Frustration!

I may not have mentioned this before, but I am attempting to build a house all the way in Korea while my boyfriend is in Richmond, VA. The home will be built in Waldorf MD, so he will have to make the commute to attend the meetings. What's frustrating me at this point is the lack of communication I am receiving from my sales consultant, loan officer and anyone else I should be in contact with. I made some of the initial choices over telephone and Skype to get the legal documents and contracts sent to me, and that took a week to receive. It then took another week for the documents to reach the consultant (being overseas sucks right now), and I mailed the initial deposit directly from the bank. Other than the email of "we have received your check and the legal docs", I have heard very little unless I initiate the conversation. The worksheet she gave me stated that the loan officer will call me--nothing. It also says that I should have contacted CTI and Guardian within 14 days of the grace period--I now know they will also call me AFTER I asked the question of when did the grace period began. I asked what type of power of attorney should I get for Steve since he will make the decisions, and after two weeks of "let me check on it" I did one on my own to ensure he would be good to go. She now tells me that the amount that I put on the POA will not allow him to make upgrades to the flooring or security wiring. I'm even more confused now because the purchase agreement lists one price, so I was under the assumption I could pay for all of the upgrades to the company directly or at closing and not have it wrapped into the loan. She replied with "anything at closing but it still has to be reflected in the sales price until closing". Again, why am I having to ask all of the questions??


I guess I had high expectations during this process. I thought I would have someone be proactive and tell me what the next step is, and not wait until I ask a question after there have been days or weeks of silence. It's hard enough that I am thousands of miles away attempting to build a home that will be ready while I arrive, but to have a consultant that barely makes any initiative to ensure her customer is well informed is disappointing.  I am reading some of the blogs and some had docs signed, loan approved and home built within four months. I am five months away and I feel I am going nowhere.

                                           Another home across the street almost complete

Decisions, decisions...

When we signed our purchase agreement, there were a lot of options available to us. To ensure we got what we wanted without going over our budget, we went with the following options:

Elevation C with partial stone, winestone shutters and island pearl siding
Cherry hardwood in foyer, hall, dining room kitchen, powder room and morning room
Finished basement with 3 piece rough-in for bath, welled exit
Ceiling fan rough-ins for bedrooms, morning room and family room
Fireplace in family room
Recessed lighting in kitchen
Gourmet island in kitchen, stainless appliances, cherry bordeaux cabinets with butterum granite countertops
Upgraded owner's bath #2, double vanity, ceramic tile

We were surprised to find out that in our particular community the Rome model comes with a porch. Since I haven't seen photos of one with it, it will be interesting to see what comes from it. I orginally had another color on the countertops, but was able to change them since Ryan Homes allows you to make changes within the first two weeks.

A lot of the appointments should begin soon, I will post additional pictures when they break ground.

In the beginning...

Recently we found out that we would be moving to the Washington, DC metro area, and decided to purchase a home. After researching home listings old and new, we became frustrated when the homes did not come with the amenities that we desired. After careful consideration, we decided it would be best to build a home where we could customize it to our liking.

We researched various builders throughout the area, and decided on Ryan Homes. The builder offered great incentives and they have an impeccable reputation; recently they were named Energy Star partner of the year. I inquired about a home in the Piney Grove community, and the builder immediately put us in touch with our sales consultant Nikki. After speaking with Nikki on the home, we picked out the model of the home we wanted to build, and the options we wanted to include. Within a week, the purchase agreement and other legal documents were signed. We are currently in the loan process, beginning to work with the loan officer to obtain a mortgage through NVR.

We have our lot picked out, flooring, cabinets and tile chosen; the carpet has yet to be decided on. I will use this site to share with family and friends the progess on having our home built.

And the journey begins...

Our lot!

Our neighbor's house who just closed...