So I have decided what home I wanted. The floorplan was large enough for all my stuff, with plenty of room for me to acquire new things. The floorplan is a really open concept. At this point, I checked out my credit report. You want to look and see what the loan company will see before you are asked about it. Also if there are any errors, you want to clear them up. I met a sales guy at the neighborhood. I told him what house I wanted and I wanted it as soon as possible. At this point I gave the company permission to view my credit report. Later, a representative from the loan company called to verify all the information I gave them in the forms. I shortly received a letter in the mail saying I was pre-approved for the amount of the home plus upgrades.
Now at this point I was approved for any home the builder I selected builds. Meaning, I could have picked any house in any neighborhood to build. I chose to stick with my choice. At this point I met with my salesman to pick my street and lot. Picking where your house will be is kind of nerve-racking. You basically go out to a field where some houses are going to be one day and pick where you want your house to be. Now, there are rules to this. You can't be within 2 homes or across the street from a home with your same floorplan and elevation (the look of the front of the house), also homes next door to you cannot have the same brick. I was told that my home was the most popular floorplan so that limited my choices of lot location to by a large degree. Take your time while doing this. Sure, it was 92 degrees outside that day I did this, but take your time because after the process you can't change your mind without paying a penalty. I was looking across the street, seeing what would be my backyard, etc. I made my choice and went to the sales office to sign my life away. About 60 times I signed my name and initials to various legal documents. Mostly saying I was aware that I can't change my mind about the location of the house and that I understand the home-buying process. The salesman advised me that I would recieve a call to go to the Home Design Center where I would pick out my options.
About 2 weeks later I get a call from the Home Design Center asking when I would like to come by for orientation. At the orientation, they introduce you to the Design Center. You choose everything in the house at the Design Center. Door knobs, carpet, tile, windows, doors, islands, countertops, cabinets, everything in the house is picked out there. It can be a big task, so the orientation lasts about 2 hours, taking you through all the departments and telling you your options. Depending on your floorplan, you have different options. At the end of the orientation you set a date for your appointment to make your actual decisions. It is recommended you go there a few times before the final date so that you can have all your decisions already made. I didn't do that, lol. My salesman and several people at the Center recommended you go with the structural upgrades, for example: covered patios, islands, larger cabinets, seperate shower and tub, etc. It can get very pricey there, so you might want to think twice about the gold plated faucet in the kitchen. You will be paying for these items every month. The more you spend at the Design Center, the more you will spend every month. I think I showed some restraint in my choices, but I did get upgrades that I would be happy with while living in the house. The highlights were: Covered patio, huge kitchen island, 42" cabinets instead of the normal 30", changing a bedroom to a study, and tile on my master bathroom floor. After making the decisions on options and upgrades, you play the waiting game. Waiting on constuction to begin. The wait can seem like forever. But to keep you company the loan company will send you an estimate of your loan agreement. Mine was hastily put together and plenty of errors in it. It didn't give much of an estimate of what I would be paying per month and the closing costs because there were so many errors. I guess that is why it is an ESTIMATE.
Then the wait begins on the construction. More about that later.
Now at this point I was approved for any home the builder I selected builds. Meaning, I could have picked any house in any neighborhood to build. I chose to stick with my choice. At this point I met with my salesman to pick my street and lot. Picking where your house will be is kind of nerve-racking. You basically go out to a field where some houses are going to be one day and pick where you want your house to be. Now, there are rules to this. You can't be within 2 homes or across the street from a home with your same floorplan and elevation (the look of the front of the house), also homes next door to you cannot have the same brick. I was told that my home was the most popular floorplan so that limited my choices of lot location to by a large degree. Take your time while doing this. Sure, it was 92 degrees outside that day I did this, but take your time because after the process you can't change your mind without paying a penalty. I was looking across the street, seeing what would be my backyard, etc. I made my choice and went to the sales office to sign my life away. About 60 times I signed my name and initials to various legal documents. Mostly saying I was aware that I can't change my mind about the location of the house and that I understand the home-buying process. The salesman advised me that I would recieve a call to go to the Home Design Center where I would pick out my options.
About 2 weeks later I get a call from the Home Design Center asking when I would like to come by for orientation. At the orientation, they introduce you to the Design Center. You choose everything in the house at the Design Center. Door knobs, carpet, tile, windows, doors, islands, countertops, cabinets, everything in the house is picked out there. It can be a big task, so the orientation lasts about 2 hours, taking you through all the departments and telling you your options. Depending on your floorplan, you have different options. At the end of the orientation you set a date for your appointment to make your actual decisions. It is recommended you go there a few times before the final date so that you can have all your decisions already made. I didn't do that, lol. My salesman and several people at the Center recommended you go with the structural upgrades, for example: covered patios, islands, larger cabinets, seperate shower and tub, etc. It can get very pricey there, so you might want to think twice about the gold plated faucet in the kitchen. You will be paying for these items every month. The more you spend at the Design Center, the more you will spend every month. I think I showed some restraint in my choices, but I did get upgrades that I would be happy with while living in the house. The highlights were: Covered patio, huge kitchen island, 42" cabinets instead of the normal 30", changing a bedroom to a study, and tile on my master bathroom floor. After making the decisions on options and upgrades, you play the waiting game. Waiting on constuction to begin. The wait can seem like forever. But to keep you company the loan company will send you an estimate of your loan agreement. Mine was hastily put together and plenty of errors in it. It didn't give much of an estimate of what I would be paying per month and the closing costs because there were so many errors. I guess that is why it is an ESTIMATE.
Then the wait begins on the construction. More about that later.
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