We've considered several other items to add recently.
Central Vac - I found one on craigslist, no hose or attachments, but came with quite a bit of piping, and all of the fittings and outlets, which can add up fast. The unit was new.
Skylights - we don't have any windows in our master bath, so I thought it would be nice to add some light. Velux is the brand to go with. We are considering either a skylight, or sun tunnel(s). The sun tunnels are a pretty good idea, work very well, and require minimal space depending on the roof space available.
More plumbing. We'll have the laundry plumbed for the basement, and the bonus room.
Lighting. Haven't had to decide on anything yet, but trying to determine lighting that will be needed throughout the house.
Fireplace. We have a ventless gas right now. Looking into pellet fireplaces. They make them just like the fireplace we would get(not an insert), only needs to be vented.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
The Closing
We just closed on the loan last last week. It felt good to finally get that portion out of the way, since we only had our loan rate locked in for 60 days. A few things had to come together quickly to get the closing complete.
We owed the builder a down payment of 25K, which for some reason was to be paid to them before the closing could take place. I was under the impression that was something the title company would take care of, but the loan company insisted that happen before. So, that was a surprise, just don't make assumptions, ask questions.
We also had to have risk insurance. There were terms in our builders contract for "insurance" that required this, but there were also some "insurance" items that were part of our closing costs. I assumed this was covered. Nope. Had to get a new homeowners policy that listed the loan company and the builder as payees. This can be added in to the closing costs.
Just ask lots of questions. I was mad at the fact no one had pointed that out. I don't know what I don't know. This whole thing is a learning process.
The other piece was the closing costs. We knew what these were going to be some time before closing, but 7K was hard to swallow.
In the end everything worked out just fine, it was just a little frustrating.
We owed the builder a down payment of 25K, which for some reason was to be paid to them before the closing could take place. I was under the impression that was something the title company would take care of, but the loan company insisted that happen before. So, that was a surprise, just don't make assumptions, ask questions.
We also had to have risk insurance. There were terms in our builders contract for "insurance" that required this, but there were also some "insurance" items that were part of our closing costs. I assumed this was covered. Nope. Had to get a new homeowners policy that listed the loan company and the builder as payees. This can be added in to the closing costs.
Just ask lots of questions. I was mad at the fact no one had pointed that out. I don't know what I don't know. This whole thing is a learning process.
The other piece was the closing costs. We knew what these were going to be some time before closing, but 7K was hard to swallow.
In the end everything worked out just fine, it was just a little frustrating.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Still making changes
We're just about ready to close, and our dig date is only weeks away. But, we are still making changes to plans. We have now moved a bathroom that was in the transition area down to the basement. We'll have more room for a "media room" by doing that. The basement is only a few steps down. We're alos looking into what kinds of film are available to cut glare on the great room windows. With the triple pane, and file on the 2 upper rows, we should be fine. There are always other things we can do for shading. We also decided on the concrete driveway. I added a washtub, and water lines in the garage. Can't have a drain due to code issues.
The kitchen design is done. There was a small disappointment there when we found out what we could actually get with our allowance. Agian, we should have found out what our allowance was on that in the beginning. I just made a few assumptions based on my last kitchen remodel. Depending on the types of cabinet drawers, door style, and wood species, you can go crazy on price, and with choices. We ended up $2002 over our allowance. And that was down from $4300. The choices were crazy, so we ended up picking what we knew we wanted, regardless of being in our package or not, then goign from there.
We liked the previous Cardell cabinets we had previously, so that is what we wanted again. But, of course the door style we wanted was a step up. We didn't care so much about the bathrooms (or at least the kids bathroom) than we did the kitchen. So, we ended up with the Shaker II, Maple, Mocha cabinets with dove tail drawers. We know how they held up before, so should be fine again.
We also have the "U" kitchen. So, working in the island with some seating was a challenge due to space. But, I feel good about the work area we will have in the kitchen from the island, and have seating for two with a raised bar. Due to our open floor plan, I thought that might spearate the ktichen a bit. Having the big drawers in the island facing the range was something I wanted to (also had this before). They are nice for storing the cooking utensils, and pots/pans.
The one corner of the kitchen was to be a double oven cabinet, but since I went with the range, didn't need, and I thought that was a waste of space. So, we now have a walk-in pantry where we can use that whole space.
For appliances, I went with the Frigidaire Pro series. The main reason was because I wanted a dual fuel range that was in a decent price range, and didn't have the controls sticking up in the back. And Frig. is the only maker of one that I like and can afford. The new Maytag or LG refrig. would be nice with the french doors, bottom freezer, and cabinet depth, but I can't justify the price. We'll be fine with side-by-side, can always replace it. Stainless range hoods are very pricey, so do some shopping around ahead of time if that is what you want. The builder would do a custom wood range hood over the range, but I opted out of that, took the $500 credit. It does have a nice look, but I'm not sure that is what I wanted.
The only thing left is the countertop material to use, flooring, and how I'm going to do the under and above cabinet lighting. Again, I put this in before and we liked it.
The kitchen design is done. There was a small disappointment there when we found out what we could actually get with our allowance. Agian, we should have found out what our allowance was on that in the beginning. I just made a few assumptions based on my last kitchen remodel. Depending on the types of cabinet drawers, door style, and wood species, you can go crazy on price, and with choices. We ended up $2002 over our allowance. And that was down from $4300. The choices were crazy, so we ended up picking what we knew we wanted, regardless of being in our package or not, then goign from there.
We liked the previous Cardell cabinets we had previously, so that is what we wanted again. But, of course the door style we wanted was a step up. We didn't care so much about the bathrooms (or at least the kids bathroom) than we did the kitchen. So, we ended up with the Shaker II, Maple, Mocha cabinets with dove tail drawers. We know how they held up before, so should be fine again.
We also have the "U" kitchen. So, working in the island with some seating was a challenge due to space. But, I feel good about the work area we will have in the kitchen from the island, and have seating for two with a raised bar. Due to our open floor plan, I thought that might spearate the ktichen a bit. Having the big drawers in the island facing the range was something I wanted to (also had this before). They are nice for storing the cooking utensils, and pots/pans.
The one corner of the kitchen was to be a double oven cabinet, but since I went with the range, didn't need, and I thought that was a waste of space. So, we now have a walk-in pantry where we can use that whole space.
For appliances, I went with the Frigidaire Pro series. The main reason was because I wanted a dual fuel range that was in a decent price range, and didn't have the controls sticking up in the back. And Frig. is the only maker of one that I like and can afford. The new Maytag or LG refrig. would be nice with the french doors, bottom freezer, and cabinet depth, but I can't justify the price. We'll be fine with side-by-side, can always replace it. Stainless range hoods are very pricey, so do some shopping around ahead of time if that is what you want. The builder would do a custom wood range hood over the range, but I opted out of that, took the $500 credit. It does have a nice look, but I'm not sure that is what I wanted.
The only thing left is the countertop material to use, flooring, and how I'm going to do the under and above cabinet lighting. Again, I put this in before and we liked it.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Things to consider
There were probably several ideas you have accumulated up to this point on items that you want to have done for you during the build process, here are few things to consider:
-40-50 year shingles
-Thicker decking on the roof
-Increase amount of insulation, consider foam. Most states have some minimum for walls and ceilings. Depending on where you live you might want to increase it.
- Is your home energy star rated? If not, look into what needs to be done to attain that.
- Engineered joists
- Low- E, and triple pane glass (where applicable) windows
- Tankless water heater
- Increase height of basement walls (poured or block)
- PVC footer drain
- Solid core interior doors
- Fiberglass entry door (or something with better insulation value)
- Insulated garage doors
- Kitchen countertop material (many choices these days)
- Wood flooring - natural or synthetic
- interior wood trim - thickness and height consideration depending on if you want to paint or stain
- wrought iron ballusters
- concrete vs asphalt driveway
- gas cooktop
- exterior water outlets
- exterior electrical outlets
- high efficiency hvac
- bathroom rough-ins for future use
- garage,basement,utility water access and drains
- rubberwall coating on basement walls
The list goes on and on, but helps you see some of the things you may not have considered. It's much easier to see what can be upgraded once you see the contract, but it's also nice to have thought of them beforehand.
-40-50 year shingles
-Thicker decking on the roof
-Increase amount of insulation, consider foam. Most states have some minimum for walls and ceilings. Depending on where you live you might want to increase it.
- Is your home energy star rated? If not, look into what needs to be done to attain that.
- Engineered joists
- Low- E, and triple pane glass (where applicable) windows
- Tankless water heater
- Increase height of basement walls (poured or block)
- PVC footer drain
- Solid core interior doors
- Fiberglass entry door (or something with better insulation value)
- Insulated garage doors
- Kitchen countertop material (many choices these days)
- Wood flooring - natural or synthetic
- interior wood trim - thickness and height consideration depending on if you want to paint or stain
- wrought iron ballusters
- concrete vs asphalt driveway
- gas cooktop
- exterior water outlets
- exterior electrical outlets
- high efficiency hvac
- bathroom rough-ins for future use
- garage,basement,utility water access and drains
- rubberwall coating on basement walls
The list goes on and on, but helps you see some of the things you may not have considered. It's much easier to see what can be upgraded once you see the contract, but it's also nice to have thought of them beforehand.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Let's make a deal
Decide what amount your are comfortable with paying for the lot and home, and discuss with the builder if it even makes sense to continue down this path. Get the proposed price for the home that was planned for you.
Sit on it a little bit. Let them call you next. You could be shopping for other builders, coparing prices, other lots, etc. Tell them you need to be at $x, not the price you have in front of you.
Ask what their profit margin will be on this build. I think some builders (production builers - lower quality) might be around a few percent. High end custom builders I'm guessing can be upwards of 15%. Hopefully they share this with you, and you can decide if it is fair.
Now that you have a price, you can begin to get creative with the layout, and start to think about allowances you might need, and credits you'll want to take.
Sit on it a little bit. Let them call you next. You could be shopping for other builders, coparing prices, other lots, etc. Tell them you need to be at $x, not the price you have in front of you.
Ask what their profit margin will be on this build. I think some builders (production builers - lower quality) might be around a few percent. High end custom builders I'm guessing can be upwards of 15%. Hopefully they share this with you, and you can decide if it is fair.
Now that you have a price, you can begin to get creative with the layout, and start to think about allowances you might need, and credits you'll want to take.
Getting your first set of plans
By now the builder should have a pretty good feel for the type of home you want, and the layout. Before he tosses out that first set of plans to you, try to be specific on some of the things you know you want/don't want.
You have probably already discussed your price range too, so he'll design something that he knows will fit into that range.
The more you can give him now to get into those plans will help in getting that initial price of the home. It's hard to say all of those thing until you see that first drawing, but it helps to get it all out now. Start mentioning those thing you wanted to finish yourself.
Again, keep track of all the things said.
After you receive those plans, critique every little thing. i.e lights on the sides of the garage door, stone coping, sidelights on front door. Some stuff is just a habit that they have of putting into the drawing that in the end you might not get.
You have probably already discussed your price range too, so he'll design something that he knows will fit into that range.
The more you can give him now to get into those plans will help in getting that initial price of the home. It's hard to say all of those thing until you see that first drawing, but it helps to get it all out now. Start mentioning those thing you wanted to finish yourself.
Again, keep track of all the things said.
After you receive those plans, critique every little thing. i.e lights on the sides of the garage door, stone coping, sidelights on front door. Some stuff is just a habit that they have of putting into the drawing that in the end you might not get.
What comes standard with the build/purchase?
Get the list of what comes in the base package of building the home. Start to get a feel for the allowances that are stated, and what that actually gets you. i.e 3500 for appliances may be something you know you won't like, so see what it would be to jump to next level, or at lest plan on adding some misc. spending allowances as you know that will be one thing you will go over on.
For big ticket items that are listed, but don't have a $ allowance stated, ask what that allowance is. It helps to know the amounts so you can get a feel for the certain line of goods you will be getting, and if it will cover what you might want to do. i.e kitchen cabinets, what is the amount you are allowed to spend on cabinets?
Begin to question all of the item listed for interior, exterior, insulation, etc. You should get a good feel that the products they use at their lowest level are at least of some level of quality youare comfortable with.
Start to create the list of things that are not listed, or you know are not included, and get some rough estimates for what it would be to add those into the proposal once you get to that point. The more you know what $ amounts they have allotted for each item gives you a little more power to start figuring out what you can get/do on your own for possibly cheaper, and then you can can reduce the cost of the home.
You probably already have a feel for the price of the home and if it is close to your price range, so the above will let you figure out what you can work with to get the price where you want it, and get you the things that do not come standard.
For big ticket items that are listed, but don't have a $ allowance stated, ask what that allowance is. It helps to know the amounts so you can get a feel for the certain line of goods you will be getting, and if it will cover what you might want to do. i.e kitchen cabinets, what is the amount you are allowed to spend on cabinets?
Begin to question all of the item listed for interior, exterior, insulation, etc. You should get a good feel that the products they use at their lowest level are at least of some level of quality youare comfortable with.
Start to create the list of things that are not listed, or you know are not included, and get some rough estimates for what it would be to add those into the proposal once you get to that point. The more you know what $ amounts they have allotted for each item gives you a little more power to start figuring out what you can get/do on your own for possibly cheaper, and then you can can reduce the cost of the home.
You probably already have a feel for the price of the home and if it is close to your price range, so the above will let you figure out what you can work with to get the price where you want it, and get you the things that do not come standard.
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