So we are in here!

I'm soooo tired!  We moved Friday after closing and have been rolling since.  We have almost finished unpacking so that's good.  We had tons of boxes and I'd say we are down to around 15 left.

A lot has happened this past week!  I don't even know where to begin. 

So Monday, we had a "kind of" walk thru with our PM.  We pointed out things that we wanted fixed and that was that.  We also got a lot of snow for our area....6 inches!  I know you people up north are used to it, but its a lot to us!  During this time, we noticed our rails inside the house were stained the wrong color.  We also pointed out a lot of issues with the exterior which can't be addressed until the weather is warmer.  I'm glad my PM offered to meet with us earlier this week because he knew I was apprehensive about having our orientation the day before closing.  I will say that if you can avoid this and get things rescheduled....do NOT have your orientation the day before closing.

Tuesday, we were supposed to have our personal inspection, but he couldn't make it out due to the weather.

Thursday, we had our new home orientation and our inspection.   A lot of the things that we discussed on Monday were taken care of, but our floors (vinyl) looked awful and the rail still was not correct.  We also noticed that we could see the pad under the carpet in our master bedroom because the carpet was cut too short.  Our PM said they could fix it by basically using a tool that would push it under the baseboard.  We got all of the things we wanted fixed in writing....things to be fixed before closing and things to be fixed when the weather permits.  Our PM told us to call so he could show us everything was corrected before closing

Friday,  I had to run errands with the kiddos.  After I was done, I called my PM and he couldn't meet......anyway, we closed!  It was fast.....just a ton of signatures and we were out of there. NVR has been a joy to work with.  Everyone was prompt with emails and any questions I may have had.  I would highly recommend using NVR to anyone purchasing a Ryan Home. 

After closing, I ran by Home Depot to pick up a few things and got on the interstate.....with a FLAT TIRE!  Let me tell you, sitting on the side of I-95 on one of the coldest days of the year with cars going at least 70mph is no fun.  Luckily a friend who was helping my husband load up the truck was able to help me out.... it was repaired quickly and I was able to finally see our house!  The floors look a million times better, but they still missed several spots.  The carpet in the bedroom was not fixed.  The rail was not correct. The kitchen was dirty....dust was everywhere....cabinets, appliances, pantry....everywhere.   Even though those things were not satisfactory, we were still excited to be moving into our house.  Blinds started going up, beds were set up, and I was able to start unpacking the kitchen.

Saturday, we had a friend put the rest of the blinds up (awesome friend) and did a ton of unpacking.

Today we had our cable, internet, and phone set up in addition to an electrician (another friend) putting in all of our lights and ceiling fans.  Lights make such a huge difference!  We didn't do anything fancy, just needed to get some lights in!

Overall, I am very happy with how things have turned out.  I will say to make sure you speak up if you see something that you don't like.  Don't assume obvious things will be fixed.  For us, we just need for things that were promised to be fixed, to be fixed correctly and not some quick temporary fix.

I will post pictures at some point this week!

We closed!!!

It's officially ours!!!!  Closing took 30-45 minutes.  It was wonderful!  

Will update later in the week once we have internet!

One week!

We have sod!  It is like the icing on the cake to our beautiful home.  I absolutely LOVE how everything has come together.  While I was worried about the colors and trim, it really has come together nicely.   I didn’t get to go in today, but there were a lot of people doing work.  From what it looked like, there was a man power washing the exterior, someone painting, and someone cleaning.  They are really trying to get our house ready!  I can’t wait to see everything on Monday!

 

I figured that since we were in the end of the process that I would look to see if we passed our final county inspection and we didn’t.  Not sure why it was submitted knowing that the house was not 100% complete.  When we walked through for our security meeting, there were some things that we noticed…..for example, the back door still didn’t have a deadbolt, which was one of the reasons for the failed inspection.   I know the house will be 100% before we move in, but it’s still disappointing to see that it failed due to little details that haven’t been taken care of.  

Speaking of inspections, we have our personal inspection scheduled for Tuesday and should have his findings that evening.   I know that he will do a thorough job and I hope that all of the contractors have done the same.  He told us from the beginning that this is where he finds issues….with the finishes and workmanship of the various contractors that put together the finished product.  

Speaking of finishes, I hope that the painters have fixed some of the sloppy work I’ve seen (hopefully that’s what they were doing today).   I have learned a lot from reading from others experiences, and I know to go over our house in great detail and to always speak up if we feel something isn’t right.  We will point out any and everything we see that we feel is not done correctly.  While this might not be a big investment to some, it is to us and we expect it to be done right.  It’s not personal, it’s business.

8 days!!!

Normally after I leave work, I drive by the house to see if there is something new.  Today I needed to run errands for the kiddos Valentine’s parties ….As soon as I parked at Target, my PM called.  He addressed a couple of things I emailed him about.  I asked him about the sod and plants since we are about to hit a cold streak (probably followed by 80 degree weather….that’s Virginia for you).  He told me they were going in today!  I was totally shocked because I really didn’t expect to have anything.  So after I got off the phone with him, I called my hubby and asked him to swing by to get some pictures.

In our current house, the previous owner planted flowers and they come back every year, so all the work was done for me!  I do think I will make an attempt to ensure our yard looks nice and will plant some of my own flowers to enhance what has been done, but I have no clue when it comes to things green.  I asked the PM if our sod and plants would die especially with a chance for snow next week.  He said they would be fine, so here’s to hoping we have nice green grass and beautiful plants in the spring. 

We also got our stair/porch railings today.  They look very nice and I am EXTREMELY happy to see them!

Our PM told me they are doing the final finishes to make our house perfect! 

Here are some pictures of the yard and the rails.  I will be back tomorrow to see the sod!

 

 

9 more days!

We stopped by the house today to meet with a representative for our security system.  I'm pretty excited about that, but even more excited about what's in the house.....APPLIANCES and CARPET!  The next time we are in the house it should be almost complete.  

I'm guessing we will be waiting for warmer weather before we can get our sod, tree, and other plants....

It also looks like three other houses on our street will begin soon!  It's nice to see our community filling up.

Here are a few pictures from today....

 

 

 

Week 11

13 days to go!  This time in two weeks, we should be moving in to our new home!  I’m so excited!

 

A lot has been going on this week.   Our granite counter tops were put in the kitchen this week and they look great.  I love the way the kitchen is coming together!  We should be getting appliances this week.   Here are some pictures of the kitchen.

 

 

 

 

Our vinyl flooring also was put down this week.  I absolutely love the way it looks.  While most of it is covered, I did pull the covering back to get a few pictures.  It looks very nice and I feel is a nice alternative to hardwoods if they are outside of your budget.  One day we will get hardwoods, but this is great for now.

 

The master bathroom now has tile.  The ceramic tile came with our package and we just stuck with the standard.  I really like how it came out.   I’m also really excited about our shower with the seat.  Even though I'm not excited about keeping that glass clean!

 

 

Here are some more pictures of the inside.

Master Closet

Loft

Bedroom

Laundry

Living room

Dining room

Family room

Powder room

 

 

Here are some exterior pictures.   I’m so excited about the porch and I really love the recessed lights.  Oh, our irrigation system was also put in this week!  While we were visiting the house, they were working on grading the yard.

We have a driveway!

Exterior lights

 

Porch with recessed lights

 

We walked through the house with our PM’s assistant and we did notice that our extra dedicated outlet in the garage is in the wrong location.  It should be beside our steps, but instead it’s behind the water heater.  He said it will be fixed, so that makes us happy.  Not sure why it was put there when it’s clearly marked on our paperwork to be beside the steps.   There are also a couple of spots in the subfloor that we are concerned about….the best way to describe it is that they give when you step on them.   Our PM’s assistant said that when carpet goes in the flooring people will make sure it’s nailed down correctly. 

There are a lot of little details that we are watching closely and a lot of work that still has to be done.  More drywall, more paint, more trim……I'm sure they will do everything to make sure we love the final product.  This is a huge investment and we want it to be as close to perfect as possible.  We ask a lot of questions and I will say that our PM’s and SR do an awesome job of answering everything and trying to put our minds at ease.   

So what’s next?  Appliances, carpet, sod, and detail work.   I can't believe it's almost finished!