One more blast from Mother Nature

Well they didn't dig today. The temps never climbed out of the 20s. To top it off, they are calling for more snow tonight. One forecast calls for 1-3". The other for 3-5". 

So what does this mean for our dig?  The news today is that it will happen Monday, unless we get too much snow. Mother Nature had better cooperate if she knows what's good for her. 

The final concern is that they removed all our stakes and spray painted the snow. Now another couple inches will be on top of that. How are they going to know where to dig?  Susan sent an email to Jeff to make sure that was being handled. I sure hope so. 

I love surprises

On the way home from work my boyfriend passes by The Bluffs. As he did so today he saw the big equipment sitting in the far corner. (Where our lot sits).

He turned in to see and was surprised to see some progress. I wouldn't call it an actual dig, but they are definitely ready for one. 

Looks like there is a possibility they may dig tomorrow, a Saturday.  I might just have to bring the lawn chair out!! LOL

Bluffview Dr

Our sales rep, Susan, cruised by the Bluffs today to check the progress.  She was sweet to send us an update. 

They are framing The Chelton. They are finally putting in the electric, the last utility to go into the development. They are prepping the entryway for the big monuments stating, "The Bluffs". And we now have street signs. 

As you can see the snow is still hanging around. Crossing my fingers for a Monday or Tuesday start to our home. 

Winter blues

We just received the message that our dig wouldn't be happening this week either. Bummer deal. 

I've been watching the forecast like a hawk. It's supposed to be in the mid 20s tomorrow and Wednesday. Apparently that's not quite warm enough. Next Monday and Tuesday will be above freezing, at least part of the day. I'm crossing my fingers we get the go ahead for next week. 

I drove by The Bluffs and the only thing happening was indoors. There was a van parked in front of the model home and Cathy & Johns place. I'm assuming trim work in the model. I think it was dry-walled a couple of weeks ago. Cathy and Johns Bentwood is coming along nicely. The windows are in and the barrier is on the roof and exterior walls. They put the windows in at the end of last week. Now it's electrical, plumbing and all that fun stuff. 

The other two homes are still at the basement stage. Wood has been delivered to both, which now sits in about 6 inches of snow. On the plus side, the roads are plowed and dry. 

Sigh, someday it will be our turn. 

How cold is too cold?

So we were unable to dig at all this week due to the weather. In fact, today was the first day in double digits. We are expecting another 3-5 inches of snow tonight. Winter is in full gear here in Ohio. I woke up to -4 degree weather.

I keep glancing at the forecast for this upcoming week, hoping something is going to change. Wednesday and Thursday seem to be the best window. It's supposed to be in the mid 20's those two days. The rest of the week is in the teens. So this begs the question, how cold is too cold?  Houses are built all over the country in the winter, so how does it get done?  It's time to visit my friend Google and see what she has to say on the matter.

Mother Nature is a little *&%?*

They were all set to dig out for our footers today.  But Little Miss Mother Nature was feeling a bit fussy and decided to dump 3 inches of snow, with sub-zero wind chills. 

They can't put in footers in sub-zero temps, and they can't dig unless they can put the footers in right away, before the ground freezes. 

Mother Nature has decided not to cooperate at all this week, in fact, so we continue waiting.  Hopefully next week it will warm up just enough. 

Happy Valentines Day to us

Our SR must really love us. Her Valentines gift was to message us with the great news that they start digging our house out on Monday or Tuesday!!!  We are beyond excited. 

Accessories for the new house

I'm sure everyone out there who is or has built a new home understands the struggle of finding just the right things to fill your new home.  There is a lot of online shopping and trips to the store to find just the right things.

Well... yesterday we found the best accessory for our new driveway. 

Our shiny new house just wouldn't look right without something shiny and new out front.  I wonder how many others buy a new car after building a home.

Large purchases are usually a NO-NO until after closing.  Our sales rep nearly had a stroke when we told her, but our lender said it was no big deal.  

We should start digging in just a couple weeks. 

Meanwhile, at the Bluffs

The Model Home

The Camden

The Pinehurst II

The Bentwood, (they fulfilled their promise to frame it first)

View from our lot, and the slope they have

Our lady in waiting. Just a couple more weeks

Our slight slope in the back

It flattens out on the other side. Aren't our rocks lovely. It's like free landscaping. 

The lot extends past the trees into that opening beyond. We are going to clear all the little brush and saplings to clean it up. 

Back on track

Sunday we met with Schumacher Homes. They were impressive, to say the least. Their models were masterpieces. I think they want to showcase how custom their work can be, as a lot of their models are customized beyond the standard plan. So much so, that it's hard to see how it originally comes.

They have a designer sit with you when pricing out. Then we went through everything about the house, top to bottom. We could change the roof pitch, any exterior element. Move walls, move posts or windows. We could add porches, decorative trusses. The choices were amazing. The best part is any change we made was shown on their huge monitor in front of you. You saw pictures of what it will look like. They had pictures of all their selections. I think they had at least 10 bathtubs to choose from for the master. There were 7 choices for fireplaces.  We moved walls and put in built-ins.

Our jaws were on the ground from the very beginning. The only issue is timing and the fear of the unknown. They give you a very detailed price list of all your selections, showing you where every dollar goes, with pictures of all your choices. BUT, they don't own the land, we do. They have no clue what's in the land or what it will take to build on it, so they make sure to inform you of additional costs that might occur. So the price your given is not set in stone.

They only do construction loans as well. Meaning we have to buy the lot separately, then as they build they are credited money from the lender as they meet certain milestones of the build. Which means we start paying interest while they are building, instead of at close. Plus, restarting the process would mean we would be about 2 months past the end of the lease of our current home.

Susan sent us a text the afternoon after we emailed her. Inverness agreed to meet our requirements to build. We met with her on Monday afternoon to trim down our selection list a bit. We got rid of the $1200 paint charge and will just stick with their white paint until our 1yr is up. We went with the standard shower fixtures and will put in our own after close. John made it clear that he would bring up their over pricing of certain features on our survey.

We also used this time to add in a change order we missed out on earlier. We are changing the sliding closet doors to double doors in the kids rooms. Susan put in the change order and as soon as she gets pricing we will sign the final version of the change order and be back on track. She thinks we are two to three weeks from starting the build, which keeps us on track for the end of June closing we want.

I am just so glad it's all over. I'm ready to focus on the move.