My dad came and watched our boys for us today so we could put in the official mortgage paperwork. We've got great credit so our Loan Officer was confident that we'd get the lowest available rate when we get to the lock-in point, and maybe even a rebate if one's available! Exciting news.
When the baby (err...16 month old...) went down for his nap, we trekked out to the Rome model in a nearby-ish neighborhood to check it out. I love it! Love love love. I do wish there wasn't quite so much space allocated to the master bedroom, since we won't really spend much time in there, but my husband is sure I'll figure out something to do with all that room. ;) We did run into a bit of a snag because this layout isn't quite the same as what we're expecting, so there are a couple things we're still unsure about...but I've typed up a bunch of questions to email our SR so he's prepared for us on Saturday.
On our list:
light switches and outlets
extending the driveway
finishing a storage area of our basement
getting a single-piece bathtub/shower for the boys' bathroom (no grout to clean!!)
depth of the windowsills (never seen this on a blog...I like a sill deep enough for plants and kitties)
changing the location of sump pump etc in the basement
finding out whether our cul-de-sac will be paved (we're the last house on the street, but only our side is part of the neighborhood and the street goes past our lot, so it's not obvious what the plan is) and whether there will be sidewalks
Our only two non-standard requests (so far!) are getting that wall oven in the kitchen SOMEWHERE (and thanks Nadase for your help with that!), and removing the closet in the mudroom so that we can put a bench and coat hooks down there (idea credit: built-in hall tree from WodyJ, here's a picture of what it will somewhat look like: closet mudroom).
Did we miss anything? What things have you wished you did differently? Feel free to just link to the appropriate post on your blog if you don't want to type it out! :)
I think the only thing you missed was the basement walk-out which, in our case, could not be changed. I think it may depend on lot dimensions as well as whatever rules have been established for your development. On another note, we thought about having a double range installed into the wall, but changes would have been needed to the architecture if the kitchen and...at the time, it was not important enough for that.
ReplyDeleteThey told us that it would be better to ask the PM about the walk-out, but we're actually considering moving to a different neighborhood where apparently it's standard to have it come out the back instead of the side. Which is what I assume you're talking about! :)
DeleteHi Amanda - Nadase told me about your blog! I'm the one with the double ovens in the Rome. Let me know if you have any questions! If you're still wondering what to do with all the space in the master bedroom, I thought about making the sitting area part of the closet to make one big walk-in. My PM was willing to do it, but I didn't want to miss out on my sitting room, so we didn't do it. I kind of wish I did, so now I have something on my remodeling list! Just a thought!
ReplyDeleteThat's an idea! I think I'll try it. Through the PM though, not through the SR...if he doesn't go for it I'll just do without. I don't want to put another non-standard in! The hall closet had to be a non-standard because it affects how the air vent is installed, but I don't see a big closet being a problem.
DeleteWe're trying to get the oven in one of the base cabinets or the island rather than on the powder room wall...my husband was really against adding cabinetry to that wall for some reason. And I realized that at the end of the day what I want is two ovens, not necessarily stacked wall ovens, so if they can do it this way it'll make everybody happy. But I did show a picture of your wall ovens to my SR so he'd know it's been done before! :)