We signed our Purchase Agreement about 5 weeks ago now and we should be breaking ground in the next 2-3 weeks. We were very excited about the purchase agreement because it was the first real step in this process. It took about 2 1/2 hours to choose our home plan discuss the structural options and choose the exterior colors of the home.
We chose the Milan plan. We also considered the Venice and the Rome, but for the money the Milan seemed to fit our needs the best. But this was the easy part. I'll list below the structural options we chose we a brief description.
Elevation E - Approx $3,500 - This is approximated because of the credits that are included due to neighborhood standards. This is apparently a rare elevation as I cannot find a single one on the internet. It is a full siding elevation with a full 6 foot front porch. It is the only elevation for the Milan that includes a porch. (Siding in our neighborhood is Hardie Plank, there is no vinyl option)
Study - $995.00 - this replaces the living room by closing it off and adding double French doors.
Fireplace - $3,100.00 - you can place this on either exterior wall of the family room and upgrade to granite or natural stone, but we didn't find that necessary.
4th Bedroom - $995.00 - Replaces the loft with a bedroom.
Double Vanities - $995.00 X2 - We did this in both bathrooms upstairs.
Tile Surround - $995.00 - Puts ceramic tile in the bathroom on the floors and the wall of the shower.
Attic Storage - $1495.00 - I hardly think this should be an upgrade, but if you want you be able to use your attic at all its a must have.
We also added a third parking pad to our driveway for about $1K, extended the Deck to a 14X16 for $1.2K and
Upgraded our carpet pad downstairs to the 3rd level and upstairs to the 2nd level.
Added several electrical outlets throughout the house, and did ceiling fan prewires in all the bedrooms.
I have also requested to be able to place a Pipe in the driveway for future upgrades such as landscape lighting or a pet fence. and have asked to have additional brackets placed in the floor of the laundry room to help reduce vibrations during the spin cycle. (These are both tips I got from other blogs about the building process with Ryan).
42 inch cabinets are included in our neighborhood as is the hardwood foyer and several other options such as garage door openers and faucet upgrades.
At this meeting we also chose our siding color, brick color, and cabinet color. I did not realize that we were going to be choosing these items so I did not have a camera to take pictures, sorry, I'll try to get some asap and have them posted soon.
I am also in building a Milan (a few weeks behind you in the process) and there are actually other elevations that have a front porch as seen here: http://www.ryanhomes.com/file-grab/2d74a5f2-e651-4897-9dd4-2edcb274c13f"
ReplyDeleteAs for the attic, is there still access to the attic if you do not upgrade for the storage or is there no access without it? Our SR had indicated where the access would be, but in my research I somehow missed that the ability for storage would have to be yet another upgrade.
Hey, Thanks for the pictures. In all my searching I haven't been able to find any of those. I really think the porch makes it look so much more finished. as far as the attic goes, if you don't upgrade it you get a small square access door that you must use a ladder to gain access to. then once inside there are no boards laid across the rafters for storage or for walking through safely. You can always add boards later but what you are really paying for is the access, a fold down ladder + the larger hole to items into the attic. We had the small hole in our old home, and it was the biggest complaint we had because the lack of storage made the home almost unbearable. For us, it was a no brainer.
ReplyDeleteGood luck on your home.
Great selections! Have you remained on schedule and broken ground?
ReplyDeleteWe have remained pretty much on schedule, which given the amount of rain we have had this summer it amazes me. I have completed a couple more post to update you on the last two weeks or so. Thanks for your interest.
ReplyDeleteI am also building a Milan Elevation E and, like you, have been finding it difficult to find this elevation online. I see that you've been in your home for almost a year now. Congratulations. We are on schedule for a late September settlement. I'm so glad that we only live about 10 minutes away because stalking daily (or at least every other day) is a must. The homes go up so fast I'm afraid I'll miss photo ops.
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