Moving along quite nice....

So I haven't blogged in a while.. But a lot has happened since then.. We finally broke ground on   November 1st! It's been pretty exciting to watch the progress.

We are into week 6 and the body of the home is almost complete! Things are moving along quite nice. I will try to post pictures soon..

NVR Update

Today I heard from NVR.. and I was APPROVED!

Finalizing Structural Changes

Today I had an appointment with my SR to finalize my structural selections. I decided to remove the hardwood and keep the standard carpet to keep cost down. I can always finish it later. Other than that still waiting to hear back from NVR financing..

Guardian and Flooring

Today is the day I get to select wiring and flooring! I want to be excited but it's pretty hard when I haven't received any word back from NVR as to whether or not I'm approved. My wiring appointment is in the morning and my flooring is later this afternoon.  We will see how it goes...

Guardian Wiring Appointment

Ok, so the wiring was pretty easy and straight to the point. I met the Guardian sales guy early this morning at the model and we discussed different options for cable wires, telephone jacks, built in speakers and of course the alarm system. The sales guy didn't put any pressure on me to buy items offered, instead he was a bit helpful in helping me decide where to put wiring and made a few good suggestions.

I decided to purchase cable wiring for all 4 bedrooms in addition to the basement and family room. Ryan homes gives your 4 wires included but I added an additional 6 at $140 a piece. I also decided to add the tv wall mount connection for the family room which cost an additional $360. My last selection included speakers in the ceiling, which cost about $1300 for 5 speaker. Keep in mind the speakers all have to go in one room, so I choose the family room.  I left the appointment spending about $2600. This is a bit more then I wanted to spend but I have 3 days to think about my options and if I choose to cancel I can before the 3 days is up. I will make my final decision after my flooring appointment.

Flooring Appointment

My flooring appointment was today and WOW! It's very overwhelming. I picked out hardwood for the main level, upgraded the tile in the owner's bedroom, and kept the standard carpet upstairs.

NVR Financing

So today I met with a NVR financing loan officer, and it went pretty well. We discussed finances, credit score, and we even put together a plan that will ensure I have all the funds ready and available before closing time. The meeting wasn't too bad but I am still worried about a few road blocks that can get in the way of my loan approval.  For now all I can do is have faith, pray and hope all goes well for me! Please keep me in your prayers everyone!  The loan officer says it will take about 30-45 days before I will hear something. I now have to think of ways to keep myself sane for the next 30-45 days.

For now.. the waiting game starts!

Purchase Agreement

Guess what I did today??? I signed the purchase agreement! I can now start dreaming of my new home. Wow! I feel like that went fast. I received almost everything I wanted in the house except for a morning room (they don't offer it in the model I choose) and a bathroom in one of the bedrooms upstairs. I had to choose between an extra bathroom in one of the smaller rooms or a sitting room in the master) You guessed it! I choose the sitting room! The purchase agreement was pretty clear and easy to follow which made it easy for me to sign on the dotted line. So my Journey continues with my Ryan home.. Next... I meet with NVR financing team...Yikes!

The Search Is Over!

After selling my townhome, I decided to ask a family member if I could stay with him and his family for a few months until I found a new home. My family member happily accepted! Me and Chloe (my yorkie)packed up all of things and moved to Southern Maryland. 

After a month of looking at different builders in the area, I got bored and frustrated with all the sales talk. The base prices of the homes I had seen included nothing! The builders wanted to charge for every little thing! I started to think that my dream home is not out there and if it was it's going take a lottery winning and a prayer for me to actually afford it!

Driving home one day after work, I stumbled across a Ryan home sign. The sign reads New homes coming soon. I thought to myself "hmmm..  I wonder if those homes would be worth visiting" but I heard so many horror stories about Ryan Homes that I decided not to even bother and besides the commute from Southern Maryland to my workplace in Washington DC was insane already and I couldn't even think about doing the commute for the next 10-20 years. So I decided to keep driving. 

Weeks go by and I still haven't found the home of my dreams! Desperate to find a place I decided to finally walk into the Ryan Homes sales office. I met one of the nicest Sales Rep. He greeted me with a great big smile and introduced himself to me. I told him I was just stopping in and really just wanted to see the model and go. He understood and didn't pressure me into anything. Walking through the model I was highly impressed! Most of the neat gadgets in the home came standard! The yard space was perfect! The kitchen was perfect! and I instantly feel in love.  After walking through the model home, I thanked the Sales Rep, took his card and was on my way home. In the car, I started thinking.. THIS IS THE HOUSE I been looking for! I had passed this sign many times and just decided I wasn't going to build with Ryan.. Well my mind quickly did a detour.. and now I have decided I WANT TO BUILD WITH RYAN! The Search Is Over!!!

Building My First Ryan Home-Corsica Model

So my journey begins...


One day while watching HGTV, I decided that it was time for me to take the leap and finally do what I been dreaming of.. Move out of my 1200 sq ft town-home into my dream single family home. . I had many thoughts going through my head... How do I start this process? Do I hire a realtor to help me sell or do I try selling on my own? How much profit will I make? Will it be enough to put down for a new home? How much do I want to spend on a new home? Where will I move? I wanted to completely ensure I had all my ducks in a row this time around because buying my first home was very stressful. I want this experience to go as smooth as possible.

SO...I decided to make the first step to contact a realtor and put my home on the market. Believe it or not, my home sold in 4 days! Woohooo... I think? After the excitement was over, I now had to think about where would I move!?? And SO the journey begins...