keeping a list for the next walk through -

1.The upstairs ceiling has possible drywall seams showing through the paint along with the nail pops.
2. The kitchen ceiling also has a small area that dips in. It is not getting worse or changing at all but it is an imperfection that annoys me.
3. One of the windows in the morning room has a small crack running through the center of the glass, it wasn't noticeable until we got frost.
4. The caulking around the Bathtub tile is coming up between the wall tile and the tub.
5. The sod still needs laid (as mentioned above)
6. There is some outdoor paint touch up that needs done on the back doors. It was to cold when we moved in to fix it at our walk through.


The things that annoy me the most .. honestly
-Some of the larger rooms get cold. I have had to learn to leave doors open to allow heat circulation. This is hardest for my teenagers who prefer to hideout in their rooms with the doors shut.
- Flat paint is awful. With a large active family the walls get touched. Flat paint does not clean well. I understand we all repaint anyway so it would be a waste to use a more expensive paint, but being stuck with this stuff until the spring when I can open windows while we paint and until nails pops get repaires is a lesson in patience and tolerance.
- Without sod in the back yard mud does no matter how much I wipe puppy paws etc, mud does somehow find its way in the house. It has been a constant cleaning effort. We did try to decrease the mud area by applying a "Wheat Shade Cloth" with a carpeting effect to the ground directly outside the back door. The soil we covered will be patio anyway so I do not need to worry about it getting in the way of any growth. This stuff was a saving grace as it really does keep a majority of the dirt outside and off of puppy feet.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Coolaroo-12-ft-x-50-ft-Wheat-Shade-Cloth-90-UV-Block-435967/202016161?cm_sp=BazVoice-_-RLP-_-202016161-_-x

Over all I love the entire process. I believe that the Ryan Homes adventure was an experience in awesomeness. The people I worked with were kind and accommodating. I enjoyed watching my home be built from ground to roof. I love my house. Before making this decision I studied, no I stalked the real-estate websites and home sales. Ryan homes was one of the very few options that had homes available large enough to meet the needs of an extra large family. In today's society adult children are not moving out, they are moving home. I knew we would not be downsizing for a long time. The large options available in my area were foreclosures and very old. The could have required hundreds of thousands of dollars in repair and upkeep. They were often too small or much older homes located on busier streets or in the wrong school district. I exhaustively researched the comparable homes and I knew that Ryan was offering a competitively priced home in the market that I needed for my family. The energy star efficiency and home warranty are a great comfort I would not have been able to find easily in other options. The neighborhood is beautiful and close to the children's school. The neighbors are nice and I can not wait for spring to get here so I can go walking with the dog and grand-baby. The short story -   if given the choice I would do it over again.

Dec 28, 2013 Closing!

Closing went well. We got our keys and have been busy moving everything into the house. Ryan Homes did a great job overall. There were a few mistakes that they fixed ( our refrigerator was 2 days late arriving )  and did their best to make up for the inconvenience. We did finally get our refrigerator and it is beautiful. There are some outside paint touch ups on the back door they will get in the spring. Over all we are very pleased with our new home. I will have more pictures soon once I start getting everything in its place. Happy, merry and blessed season to all those celebrating!!!

Dec 12, 2013 New home orientation

We walked through the house again today with our project manager. Everything is beautiful. There are a couple paint touch ups that need done but over all we are very pleased. The sod will not be placed until spring when the ground thaws.The only real "oops" they do not have our refrigerator yet, somehow they "missed" it. We were assured we will have it in the next couple days and it should be there by closing. We close Friday. I cant believe it is almost here, I am excited and can not wait until we start moving in!!!

December 12, 2013 More pics!

The house looks so pretty in the snow. The door got its final coats of paint. The mail box is in place. The inspectors went through and put little pieces of blue paint tape on even the smallest imperfections. The house looks beautiful I can not wait to move in.
We have been finishing up last minute paperwork with NVR and we close in 8 days!!!

Dec 2, 2013 Its becoming more real!

WE CLOSE IN 18 DAYS!!!

No new pictures today. I will walk through the home this Sunday and get some though. It is finally becoming real. I am excited and a bit unraveled from all the activity and final to do list. I am arranging utility connects and disconnects today. We have already reserved a moving truck and are planning our first party ( a moving party! ) .
They have the microwave in the house and have been doing the last minute fixes. We will not be able to get our sod in until May, this is not really a surprise and doesn't bother me that much. The silver lining is that is gives me time to tweek my backyard landscaping designs.
We are packing up and the next few weeks are going to be a whirlwind of activity, We have decided the first decoration in our new house will be our Christmas tree!!!

November 23, 2013 - 27 days until closing!

We locked in our interest rate  and walked through the house again today. 26 days until close!