Sorry for the Disappearance...but lots of pics

Sorry for being gone for soooooo long...but we have been busy decorating and wedding planning and having company.  But here are some pictures of our house as it looks today...

Here's what we have been up to...

NO GOOD! haha...just kidding! We have been so busy since we closed on Friday.  Closing was very simple and was painless!  I couldn't believe but it only took about 45 minutes.  I guess that is what you get when you close at 3:30 on a Friday, everyone wants to speed things up to get to their weekend sooner.  :)  Needless to say I had no problem with it only being 45 minutes.  Basically, we just signed our names 100 times and waited for the county clerk to transfer the deed into our names and we were ready to go! 

Friday night we went out to a nice dinner with my mom who was in town and then we headed back to the house to start taping so that we could paint the next day.  We taped our master bedroom until like 11 pm and then called it a night.  On Saturday morning, we painted our master bedroom a blue-ish/grey-ish color (I will post pictures of the color soon).  We also had our fridge delivered in the morning, which turned out to be a dud but more on that later.  Saturday afternoon, we had many friends over for a painting party complete with pizza.  We worked on painting the living and kitchen.  At the end of the night the paint on the walls looked like crap and I was so frustrated.  I couldn't believe that we put so much effort into painting the living room and it didn't turn out right.  We chose a satin paint for its durability and because its washable.  And the paint ended up with uneven spots of sheen and you could see like all the roller strokes.  WE HAD NO IDEA WHAT HAPPENED!  On Sunday, when we went back to the house to see if maybe drying overnight did anything.  And guess what...it didn't! It still looked bad and we were so demoralized from the effort we made the day before.  Needless to say there were other issues that made me upset as well.  Like walking in and finding a giant puddle of water underneath your fridge!  The ice had melted out of the dispenser because the fridge was not being cooled at all.  Both sides of the fridge were warm and stayed that way for the next 24 hours.  We called Lowe's and they were so nice about coming out and replacing it with a new one.  Go Lowe's Customer Service...you rock!  They delivered the new one yesterday and it has been working wonderfully!

Back to the paint issue, we decided that since we only did one coat on the walls to try to do another one to try to even things up a bit.  Well, it didn't work and we went through 4 gallons of paint.  My fiance ran out to get more paint while I sat helpless on the floor just staring at our uneven, horrible looking walls.  When he returned, we discussed our options: 1. We could try to continue with the 2nd coat and use more paint on the roller.  2. Call it a day and hire some professionals to fix our fiasco. or 3. Curse loudly! :)  We went with option #1 and continued with a 2nd coat with the new paint my fiance picked up.  Well, let me tell you the difference was like NIGHT and DAY!  We started laying the new paint over the old paint and it started drying the way it was supposed to and I nearly jumped with joy!  Turns out that we think we simply just got BAD PAINT!  Needless to the say, the room looks great now and we are so happy we didn't throw in the towel and waste our money on professionals.  By the way, Lowe's Customer Service gets another thumbs up because we went back to the paint counter there and told them about our issues and they gave us a free gallon of paint. :)

Sorry for the long post but I had a lot to share....On Monday, we painted one of the other bedrooms upstairs a light yellow color and did some touch ups on the other rooms.  On Tuesday, I painted a green accent wall in the kitchen that I think adds some color.  Yesterday, I spent the day cleaning up all the painting supplies and organizing the stuff in our garage. YIKES! It looks like a bomb hit it.  I also worked on lining the shelves in the kitchen cabinets.  I also opened up one of our blinds we bought from JCPenney's and held it up to the window to see if it would fit and NO DICE! We had bought 35" x 64" and the 35" are too wide.  So now I have to take them back and get 34".  Luckily, I found the receipt and should have no problems. 

So that is what we have been up to...like I said pictures are to come of the colors we chose and everything!  Stay tuned! 

Ok so I know I have been MIA...but...

WE ARE CLOSING TOMORROW!!! FINALLY!! I am so happy and excited and thrilled to have this whole mortgage process over with.  It has been a very stressful journey.  There was problem after problem with the bank and I had a very hard time handling the stress of the situations so I thought it would be better to stay away from the blog rather than complain about everything going on in my life.  HAHA! So you can thank me for sparing you the last month's worth of complaining.  But everything is all set up for us to close tomorrow and we are super excited!  It was so windy today that the power went out at our new house which made me concerned about the sump pump, but hopefully they got the electric back up and running so our basement doesn't flood for closing day!  Also, our PM was nice enough to call us to give us a heads up about the many shingles that went flying off our roof today due to the SEVERELY high winds.  He said that they would be out fixing many of our neighbors shingles at the beginning of next week too.  My mom is traveling up as we speak to help us paint this weekend.  YES! we decided to paint.  There is no way I can live with white walls for 10 months and I actually like painting so I won't mind the touch-ups I will have to do after the nail pops are repaired.  And while we have decided to paint, have we decided on paint colors?????  Well, yes and no.  :)  We have our bedroom color picked out and one of the guest bedroom colors picked out.  But the hardest color for us to choose was the main living room/kitchen color for the first floor.  I think I have it narrowed down but I still might need to buy a sample before I totally commit to it.  Anyway, I look forward to supplying you with some painting pics after this weekend.  We are having several friends over on Saturday for a "painting party" where we will be supplying pizza and wings!  We won't be moving our furniture for another week or two because we have to find a time when my fiance isn't coaching or playing baseball. :)  Sorry for being gone for so long but I'm back!

Pre-Settlement Walkthrough was Yesterday

So yesterday we had our pre-settlement demonstration walkthrough meeting, whatever you want to call it :).  My fiance and I both took the day off for this due to the fact that we couldn't do it after school because my fiance coaches baseball, blah, blah, blah.  Long story short, we took the day off and enjoyed ourselves.  We had some errands to run in the morning so we got those done and then just hung out until my parents arrived.  My mom and dad drove 5 hours again to help us look for potential issues with the finished house.  I have to say that the actual walk through went really well.  However, I feel like I was thrown so much information that I will never remember anything that was said.  Oh well, I guess that is why they give you a GIANT binder full of info. 

It was very good to have four sets of eyes looking for things that needed to be touched up or things that didn't look right.  And to be honest, all four of us found things that the others hadn't seen.  Here is the short list of what needs to be fixed before we move in:

• There was a very loud floor noise in the kitchen by the corner pantry that they are going to check out and see if they can find the cause and thus eliminate it.  
• There was a screw missing from one of our switch plates in the master bathroom.
• Miscellaneous paint touch ups throughout the house where they forgot to repaint.
• There was a crush mark in our carpet in the living room that will be steam cleaned (basically this looks like a seam but was not and can be steamed out)
• They are going to check the level of the floor in the kitchen (my fiance said he felt a bump in the floor but I didn't)
• The lock on our sliding glass door was not functioning properly (wouldn't lock) the screws were tightened. 
• The mirror in the powder room was crooked and would have driven me absolutely bonkers.
• They are going to check on the insulation around the dryer vent to the outside because I could see daylight coming in. 
• MOST MAJOR ITEM! There was HUGE crack in one of the floor joists in the basement that looked very scary.  Our PM said they will sister another one next to it to give it more support. 
• The basement handrail was installed through the drywall and there was nothing holding it in place.  There needed to be a brace added between two studs in order to support the screws. 
• Our PM had ordered us one new cabinet door for the kitchen because it had a nasty knot in it and the one that came also had a nasty knot so he is going to try for a third!
• The weatherstripping at the top of the garage door needs to be replaced.
• And last but not least there were nail pops in the siding along the back wall that were causing the siding to buckle.

Otherwise, everything looked really great and we can't wait to move in!  I wish we were closing tomorrow but we have to wait.  It is going by pretty fast and we still haven't been approved for our SONYMA loan so I am in no hurry.  And I still have plenty of packing to keep me occupied! :)  OH! and the PM gave us our garage door openers so now we can sneak in there whenever we want until we close!  Might have to bring some of our friends/family by this weekend.

Here are some pictures from the walkthrough, not too many because my camera was being temperamental:

Pre-Settlement in less than a week!

Wow! I cannot believe how fast this whole house-building process has gone.  I am beyond shocked that in a mere 6 days we will be walking through our FINISHED house! We are excited and thrilled that we were able to build our first home.  Even though, we don't close for another 29 days (yikes less than a month, I better start packing!) we are still so thrilled that we are so close to living in our very first home.  I don't have any new pics because we haven't been to the house since the last visit.  The doors and garage are now both locked every day so we wouldn't be able to get in unless we bothered our PM to let us in. We are excited to see the finished product in 6 DAYS!!! My mom and dad are traveling up again to walk through with us and provide us with another two sets of eyes in case there are things that need touched up or fixed.

In other news, last weekend, we ended up buying our washer and dryer at Sears during a Friends and Family sale that they were having.  I was so happy with the price that we got on these items.  At first they were not going to give us free delivery but luckily I came prepared with my ammunition.  Before we went to Sears, I went online to see if it would give me both 15% off and free delivery and SURE ENOUGH...it did! So I printed out my shopping cart that showed both and brought it with me.  And when the salesperson went into his shpeal about its one or the other, I whipped out my paperwork and served him! HAHA! It was thrilling to finally "win" at something.  All it takes is a little research and evidence and people will give you what you want.  Long story short, our washer and dryer will be delivered on Monday, April 25th while my fiance and I are there slaving over paint. :)

Next thing on the agenda is homeowner's insurance...which I happen to know nothing about.  God bless the insurance agent who has to explain things to us. :) We have a couple of appointments set up next week for quotes from different agencies.  We will see what happens....Stay tuned!

Sweet Purchases

We have been making some purchases over the past few weeks.  About 2 weeks ago, JCPenney had a really good sale going on cellular blinds.  We decided to check it out and found that it would save us a chunk of money.  So we went ahead and got 9 blinds for the house.  That is 2 for the living room, 2 for the master bedroom, 2 for the loft, 2 for the front dining room windows, and one for the front bedroom on the house.  The other bedroom will have to wait and curtains will have to suffice for now.

Then last week, we finally pulled the trigger and bought a king sized bed! We had been looking at beds for a while and I finally nailed my fiance down and we picked out a bed.  It is a Simmons Beauty Rest Firm Plush mattress and we think it is going to be perfect.  Of course, I had to go and buy king sized bedding like the next day because it is so exciting! It will be delivered either April 25th or 26th but maybe earlier depending on if we get the bedroom painted the weekend after we close.

AND THEN! last night we bought our refrigerator from Lowe's.  They were offering 15% off all energy star appliances plus free delivery.  We attempted to get Sears to price match this but apparently they only price match sale prices and not percentage off.  Whatever! The guy at Sears was trying to sell me on a deal they are having on Sunday (which is 15% off but no free delivery) but hello, it is still more money.  We are lucky enough to have gotten Sears gift cards for Christmas from our family members so we think we will get our washer and dryer there on Sunday during their secret sale haha.

It feels good to check these things off the list of things to buy because that means we are only getting closer!! Here is a picture of the refrigerator we got...it is a Whirlpool Gold black one.

Tons of Progress

Yes, yes, I know it has been a while since I last posted an update but there really wasn't much to update on.  Or at least that was what I thought until we walked through the house yesterday. MY OH MY! What a difference a week and a half makes.  We hadn't been to the house in over a week and a half because they started locking both the front door and the garage door.  Therefore, it was impossible for us to get in there to see anything.  So we made an appt with our PM to walk through yesterday.  I could not believe how much progress they made.  Here is a short list of what they have accomplished:

• Walls painted with one coat of primer and one coat of paint (Apparently they will be doing another one after the drywall guys come back to fix any spots.)
• Door frames, molding, and trim installed.
• All doors painted and some installed.
• Kitchen cabinets installed.
• Vinyl flooring installed in bathrooms and kitchen. 
• The carpet was going in yesterday as we were walking through.  They were finished up the master bedroom and closet when we were there, everything else was done. 
• The railing was up and had its first coat of stain.  They still need to do one more and polyurithane (sp?)
• Bathrooms were complete - cabinets, countertops, toilets, mirrors, and light fixtures
• Light fixtures were installed throughout the house and the power was on! We have light!
• They poured our front stoop and put one coat of paint on the front door.

I think that was it...I took a few pictures yesterday that I will post later when I get home.  Supposedly there is a cleaning lady coming today to do a first clean of the house, so they can see where they need to make repairs.  It is so exciting that we are so close, yet so far.  The house will be done March 29th, but we don't close until April 22nd due to our current lease situation. :( I am so anxious to get in there and start setting up our home. :) It won't be too long from now though!

 Dining Room

 Front Door

 Powder Room

 All bathrooms have this vinyl flooring

 Looking back into the living room (nice shot of the fiance)

 Kitchen (there was one cabinet with a really nasty looking knot that the PM is going to have replaced)

 More kitchen (so excited for this room!)

 Laminate Countertop Choice (Jamocha Granite, I think?)

 Living Room (love the recessed lights)

 Loft upstairs (aka Fiance's Man Cave)

 Guest Bath upstairs (I see a paint cleanup)

 Master Bathroom (beyond excited for two sinks)

 Front door with one coat of paint

 Getting closer to the finished project! (I love the outside lights by the way)

What's New...

Well it has been a busy week so far for my fiance and I.  After being off from school and the regular work grind for a week, we have been pretty busy playing catch up with all the work we put off.  But on the house front, things are going pretty smoothly.  On Monday, we received a letter from Ryan Homes about our estimated pre-settlement date and our closing date.  These dates are crucial because we still have a current lease on our apartment until the end of May and breaking that lease would mean big bucks.  Therefore, when we first agreed to sign a purchase agreement with Ryan Homes it was very important that they delay closing until the middle to end of April so that there would be no overlapping payments.  Long story short, the closing date on the paper was March 31st.  YIKES!  Well after speaking with our realtor and then our sales rep, we were told that this is just an automated letter that gets sent out when the house reaches a certain point (drywall) and not to worry that they would push things a few weeks back so that we could get our desired closing date.

On the mortgage front, after having some issues trying to figure out rules and guidelines surrounding an Energy Star certified loan (read about this in a previous post), we FINALLY received all the answers that we needed and are ready to move forward with that.  Our loan officer overnighted the paperwork to us yesterday and we read over and fixed some typos that were on there.  We have to get a page notarized today and then will mail back overnight also.  Hopefully, we are approved with this type of loan through SONYMA.  We have heard that sometimes they can be very slow to approve your loan which worries us with so little time before our closing in mid-April.  Our sales rep informed us that if anything wasn't approved by May we would have to start paying the carry costs for our house to Ryan Homes.  I am just hopeful that this will be somewhat a speedy turn around and we will have no issues with any of that.

Now, for actual house progress...phew!  I stopped by the house yesterday around 5:30 pm and there was no one there working.  The door was unlocked so I went inside (of course!).  At this point, the only thing they did since installing the drywall last week was sand the drywall and install the gas line/meter.  The furnace was on and blowing hot air of the vents.  So far, no cabinets or anything else has been delivered yet.  We still have the same reject doors and sink that were left over from a wrong order that was placed for another house in the neighborhood sitting in our garage.  But I will be out there again in a few days to check if there are any more progress.  By all means, I really don't care if they take a few days off because WE NEED TO CLOSE LATER ANYWAY!! :)

Pictures of Drywall

So exciting! We got to walk through the house this morning to take a look at the drywall that they worked on over the past two days.  It looked great and was super warm in there! They had the heat cranking that was for sure!  I think it was causing some of the structural elements to expand and therefore, our front door was a little tight to close and one of the floorboards was warping.  Our PM said he would get on those things and fix them right away.  The drywall looked great, of course they still have to sand it down but so far, so good!  Here are some of the pictures I took before my camera died. 

Dining Room

 Kitchen

 Living Room

 Recessed lights

 Loft

 Front Bedroom

 Master Bedroom

 Another view of Master Bedroom

 Upstairs hallway

 Front of the house by the loft

 Looking down the stairs (little peeved about the spilled McDonalds french fries on the side there...I mean come on the men who were working could have cleaned that up!)

 Looking through to the dining room/front of the house

They will sand, prime, paint, and then start working on carpentry (trim, cabinets, doors).  We are super excited and loved being able to get a feel for the size of the rooms!