Weekly Wednesday

Every Wednesday we have a weekly call with our Program Mangers and Sales Representative to give us updates on the house.  I must admit the process on the house was janky and we asked to be updated only to find out that they provided these weekly calls for the buyers. Not sure if they invite at a specific stage of the build or for only those who request it.  Either way, it was necessary for us because the miscommunication was awful and it appeared that the team had amnesia.  We have been engaging in these calls for several weeks and it has been helpful; however, I noticed a pattern amongst the team.  It appears that the team is trained to tell you "no." A word to the wise, document everything you discuss with your building team.  Even if you have a conversation face-to-face or via phone, do yourself a favor and follow it up with an email to confirm what you are being told and to create a paper trail in the event there is miscommunication about your options/upgrades/customizations and other pertinent details regarding the construction of your new home.  Also, if there is a custom item that you would like to add to your home, be certain you request it early and do some research to provide pictures, measurements etc to get what you want because they will tell you "no" on some customs that are definitely possible to do for you. So do your due diligence and go over your paper work with a fine tooth comb including the options to be certain that they are discussed in your pre construction meeting and go over every item carefully.  You want to be sure your PM has all your details to avoid mishaps during your build.  If you find later on in your build that something is missing they will have no other choice but to remedy the problem. If not, they will contend your requests and by all means, do not settle on your home if you find things wrong with your home.  I also strongly suggest an inspector for your home because the PM is not always there to catch a cover up or missed item in your home. Our last build went nice and smooth because our PMs worth ethics were high.  Lastly, building a new home can be stressful for some people and its important to take care of yourself.   Do not take anything for granted.  If you have a question ask it, even it may seem silly but ask and keep asking.  It's your house and you are paying the money and the builder gets to provide excellent customer service. 

Laundry Room Update & a Misft on our Elevation

Toll Brothers options selection is on the web which means literally building your house out by adding and deleting options that configure the space as you see it.  I wasn't quite familiar with this process so I did not dab into very much. Our focus was primarily on the structural items of the house.  One day I decided to check it out with very little knowledge of the model's potential beyond the basic floor plan.   I had already decided that the laundry would be in the basement and it would be a laundry/craft room for our granddaughter and I.

Well, upon pushing the button I discovered the alternate laundry room location.  The standard location is in the mudroom on the lower level.  Anyway, the alternate laundry location is in this area that you see in the picture.  It closes up the two story foyer which I was not happy about but my hubster really wanted it there even though he doesn't do laundry.  The nerve. lol  We went back and forth.  As I continued to listen to the advantages of having the laundry in this location, I surrendered!!  Threw out the white towel and began redesigning my original plan.  This two story foyer is now a laundry room.  I later asked the SR what would happen to the outside elevation.  She sent us a picture and I did not like it.  If you look in the picture the large window reduces in size to create the laundry room and outside the panel between the window and the door gets larger.  I did not like it but my hubster was so happy that I gave in that he did not consider the different options we may have been able to get to change the outside elevation.  Ugh

This is the foyer area of our model which no longer exist because it will be closed off and made into a laundry room.

This picture came from our neighbor's home who we visited often so that we could get a sense of what our house would look like because we did not have a model to visit.   The laundry has been framed out and we are pleased that we did close this area because it feels warm and inviting. We will have a flush mount instead of this longer lightening fixture to accommodate the change.
Once we move into our house, we are going to explore putting a transom above the door to reduce the panel on the outside.  
Sorry, I tried to download a picture of the outside elevation with the change but it says the file is not  compatible.  :-(