Post Settlement

Hi All,

I'm tired but happy.  :-)  Before I move forward with this post I have to give a big shout out to my project manager.  I swear this guy wears a cape and has an "S" on his chest!  First, he was on hand to make sure the refrigerator delivery folks didn't try the "we can't get the fridge up the stairs" routine. Next, when they took the refrigerator off the truck he noticed damage to it.  

The following day, he happened to be at the house going over some items that he had fixed.  My movers said they couldn't get the grill up the stairs.  "Super Project Manager" said "yes you can" and directed the movers up the stairs.  Not a mark was on a wall or the stairs. My grill is on the deck.

None of these things are a part of his job but he continues to go above and beyond.  He is truly an asset to Ryan Homes. Thank you.

Okay, enough of that.  So all of my belongings are in the house and I have unpacking to do. Here are some helpful hints:

• Change your garage door code asap! 
• Print wall signs for your movers so they know where furniture and boxes should go.
• Those temporary paper blinds are the business!  
• A large pack of the felt footers for chairs will protect your floors from scratches.
• Look for screws and nails on your driveway.  The Verizon installation guy found a few and was nice enough to pick them up.

I can't promise you that I will keep blogging but I will update you after my 30-day visit.

Peace!

-Honey

Closing? Closed!

Hi All,

Due to a title issue (who would have expected that with new construction?) I had a dry closing.  Everything was signed but no money could exchange hands. So, technically, I still had no house. This has been an exercise in patience.  However, everyone provided A-1 customer service while I was waiting. One day later and everything was fixed.

My realtor gave me flowers and my sales rep left me a bag of goodies! (Thank you both!)

Since closing, I have sealed the granite in the kitchen and the grout in the master bathroom.  Both were very easy tasks.  FYI - the grout sealer is in a can and comes out like shaving cream foam.  One can barely did the bathroom.  Another trip to Home Depot is in the cards so the other bathroom can be completed.

Yay!

Final Walk Through Checklist

For those who asked...

Final Walk-through checklist

What To Bring:

Cell phone and charger to check all outlets

Level

To Do:

Look for walls that are not square.

Make sure all floors are not squeaky as this could be more of an issue with the wall than the floor.

Bring your spec sheet and upgrade sheets and double check you have gotten everything that was ordered.

Take a picture of each wall in each room from multiple angles if possible.

Check the air conditioning unit to make sure it has not tipped while settling as it will place stress on the refrigerant lines.  Check with level

Check to make sure that smoke detectors are in their proper locations; if they are wall-mounted then they need to be at least 4" down from the ceiling.

Check for placement of Guardian keypads

Questions:

Could the team leave touch up paint or the color/brand of the paint used?

Where is entire house water shut off?

Are fire extinguishers required within a certain distance of the stove, heater and fireplace to have a certificate of occupancy. If so, does Ryan Homes supply the fire extinguishers?

Exterior

¨   stone on the front of the house

¨   front door painted blue

¨   house numbers added

¨   front door lock

¨   cosmetic "vent" on front near roof

¨   # outlets

¨   Hose bib

¨   Light by front door

¨   Check the air conditioning unit to make sure it has not tipped while settling as it will place stress on the refrigerant lines.  Check with level

¨   Ring doorbell

Powder Room

¨   Toilet

¨   Faucets

¨   Towel rack

¨   Flush

¨   Run taps

¨   Toilet paper holder

¨   Door handle

¨   Heating vent

¨   Exhaust fan working

¨   # outlets

Garage

¨   garage door opener

¨   fuse box

¨   # outlets

¨   Is fuse box labeled? Take picture

¨   Does garage door open easily?

¨   Does garage door stop when something is in the way?

¨   Open and close door

¨   Does door lock?

¨   Hose bib

Hall Closet

¨   Closet Rail/shelf

¨   Door handle

¨   Open and close door

Rec Room

¨   fireplace hearth

¨   fireplace switch

¨   hot water heater

¨   Heating vent

¨   sliding glass door lock adjusted

¨   Do all # windows open?

¨   Do all # windows lock?

¨   # outlets

¨   Window screen

¨   Do windows open?

¨   Do windows lock?

¨   Sliding glass door screen

HVAC Closet

¨   Heater

¨   Hot water heater

¨   Guardian main box

¨   Was air filter changed?

¨   Open and close doors

Kitchen

¨   railings stained

¨   banisters stained

¨   faucet

¨   shelves in pantry

¨   pantry door knobs

¨   stove

¨   dishwasher

¨   garbage disposal

¨   slide out trays in cabinets

¨   microwave

¨   exhaust vent

¨   Heating vent (s) including dining room

¨   sliding glass door locks adjusted

¨   # outlets

¨   Window screens

¨   Do windows open?

¨   Do windows lock?

¨   Sliding glass door screen

¨   Does microwave work?

¨   Does dishwasher work?

¨   Open and close pantry doors

Living Room

¨   Heating vent

¨   # outlets

¨   Window screens

¨   Do windows open?

¨   Do windows lock?    

Deck

¨   # outlets

¨   Deck light

Master Bedroom

¨   shower glass and door

¨   door handles

¨   handles on closets

¨   shelves in closets

¨   Heating vent

¨   # outlets

¨   Window screens

¨   Do windows open?

¨   Do windows lock?

¨   Open and close door

¨   Does door lock?

¨   Open and close closet doors

Master Bathroom

¨   door handle

¨   faucet

¨   toilet

¨   soaking tub

¨   shower

¨   Heating vent

¨   Flush

¨   Run taps

¨   Run shower

¨   Run tub

¨   Towel racks

¨   Toilet paper holder

¨   Broken toilet tank cover replaced

¨   Exhaust fan working

¨   # outlets

¨   Window screens

¨   Do windows open?

¨   Do windows lock?

¨   Open and close door

¨   Does door lock?

Hall Bathroom

¨   towel racks

¨   faucet

¨   toilet

¨   Heating vent

¨   Shelves in linen closet

¨   Exhaust fan working

¨   # outlets

¨   Open and close door

¨   Does door lock?

¨   Flush

¨   Run taps

¨   Run shower

¨   Run tub

Additional bedroom 1

¨   Heating Vent

¨   Shelf in closet

¨   # outlets

¨   Window screens

¨   Do windows open?

¨   Do windows lock?

¨   Open and close door

¨   Does door lock?

Additional bedroom 2

¨   Heating Vent

¨   Shelf in closet

¨   # outlets

¨   Window screens

¨   Do windows open?

¨   Do windows lock?

¨   Open and close door

¨   Does door lock?

Laundry Room

¨   Shelves

¨   # outlets

Week 13 - Final Walk Through

Hello,

The final walk through was this week.  My AWESOME project manager walked me through every room of the house!  He explained:

• what is covered under warranty
• the length of each type of warranty
• each appliance
• cleaning and maintenance

Additionally he opened and closed every cabinet and room door, we tested the garage door and even rang the doorbell.

I had my own 5 page list of items to check for each room and one-off questions.  Before I could bring something on my list up he addressed it.  Along the way there were a few small items that needed to be addressed.  For example, the screen door in the dining room wouldn't latch.  He had that fixed the next day. (I did say he was awesome, right? LOL!)

After the walk through was completed I got the call I was waiting for - CLEARED TO CLOSE! Woo hoo!

The following day I had my private inspector come through. The inspector even had me up on the ladder so that I could take a look in the attic. The termite inspection is clear (yay!) and the inspector found a few minor items that my wonderful project manager is handling.

Almost there!

-Honey (pics below)

P.S. The broken pavers were fixed as promised!

Kitchen from one angle (I know the island isn't in the pic!)

Living Room Floor

Banister and railing stained to match hardwood floors

Fireplace in rec room

Soaking tub and shower

Week 12 - Punch List

Hi All,

Let's start with the not so happy stuff first.

I'm trying really hard to be patient with NVR Mortgage.  Still waiting for the clear to close. They said they have a large volume of loans to process.  I have given them EVERYTHING they have asked for within hours of each request.  They've asked for everything short of blood and my first born. I'm trying really hard to be pleasant but I'm stressed out and losing sleep.  Although I got a great interest rate after shopping the mortgage, I'm starting to second guess my choice of going with them. My peace of mind might be worth .2%. Hopefully, this will be the last post I have to include them in.

Okay, on to the happy stuff.

I called my project manager for another look before next week's final walk through. This man made magic happen over the last week and a half!

Here are all of the items that have been completed/installed:
cleaners did a first pass       shower glass and door

missing kitchen cabinet       stone on the front of the house
front door painted                door handles
faucets                                     toilets
towel racks                             appliances
shelving                                  most window screens
hot water heater                    garbage disposal
garage door opener               fireplace hearth
fireplace switch

Unfortunately, my sidewalk pavers were destroyed this week by the heavy trucks of the crews finishing my neighbors' driveways.  

However, my project manager is ensuring this will be fixed tomorrow. (He's awesome!)

While I was there professionals were on site staining the banisters and railings to match the cherry wood floors.

The cleaners have done their first pass.  It's down to the details now!

-Honey
One week to go

Week 11-ish

Hi All,

Since access isn't so easy anymore, I met my project manager mid-week of week 11 to see the progress.  That is why we're calling this update "Week 11-ish".  I got to see some of the updates for the week, but not all.

• Hardwood floors installed (pic below)
• Carpet installed
• Driveway asphalted
• Deck installed (pic below)
• Sidewalk and pavers installed
• Exterior vent covers installed

The evening I did this walk-through, we were expecting torrential rain.  I was pleased to see the crew installing my gutters at 5pm!

During the tour I learned that the shower doors and the missing kitchen cabinet had to be re-ordered.  The shower door was cut incorrectly and the cabinet was damaged during delivery. (I love my project manager for keeping me in the loop on these things!)

The stone on the front of the house still needs to be installed and the front door still needs to be painted.  A broken window needs replacing, banisters need to be stained, house numbers need to be added, door handles need to be installed, and the final paint needs to occur.  Some of these items might have been done this week.

In Week 12 the Third-party inspections for energy efficiency and quality will occur.

The settlement date is also officially in writing!

Almost there!

-Honey
Two weeks to go!

Week 10 - Lock Out

Hi All,

So, they finally locked us out of the house.  LOL!

I had to call my project manager to get a guided tour. It was KILLING me to be away from the house for so long. I hadn't been in for 6 days.

Regardless, here's a list of the awesomeness that occurred while they kept us out:

• granite countertops were installed (once the stove is installed, the last cabinet and countertop will be installed between the stove and the refrigerator)
• vinyl flooring was installed
• HVAC was completed - the A/C was running!
• deck footers were poured
• sidewalks were completed
• front stoop was completed

On our end here are the items I had to finalize:

• homeowners insurance
• title services
• get final walk-through date
• schedule final private inspection
• schedule termite inspection

We were given a settlement date.  However, I don't want to settle on a Friday because if the cash wire doesn't arrive, I lose a weekend that I could be moving/unpacking. There's nothing worse than sitting in a house with everything you own in boxes three days longer than you planned. (I know, I know...first world problems!) Although I'm asking nicely, I still don't have the NEW settlement date confirmation. Will ask with a smile again on Monday.

FYI - Make sure you shop your mortgage and title services.  Shopping your mortgage keeps everyone honest and shopping the title services saved about $500.

Deck Footers

Master Bathroom Vanity

Kitchen cabinets and counters

-Honey

18 days to go!