WHEN SHOULD WE BUY APPLIANCES

I've been doing research and all of the appliances we need, refrigerator and washer and dryer, are all on sale. Like 15% off at best buy. We can make a purchase now and they will hold the stuff for up to a year. Could they go any lower?

I THINK WE HAVE A DATE

I spoke with our rep today and she thinks our pre-construction meeting is going to be some time in the middle of February. So excited. We're on the schedule. Hopefully we have a definitive date next week.

I GOT OUR CHRISTMAS TREE

I picked it up 15 minutes before the store close. The 7 1/2 foot tree will look great with our 9 foot ceilings. It's a flip tree and assembles in 2 motions and is pre-lit. This is our first official purchase for the house. During the holidays we got a comforter set from Macy's hoping that it will go in our new master bedroom. But since loan approval took forever, that's why this is our first official purchase.

Now I have to remember to buy things to decorate it, lol.

I THINK I HAVE A PROBLEM

Just over 24 hours since approval and I'm already shopping.  Am I the only one that went through this?  I actually went to a store to see if they still had Christmas trees, surprisingly they did.  I may have to get one at a ridiculously low price for the house.  I've also started looking at faucets for the kitchen sink, this may be the first thing we replace after closing. 

K M and RH, just an FYI if you're looking for furniture.  Levin just opened up a clearance center in Greensburg.  I haven't gone yet, but will report when I do go. 

Oh and thanks KM and India for being the first to comment on our blog.  Also thanks again K M for the tips for making the blog list. 

AND NOW WE WAIT

Once we got the call from our loan officer that we were approved, I reached out to our sales rep to see if we're still on track for breaking ground next month and closing in May.  I think she was out of the office today, so hopefully we'll hear from her tomorrow. 

We also haven't had our meeting with Guardian yet.  For those that have meet with Guardian, how soon after your initial meeting did you have to finalize your options?  We're hoping to be able to have the meeting, but not finalize things until after we get our taxes done in the beginning of February. 

OUR UPGRADES

We pretty much upgraded structurally and some little things here and there. 

Here's the list:

Premium lot
Side entry 3 car garage
Fireplace
Extended Laundry
Tray Ceilings in dining room and owner's suite
Fully upgraded owner's bath (big soaking tub, Daniel is 6'5")
Upgraded carpet padding throughout the home
Recessed lighting in the kitchen
Plumbing rough-in basement
Morning Room
Gourmet Island
Scottsdale Square Maple Cognac cabinets in the kitchen
Extended family room
Extra window in the rear of family room
Humidifier
Laundry Tub
Floor drain in garage
Fairfield square maple spice cabinets in the bathrooms

Elevation is A, we'll add a porch on later.  No granite, stainless steel appliancs, special flooring, or finished basement for us.  We felt these were things we could upgrade later. 

WE'RE APPROVED!!!!!!!!

After starting the process in early December we finally have loan approval to build our dream home. 

A little about us.  Hi I'm Deidre and my husband is Daniel and we're building Victoria Falls.  We started our new construction journey in Summer 2009.  We knew we wanted new construction and we had a pretty good idea of the areas we wanted to build.  Along the way we looked at 3 custom builders, 2 local builders, and Ryan Homes.  Ryan Homes was the first option we looked at and we're super glad that we chose them.  If you're in the Pittsburgh area and would like to know the other builders we considered, PM us. 

When we first started looking at Ryan, our floorplan, well at the time it was just Victoria, was one of the first floorplans we looked at.  Even with looking at other builders, that waterfall staircase stayed in our mind.  You know as they say, timing is everything.  Since initially looking at Victoria, the updates they made in Victoria Falls has made this our dream home (well except for 2nd floor laundry, lol).