Well that was easy!

Before we had even started “officially” looking for a house I had fallen in love with Ryan Homes. Ryan is a large builder in Middle Tennessee and has communities just about everywhere for every price and family size. They were also planning to build a community in Antioch, which is one of the places we wanted to live. Ok, so I already had my heart and mind set on getting a new house, but I didn’t think that would be my reality. Mostly because the Florence model that I LOVED and had basically moved-in in my head with Ryan, was over our budget. The Florence had everything that each of us wanted. But I knew it was out of our price range. There was another model, the McBride, that was priced below the Florence, but it didn’t have everything that I wanted (POUTING). With the search that our realtor had created we were finding “ok” houses, but nothing that we loved or wanted to call home. If the house was descent the community was crappy, if the price was within our budget it lacked most of the things we wanted. And let’s face it… I really wanted a brand new house. I mean I deserve it, right?

So, because I needed to convince myself that we absolutely could not afford the Florence, I decided to go visit the model located in Cane Ridge. WHHHHYYYYY! The model was EVERYTHING! The Sales Agent (SA) was very helpful in giving me all the information for the new Kensal Green Community in Antioch. The community would have 42 homes, construction was set to start in January 2018, and they were offering several incentives and some upgrades for free. If you used their Mortgage Company, NVR, they offered $4,000 in closing costs. They were also providing all stainless steel appliances- refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave, and washer/ dryer. The SA gave me list of pricing for the house, floor-plans for the Florence and the McBride, and a layout of the lots. I compared the floor plans room by room. Each floor-plan offered options for upgrades. Everything from morning rooms, half- baths, shower and tub combos- all of which increased the price. After speaking with Deonte and having a heart to heart with myself, I realized that the McBride would be perfect for us (I will do a side by side comparison of the two models). I realized that this will be our first home and that I did not have to have everything that I wanted. I also had to be realistic about some of the things that I did want and why. For example, I HAD TO HAVE a garden tub with a separate shower in the master. But did I really? I mean we have a shower and tub combo in our bathroom now and guess how many baths I take… ZERO! I realized it was more for aesthetics and not for functionally.

About 2 weeks after starting our home search to become first time homeowners, we decided to purchase a new house with Ryan Homes. We had a meeting with our RA and the SA for Ryan Homes. We chose the McBride with a premium lot, which is actually pretty cool because Kensal Green will be the first community ever to have this model. It has 3 bedrooms, all upstairs, 2 full bathrooms and a powder room on the main level, living room, large “country kitchen” w/ pantry, 2 car garage, a loft, laundry room, and walk in closets in EVERY ROOM! The McBride only had a few options for upgrades- french patio doors or sliding glass door, arrival center, coat closet or powder room, and an island. We decided to add the island (I always wanted an island in my kitchen) and the powder room was a free upgrade. Also, the railing for the stairs was upgraded for free. Usually, the stairs with the wall and banister is standard, but we were upgraded to wooden railing (yaaayyy). I have read on other blogs about RH that you visit a design center to pick out flooring, counter-tops, and cabinets, this was not the case for us. They had pre-designed packages to choose from. The packages ranged from standard/included to $25,000! The SA was very honest with us and told us that it would be much cheaper for us to upgrade these items ourselves down the road than to choose one of their packages. We took that advice and went with the Lincoln I, standard package. Although the Lincoln I is beautiful, we would like to have hardwood floors and granite counter-tops so that will definitely be an upgrade in 2019.

Cabinets, flooring, and counter-top pre-designed packages

Lincoln I, our selection

Elevation K, our selection

Elevation L

After making all of the selections, we had to sign a Purchase agreement (December 19,2017). RH also requires that you pay a deposit, that will become your down-payment, and obtain approval on your loan before you can go on the start list for building. The deposit is due within 45 days of signing the purchase agreement. We had 14 days to do what seemed like a ton of stuff, mostly due to the holidays and having to work with everyone’s schedule. We had to meet with the low voltage company, to decide where to place cable and phone lines. We had them add power outlets on the walls were we will have two TVs mounted and also add the conduits for the wiring behind the wall. Of course they were offering all kind of stuff, security system, network systems, etc. Deonte already has a plan for security so we did not get any additional things from them. We also had to have a meeting with the loan office to start the process of getting our initial approval for the loan. And then we had to meet again with the SA to make any final changes and also select colors for the outside of the house. This meeting was pretty exciting; I just kept thinking “this is really happening”!

Changes that we made: