Where it all began..

The story of how we came to purchase our first home!

One random weekend, we decided to go check out some model homes for decorating ideas. Who would have ever thought that the first model we walked into, would soon be our first home purchase! The SR asked us some questions when we first walked in and we both agreed we wouldn't be buying a home for 2+ years. When we heard the different incentives and the incredibly low interest rate at the time, we thought maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to look into purchasing a home now. 

We loved the Florence model, but thought maybe we should view the Sienna due to the cost difference. After walking through a Sienna, we knew it was not the home for us. Then our SR took us through the Venice and since the price difference between the Florence and Venice wasn't much, we strongly considered the Venice. To get an estimate that was close to what we would actually be paying, we decided to go through and pick which options we would like in the home. At the end, we had added over $16,000 in options- OY! After tons of questions to our SR and a bunch of number crunching, we decided we would take the evening to think things over. We crossed a bunch of options off our lists of the two homes and eventually decided the Florence model would be a good fit for us. What initially drew us to this model was the open floor plan concept, the decent size of the rooms and I especially loved the kitchen with a ton of open space! 

After we determined which options we wanted, our SR put the numbers in and gave us a cost estimate on payments. I would have loved to add many more options, however this won't be our only home, so this is a good start and we can eventually build the home of our dreams with all the bells and whistles. Regardless, I'm still happy with our choices and the options we chose and we're still getting some good upgrades. 

 After a day or two, I wasn't too sure we could afford what we had agreed upon. I made a budget and started checking off more options. We eventually got ourselves down to a payment that we felt comfortable with and signed the papers! Boy was I feeling all sorts of nervousness when I signed that $1,000 deposit check and purchase agreement. 

When it came to picking the lot, there wasn't much to choose from. Since it is a brand new development in the very beginning phase, we had to pick from what was available in the front and RH would continue paving the road towards the back when all of the homes up front were sold. We initially wanted a lot on a cul-de-sac, however that wasn't available at the time. We opted for a lot with common space behind it- yay, no houses to see behind us! I am extremely happy with out lot and I think I'll enjoy it much better than a cul-de-sac lot. Our SR was also able to waive the $5,000 premium lot fee for us, since there weren't any lots available that had houses behind them. He didn't think it was really fair for us to pay the premium lot fee, since we didn't have the option of picking between a premium lot and an average lot- I agree!

We have rocks!

and now we have spread rocks!

The hole has been dug