Signage - Check!

On our weekly drive-by, we were excited to see the most recent addition to our future neighborhood:

That's us!  Buckingham Drive!  Word on the street is that the lot numbers have been painted on the curb, but we haven't had the opportunity to scope things out yet because the road is blocked.  We hope the heavy duty machinery is gone soon so we can drive down our street.  And maybe Santa can bring some stakes for our lot - that would be very exciting!  That's not asking for too much, is it?  I've been a good girl this year!

Security Question - Help!

My husband spoke with our insurance agent today and recieved a quote for our homeowner's insurance.  We were both surprised to see that the security discount was only $41 per year.  Now I understand that quotes vary based on home value and location, but can anyone tell me if this is a competitive discount?  That's only $3.42 a month!  Any input is appreciated!  Thanks!

Changes

Last week, I emailed our SR to see if it would be possible to change our bathroom cabinetry.  Not only did he respond within 24 business hours, he scheduled us to sign the paperwork two days later!  I should also mention that I emailed him the evening before Thanksgiving.  Talk about great customer service!  The change was minor - just upgrading the bathroom cabinets to match what we have in the kitchen.  We originally chose the Andover Maple Spice for the bathrooms.  But the more we thought about it, the more we wanted something darker.  So, we now have Wyoming Cherry Spice in both the owners and hall bathrooms.  We did not change the countertop or floor choices.  Not yet, at least - lol!  I think the longer we wait to break ground, the better chance there is for more changes! 

There is also one major change that I would like to share with you.  Drumroll please!!


WE HAVE ASPHALT!!

 In general, blacktop doesn't really do it for me.  But, since we expected to see the road paved three months ago, this is pretty exciting.  Hopefully by the end of the month our lot will be staked and we can get a good look at what we puchased.  Keep your fingers crossed it was the right choice!  We haven't heard anything about whether or not they are on schedule with groundbreaking.  We have a three month cushion between when we are scheduled to close and when the lease on our current place ends, so we still have some flexibility with our timeline - thank goodness!

Fieldtrip!

Over the weekend, we took the 45 minute drive to the Oakmont model in an effort to re-ignite our ethusiasm.  Mission accomplished!!  As I mentioned in my last post, there appears to be no visible progress on our future road despite the persistent work of many pieces of heavy machinery.  We assume they have fallen at least a month behind schedule from the last time we spoke with our SR and plan to follow-up this weekend and get the scoop.  Anyways!  Here are some photos of our future home!  I have to admit that it wasn't my first choice in floorplans, but after what was essentially "analysis paralysis" the Oakmont beat all other contenders.  Here she is!

Foyer

Dining Room

Study

Kitchen

Morning Room

Family Room

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom w/ Sitting Area

Heaven on Earth!



Master Bath
(the loo is behind door #1)



Hall Bath

I hope you enjoyed the tour!  I plan to show a few comparisons between our current place and our future home (like Coleen and John) in a future post.  To give you some insight, we'll be moving from 750 to 3000 square feet!  We can't wait to have space for entertaining and be able to accomodate overnight guests!  Did anyone else drastically increase the size of their living space?

Hello Homebuilders!!

It's been waaaaay too long since I've made a post, but I've been following the progress on everyone's new homes!  Congratulations to those of you who have recently closed or signed a contract to begin!

Unfortunately there is not much to report here in Western PA.  The men and their diggers have been working diligently (weather permitting) to complete the storm sewer and drainage system on the land where our future home will be located.  When we began researching in June we were informed that the road would be paved in August and the new model homes would open in November.  Well, it is November and the road has not been paved.  The rain and wet weather have set them behind quite a bit and who knows what other obstacles they've encountered.  They have made visible progress, which is promising, and you can even get a sense of where the homes are situated by the location of the green and orange wooden posts.  Here is a shot from a week or so ago:

We can see the future road!  We'll be the third home on the right!  Since we have a delayed delivery of June 2012, we're not sure whether or not the delay will affect us.  As long as we're in our new home by the end of August, we'll be happy.  Our excitement level has lost some of it's momemtum, but I think once the road is in and the building starts, we'll be back on track.  It's been about a month since we've been to the Oakmont model, so my DH and I are thinking about taking a little drive this weekend to re-ignite our enthusiasm!  I will keep you posted!

Loan Approval - Check!

We were surprised when we received a call yesterday from the LO.  It had only been five (business) days since we submitted our loan application, so I assumed NVR was asking for more paperwork.  Instead, we were congratulated on our loan approval - yay!  That was fast!  After hearing so many NVR horror stories, we expected there to be a few bumps in the road.  Hopefully this is an indication that they have made changes in their business procedures to help better serve their customers.  We have over seven months to go before closing, so we can only hope that the remainder of our interactions with NVR will go just as smoothly.  What was your experience with NVR?

Exterior Color Selections - Check!

Over the weekend, we met with our Sales Rep to choose our exterior colors and finalize our options and upgrades.  We fell in love with the color scheme at the right on our first trip to the Oakmont model.  Unfortunately, the shutter and door colors are no longer offered, but there were similar colors available.  Here is our exterior color scheme:

Brick:  Biscay
Siding:  Stone Mountain Clay
Trim:  Almond
Shutters:  Black Watch Green
Front Door:  Fine Wine

We are still unsure about the front door color.  The small sample door in the design center appeared red, but it appears more purple on the Sherwin Williams website.  Did anyone choose Fine Wine for their front door color?  How did it turn out?

We also reviewed our selections from Rusmur flooring and Guardian and added a few outlets to complete our options.  We also learned about some upgrades for our phase that RH has included in the base price of our home:
Icemaker RI
Poured Wall Foundation
3 Dimensional Shingles
Knock Down Stipple (Textured Ceiling)
Upgraded Landscaping Package with Black Mulch
Upgraded Garage Door (Carriage Style)
Passive Radon System

The township will be paving the first 3rd of our road within the next few weeks.  After that, we'll meet with our sales rep again and meet with the PM to thoroughly inspect our homesite.  Hopefully we'll get to put a "sold" sticker on our lot sign at that meeting too!  After that, there won't be much going on until our pre-construction meeting in February.  Of course, the hubs and I will be browsing for furntiture, appliances, and some other items we want for the house while we wait to break ground!

Here is a photo of the current view from the top of our street.