We’re Building a House!

There’s big things going on for our family. No, we aren’t moving again! At least not across the country anyway. More like across town in the not too distant future. The permit request has been sent and in about 6-8 weeks, the dirt will start moving and the process of building our new house will begin! We are all very excited about it and can’t wait to have a place to call our own again.

I’m actually pretty surprised that we find ourselves here. I initially did NOT want to do a new build. I would send my husband pre-existing houses and he’d send me back info on new builds going on in the area. I wouldn’t even look at the texts or emails once I found out it was going to be “new.” I didn’t want new!

It probably seems weird that I didn’t want new construction. Who wouldn’t want to build a house from the ground up?!? But I honestly just felt like we could get a cheaper house and more bang for our buck with an existing build. However, my husband said he wanted to have more input and say in the design of the house this time. We were at a crossroads. He also was very open to exploring new areas. I was not. I really am fond of the burb we’re in.

Until our realtor suggested an area in another burb that was undergoing rapid development. I didn’t even know this burb had this whole other neck of the woods. All kinds of new construction going on and houses being built. I decided to do some research and I liked what I saw. It’s an up and coming area that is on the verge of exploding with jobs, retail, entertainment and housing. We were intrigued and decided to explore the area in person.

We drove and walked around and saw parks, greenery, and community pools that would make some fancy hotels jealous. I saw all these people with families just like ours exploring it. Plenty of kids moving in, that’s always good. It was really exciting to learn about what was already there, what was coming, and the family oriented community it was designed to be. But I still wasn’t quite sold on it.

We came back multiple times to visit the area and I was wooed in more and more with each visit.

We passed by some model homes in a different part of the community a few times, but we never stopped because my husband assumed they we out of our price range. But one day we stopped into the sales office anyway, just to be sure.

They were actually cheaper than the home we were giving serious thought to. I almost kicked myself for almost passing them by. The first couple of models were really not all that impressive and my spirits sank. But the last two were perfect and exactly what we were looking for. Better features and more suited to our needs for less money?? Winning!

Suddenly, my reluctance about building and leaving my favorite burb just melted away. But I still had some reservations. I could probably get that pool I wanted with an existing home, I thought to myself. The sales lady from the builder we were interested in must have seen through my soul and suddenly said “You can always choose your house, but this is the only time you can choose where it is. You can’t pick up your house and move it to another lot if you go with a pre-built home.”

I know she was doing her sales-y job, but she was right. We had choices of lots. Some were right in the middle of the pack, some were corner lots with only one house on the side. Others had nothing in the back or no one in front. One of my biggest pet peeves about living here are the tightly packed homes and neighborhoods. Which probably is the reason why I’ve driven down neighborhoods looking at houses for sale and never really could get excited about being packed in like sardines.

And then I saw THE lot. Not quite an island unto ourselves, but it gave us some space with some not too shabby views. It was then that I fell in love. The houses drew me in, but the amenities of the community, the lot, and the excitement of all the things to come in the area are what sealed the deal. My husband had been won over probably after the first visit. After much debate, we settled between two houses and called it a day.

In about 6-8 months, our house will be complete. I’m still not really into the idea of choosing all the little details that go into house building. When we went in to formerly choose what model we wanted, the sales woman said “what color house do you want it to be?” I froze. I didn’t know I had to do any picking that day and it took me nearly 20 minutes to decide. I only had 3 colors to choose from! I’m too indecisive for this stuff!

Next week, we have a 4-5 hour design appointment where we pick all the details of the house (wow, that’s long) and then we wait. I’m sure it will be a stressful rollercoaster ride and everyone will be anxious over the next several months. But I know it will be a really cool experience for us all. I’ll keep ya posted.