How we got that Morning Room

This was a big issue for us.

The house we're getting comes standard with 2560 square feet. And when we were making our house decisions, I think - well...I know - I was overwhelmed!!! I stink at decision making and while I knew I WANTED the Morning Room...did we really need it? We were already doubling our living space! I was afraid I was being greedy if we got the Morning Room. Plus...it isn't cheap!

So we decided not to get it.

And can I tell you it was EATING at me. For weeks.

Then the Ravenna model in our neighborhood was finished. So of COURSE we went to check it out! And there was that Morning Room, staring me right in the face. And I posted pictures to all of my friends and of course they all said I HAD to get the Morning Room. And I KNEW I did! KNEW IT! I knew it would eat at me forever if I didn't get it.

So, I call my sales agent and he looks into it for us. Long story made as short as possible, we decided not to get it. The reason being - we were having some issues with getting the mortgage approved. Not because we didn't have the income, but because the bank wouldn't count Jeff's second income because he'd only been working there for a year. DOH! Because of that little issue, getting the Morning Room would put us really close to the cap of what the bank was approving us for. If interest rates went up, we'd be screwed and have to pay for the Morning Room out of pocket. Boo. So we realized it wasn't in the cards and decided not to get it.

And it was STILL eating at me. It's a lousy 200 additional square feet...but it MAKES the house! Just opens the space up so beautifully!

Well, wouldn't you know it. Jeff's second income turned into a full-time job! WAHOOOOOO! That is a very good thing for us, for a million different reasons. But for the purpose of this post, it was REALLY good for us to potentially get that Morning Room I'd been drooling over. A quick call to our NVR Loan officer to make sure we could add that Morning Room - CHECK! Not a problem. Awesome! Next, time to call our Sales Agent. He said he thought it was too late to add something like that. All the plans had been approved by the town, our lumber was already ordered, we were already on the schedule to start building. DARN, DARN, DARN!!! But, he was going to check with the big-wigs and get back to us. But DON'T get our hopes up. And it will probably cost a LOT more. We understood and knew it was a long shot.

Imagine my surprise when our Agent called us a few days later to say YES!! YES WE CAN GET THE MORNING ROOM!! And those extra costs he warned us about?? They're a drop in the bucket - very minimal!!! Yahooooooo!!

Jeff and I have been so excited ever since we got that phone call - now we're definitely building our dream home!

Where to start?

I'm starting this a little later than I should have.

We are building a Ravenna in the Western New York area. We're extremely excited!! The house is gorgeous and BIG!! We'll have about 2760 sq ft. 4 bedrooms, formal living room, great room, dining room, office, morning room, 2nd floor laundry and 2.5 baths. Oh and the house comes with a concrete driveway. Sweet!

Here's the floor plan. And a virtual tour.

I'm not going to get into specifics of prices we're paying for things because I'm just not cool with the whole world knowing ALL my business, know what I mean?

We did get $8,000 in upgrades as our incentive when we signed our contract. The upgrades we got were:

Elevation: We got elevation C which has a good sized, covered front porch. HAD to have it - I am totally a front porch girl! That was one of the most expensive upgrades! We decided not to get brick or stone and just went with the vinyl siding.

Morning Room w/ Gourmet Island
Upgraded carpet pad throughout the house
Upgraded carpet in the Great Room
Upgraded kitchen floor
Maple Spice 42" cabinets with the crown molding
Microwave Range
Upgraded cabinets in bathrooms to Maple Spice
Recessed kitchen lighting
Soaking tub in master bath
High Definition laminate counter tops

We did all of this in May, so I'm sure there's something I'm forgetting.

Some things we didn't upgrade:

Bathroom fixtures - for $1000+, I can live with them. And they aren't even that bad!!
Light fixtures - what comes standard is fine. And I can replace them for WAY less than it costs to add them
carpet in the bedrooms, office, living and dining rooms
No fireplace - for $3600, no thanks. I have one now and we NEVER use it. Plus, I wanted to live in the house first
We didn't get any of the rough-ins for the lights - $100 to cut a hole?? I don't think so. The only place we got one is in the morning room because the ceiling is so high. We're lucky though - my father-in-law is an electrician!! So that's why we're not as concerned about ceiling fans, lights, and outlets.

So far, things have been going GREAT! Our sales person has been fantastic. In fact, we were even able to add our morning room SUPER last minute (after they ordered our lumber!!). Our pre-construction meeting will be coming up in the next week or so and we're hoping to break ground the last week of July!