Wednesday, October 22, 2014

It's ours!!!

Well, it's official!  We're homeowners again.

To close out the process with a bit of stress, when we went into the credit union Tuesday afternoon to set up the wire transfer (they told us we could do it Wednesday morning, but we had a few minutes and wanted to get it done), they told it could take 24-48 hours to get to NVR.

What?

This wouldn't've changed plans too much except that we would've had to reschedule closing, and break in to get our truck unloaded.  But it worked out; the transfer "only" took about 9 hours... so a few minutes of paperwork to sign, and we were off to unload a U-Haul

Yet still, this hangs on the apartment wall...

Closing day was busy for those of us over 5 years old, but the furniture doesn't arrive until tomorrow, and so we don't officially move in until Thursday.

We decorated the island


And got the living room set up... at least with the furniture necessary for two people to collapse and take a 5-minute break during moving


Moving day tomorrow.  For now, good night 


Monday, October 20, 2014

the ghost in the microwave

See it?  Looks just like Alicia.  Freaky.

Countdown to Close: 2 days
Countdown to Move: 3 days

The madness is mere hours away.

So, we had our final walkthrough today.  The good news is our house was audited for energy star rating; the bad news is they turned the heat off and we were freezing for the first half of it.  But, we have a nice new furnace and a fireplace, and it didn't take too long for things to get up to temperature.

Wanna see a picture?


That's the teaser.  Ubatuba granite... very similar to what we had at Stonecrest, but a little darker, and really looks sleek with the cabinets (which are very similar to what we had at Stonecrest, but a little darker) and the floors (which are very similar to what we had at Stonecrest, but a little darker).

There is some rather minor touch-up work to do be done, including a bunch of holes from one placement mistake with some shelving, but overall, that place is in dire need of some occupants, and we are eager to accept the invitation.

Here's the timeline (as we hope it plays out):
Tuesday night: load truck
Wednesday morning: finish loading truck
Wednesday midday: close
Wednesday afternoon: unload truck, paint Marissa's room, stove delivery
Thursday morning: furniture arrives, cable/phone install
Thursday afternoon: house setup
Thursday dinner-time: MOVE IN!!!
Friday: washer, dryer, and refrigerator arrive (ok, so it's not ideal - but we have another fridge), water meter installed, Guardian completes install

Until after closing!

Monday, October 13, 2014

The color of money

... and grass seed.

We didn't promise new pictures, but reserved the right to post more, so here we are.  The lawn was seeded at the end of last week, and while I was too inept to take pictures properly so I could recover them and post them, I did make another trip up this morning to get these.

The lot looks more spacious when the crap is not in it!  Little slope on the north side, but still nice and usable!




Thursday, October 9, 2014

It's been a good week

We have new pictures - in fact, if a picture is worth 1,000 words, we've got over 50,000 words to share... but fortunately, we're selective.

Let's start with this one.  It's one of my favorites.


So, after weeks of stressing over a bunch of things, mostly involving math and how others interpret math, we're finally destressing a bit.  In fact, you could almost say 
#2thumbsup

Sorry, still on #Wednesday time.

On the NVR Mortgage front, in the past week or so:
  • We finalized our closing
  • We got confirmation of final mortgage approval
  • Our escrow waiver was approved
Woot.
#win

On the home front, well, two things greeted us when we walked into the garage.  First, the mailbox.  I'm not sure how the mailman is going to get over there to leave the mail, but maybe it's a new construction thing.  

Also, it's slightly out of frame, but there is a stack of three drawers in the garage.  The only way this cabinet would not be in the kitchen was if our custom order stack of four drawers was the exact same width.  

Woot.
#win


So, let's get a look at that kitchen, shall we?


Island 

Pantry

View from the family room

Yes, with Ryan's a la carte pricing, each of those shoes cost us $60

We don't have a backsplash in the kitchen - we'll probably put in something nice down the road, but we didn't want to do one right away.  It's not a standard option through selections or customization, but it can be done if you ask.  
Keep in mind, we have yet to meet a contractor who enjoys putting them in. 

Obviously the granite isn't in yet; it was held up by a few kitchen projects, but it should've been going in today or maybe tomorrow.

The carpet's in, though.  We asked if they did scotch-guarding on the carpet, and were told they're stain-resistant.  But then, wait, what's this?  We were supposed to have been given an option to upgrade to a scotch-guarded carpet, and weren't?  

There seems to have been some miscommunication along the way - perhaps because we were so agreeable on all of the decorating decisions, she didn't even think to ask.  But whatever the reason, they're looking at ways to improve communication, and we're getting our carpets scotch-guarded before we move in.

Woot.
#win

On the topic of communication, my suggestion to Ryan's sales folks, and to anyone looking at options, don't just consider the option, make note of what ELSE the option gets you.

For instance, we thought about not getting a laundry tub.  But that comes with the water-hookups.  No tub?  No plumbing to add one without explicitly adding it.  Almost silly to not put it in.

We were talking about the new sump pump which was replaced because it kept tripping the breaker. Our project manager suggested that we look into a backup for it - that would come standard with a finished basement.  Sump pump is standard anyway, but we'd've definitely added a backup system to it... and we will.

Now, let's go on a tour

Family room fireplace 

Family room (facing north) 

Office window 

Main Floor Bathroom
("Powder Room")

Living Room
(Downstairs Playroom) 

Dining Room
(Dining Room) 

Bonus Room
("Upstairs Playroom") 

Mandatory view of the progress of the next door neighbor to the south 

Master Bedroom 

Master Bath Toilet Closet
(Door was forgotten... this is why we do walk-throughs) 

Hallway view, looking north 

Laundry Room 

Get your mind out of the gutter
Really, I see your mind right there 

View into the attic 

Main Bathroom 

Hallway Lights 

Dryness! 



This will be our last blogged walk-through.  We currently have no plans to do another walk-through until our pre-settlement walk-through in 11 days.

We close and do the initial move in 13 days, and the furniture and family move in 14.

We will update the blog with any new information, thoughts, or random flashbacks, but as for new pictures, you're going to have to wait for the open house.  Oh, let's get this out of the way now... NO GIFTS!!!

*food, beer, wine, and spirits are not gifts and are always welcome at our parties.

See you soon!
Phil and Alicia

Sunday, October 5, 2014

The rain in Spain...

...falls mainly in Spain.

The rain in Southwood falls mainly on our lot, where it gets drawn into the house and pushed back out the sump pump, and with the newly replaced sump pump, we happened to catch one such expulsion while we were standing there watching.

So, it appears water is still getting in, but as long as it's not getting past the drain, it should be fine.  That's what the drain is there for, after all.  It looked dry when I peered through, but we'll see how it looks when we get in this week in the daylight.

The neighbors were having a party last night.  Our invitation must've been sent to the new address, which of course we don't get mail at yet.  We forgive them; they had no way of knowing.  I'm sure we'll be invited to the next one.

The house does look nice at night, though.  Here's a picture:


Thursday, October 2, 2014

Quick ride up the driveway


Tuesday, we were getting ready for a driveway...


... and here it is!



...Complete with a barricade to keep anyone who's driving on the new driveway from getting tire tracks on the nice dirt pile.



 20 days to close...