It's the Final Countdown

Things were really moving on the house before Thanksgiving. In our weekly email update, our PM shared that he would be on vacation for the holiday and provided the contact information for another PM in the community in case we had any questions. With that in mind, we drove by the house over the weekend to see if there were any changes.

Weeks 8 and 9 of Construction

Back to construction updates. Moving back to the first full week of November (week 7 of construction), the drywall was hung, and the first coat of paint was completed. This might sound stupid, but it’s amazing how different a house can look with drywall. You know, with real walls… Anyway, here are a couple of photos from our PM from the inside.

NVR Updates

One thing I have neglected to write about in this blog is our experience with NVR beyond the initial steps. Both our Loan Officer (LO) and our Loan Processor (LP) have been great to work with. Despite our good experience, Chris and I were tentative to blindly proceed with the Ryan Homes parent company lender. We began talking and proceeded to meet with a local credit union concerning mortgage loans after our pre-construction meeting on Sept. 12. This was a good choice, because the loan officer we spoke with at the credit union was able to explain some things about the process that were unclear before. This is not to say that our NVR LO didn’t try, but rather the process is extremely overwhelming and speaking with an outside individual helped clear things up.

Big Changes Inside and Out

After our pre-drywall meeting on Oct. 25, we received our usual update from our PM. He shared that the house passed all inspections (we knew this because all inspections must be passed before the pre-drywall meeting), and insulation began. In the photos below, you can see the drywall laying in the house. This was being delivered when we met with our PM.

Pre-Drywall Meeting

Inspections were completed at the beginning of week 5 of construction, and we were ready for our pre-drywall meeting by Thursday, Oct. 25. This was an opportunity to meet with our PM and discuss any questions or concerns we have so far in the process. We walked through the house and looked at every detail we could. Below are a handful of photos I took along the way.

And There's a House!

Ok, this is just ridiculous now… Going all the way back to the second week of October (one month ago!), the house was just basement walls. Since then, a lot of things have happened. When others have written that this process moves quickly, they were not kidding.

Rain, Mud, and Construction

Alright, here’s another entry of catching up.

Right after excavation on September 20, we received some rain, but this didn’t really delay things. Our foundation footings were poured before we visited the site on the 25^th. I’ve read other Ryan Home builders comment that looking at the footings makes the house seem smaller than it actually is. Because it was so muddy, we didn’t walk around the space, so here’s a nice shot from the front.

Random Observations and Groundbreaking!

While waiting on Ryan Homes to catch up on finishing houses close to ours so they could move the red dumpsters, we visited the lot and saw that construction had begun on the space behind our house.

Here’s an original view:

Waiting and Pre-Construction

I’ve fallen behind already with posting the current happenings with our house. Let’s jump right back into it…When others have written about “hurry up and waiting” during this portion of building a house with Ryan Homes, they weren’t kidding. The first few weeks are a whirlwind of activity and decision making that the next few are a snail’s pace of nothing.

Selections, Lots of Photos, and NVR

Still trying to catch up with everything that has happened since beginning this whole thing. The day we signed our Purchase Agreement, lucky Friday, July 13, our SR took us to walk the lot. We’re one of the last houses being built on the street, so there was a wide variety of in-progress houses. As expected, the majority of the houses on the street are also two-story. I don’t know if this is good or bad regarding sun exposure to the structure.

Lessons Learned and Selected Upgrades

As mentioned in the previous entry, I ask a lot of questions. I am not afraid to admit when I don’t know something. To rectify this, I do as much research as possible by talking to people and internet searches before speaking to those whose job it is to answer my questions (keep in mind that these people want to be helpful, but they are also trying to sell expensive products and services). Whenever conducting internet research, it is always important to analyze the sources to ensure accurate information (life hack?). My primary sources were blogs of other customers of Ryan Homes because who knows a process better than others who have gone through it. Now it's my turn.

Down the Rabbit Hole

I feel like Alice in Wonderland. Where to begin! I’ve never blogged before, but reading other home building blogs has been incredibly helpful, so I thought I’d give it a shot. I’ll probably include way more details than necessary, but hey, this is for my records as much as sharing this process and helping others.