...and then I found $5.

We are under contract now for new construction in the same general area - I assume you’ve been happy overall? Any advice for other first-time home buyers looking at new construction?

Hi! Congratulations! It’s very exciting to be able to build your own home, but does come with some frustrations. (I’m interested in where you’re building—if you feel like sharing, send me a message!)

Some advice…

• Be flexible with your schedule. New construction gets delayed, or at least it did in our case. They might say it will be done and handed over to you in October, but you might not move in until January. 
• Ask a ton of questions! Even if you think it’s a dumb question. Make sure you understand what’s coming with the house, and what are options  For instance, we were told (incorrectly) by the salesman that ceiling fan/lighting outlets were being put in all the upstairs bedrooms and that the option was there just in case we wanted them in other rooms. False. We now have no ceiling fan or lighting in our bedrooms. 
• Get everything in writing. Aside from the paperwork, you’ll want to get things in writing—like the ceiling fan thing I just mentioned. Also, we thought we were getting a 20x10 deck. Our deck would be 20x10, if our 13x6 bump out didn’t take a huge chunk out of it. So that sucks. Get specifics, and get them in writing.
• Ask for upgrades. Spoiler alert: they will give them to you. Eric and I upgraded a lot of the architectural components of our home—the things that can’t be added later (without a lot of work), i.e. fireplace, oak staircase with railings (as opposed to built in stairs with walls), upgraded insulation, and the 3-level bump out. Since we paid $$$ for those, we bartered with them for: upgraded tile in the master bath, granite countertops in the master bath, upgraded tile in the guest bath, and hardwood floors (mostly) throughout the house. It works because they are still making money off you.
• Get an inspector. This is something we didn’t do, partly out of ignorance, partly because our schedule was so tight. We had one come through for our 1-year checkup so we knew if there was anything major that needed to be fixed (luckily there wasn’t), but it can never hurt. It will run you about $350—but that’s cheaper than potential problems down the road.
• Visit often and take pictures. If you can, make visits to the house-in-progress often. This way you will be able to catch potential problems/mistakes before they turn into problems. For example, when my aunt and uncle were on vacation and I was in charge of making regular visits to the house they were building. I took pictures every time as my uncle asked, and it turned out that it saved them a ton of money later because something wasn’t inspected before the brick went on. Had they not had the photos, they would have had to re-do everything—and pay for it. Take pictures after plumbing has gone in so you know where all the pipes are. This will help with future renovations, repairs, and even hanging decorations. 
• Don’t settle, but also be realistic. Don’t hesitate to call out problems/issues, but also keep in mind that things will not be 100% perfect. 
• Be nice. You will have issues. These houses are thrown up quickly, and as often as the builder will promise perfection, you won’t get it. Whether it be serious or minor, call customer service about the issue and be nice. There’s a difference between firm and mean. Take the high road when you can and understand that people will be more willing to help if you are nice.

That’s all I can think of. Does anyone else have any advice?

There are approximately 4-5 men in my house making our 1-year repairs; nail pops, cracking drywall, etc. It’s the last hurrah of sorts for our builder’s warranty.

Through the whole year, I’ve been very nice and cordial when we’ve needed repairs, knowing that it’s not the repairman’s fault… but also keeping in mind that the house wasn’t going to be perfect.

The lead customer service guy who has been here the most just told me that even after today, years from now even, if we have any issues or problems to feel free to give him a call and he’ll fix it—and that if he couldn’t, he’d point us in the right direction.. He said some other homeowners are mean and ignorant and he would never extend that favor to them, but since I’m nice he will.

Wire shelving is the bane of my existence. So you can imagine living with wire shelving in our pantry for 1+ years made me incredibly stabby. Things wouldn’t stand straight, the shelves were bowing in the middle from the uneven distribution of weight, nothing would line up, etc. An OCD-sufferer’s nightmare.

So this weekend, I remedied that. 

I took a quick trip to Home Depot and had sheets of MDF cut down to the size of the existing shelves, covered them with contact paper, and laid them over the wire shelves. And voila! Real shelves for less than $40!

I also took a trip to Walmart for some organization bins—the ones in the bottom are for potatoes and onions. I also picked up a lazy susan to hold all of our sauces/oils/vinegars, etc. It works PERFECTLY and makes it so much easier to find what I need… quickly!

And this concludes the most boring post ever.

Love it! Can we have a photographic house tour?! I love your decorating, I wanna see it aaallll! Please, and thank you.

Aw, that’s so sweet! I’m nowhere near done decorating all the rooms (are you ever?!)… but maybe I can do this in the near future!