Moved in and did the yard!

We finally are moved in (and have internet - reason for long wait on updated post). We spent nine full days doing the yard. We did the "do-it-yourself" method so the project took a bit of time. But it was well worth it. We first built a lattus top fence from scratch (no pre-built pannels - that way we can make them whatever size we want!). We also designed and built a gate! After building the fence was the sprinkler system which we paid a guy with a bit more "know how" to be sure it was built right. Then came about two days of getting the ground smooth for grass (lots of tractor ruts from construction). Then we spent a day and a half laying the sod. After a day of tying up loose ends and fixing a few things we are finally done. We have a green lawn, working sprinklers, and a beautiful fence which holds the kids in! Special thanks to Nicole's dad for coming up one weekend and leaving his tools behind. And a large thanks to my dad for coming up for 9 full days of labor intensive work. He never complained, but I think we just about worked him into the ground. But as the pictures show, the house looks great! Once the boxes are unpacked and the house is more put together I'll try and add a video of the inside as well. Thanks for joining us on this journey! We would highly recommend Aho construction to anyone looking to buy/build a house!

Almost there!

Today we signed documents on the house that are being sent over to Escrow. Tomorrow morning we will wire over funds for closing costs (which were $3000 less than we were originally quoted!). Then the bank will release funds and we get our keys. That means we could get our keys tomorrow (Friday). That is six days early! Also, we received our appraisal, and depending on which appraisal approach is used, we are moving in with 11% equity in the house from the moment we move in!

When we move in I'll get pictures and maybe a video of the final product up on the blog. Then we start working on the landscaping: Fence, sprinklers, shed, sod. We are very excited! Hoping to have keys tomorrow!

House Numbers!

904 W Polo Ridge Drive

Carpet and Shelving

Carpet has been installed. Shelves also have been put in the pantry, walk in closet and other closet. The doors are up. Fixtures are going in. We even have a lock for the door. Big stuff is done, now just the detail clean-up stuff! We are down to only 12 days to move in!

Kitchen fun!

The kitchen is coming together. We now have an island in the middle, cabinets, and a beautiful floor. Also, floor has been put into the bathroom and railing up the stairs! Enjoy the pictures!

Video of 2nd story

Here is our second story video!

Long time no update - Video tour of bottom floor!

Because its been so long without an update I made a video tour of the house (26 days to go!). But the batteries died after the first floor. I'll try and make a second floor video soon. Enjoy!

Dry Wall!

The sheet rock crew is working long had days! The past two days they did the upstairs and today they are working on the downstairs. A crew also came and finished the siding and roof. Pictures show the outside and one room completely sheet-rocked!

Electrical, Driveway, and Insulation

Its been a while since the last update. Lots has been happening on the house, there was three days worth of electrical work. All lights, outlets, breaker box, ect have been wired. A few days went by of no work done (probably waiting for inspections on the electrical). Then a clean-up crew came and hauled away a bunch of junk. Next was the framing of the driveway and patio. Today they poured the cement in the driveway and patio. While this was happening another crew put the insulation in the house! Things are moving quick! We have our official move-in date of August 26, so we have 50 days left! Stay tuned and enjoy the pictures!

Week 3 - Day 5

End of week 3 and we have indoor plumbing! Our shower, and tubs are also completely installed! Most of the plumbing is plastic, with copper only on the ends where the shower connects. A few pictures are attached, showing the tub in the kids bathroom and washer dryer plumbing

Week 3, Day 3 - Roof!

Wednesday we have a roof (post is a bit late)! It was all put up in one day and now finally it really feels like a house. We can "see" each room and its starting to feel real! Pictures show the front view (it actually looks like a house!), Our master bedroom, view from our bedroom, and the top view of the garage.

2nd story!

In one day the floor and the walls of the second story are up! 2 weeks and 1 day after signing papers we have the entire "structure" of the house in place. Still no roof, but maybe tomorrow? We are excited the walls are all in place as my dad is visiting this weekend and we can show him what the house will look like! We also signed the first round of papers with the bank for closing the deal, we should find out our exact move in date in about a week! We will be in very soon! Enjoy the pictures! (front, master bed, top of stairs, and back!)

First Floor Framed!

The entire first floor, inside and out, has been framed! I have a clear office as you come in the front door to the left. Straight ahead is the great room - living, dinning, and kitchen! Pictures include outside views (front and back), my office (with the bay window), and kitchen (do you see the pantry in the corner!), and view from top of stairs (no second floor yet!) Hoping the second floor gets done soon!

Major Progress in one day!

Week 2, Day 3: We seem to be on the exciting part of the build as things are moving fast and it appears they will keep moving fast over the next few days! Today the windows arrived, the floor was built, the first story walls were built (with windows in them!) Most of the walls were not put in place yet, they are laying down where they will probably be put up tomorrow. The front walls are up as you can see in the picture. It is starting to look like a real house! Stay tuned, more should be coming real soon!

Lumber Arrives, Pipes to the street in!

After a few days of nothing happening at the house (something about wanting to make sure the cement foundation is solid before moving on...) Today we drove by to see a dramatic change! Pipes had been run from the street to the house, the dirt was pushed back around the foundation, and lumber had been delivered to the site! Tomorrow it looks like we will have some walls going up! Very excited to see it then! For now, enjoy the pics of the foundation!

Foundation!

Day 4 of week 1 and we have a foundation! Structure was built and cement poured all in one day! They are moving fast, can't wait to see how quickly we can move in!

Excavation Done!

Technically its Day 4, but there was a weekend in there so this would be Business Day 2. On Monday there were already orange steaks in the ground marking the outline of our house! Tuesday we drove by and were surprised to see they already had dug out the hole to lay a foundation in! Moving very fast! Could we have foundation laid by the end of the week? Stay tuned!

Day 0 Picture

Here is our "House" the day we signed papers... I think we cut a bit of the right side and have some of the neighbors property on the left... hard to tell when its just land... but you get the idea.

Signed Papers!

Today we signed the papers on our home. Our 2 years of renting and working to pay off debt have finally paid off (Thanks Dave Ramsey)! We have paid off over $40,000 in debt working extra jobs and cutting the budget every way possible in order to get back to a position where we can buy a house! We decided we wanted to build a house so we could get exactly what we wanted. We ended up working with four different builders before we committed to the winner.

1. HiLine Homes - Our first builder we checked out, almost went with them too. They had great floor plans, great customer service, great prices... the only catch was we needed a 15% down-payment in addition to closing costs! That would come to about $35000. We didn't have that, and saving it would have taken us into next summer before we could move in! (over a year)
2. Adair Homes - Great floor plans, average prices, but very slow on responding to our questions, and even after many request, not really willing to give out prices until we were 100% committed to the house, lot, and everything. We weren't to comfortable with that.
3. Hayden Homes - Great financing options here! Only required about 3% down, much better than the 15 from HiLine! We even found two floor plans that looked really nice. But when we walked through a model home we found the kitchen to be very small, in fact, many of the rooms were much smaller than the competitors for the same price
4. AHO Homes - We originally found a one-store plan that we loved, but when we saw the model we decided against it. But the surprise was falling in love with a 2-story home! 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bath, and a bonus room (and a kitchen many women, including my wife, would kill for!) We were sold on it! And with zero down financing (due to equity in the home once it is built!) we decided to apply for the loan!

So we contacted a bank that AHO homes suggested. We filled out th application on Monday and were told we would have an answer by Thursday. On Thursday we were told we would have an answer by Friday at the latest. Monday was a holiday and the bank was closed. Tuesday we still hadn't heard anything. Sometimes I think it would have been better for him to say 2 weeks and have an answer in 9 days rather than say 3 days and have an answer in 9 days. Either way, on Wednesday we received word that our loan had been approved! We were getting a house!

Click here for floorplan! (we are getting the optional kitchen with island!)

Two days later we met with AHO homes and signed the paper work. They estimate it will take about 10 weeks to build! I will try and keep this blog updated with pictures as the house is built! We are told our foundation may be laid with-in a week!