my new digs

[washman]

Just a matter of time. Employment verification, pin survey, uhhh lemme see, homeowners policy, need to put in a mailbox, garage door opener. But unless the kaka hits the fan, this is a done deal.
It brings to a close 14 months of searching, disappointment, and a slight dislike of Ryan homes. Just a slight one.

I never originally sought a newly built home. This sorta came from left field. It is slightly higher than I originally intended but there are several pluses.

1. New
2. Seller is paying closing costs. This is worth 7K to my bottom line
3. Equity.
4. Single level on a slab
5. Contractor who built it is local.
6. Energy star rated due to r25 in walls and r45 in ceiling! and Hi eff furnace. Means I get a tax credit!
7. New appliances.
8. Seller agreed to grade and seed the lot when weather permits.
9. HVAC vents in ceiling. HEPA filter on furnace.
10. 3.125 per cent interest, fully tax deductible
11. Drain in floor in furnace room and garage.
12. Fully wired with CAT 6E, coax jacks for cable in each room. Coax is in punch panel, just waiting to be hooked up by Armstrong.
13. Quieter established neighborhood. On high ground, no flood plain issues.
14. Adequate room for the SQ!
15. 1 year home warranty

ALl in all, it took a while for this to "sink" in. In other words, I was scared kaka less to sign off on 360 payments but I figured no matter what, I gotta pay to live SOMEWHERE. Might as well be here!

 

[philcoford]

Very Nice

Congrats on the new home. I love a big garage and would love having a floor drain in mine. Looks like it is ready to move in and enjoy!

Scott

 

[frigilux]

Looks great, Ben! Love that kitchen. You saved yourself a lot of money in upkeep / replacement by buying new. Your knees, legs and hips will appreciate single-level living as the years pass. Hope you have decent weather for the move. Congratulations and welcome to home ownership!

 

[washman]

Promise me frig you will come visit

You can even bring PODS and we can test them in the BOL Frigidare dishwasher too!

 

[appnut]

Ben, I"m so happy for you!!!

I remember years ago going through the same process of looking for a house--twice in 14 months.  I like the house even more with the wonderful photos you took.  I love the backsplash in the kitchen.   Are all the interior doors 6-panel doors?  Those are my favorite kinds.  Can't wait for you to move in.  And nice "deals" as pat of the closing  I find it "interesting" the fridge and dishwasher are Frigidaire and the range is Whirlpool.   And the dishwasher isn't BOL. 

 

[washman]

Me too appnut

Not sure why on the appliances. The DW is BOL for sure. But I will run it anyway and see how it performs. Dunno about the interior doors being 6 panel though. I need to put a storm door on the front this summer. The Frige is a tad small but again, I will run it and when it croaks, I can always get a bigger one if need be. The counter you see in the center of kitchen is on wheels so it can be rolled out of the way when not in use.

The carpet in the 2 bedrooms is.....well.....ahem, cough, a tad on the low grade side. It will suffice I guess for now.

With upcoming improvements like paving the driveway and having a concrete sidwalk put in, what is there as far as appliances goes will have to suffice.

Let's see, SQ laundry, Electrolux/Frig DW and ice box, Whirlpool range. Wow. Talk about appliance diveristy! Oh and I forgot the Bradford WHite WH and Goodman/Janitrol furnace. yeesh, gonna have to get a file cabinet just for the owners manuals!

 

[midcentnurse]

Congrats! We can almost get away without a heater down here, but the a/c has got to be top notch! Nice garage space..

 

[moparwash]

Looks Great!

Congrats on your new home!..

 

[warmsecondrinse]

Looks great! Congrats! I love that feeling of everything being new, fresh, and just waiting for you to set up the way you want. Enjoy!

What're those hoses to the left of the water heater in pic #5? It almost looks like part of a distribution system for underfloor heating.

Jim

 

[yogitunes]

Congrats....nothing like brand new....

we went that same route in 2004.....but we faced a few issues, and resolving it was not easy....I rather you be safe than sorry, better yet, protected in writing...

can I ask, or actually a little puzzled, theres a Seller and a Contractor?
who do you go to for warranty repairs?.....

and shouldn't there be a 10 year home warranty....

can the water heater be exchanged for a gas version, this will save you lots in your Electric bill....and how long is the warranty on that as well....ours is a 10, and needing replaced just outside of that warranty.....

another issue for us, is the water heater and heating-A/C system is undersized for the house...and no one wants to take responsibility for it....not to mention, they were a contractors model put in, as cheap as possible.....your heaters looks good, just make sure its sized right...and if your not comfortable with the way it runs, will they replace and upgrade it....

we came across some issues along the way.....just prepare yourself to ask questions, get answers, and most important, in writing....if anything, have a lawyer present when you sign the papers, he's there for your protection....

also, what is with the empty space next to the fridge, you could always put in a freezer, but why not extend the cabinets and push the fridge towards the corner, seems like a waste of space......can you upgrade the fridge and dishwasher?....

all in all, a very nice home....can't wait to see more pics when you get moved in...

 

[washman]

Not quite Jim

You are correct that it is a distribution but the water lines are in the slab and run over to the sink/dw in kitchen AND to the utility tub in the garage. I plan to call builder tomorrow to see if I can get a schematic of sorts on where the pipes are so in case of a leak in the future, we don't have to piss around trying to find the runs.

To answer your question, the HVAC ductwork and vents are all in the ceiling. In the bedrooms there are what appear to be return air vents in the wall. See PIC 7. Not sure about the upper vent with a close off lever. Will have to ask about that too. When the furnace was running, I put my hand over both and felt a slight draw so I take it they are for air return.

FWIW, we got in and the tstat was at 60 degrees. Put up to 68. About 5-6 minutes later the temp was up and the furnace kicked off. It looks like a contractor grade furnace, Goodman is average in quality. At least the AC is 410A so if it springs a leak, I can get it repaired and refilled.

Also found the screens for the windows in the hall closet. Still to do are blinds and shower curtain/rod in both bathrooms. I'm not keen on the lo flow toilets and Windsor Plumbing in Windsor ONT is no more so I cannot source a 3.5 Gal flush toilet. Guess I better invest in TWO Korky plungers now.

 

[washman]

Part 2 for martin

Confusing eh? Believe me I know.

Ok, contractor bought the lot, removed a burned out mobile home. He graded it out, put a slab in, then the house. He builds houses in this area. Then he hired Berkshire Hathaway to sell it. My realtor works for Howard Hanna and happens to be my landlord. Plus he's got 38 years in this area buying and selling homes. In fact there are 224 deed records at the courthouse on properties he's bought/sold over the years. So my realtor/landlord is working the deal for me on this. All I do is write checks and sign a boatload of friggin paperwork and have a coronary over all these blankety blank fees, fees, and more effing fees.

Home warranty is due in any day from the builder. The builder is local, in fact he lives about 2 miles from me. I have his cell # too.

Yes I can upgrade the fridge and DW but at my expense. The empty space you see is where the moveable island can go. I tried it today and it fits perfectly.

The furnace works fine so far as I can tell. Its contractor grade so take that for what it is worth.

Can I put a gas WH in there. I suppose, but it would be a trick to get the vent flue over to the furnace flue w/o a lot of jiggering stuff around. On the upside, it is a bradford white model and those are indeed very good. Plus it is 220 so that will run more efficiently than a 110 WH. I can live with that. Been years since I had an electric WH.

Bottom line, the house is pretty much sold as it is. Builder would not come down on price so my realtor worked in grade and seed of lot. Plus he's picking up the closing costs which, much to my dismay, are very substantial. All in all, I'm getting this place for just over 140K. 20% down to miss the PMI plus taxes, homeowners, yadda yadda an arm, leg, kidney, my gallbladder and a drive belt for the Speed Queen, what the hey, I'm good to go, right? At this rate, I'll be back to generic detergent in my beloved SQ.

The areas that I am more concerned about are paving the driveway, installing a garage door opener, and getting a concrete sidewalk poured.. Plus I'll have to get a mower to cut the grass, assuming I have any. Then a split rail fence around the apex of the lot, some trees, bushes, yadda yadda. Good thing I bought the SQ a while ago!

 

[countryguy]

Congrats on your new home. Yes you still want to do a lot to make it yours but in the end...it is yours! Enjoy it. As for the garage door opener..they really are not all that difficult to install yourself. I installed mine and I'm not all that mechanically inclined....just follow the directions. I like the kitchen and the openness. I don't understand though why people install refrigerators that have a right hand hinge when the fridge is at the left side of the counter. Are the hinges reversible? To me, it would make it so much easier if the door opened to the left...but that's just me.

Gary

 

[warmsecondrinse]

I hear you. No house is going to have everything. You just have to figure out what gives you the best bang for the buck given the constraints you have. It sounds like you've gotten yourself a really sweet deal overall.

The one positive point of my whole house hunting fiasco of February to November last year is that I saw enough (2-3 dozen condos & co-ops all told) to realize that I'm highly unlikely to get more bang for the buck than where I'm renting right now. At present I've no intent to look elsewhere to purchase when the time comes.

Please post pics to keep us apprised of your progress.

Jim

 

[magic_clean]

Very nice ...............

& congratulations on taking the leap into home ownership! With regard to the HVAC returns......the ones high on the wall are for the summertime A/C season and the lower for the heating.

I had a new construction home in Michigan and it had a similar arrangement and worked well.

Again.......enjoy the freedom to personalize as you please!

L.P.

 

[petek]

Congrats to you, exciting eh.  You've got lotsa time now to figure out what you want to keep or change out. 

 

[alr2903]

Congratulations on your new home, Washman!  Everything  is  Very Nice.  There is nothing better than a single family home on your own lot. Enjoy!

 

[gansky1]

Congratulations on your new home! It looks like you'll have plenty of room in the garage (with plumbing!) to have a vintage Speed Queen washer, or two.

 

[mrb627]

Very Nice!

Wish I had a sink + floor drain in my garage!

Malcolm