Pre Settlement Demonstration

Yesterday morning we had our pre settlement demonstration.  My dad drove up and met us at the house, it was his first time being to our new neighborhood and the house.  Upon arriving we learned that we had a new set of project managers who were the ones to finish our house.  I wonder how often they move them around.  I hope they don't change them again anytime soon.  Its hard to know who you'll be dealing with if an issue arises.  Anyway, the beginning was going over the warranties and signing some papers.  Then they took us through the house, starting in the kitchen.  They taught us about our appliances, our windows, the doors, the floor, lights,  tile, water heater, sump pump, garage door opener, etc. 

love our cute little house

 Our PM said that he didn't "blue tape" the house and wouldn't.  He kept stressing that the drywall issues could only be addressed one time and around 1 year after we move in would be the time to do it.  He did also say that if there was something that needed to be fixed before settlement he would take care of it.  As we walked the house there wasn't anything that was jumping out at us, not that we were really looking though either because he had already said we wouldn't be blue taping anything.  As we were leaving we noted the drywall tape spot on the wall in the family room (you can see it from across the room- that is how bad it is)- I asked if we needed to wait until the one year to fix that and he said he would take care of it before we close and took his pen and circled it on the wall.  I am kicking myself for not speaking up about a spot on the wall near the sink that was driving me crazy the whole time he was talking about warranties).  Super hoping he sees it himself and has them paint it.  Its just a spot that needs touch up paint.  Other than that we didn't see anything that jumped out to us.  He did say we will notice a lot more in the first 30 days that we're living there than we would walking the house that day and that they would fix it all at the 30 day mark.

view of the family room

view into the morning room

kitchen view

Other updates:

A couple days before our walk thru we received our closing disclosure to sign and send back.  It had our official amount to bring to closing.  The next day our loan processor emailed and asked for our latest paycheck stub and a signed letter from me about being "unemployed" (aka- stay at home mom).  It feels so good to be so close!!

Today we spent every minute from the time we woke up until the time we put the kids to bed packing and working on getting all of our items put into a central location in the living room to make it easier for our friends and family to help us load up the truck.  My back hurts so badly, I am laying flat on my back typing this blog post right now, trying to ease the pain.... Ouch! ouch! ouch!

We worked over 10  hours straight and got a bunch accomplished but the house is a wreck right now and there is still so much more to do.  Our plan is to close on Thursday at noon, which is kind of too late for us to be able to go see the house, since we will have to run back home to get the kids from school.  But the following day our plan is to load up the minivan (while the kiddos are at school) with all the kitchen items and the clothes from everyone's closets (I do not want to take clothes off hangers, so I am just going to move them from one house to another... hopefully it'll work as well in real life as it does in my head).   Friday night we will pick up the moving truck and Saturday morning we will be loading up, driving north and then unloading.  The next few days we will be bouncing back and forth between houses, cleaning the rental up and having the carpets cleaned.

With knowing our official closing amount we were able to go ahead and purchase (with cash) our washer and dryer and have it scheduled to be delivered.  We also signed up to have our internet hooked up and on Monday we will call to set up all our utilities in our name.  We are so excited to be checking these little things off our list and can't wait to be in our very own home again!!!

I will try to update again after closing and moving in.

5 MORE SLEEPS!!

9 days til...

...our pre-settlement walk through!!

We are getting excited but both of us don't feel like its real.  In the meantime we've reserved our moving truck, and been busy fixing things up around our rental.  We put in our notice at the end of April (a little earlier than required) and our landlord has listed this place for rent and we have our first showing tonight.  This was easily the most stressful part when we were trying to sell our house (two years ago), of course this won't be as bad because we aren't the ones trying to "sell" the property to a new tenant but I will still want to have it as clean as possible when someone comes through--which isn't so easy in the midst of packing, selling furniture off, four kids, three in school, science fair projects, pinewood derby cars, recitals, concerts, etc.  May is always our busiest, most stressful, event packed month and this year may just "take the cake".  I am ready for it to be June so I will have passed over all the unpleasant parts of packing and moving in the midst of our normal everyday chaos and finally be able to breathe and start to unpack and settle into our new home and town... (and state!)

I am getting nervous about utility bills, looking into how much the electric is and the water... I am reminded when I get to the sites and download the documents that I have done it all before... before we signed the contract.  So I really just need to not worry about it and figure it out as it comes... and pray that we will be able to afford this crazy idea we had to buy a house and move an hour north to where its supposedly more affordable... though the taxes have me feeling its actually more expensive.  I am second guessing everything.  Luckily for us we {think} we love the country feel of the area we are moving to (of course we've only been up for short visits)... so if all else fails and this was a stupid idea, hopefully we will at least love the area since we'll be stuck with it.

Speaking of taxes.. that was one thing I didn't update about... we decided to lock in our interest rate the day after we found out that we could.  It was the same as it had been the day before (and on all the loan estimate sheets they'd sent in 2016) but it came with a small lender credit.  So we decided to take it.  It was too stressful to think about for another day.  But when our LO sent us the lock agreement she also sent an updated loan estimate sheet and made note that our closing costs had gone up (significantly I might add!!!!!!) because of the due date on our school taxes.  Oh my goodness, it was shocking and disappointing to say the least.  I freaked out.  Our loan officer was very helpful and called me to discuss my questions and concerns and she explained it all... (and other concerns I had had and wrote about earlier with regards to transfer taxes... seriously, taxes are just my sore subject... why are there so many and why are they so high compared to other areas???  yikes!)
Anyway, the reason for the almost $3,000 jump in our closing cost estimate was that our original LO had the due date for the school property taxes as August 2017 but it should have been August 2016... HUGE difference... especially when it was in the area where the taxes are the highest (more than double the regular property taxes).   I really wish NVR would have offered some kind of credit for their mistake, and the misrepresentation of the taxes due with our closing costs.  It would have been a nice gesture.  Anyway, the LO was helpful as far as explaining the mistake and trying to help us figure out ways to have more cash for closing... her idea was bumping our interest rate up and giving us an extra $1100 credit.  We weren't interested in a higher interest rate so that didn't work for us.
Now money is extra tight and I am a little nervous about having the cash to close.  Remember when I was going to ask the LO about buying our washer and dryer.. yeah, not going to happen now until after closing... and maybe we'll be washing our clothes in the bathtub for a while.  lol. Its kind of frustrating to be at this place where our budget is so tight.  Buying a new house is fun, and it makes you excited to decorate and make it a "home" but with these extra last minute additions to our closing costs its impossible to allow ourselves to purchase one single thing for the house.

One last update... we did receive our appraisal report last week.  I printed and studied all 27 pages of it.  Lol.  Its kind of a mystery how they come up with the number they come up with.  Either way, it appraised for just over our loan amount so I suppose we're all set to go.  It was another worry I had running in the back of my head (I am a worrier... its what I do), with regards to it not appraising and having even more money to bring to closing... we would have had to walk away if that were the case.

Anyway... sorry for the long and boring post with too much information. We haven't been back up to the house and won't be back until our walk through on the 20th.  My Aunt and uncle did drive by on their way through town this past weekend and took a photo on the front porch.  The front door is definitely ajar in the photo but they did not go in because they were afraid to... also I'm sure they just wanted us to be able to show them around once its officially ours.  I did notice my house in the background of our future across the street neighbor's photo on the FB group and noticed that the yellow/brown patches of grass around the driveway have not bounced back yet and I was sure they would with all the rain we've been having... wonder if it'll come back or if its just dead?  :(

So 9 days til walk through and 15 days til closing!  I am ready to be on the other side of this!  My nerves can't take it!

Week 10: Appliances, Carpet, Settlement Letter, Rate Lock...

Yesterday our SR sent us some pictures of the appliances in and the carpet installed.  Can't wait to see it in person.  Will we be able to wait to see if all at our Pre-Settlement walk through or will we "have" to go up sooner? ;)

 Love the protective stuff on the flooring... wonder if we can get them to leave it there for when we move in or do they re-use it in other houses?

We finally got the email today with our letter about settlement.  I love that its official now and actually our walk through is scheduled for sooner than I thought-- though its still about a month away on May 20th.  We are scheduled to close on May 26th.

Also today we got a voicemail and an email from our LO with today's rate and asked if we wanted to lock in our rate.  I was confused because we were always told we couldn't lock in until 30 days... today was 36.  She explained they don't do 30 day locks, only 45 and 90 (news to us, and I guess we could have locked in anytime within 9 days ago???).  My husband had a very busy day at work today and he never had a chance to listen to the voicemail or read the email in time or respond to me about locking so it didn't happen today.  Also, how do you know when you 'should' lock in?

It feels a little overwhelming that all that information is coming to us on the same day and we have to start deciding things and making plans.

The settlement letter recommends not moving into the house for at least 7 days after scheduled close in case something comes up and we don't actually close on time... anyone else's letter say the same?  Anyone wait that long to move in?  We were planning on moving in that first weekend since our lease is up at the end of May.

In other news yesterday I finally was able to speak with the school and figure out how our late year transfer will go and we got it all worked out... well, pending principal approval but it feels good to have that off my list.

Now we're looking for the best deal on moving trucks, movers, washer and dryer, ceiling fans, blinds, and more.  We have been very careful not to make any big purchases and we still are.  Tomorrow we will ask about when we can order our washer and dryer or if we need to wait still.  There are some great sales on home depot right now until April 27th... but will they be back or even better closer to Memorial day weekend? (After we close)  We've never had to buy appliances before... our last house came with all of them and the 2" blinds throughout so these things are new to us and I don't know how the sales work and when the best time to buy is.  The fact is-- we will need a washer and dryer immediately, but I hope we can find a good sale whenever we do end up buying them).

I am feeling super overwhelmed but equally excited that its starting to become a little more "real".  :)

Week 9 Progress

Yesterday we got to drive up and see the progress on our house.  Its been a long two weeks wondering what all had been going on there, we played a little guessing game before we went up trying to guess what they had done.  From reading other people's blogs I had an idea of what would come "next" after the drywall but to say we were surprised with all they had done would be an understatement.  I took at least a hundred photos (don't worry I will only share a few) and will try to document all we saw that they had done, though I am sure there are things that I wouldn't be able to pick out that they did.

The first surprise was pulling up to the house and seeing the garage door down (this was the first time we saw it down), the sidewalks in, the driveway in, the soil they put down before the sod laid, and the landscaping already in!!! (Oh and even the mailbox was in!)

The landscaping looks really good and I like it.  I sent pictures to my brother who is a landscape management major at BYU right now, He told me the tall plants by the steps are not going to look aesthetically pleasing long term as they will grow to 15 feet high and they are fast growing.  So we will plan on moving those to the backyard before they get too large to move easily.  For now, I like them. 

Tree in front yard is a Cherry Blossom tree, that will have pretty pink flowers in the spring. 

The column was installed. :)

I had my husband run up and check the door to see if it was unlocked or if we needed to head to the sales office and get the key.  Luckily we could get in.  The first thing we noticed walking into the house was the hardwood floors were installed.

The next big thing we noticed was the kitchen cabinets were in.  We all figured they would be installed by now but we did not expect the granite counter tops to be in!  It was really fun to see the cabinets, counter tops and hardwood floors come together a little bit (they were mostly covered up).

This is the first photo I took of the house on this visit, my husband insisted I take a photo of the sink w/ his hand in it to show just how huge this sink is.  Definitely love the big sink.

The electricity was on in the house.  Thermostats were installed.

The powder room toilet, floors and sink (almost installed).  I was worried about my vinyl flooring choice, was it going to look too cheap but it actually isn't bad, we can live with it.   I don't think we will regret not having extended the hardwood into the mudroom and powder, or tiling the bathroom.  At least not to start with. 

The railings were installed but not stained yet.

The bathrooms upstairs were almost done, tile work was done, cabinets, sinks, faucets, toilets.

Master Shower, just waiting for the glass enclosure now.

Soaking tub tiled, faucet in.

Master Sinks

Kids bathroom

Kids tub, and toilet

Kids bathroom ceiling:  it was a mess in this room, attic insulation everywhere.  Not sure whats going on here, though it looks like they were looking for something.

Other things we noticed in the house were the doors being installed throughout.  The attic access panel and light in one of the master closets.

The inside of the garage.

Another drywall scavenger hunt???  This was in the family room.

The fuse box was labeled.

The tankless hot water heater was installed.

A view of the basement with the insulation on the walls.

Other things done in the house that I didn't mention, the baseboards and shoe molding is in. They had light bulbs in all the lights (some had a pink glow to them, hope that can be fixed).  The light fixtures were installed where there are light fixtures like the master closets, and the dining room.  They had the plastic cap things over all the ceiling fan rough ins. All light switches and electric outlets in (obviously), and smoke detectors. 

Happy surprise with the kitchen cabinets was the soft close drawers.  We wanted those but didn't want to ask for anything special, lucky for us they turned out to be included.  :) 

So in other news we heard this week (only because we asked our SR and then NVR when they sent us an updated closing cost estimate sheet and the "prepaid interest" had only been calculated for 6 days now instead of 31) that our pre-settlement walk through and closing will be the week of May 23rd- closing on May 26th ("firm date" but if changes will let us know). I was getting really impatient because at the rate they were building the house I knew it would be finished earlier than our contracted date and I was worried they might have us close earlier rather than later.  Finding out that they're letting us close the end of May was a little bit of a weight off my shoulders.  Though I am still having a hard time figuring out what we're doing as far as extending our lease a couple weeks or trying to stay with family or friends so the kids can finish school... or just pulling the kids out and being done with school on May 31st. Hopefully we get it figured out for sure this week, its causing more stress than its worth. 

I wrote a separate post last week about this but never posted it-- I am still just trying to just "get over it" and move on.  Seeing the house again helped me to regain some of my excitement that I had lost over this house.  Anyway, and this is totally our fault for not knowing this ahead of time, and we should have been more prepared but I wanted to share this for anyone about to start this process of building with Ryan Homes so that you don't make the same mistake that we did.  I recommend getting a real estate agent, we really thought it would just be one more person we'd have to find and deal with and that we would probably have more luck at getting a better deal if we didn't have  realtor, who would take a 3% commission from Ryan Homes.  I have no idea, how much better or worse of a deal we could have gotten with a real estate agent, however there would have been some extra knowledge and wisdom given to us, especially in the area of the sales contract.  This week when we got the new updated closing cost estimate sheet I,  for the first time noticed just how much we were paying in transfer taxes (dumb I know, but to be fair to myself I have been living in a funk since my mom passed away in December).  It seemed quite high so I did some research.  In PA, where we are building there is a 1% transfer tax from the state and another 1% transfer tax from the county (I think).  Typically this cost is split 50/50 between the buyer and seller.  HOWEVER, and it actually says this in the sales agreement that we are responsible for paying ALL transfer taxes and then in parenthesis it actually says "even if typically paid for by the seller".  ARE YOU KIDDING ME????

Had we known that before we wouldn't have agreed to that.  No way.  It seems very unfair and super shady to throw that into the contract.  We just sold a home in SC last year and we the seller were in charge of the transfer taxes/"deed stamps" (wish we could have made our buyers pay for those, we had a realtor back then how come she didn't tell us to make our buyers pay for that?!?!), never would have imagined this would be part of our closing costs.  So see a real estate agent would have come in mighty handy in this instance.

It makes me sad because why don't they just pay their half?

I have tried to make it okay because of the incentive closing help, however it is supposed to be an incentive for using their lender instead of one of our choice.   If we go with another lender we lose it.

All of this was studied and discovered when they emailed an updated closing cost estimate because their title insurance went up a whooping $600 since we will be closing after May 1st!!  ...Lame.

Okay, I have to stop talking about the transfer taxes and title insurance hike, makes me mad every time.  Probably should have started the post with the annoying stuff and ended with the fun stuff but whatever.  

I don't know when we'll go to see the house again, I imagine they will be finished before we do.  I have tried to make a list of what else needs to be done, (I'm sure I won't think of it all):

carpets, interior painting, exterior painting, front door painted, glass shower enclosure, shower curtain rod, mirror in powder room, appliances, closet shelves installed, garbage disposal, kitchen faucet, drywall touch ups in ceiling and walls, railings stained, cleaning (obviously), garage door opener, numbers on front of the house, sod laid....there really isn't too much more to do.   Before we know it, it'll be time to close and move in. :)