Update- It's Christmas time

Where do I begin!?!?

I've been super busy since settlement. We've been in our new house for a little over a month now. ON Nov. 20th I hosted a housewarming/football party for my Dad and uncles. My Dad is a Cowboys fan and my uncles are Ravens fans. It was nice being able to show my family my new house and the little bit of decorating I've been able to do. On Thanksgiving I hosted my parents, my brother and my 2 best friends. So far the living room, dining area, and kitchen are almost completely decorated. Only thing left to do is decide on a paint color for the walls. I don't want to paint all of the walls...just an accent walls. The kitchen has backsplash...so no paint there. It's really all coming together quite nicely.

No one has moved in next door into the end unit. Most of the homes in the next group of townhouse have been moved into. The neighborhood is filling in nicely! I made my very first HOA and mortgage payments! Totally adulting!

Hopefully I'll remember to upload pictures soon!

1 week post-settlement

We are one week post settlement! I love everything about my house. There are a few small issues: They didn't have hinges to put up one of my kitchen cabinets. My PM should be able to have these installed tomorrow. Also, some of my railing aren't as secure as they should be. I will mention this in my post-settlement follow up.

I'm so excited that the building and settlement process are over! Now onto making tons of memories in my brand new house!

Settlement Day

It's finally here!!! I really can't believe it. I'm so anxious!  The last few days have been so stressful due to last minute things I needed for NVR mortgage but yesterday everything was cleared and we are ready to go! My loan administrator said she still needs final approval from the underwriter this morning... so she should be giving me a call this morning. Talk about last minute! I'm also moving today because my lease expires in less than a week. Due to my settlement date being pushed back so much, I'm really pushing it close. I'm so excited to finally be in the home I picked out just for me and my son!

Less than 2 weeks away

I am less than 2 weeks from settlement day. This has been the most anxious I think I've ever been! I've done absolutely nothing to my apartment...I plan to begin packing this weekend. Hopefully there will be no further delays and I will be able to move in my brand new house on October 18th!

Countdown begins!

The countdown begins!!! I received a letter yesterday that my pre-settlement walk through is October 4th and settlement is October 7th at 12p. I'm so excited! We are a little delayed by about 2 weeks. Since they started building prior to loan approval, my settlement may be delayed further...but I don't think there will be much of a delay. There was only one condition on my loan application...and I have already satisfied it. I went up to the house Saturday to check out the progress. Drywall is up and the cabinets have all been put in. The bathroom tubs are in as well. I'm so excited. This weekend I started de-cluttering my apartment so that we can prepare for the move in early October. Only one month to go!

~30 days to go

I have major updates from the past few days! First, my loan officer called Friday to let me know my credit score increased as a result of the rapid rescore, up 40 points above where she needed me to be. I was beyond thrilled. I locked in my rate Friday as well...this is really becoming a reality. Today my PM called. Our pre-drywall meeting is scheduled for tomorrow at 8am. I was really starting to think they wouldn't finish on schedule, but now mid-September looks like a reality!

Update!

I just got a call from Guardian requesting a meeting at my home site to confirm locations for my selections. Framing has been completed and they have begun to work on mechanicals, plumbing and electrical. Guardian will be onsite for their part on August 1st. I'll be meeting with them at 8am to confirm everything right before they get started on the work! I'm so excited to see the progress. I might sneak up there this weekend to get pictures...I'll be sure to post!

Framing

They are almost finished with framing! Up next is mechanicals and insulation. I'm so anxious. I feel like any wrong move and the whole thing becomes a waste. I'm continuing to save and pray for my new home though!

Update- framing

Last week I had a chance to stop by the house. I've put down the last of my earnest deposit ($2600). All that is left of my deposit is due at settlement. They are really progressing on the house. The basement has been framed and they were beginning to frame the 1st floor and upper level. They work fast. Even with a few rainy days, they are still on schedule! By my esyimate, my pre-drywall meeting should take place before the end of this month. Yay!

Foundation Complete!

My PM called me Friday to let me know they completed the foundation. He said it would be a great time for me to visit to take pictures. Let me tell you....it's AMAZING!! They move so fast. What was just grass 2-3 weeks ago, is now actually a structure! I'm so excited and can't wait to see this process all the way through!

Footers and foundation started

I received a call from my PM Friday. Footers have been placed and foundation should be completed next week. The contractor ran into a small delay, but my PM said everything is still on schedule.

I still haven't heard from my LO about my rapid re-score. I hope I don't t end up with a NVR horror story.

They broke ground!

Despite what seems like endless weeks of rain, they were able to break ground last Friday, on schedule! I drove buy on Saturday to view my beautiful pile of dirt. It's such an exciting time!

In other news:
I was supposed to hear from my loan officer today about my rapid re-score. Still no word yet. My income to debt ratios are fine, my credit score is just a little lower than I would like (~15 points). I've been anxiously awaiting her call all day! Hopefully I'll hear from her tomorrow.

Pre-Construction Meeting

This morning I got to meet my Project Manager. He was very thorough and seemed to know a lot about the construction process, materials used, timelines, etc. My meeting was about 45 minutes. We went over all of my choices to make sure that everything that he had on paper matched my selections. I also got to see the color selection for my house (siding, shutters, door). Ryan assigns elevation color selection on townhouses to make sure everything blends well together. Thankfully, I love my colors! I didn't really have too many questions for my PM, other than the projected time line. My mother tagged along...so she brought plenty of questions:

1. When can we expect to be finished? Everything is on track for a closing date around the 2nd week in September
2. Will all the windows have shutters? The second bedroom window will not have shutters because its too close to the end of the unit to fit a shutter.
3. Where will my hose bibs be located? There will be 2 hose bibs. One on the back of the house and the other inside the garage on the front of the house.
4. Is it too late to add an additional pendant light over the island? Will make sure to throw the third one in there when they bring in Guardian for electrical.

If you read other Ryan Home blogs, you'll notice much more extensive pre-construction meeting questions. My PM did an excellent job answering a lot of those questions before I had to ask. Also, Ryan Homes is pretty uniform in the answers they provide to a lot of pre-construction questions.

When I pulled up for the pre-construction meeting at the model, they were grading the lots in preparation for breaking ground. Since we are expecting rain the earlier part of the week, my PM expects to break ground Friday! From there it should be about 8 weeks to our pre-dry wall meeting and like I said before, I should be able to close the 2nd week in September.

They're moving fast! So excited!

NVR Update

Lots of blogs and community boards have posts about the dreadful NVR approval process. There are so many complaints! Today I received my first trouble with NVR. At the time of my application, my loan officer told me she needed to increase my credit score. She told me to pay down my credit card balance...which I did in less than a week from the date of the application. Once the payment cleared, I sent her my bank statement showing the payment. I didn't hear from her for about a week, so I emailed her to get an update....just to make sure she was able to get my score where it needed to be. That's when I found out she hadn't completed my rapid re-score yet and needed documentation from the credit card company stating my current balance. Ugh! Why hadn't she said that from the beginning?!?! Luckily, I've kept the balance down, so I just need to call them up to have them fax her a letter.

I hope this is the only NVR hiccup I have to experience.

I have a groundbreaking date!

My pre-construction meeting is scheduled for May 23rd and they are planning to break ground on May 25th! All of the units in my section of townhomes have been sold except for the end unit...which also happens to be my neighbor! Things are moving so fast!

Making my selections

Today was fun-filled day! I finally was able to make my home mine! This morning i met with HD Supply Interior Solutions for my flooring, cabinet, and tile selections. In the afternoon I met with Guardian for all my electrical needs.

Terry at HD Supply was absolutely THE BEST!!! Whenever I was unsure of what I selected, she was able to pull something that was perfect! It's like she's known me for 20 years! She really helped me layout my vision. I spent less than $6000 at this appointment which was absolutely great! Terry said to envision increasing your mortgage about $12 per $1000 in upgrades or additions.

HD Supply Interior Solutions:

Flooring

• Basement- Baseline Cobble Hill with upgraded Opera padding ($250)
• 2nd Floor- Baseline Thornwood with upgraded Opera padding ($400)
• 1st Floor- Dundee Cherry Hardwood throughout ($2995)

Kitchen

• Scottsdale Maple Espresso cabinets
• Brixton Bone diagonal backsplash ($745)
• Santa Cecilia granite countertops

Master Bathroom

• Upgrade to Level C ($870)
• Skybridge brown w/ 3 rows of Copper Coast
• No soap holder or corner plate

Hall Bathroom

• Upgrade to Level B Plus ($325)
• Gloss white bath tile
• Ridgeview Beige tile w/ 5x8 Gemstone w/snow

Foyer, Garage Entry, & Powder Room

• Heathland White Rock tile

Laundry Room

• Ridgeview beige tile

Guardian Selections

• Basic home wiring package (included)
• 4 phone/cable outlets
• Smart Connections Premium Package ($1140)
• 4 port Multimedia outlet (cable, 2 data, phone) 
• 5 cable/data ports
• Edge Control Security System ($250 for install, $49.95/month for service)
• Surround sound in basement ($1250)
• Klipsch 5.1 Silver Audio System
• 2 speakers and subwoofer in ceiling
• Flat panel TV mount pre-wire (2 @ $285 each)

Additional wiring

• Additional outlets for flat panel TV mount (2 @ $150 each)
• Recessed lighting in living room (5 @ $175 each)
• Pendant lights over island (2 @ $295 each)
• Ceiling light pre-wires in each bedroom (3 @ $275 each)

Rapid ReScore

Today I sent in the last documentation my loan officer needed for my loan application. When my credit score was first pulled, my score was a little lower than we wanted. My loan officer was optimistic though because I was less than 15 points away from my goal score. She recommended that I pay down my credit card balance by $100. This should help boost my score using a Rapid ReScore. Basically, the lender will present my payment to the credit bureaus so that they can update my scores rather than waiting for the creditor to report to the bureaus. Of course, you must submit proof of payment...I used a bank statement reflecting a cleared payment.

I'm super anxious now because my application should be complete now. Usually my loan officer replies to my emails right away...but I haven't heard from her all day. This only made me more anxious. On another note, I received my quote for homeowner's insurance. Another step in the right direction!

*Update: My application is now with the loan processor...it should soon be off to the underwriter!

14 and 30 day Change Order Requests

Yesterday I received a reminder about my 14 and 30 day change order request. After you sign your purchase agreement you basically have 14 days to make structural changes (ex. tray ceilings, hardwood stairs, move bathroom, etc.). I'm having my realtor ask about a sunroom and/or deck...if they are reasonably priced. Other than that I don't have any structural change requests.

You have 30 days from that date to make non-structural changes. These changes include flooring and cabinet selections, hardware, wiring etc. I haven't made any non-structural selections just yet. I meet with Guardian and HD Interior Supply next Friday to make all of these selections. I have until the end of the month to make any non-structural changes.


On another note, I was finally able to schedule an appointment with a counselor for the individual homebuyer counseling. I took the class back in March and they took forever getting back to me to schedule the one-on-one. I will be meeting with them next Wednesday. This will make me eligible for first time homebuyer downpayment and closing cost assistance through the Maryland Mortgage Program.

Everything is coming together...and fast!

Waiting Game

Ugh....I'm so anxious! Everything was happening so quickly last week, now I'm playing the waiting game. I feel really good after meeting with the loan officer. I plan on paying down my credit card this week so she can do a rapid rescore to increase my credit score. Then some of this anxiety might go away. Til next time!

Since the NVR appointment with my loan officer went so well, I decided to finally put up my SOLD sign. My sales rep actually gave it to me the day I signed the purchase agreement, but I didn't want to put it up and then things not work out as planned. I'm feeling much more confident that this is all going to work out. While there, my mother and I walked around the model again and made note of changes I want to make and options I might like to select. My appointment at the design center and with Guardian (wiring) is May 13th so I have some time to think about all the questions I need to ask and possible selections I might make. I'm uber excited!!!

I'm over the moon excited!!!! My NVR appointment went perfect! Prior to the appointment, I emailed the loan officer all of my documentation. They need me to increase my credit score...but that's only going to require me to pay down $100 on my credit card. In other good news, I received a job offer this morning! This will increase my salary by $15,000. Just in time! God is definitely looking out for me. Next up: HD Supply Interior Solutions to pick out cabinets, counter tops, and flooring.

Greenway Farm by Ryan Homes

Since I embarked on my journey to correct my credit so that I could purchase a home, I would occasionally browse Zillow.com to look at what was on the market, what I might be able to afford, and housing prices. About 2 weeks ago, I came across Greenway Farm, a new build community by Ryan Homes. I put myself on the VIP list so that once the community opened, I could go view the model to get ideas. The community opened April 23rd, 2016, which happened to be my son's birthday party. I called their office to find out that they would be open the next day for me to tour. I took my mother along...which was probably mistake number one. We absolutely fell in love!! After touring the house, the sales representative asked if I wanted to see if I was able to pre-qualify for the house. It didn't require a credit check so I said sure. Based on my income and self reported debt, I was good to go! He asked if I was interested in purchasing a unit. I told him I needed to think on it.

When I got home, I called my realtor, a family friend, to get her thoughts and ideas, She understood my hesitation and offered to see is she could find me a property that was similar in layout but cheaper. I let the day go by....still in love with the house. I had made an appointment with the sale rep to complete a purchase agreement just in case. At 6:30p, I met with him and completed the purchase agreement. I'm absolutely excited, anxious, nervous all at once.

My realtor doesn't want me to get too excited. I haven't met with a loan officer to have my credit run, so I don't even know if the house is really feasible for me. This Friday I have an appointment with NVR loans to do my loan application for pre-approval. NVR owns Ryan Homes and is their in-house lender. Depending on what they say on Friday will determine my fate in this home buying process. Fingers Crossed!!!