Just getting started...

So I am entirely new to the world of blogging but I have been obsessively looking through the many blogs about building with Ryan homes and decided to document our experience from the very beginning. I have seen so many others sharing great tips, ideas, experiences, and frustrations so I want to get in on the fun!

So here it begins... We live in the DC metro area and have been looking for a home for well over a year now. We started our search all over the place, but mainly looking for a SFH. We have been pretty disappointed so far, never finding something that was right. We happened to find a ryan homes community being built after a day of checking out open houses and after looking at models, pricing, options, and some serious discussion we were sold.. we loved the idea of building a home from the ground up and customizing it to be exactly what we like! Here's the catch.. we decided on a townhome! A few different reasons and cost being one of them. Ryan had recently changed their package options and the starting cost of their smallest model (florence, I think?) began pretty much at the top of our budget. (They had just changed their package options and increased their prices too!) Sooo.. we decided we would start lower and upgrade with the amenities and features we knew we would want to make it perfect for us! I feel way more comfortable with this since the pricing is well within our budget and we have friends doing the same thing although they are building in a different community. Plus a townhome realistically fits our needs right now and if we have to move because of the military in the next few years, although we really hope that doesn't happen, we think it will be easy to rent out.

So we put down a lot hold for an end unit and chose to go with the Mozart model with detached garage! We added a few options straight up, like upgrading to granite countertops in kitchen in bathrooms, stainless steel appliances, ceramic tiling, upgraded cabinets, deck, rough ins for ceiling fans (5 in all), recessed lighting in the rec room and fireplace (we are still debating if we might keep that or not) and roman shower for master bath (that might change as well). This is all preliminary and
tomorrow we meet to draw up the contract and go over everything in much more detail. I can't wait!