Damn you Berkeley County...Give us permits already!!!

So, last post had us tentatively starting our house on the 3rd of march, but  after exchanging an email with our SR, he said it is probably not going to happen. The Reason: BERKELEY COUNTY 's interpretation of some new code and their reluctance to grant permits for Ryan Trusses. Berkeley county is the only county in 13 states that has not granted permits because of this Truss issue. Now apparently Ryan's architectural department is working with them on fixing this issue.. I must say, I'm starting to get a little annoyed (well, actually pissed off to put it frankly) on the whole issue. They already have a Florence Model framed in our neighborhood, so I don't understand the delay. How can 13 states be fine with Ryan Homes trusses, and Berkeley County isn't?  The waiting game continues.

Staked and Finally "Sold"

Finally, almost 2 months after signing our purchase agreement, they have put a sold sticker on our lot and staked it. It must be close to breaking ground time. I am hoping next week to see a hole on this lot. They already have basement walls up on our neighbors lot.

Waiting...Waiting...and more Waiting

Well, it's been a quiet few weeks and there really hasn't been much to report. I did talk with our SR and we are still waiting on permits and our tentative start date in on the 3rd of March. We shall see. They have however started digging for the house next to our lot. We should be next...oh, and they did determine that the house needed to be "Reversed", so that has been messing with my mind a little. I guess I will get used to it.

Loan Approval and Final Changes

Not much new to report. Was called and notified by NVR that our loan was approved. Earlier in the week  we made some final changes to our options. Chose to go with Guardian Basic Home Wiring package and the Six-Pack Wall Plate outlets.

Carpet Zone B Upgrade: Color  Apple Butter (Berber Carpet)
Carpet Living Room B Upgrade: Color Apple Butter  (Berber Carpet)
Carpet Family Room B Upgrade: Color Apple Butter (Berber Carpet)
2 Pc. Rough in for basement powder room.




Excited to see this process move forward.

Meeting with Guardian and Options Selected (for now)

Option selections for our Florence :

- Elevation B:   Irish Thistle siding, Fiery Brown Front Door, Brown Shutters, Black Roof

- Finished Basement . We opted  for a finished basement because it allowed for more finished living space Underneath the Morning Room in the basement it only gives you additional storage room based on floor plan

- Carpet color in basement/Family/Living Room: Shadow
- Family Room Fireplace (on the side) w/ Blower remote
- Added 4th Bedroom
- Double Bowl Vanity in the Owners Bathroom
- Owners Bedroom Ceiling Fan rough in
- Owners bathroom Type A Shower .  Since we don't really take baths and are shower people, we opted to not have a tub

- Kitchen Island
- Butterum Granite countertops
- Black appliances in the kitchen (included)
- Cabinet Crown Molding in the kitchen
- Kitchen Cabinets: Maple Spice Timberlake
- Recessed lights in Kitchen
- Laminate Foyer (Tropical Cherry)
- Laminate Powder Room on first floor (Tropical Cherry)
- Laminate Kitchen floor
- Laminate Dinette
- Washer/Dryer Package (included)

We met with Guardian and have so far only decided on getting the 6 pack cable/data pre-wire and possibly 2 Room audio package pre-wire. $45 a month for security seems a bit much. Isn't that why we have insurance? Seems like we would be paying just as much for Guardians services as we would for our home insurance. I think we go without the security. We might also decide to upgrade our carpet .

Update: Floor Plans

Signing our Purchase Agreement and Picking a Lot

When first deciding on a lot, we really liked lot 197 which was on a corner, however when we signed our purchase agreement we found out we could not choose lot 197 because someone had just purchased a lot across from it with the same Florence Model and elevation. Bummer! Off to look at a different lot while our Sales Rep worked on finishing up our contract. Needless to say, after looking at the other lots, we actually ended up liking lot 65 better because there were very few houses built on that street, in addition to us not having to drive past a bunch of Townhouses and encountering at least 6 speed bumps to get to lot 197.  It is actually closer to the community private boat Ramp on the Potomac River and community Pavilions, I think it was actually a better choice. Lot 65 it is!

Lot 65

Lot 65 backing up to woods

Lot 65 on the right as we drive up the road 

I'm glad Panhandle Homes allows Ryan Homes to use these lots! One of the other reasons why we chose this lot, is that it backs up to woods and we have seen deer on the lots

Our Journey Building a Florence

The Venice or the Florence? We went back and forth for weeks but simply couldn't part ways with the Florence floor plan. Both are reasonably priced but the Florence is about $10,000 cheaper with 3 bedrooms, while the Venice has 4 bedrooms. We decided to go with the Florence because we were able to add a 4th bedroom and still end up $8,000 cheaper than the Venice while only sacrificing ~250 SF of living space. Now all we needed to do was sign a purchase agreement with Ryan Homes and pick a lot, and go over options. Incentives offered were a Value Package upgrade in the kitchen and Morning Room, free washer and dryer and $5,000 toward closing if you use NVR, Ryan Home's preferred lender.


Late note: We were able to get them to add an additional $5,000 in closing assistance, so it looks like we will get money back at closing or be able to update a few things after they give us the $10k. Yay. You have to love end of year sales.