Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Want to See More Detail?
*Don't forget that you can click on the pictures once or twice to enlarge.*
The Kitchen with No Walls
You know...like The Church with No Walls? Ok, a little corny.
I was thinking about what I could add to the blog when I realized that I have a picture of the kitchen that I describe in the walk thru video a few posts back. Joy!
The island is in the center of the kitchen and it has a sink. I like the fact that there is no wall behind the sink and that the faucet comes straight up in a sleek line. The reason this is so important? I hate cleaning a sink with a wall behind it; I can't see what's going on behind the sink unless I tip toe and bend forward and who wants to do that? I also like things that are grooveless and easy to clean. So, with this new sink, two of my life long OCD issues will be eliminated. :-)
I'm ready to move.
I was thinking about what I could add to the blog when I realized that I have a picture of the kitchen that I describe in the walk thru video a few posts back. Joy!
The island is in the center of the kitchen and it has a sink. I like the fact that there is no wall behind the sink and that the faucet comes straight up in a sleek line. The reason this is so important? I hate cleaning a sink with a wall behind it; I can't see what's going on behind the sink unless I tip toe and bend forward and who wants to do that? I also like things that are grooveless and easy to clean. So, with this new sink, two of my life long OCD issues will be eliminated. :-)
I'm ready to move.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Meeting with the Super
We met with the Superintendent to confirm the home customizations before they put up the walls. We were able to walk through the property and see all of the progress so far. The builders have really been putting in some work! I wanted to just plug in a tv, put a blanket down, and tell them to work around me. I'm HOME!
The walls will go up next, and then the bricks. After bricking, they'll complete the inside. It’s my understanding that the inside is what takes the longest. Completion should be early to mid May.
After closing, we'll replace any remaining siding with brick and stone (stone is the new stucco!). We definitely want the whole home bricked, but we will have to get clearance from the Home Owners Association first.
The story behind this picture:
The Superintendent wasn’t very friendly, but of course I didn't care and I asked him to take a picture of us anyway. He complied, and I jumped to take the pic without emptying my FULL pockets or getting myself together in any capacity. LOL Later, when Barry and I were going back to the apt., he said out of the blue, “That guy sure had a stick up his butt, didn’t he?” I’d picked up on the Super's “attitude”, for lack of a better word, but I didn’t mention it to Barry to see if he’d noticed, too. Sure enough he did. Good thing the Super isn’t building our home with his own two hands!
The walls will go up next, and then the bricks. After bricking, they'll complete the inside. It’s my understanding that the inside is what takes the longest. Completion should be early to mid May.
After closing, we'll replace any remaining siding with brick and stone (stone is the new stucco!). We definitely want the whole home bricked, but we will have to get clearance from the Home Owners Association first.
The story behind this picture:
The Superintendent wasn’t very friendly, but of course I didn't care and I asked him to take a picture of us anyway. He complied, and I jumped to take the pic without emptying my FULL pockets or getting myself together in any capacity. LOL Later, when Barry and I were going back to the apt., he said out of the blue, “That guy sure had a stick up his butt, didn’t he?” I’d picked up on the Super's “attitude”, for lack of a better word, but I didn’t mention it to Barry to see if he’d noticed, too. Sure enough he did. Good thing the Super isn’t building our home with his own two hands!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
New Homebuyer Credit Extended to June
From the IRS:
The deadline for claiming the First-Time Homebuyer Credit has been extended, and longtime homeowners buying a replacement home are eligible for a credit, as well.
In addition, special rules apply to the uniformed services, the foreign service, and the intelligence community on qualified extended duty outside of the United States.
You now have an extra year to buy a principal residence in the U.S.
That means you have until April 30th, 2010, to sign a binding contract and until June 30th to close on the home.
WHEW! I'd been hearing rumors, but I wasn't sure that we would have until June 30th to actually close on the home. We're good!
The deadline for claiming the First-Time Homebuyer Credit has been extended, and longtime homeowners buying a replacement home are eligible for a credit, as well.
In addition, special rules apply to the uniformed services, the foreign service, and the intelligence community on qualified extended duty outside of the United States.
You now have an extra year to buy a principal residence in the U.S.
That means you have until April 30th, 2010, to sign a binding contract and until June 30th to close on the home.
WHEW! I'd been hearing rumors, but I wasn't sure that we would have until June 30th to actually close on the home. We're good!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Epiphany!
I have to credit my realtor, Cynthia, with convincing us to buy a new home. For some reason, we were quite resistant to having a home built from the ground up. For one, we were impatient and wanted to move before the rodeo traffic started near our apartment. lol For two, we were just scared of the unknown. At least I was.
Then came all of the overbidding. We'd just bid on a home with 5 other bidders when Cynthia suggested visiting a new home builder. This time when she suggested it we didn't blow her off. Instead, we shrugged and asked, "What do we have to lose?" With much anticipation and worry, we agreed to meet Cynthia at Gehan Homes. Within an hour we'd qualified, picked out the home we wanted, and left the building knowing we were on our way to being new home owners!
Why was this my favorite part of the Home Design Center?
Check out the Cain Kingdom being built step-by-step. Yeah, I skipped a few days and missed out on a few pictures. :-(
This is what the land looked like on Google before I knew we'd be building on it.
Here's the brick. I hope it'll look good on the house!
Then came all of the overbidding. We'd just bid on a home with 5 other bidders when Cynthia suggested visiting a new home builder. This time when she suggested it we didn't blow her off. Instead, we shrugged and asked, "What do we have to lose?" With much anticipation and worry, we agreed to meet Cynthia at Gehan Homes. Within an hour we'd qualified, picked out the home we wanted, and left the building knowing we were on our way to being new home owners!
Why was this my favorite part of the Home Design Center?
Check out the Cain Kingdom being built step-by-step. Yeah, I skipped a few days and missed out on a few pictures. :-(
This is what the land looked like on Google before I knew we'd be building on it.
Here's the brick. I hope it'll look good on the house!
Video: Walk Through the Model Home
Here's some amateurish home video of me walking through the model home that I fell in love with. It has the exact same floor plan as our home. Excuse the talk at the beginning of the video (and throughout). Matter-of-fact, put it on MUTE. lol
The Home Search
We didn't start out with the idea of getting our home built from the ground up. In fact, we saw many many MANY homes over a 6 month period. We bid on at least 6 homes. Can you believe that we were OVERBID each time? Then, when we weren't overbid, the home owner asked for $30K over the listed price. Whatever!
It was fierce out there, and even when we overbid, we were overbid by greedy home buyers. Our realtor said that she'd never seen such an agressive market. The homes were out there, but as we were steadily overbid, the pickings became slimmer and slimmer.
We liked each of these homes that we bid on, but I wouldn't say that we LOVED them so much. They all had most of the features that we wanted (high ceilings, jetted tub, game room, etc.), but some of them didn't have everything we wanted.
We bid on all of the homes below. I'm glad we didn't get any of these homes way out in FRESNO.
It was fierce out there, and even when we overbid, we were overbid by greedy home buyers. Our realtor said that she'd never seen such an agressive market. The homes were out there, but as we were steadily overbid, the pickings became slimmer and slimmer.
We liked each of these homes that we bid on, but I wouldn't say that we LOVED them so much. They all had most of the features that we wanted (high ceilings, jetted tub, game room, etc.), but some of them didn't have everything we wanted.
We bid on all of the homes below. I'm glad we didn't get any of these homes way out in FRESNO.
Welcome!
Welcome! We're finally getting a home built and I just wanted a spot in cyber space to chronicle the whole thing. Enter "Movin' On Up with the Cains"!
Needless to say, having a new home built from the ground up is extremely exciting for the three of us. I, specifically, have a very hard time being quiet about the whole process. I pass by the site every day, and yes, I take pictures just about everyday too. :-)
Sooooo...instead of flooding your email with pictures of dirt, frames, smiling faces, and all that jazz, I decided to just create a little blog. If you care to check on the progress of our home, you can just come here. I might not update SmokieSays everyday, but I'll be updating this baby on the reg-u-lar!
Needless to say, having a new home built from the ground up is extremely exciting for the three of us. I, specifically, have a very hard time being quiet about the whole process. I pass by the site every day, and yes, I take pictures just about everyday too. :-)
Sooooo...instead of flooding your email with pictures of dirt, frames, smiling faces, and all that jazz, I decided to just create a little blog. If you care to check on the progress of our home, you can just come here. I might not update SmokieSays everyday, but I'll be updating this baby on the reg-u-lar!
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