As I read through several of the other blogs about Ryan homes is building, it's funny the differences in things in the North and in the South.
Everyone up north seems to be getting basements. Really? Those are such a novelty down here anymore. Not to mention SUPER expensive!! Maybe they get better deals up north? Down here you pay 10's of thousands of dollars for one and then have to pay for the bigger lots too. And from what we were told around here, they are NOT walk out basements.
And the people up north put drains in the middle of their garages! lol I had never heard of such a thing. No one here has those either! If we spray out the garage floor, we spray it. Some of us have those squeegee things to push any access water out. But on the whole, not something needed here. If it rains or snows, it's not like our garages flood. Another interesting difference.
It's so neat to see what other people are doing and where. I wish we had had the money/resources to add the morning room and gourmet island. But it averaged out to another $10,000. Not worth it. We used that money on granite, upgrade bath, and fireplace. Things that we liked, were a one time cost, and not just more space to also heat and cool. Our summer's here get over 100 degrees. Our winters tend to stay between high's of 30's-50's on average. Gotta love the south.
I have noticed that the people in the north get things like free basements and/or morning rooms along with great promo deals. Something not given here. Maybe our houses here are less expensive and that's why. The model we are still hoping to get (Milan) starts around $160k right now in the neighborhood we are looking at (around 180k in the area). I saw it for $430k in Maryland and somewhere else up north, PA maybe, at over $300k. Then again, in Ohio it wasn't much of a difference in price at all. I just can't fathom people affording $300k+ houses! I think it's wonderful for them. But soooo out of the realm of possibility for us or anyone we really know. And then you read about upgrades and WOW!! These people are very blessed.
We've told people that we are building our dream house, so to speak. And they just don't get it. We kept hearing "it's not your dream house, "noey." Just because it wasn't bigger, or had the morning room, or what have you. We live off 1 income. ONE! We have 3 kids. We are practical people for the most part. We sat down and designed a practical but upgraded beautiful home. A home we could only imagine owning. Just because it wasn't someone else's idea of "perfect" or a "dream" house, doesn't mean it wasn't ours. I got tired of the people in our lives, people we love, telling us such a hurtful thing.
As far as an update on our situation goes, well..... let's just say we could still use your prayers and I'm still holding out hope God will open a door.
Congrats to all of you who just closed, are about to close, or just got your closing date! I hope and pray will be amoung you soon!
Hi Noey, You're right there are a ton of differences between the areas. I've seen a lot of great promotions posted and when we built the first time with Ryan (2006) we got a free morning room...however this time around there wasn't anything. I think part of that depends on how far along the development is - they offer incentives to get started and sell the first phase and then once it's established the incentives usually fade away.
ReplyDeleteBasements are standard on all the houses here (Ohio) although they are concrete floors and insulation only walls unless you pay extra to finish the space or sometimes that is offered as an incentive. Two car garages are also standard here which I know is not the case in some of the areas in MD and around DC.
I know how hurtful it is for people you love to be negative about your home when all you want is to share the excitement with them. We've experienced that from a couple people on both sides of our family unfortunately. Sorry for such a long comment. I hope things work out for your family and you are able to build your dream house soon!
Hey girl...thats exactly why I am happy we have the blogs to share excitement and its a positive experience. Dont let them steal your joy...Im praying for you and your family..They always have different promotions going on...I wish it was across the board. My house in OH is $200k less!!! We paid $340 for ours...but again its a different market and people make more in bigger cities..thats just how it is...
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that there is light at the end of the tunnel. My husband and I had a "fun" loan process as well. We actually got to the point of saying just deny the loan and we'd just wait. We resolved ourselves that it we would have to wait to build. Then we got that glorious phone call. Like you said, if its God's will it will happen.
ReplyDeleteI really hope it works out for you! Keep us posted.
ReplyDeleteIt is crazy how much the prices vary from location to location. I've seen my house in Ohio for $150,000 less than it is here. There's actually a plan less than 20 miles from us where the base price starts $100,000 less and that's in the same state just an exit down on the turnpike. India's right the closer you get to a big city, the more expensive the house gets. I know my house in Maryland can start out for a lot more. The other big thing is the difference in upgrade costs. Our morning room was $15,500 but I've seen others get them for as low as $6,000. The other thing is the incentives. We didn't get anything, but our plan was just starting a new phase and was in high demand. I wish we would have used a real estate agent to try to negotiate something.
Like you, we've had very unsupportive people in our lives, too. My father-in-law has yet to see our house and he lives 25 minutes away. He thinks my husband settled and didn't get his dream house. I think there's always a dream for something bigger and better, but I'm so happy with our house. We're also planning on being a one income family, so while we could have afforded to do a lot more to our house we wanted to keep our monthly payment low enough so I could stay home with kids when we have them. To me, that's the bigger dream. Everything with the house will come in time.
I hope everything workds out for you. You've got our support, even if you don't have others. Do what makes YOU happy and what is right for your family.
Amen Kylie!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is what the blogging community is all about. A chance to share you excitement and ups and downs with those of us going through the same thing. When I saw your post I was excited to see it and desperately hoping it was good news...will keep the prayers coming.
ReplyDeleteYou are right in your observations...things are very different from area to area. We are in Delaware and asked about getting a drain in the garage and our sales rep looked at us like we had 3 heads.
While my wife and I both worked for quite a while we never purchased a home based on 2 incomes. It gave us the freedom to make decisions like my wife staying home with the girls when they were little and being flexible enough to be involved in raising our girls.
A dream home is just that...it has nothing to do with the square footage or the upgrades you add to it...it is the home that you and your spouse dream of having and raising a family in...it is NOT a status symbol. The home we current live in was our dream home when we bought it 15 years ago. The Avalon we are building now is much larger and it too is our dream home...different time of our lives and different dreams. Everyone thinks we are crazy for building such a large house, but we are loving the process and can't wait for the building to start and have a move in date on the horizon. Kylie hit the nail on the head...do what makes YOU happy and what is RIGHT for your family...this coming from the old guy of the community...this little blogging community of ours will always have your back, even when friends and family don't.
Coming from California it was really expensive there and I have been married for ten years my husband putting me through college and I him. We lived in a one bedroom apartment for ten years even when my little girl was born a year ago. It is expensive living there and it was not possible to get a bigger place until we moved here in Ohio. You are right prices do vary. We too have always lived on one income and do know the feeling of always trying to get by but we were happy because my husband and I had each other and our little one.
ReplyDeleteWhat everyone says in their previous post they are right to only think about what you and your family wants to do.
Thank you for sharing your lives with us and I am looking forward to be hearing more about you and your family dreams. You have the whole blogging community right there with you.