We have spent the better part of the last 3 weeks getting the change orders and lot transfer taken care of, and it looks like we are set to go! We meet with Creative on Thursday to pick out our flooring and meet with Guardian this Saturday, so more updates will be on the way shortly. We are still scheduled to break ground on March 9th, so less than a month to go!
We also need to set up a meeting with our project manager. Our sales rep told us our PM works Monday through Friday from 7 to 4 so we will have to schedule our meeting(s) during this time frame. The problem is I work Monday -Friday from 7 - 3 and my fiance works Sunday- Thursday from 8 - 4:30, so meetimg within the PM's schedule means that one of us (if not both of us) will have to take time off work every time we have a meeting or walkthrough. Is this normal? What have been your experiences? I'm really interested in feedback and want to know whether it should be expected for us to take off work.
Yep. That's pretty much what our PMs schedule is like also and I had to leave work early for the pre-construction and pre-drywall meeting. Luckily it's not a big deal for me to do that and I work really close to the lot so it wasn't really a problem. It can't hurt to ask your PM if there's any flexibility in the schedule though.
ReplyDeleteYeap that's normal. At least you got more notice, lol. You only have 3 meetings with your PM. Pre-construction, pre-drywall, and pre-settlement/final walk through. My husband and I have varied schedules as well. I work Monday-Friday and he is a chef with a varied schedule. At your pre-construction meeting ask you PM for your projected pre-drywall and pre-settlement dates.
ReplyDeleteI was also stressed about meeting times since I don't get ANY personal days. Luckily our pre-construction fell right around Thanksgiving when I was off. I don't know if all PM's are as flexible, but our PM was kind enough to schedule our other meetings for 4:00 or 4:30 which meant he had to work late. I was so appreciative of that. Our final walkthrough which is supposed to be about an hour and half starts at 4:00. I'd talk with your PM about it. Our sales rep. told us it had to be between 7:00 and 3:00, but when we asked him directly, he was really flexible. It's worth a shot to ask.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the feedback. We're going to ask about flexibility. I'm a teacher and my fiance just started a new job so there is very little flexibility in our jobs. We'll make it work, but hopefully our PM will be able to work with us as well. Additionally, both of us work 45 minutes away from our lot...we shall see.
ReplyDeleteAs a fellow teacher, I feel your pain!
ReplyDeleteOur meetings have been on weekdays too. We scheduled our first meeting around lunch time so my husband could just take a long lunch. Our last one we scheduled at 4:00 so he could leave a little early. Our final walk through will be at 3:00 so he is going to have to skip that one.
ReplyDeleteGet ready for the whirlwind to start. Selections...Selections...and more Selections. Remember to take a breath and rediscuss them again in the quiet of your home/apartment with a nice glass of wine. Sometimes you say you don't want something when you hear the price, but when you think about it later you know you will be sad that you didn't get it.
ReplyDeleteWhat homesite lot did you end up deciding on?
We teachers, too, know all too well! My fiance and I are both teachers and while he was able to take a morning off for the pre-drywall meeting, I was unable to do so. Our PM is giving me a personal walkthrough next week during our February break. :)
ReplyDeleteScheduling is going to tricky with those hours, but we should be able to make it work. My principal is great and I should be able to find coverage for the PM meetings if necessary. I'll update as soon as we meet with the PM. Keeping our fingers crossed that he's flexible. :o)
ReplyDeleteBD...we have poured over every aspect of this house since we decided to build in two months ago...or so I thought. After reading your most recent post, we've realized that we still have electrical to consider much more than we had...lol. There are just SO many decisions to make and just when I think we have it nailed down and have made all the decisions possible, something new pops up, but that's half the fun right? Also, we decided on lot 286. It backs up to open space and our yard will back up to the future recreational area. I was really bummed about losing the original lot we chose, but am starting to like the new one more and more.
Would be interested in hearing more about your custom options...I am assuming by custom options you mean things that are truely custom changes not found on the standard options list...
ReplyDeleteI agree with you regarding "thinking" you have things nailed down. In my post earlier today I said we had made our final selections. My wife sent me a message that she was going over everthing this morning and noticed that the bedroom that has it's own bathroom has a small hallway going past the closet to the bathroom. No ceiling light...oops...thats another one to add. We assumed hall closets would have at least had pull chain lights...nope...they have nothing.
We saw where your lot is and it looks really nice. We also found out that every homesite on our block on our side of the street has been sold except one and the corner at the end of our street is going to be another Avalon. Sounds like the model home will be completed by around mid-March which will be nice for you guys to get in there and see things first hand. Have you visited a Bainbridge Hall model somewhere. We drove down to Washington a couple of times to see the Avalon.
The custom options we added (and you assumely correctly, these were not on the standard options list...they had to be priced out for us):
ReplyDelete1. utility sink in the garage
2. insulated garage walls/garage door
3. 1/2 closed cell insulation
4. 90% efficiency gas furnace
5. move service door in the garage from side wall to rear wall
6. pvc pipe from attic to basement
7. soap dispenser hole in countertop
8. floodlight rough-in
9. Premier IV gas range (convection) with Premier II package (we liked the microwave & dishwasher, but wanted a convection range, so they were able to switch the range for us)
10. sound insulation batt in hall & owners bathroom common walls & floor
11. Extend depth of countertop into morning room by 6" (it's only 12" standard, so not deep enough to use as a breakfast bar...not sure if the Avalon is the same, but I would check so that there are no surprises)
I think that is all of them. We priced out so many things, but tried to add only the things that we couldn't do in the future (or at least do easily).
We drove down to Eldersburg, MD (about 2 hours) to see the Bainbridge Hall model. It's actually what sealed the deal. I liked the floorplan, but fell in love when I actually saw it. We even changed the elevation to the one like the model because we realized we got more square footage. I took tons of pictures and videos while there so we have been using them as we go through our selections. Now I have to go back through them to check out eletrical...lol. The model in our neightborhood will not have the 5th bedroom, so the layout will be different upstairs, but having the model close by will defintiely help as we go through construction.