Contract A-Go-Go

Note:  Through this blog I hope to detail everything we go through in building our home.  In hopes that other first time home builders will have a better idea of what to expect and can learn from our mistakes.

 

Yesterday, we got a call from Pat at the design center.  She wanted to set up our first of two appointments in which we will pick out the colors and design elements for our home.  Huh, does that mean our contract was approved?!  Since we had not received word from our sales manager, we assumed that since we were beginning the design process that our contract had been approved, but we make a quick call to her, just to be sure.  Sure enough, our contract has been approved and we are one step closer to owning our home.

We have set up our first appointment with the design studio for February 5, 2010.  Pat sent us a packet of information detailing what we will need to accomplish in these meetings.  First off, we must have all the exterior selections made during our first visit.  Crap. 

During the negotiation process we had to select the elevation of the house.  In plain language, we had to select what the exterior of the house is going to look like.  We had 4 elevations  for our layout to choose from.  We went with an elevation that has both brick and stone. 

But now, we having to make a decision that will be very hard to change in the future.  We must choose the color of the stone, brick, trim, and roof.  These seem like huge decisions to me, as they define the overall look of the house and are so difficult to change in the future.

We have frantically beginning looking for photos of different color combinations.  We know we want something light, but beyond that we are not sure. 

Cost is a major factor in picking the brick and stone.  Our builder breaks things down into different levels.  Level 1 choices are cheaper than level 2, level 3, level 4, etc.  So, if we want something in a higher level, we are going to have to shell out more cash.  Something we do not want to do.  So, we have scheduled a "browse day" before our first meeting to go through the design studio to see what the options are.  Our browse day is set for tomorrow, so hopefully we will have a better idea of what options we have.

Until then, we will focus our efforts on financing.