Choosing a Builder and Initial Goals

Choosing a Builder:
We've been doing some research the last few weeks on builders. We're still a foot in the research phase of moving and just past the stage of will we/won't we. Moving will ultimately depend on if we can get enough equity out of our house, but we've decided to move--God willing.

 Now, it's time to decide on the builder. There are plenty out there, let me tell you, and sitting and looking through page after page, dreaming, thinking, asking...can be exciting and exhausting.

My first impression--KB Homes. They are gorgeous, and a love-to-decorate person like me gets excited over the prospect of having everything decorated upon arrival!! Wow! But the back yards are a joke. I mean really, what's the point? You could lay down at the back door and your feet would touch the fence--okay, maybe a little exaggerated, but you get the idea.

There were several others around, but either were too expensive for our budget or out of our area of want. I looked at one other on-line, but by that time we were sold on Cervelle Homes. Take a look at this page to learn a little about them.

This is the finished house we built:

It was 2500sqft and was sold for $207,000 (a few upgrades)

Cervelle homes wasn't as option-friendly, but the foundational bones of the home really had us sold. They are built with hurricanes in mind. The window sills are marble, so they won't warp if windstorms throw water your way. The plumbing is pliable and you have an access panel to all the systems in one place. That way, if you need to turn off the ice-maker or the toilet in the master bedroom, you go to the same panel to turn them off. Cervelle homes, when Ike came through, were the only builder in the area that didn't have any roofs with blue tarps on them! They nail 'em down well.

Oh, and they come standard with full brick walls on all sides! Whew Hoo. They also have the option of a barn style garage with storage galore at the top of the stairs. We haven't decided on that yet, but we're leaning toward adding that.

So, Cervelle Homes it is!

[As most of you who follow my blog know, we ended up building a Cervelle and not selling our house in time. However, we're so glad it worked out the way it did. We bought a 7 year old home, 3000sqft (500sqft more than ours was going to be), for $7000 less. We bought a Meritage and it's beautiful!! It had all the additions I had wanted but couldn't afford, like 42" cherry cabinets and wood floors. That's one thing about Cervelle--you can't make deals with them--and we're practiced deal makers. They don't budge. Take it or leave it. I think they're still the strongest I've found, but they're also the plainest. The fronts all look flat and boring. Ours looked good because we paid a lot of attention to it, but most were flat. Also, the houses were great, but the neighborhoods didn't stand out. No parks or swimming pools or nice curvy sidewalks. Now that I'm moved in, I really think the neighborhood features should've been just as much of a consideration. Just hind-sight add ins.]

Now, for my Initial Goals:

Since we'll be moving, hopefully, within about 4 months, we're putting everything else on the back-burner and focusing on this enormous task. We have to get this place ready to sell! So...

• Get the plumbing checked and fixed in the laundry room area of the house.
• Get rid of that last mouse--almost done.
• Check and see if we have a warranty transfer to the foundation and get it fixed.
• Hire same painters to come in and repair walls and paint entire back of the home.
• Carpet most of the house.
• Declutter and stage home.
• Minor landscaping.
• Fix the little stuff that's been neglected--like the pipe under Abby's sink that broke, etc.

Then, my own personal HUGE goal:

I would LOVE it if I could move into this brand new home with a blank slate. No clutter kind of blank slate. I really want to move in with nothing to worry over and no clutter hanging over my head. I want to bring only the items we truly use on a day to day, week to week, or year to year for vacation stuff basis. I want to throw out all mid-project stuff except maybe the 2 books I got a ways into before stopping. I want to sell the big stuff that won't look good or be useful in our new home. I want a NEW START!