Flooding and Foundations

Short update -- Weekly construction update #2

Today I had my weekly over-the-phone construction update and received GREAT news!!! Despite the monsoon on Saturday causing flooding in some areas, they were able to get the lot inspected by the City of Sugar Land and the Toll Brothers engineer and received the go ahead to pour the foundation tomorrow. So, my foundation will be poured at 6am tomorrow morning!!!! Yaaaaay!!!!

Next up, the tractor will come on Friday and the lot will be cleaned up. Materials to begin framing will be delivered Monday.

We're making progress!!

Main entrance - source: http://www.riverstone.com/photo-gallery.html

Weekly Construction Update #1

Toll Brothers attempts to keep buyers in the loop and informed by conducting weekly over-the-phone construction updates. I missed the call this past Tuesday, but the sales manager and the project manager, James, left updates on my voicemail. Here's the update...

James stated that they had gotten the plumbing grounds in, as I'd seen that prior weekend, and that the city inspection went well. The next step involves digging the beams, putting in the rebar (reinforcing steel) and cables. The goal was to get all of that done by Friday, get the site inspection done Monday and pour the actual foundation Tuesday.  I always planned on hiring an independent inspector to ensure that things were done properly. For new construction homes they are usually inspected at three stages - pre-foundation, framing and final. The costs for each according to one business was $350, $450 & $550 each but really worth it for more peace of mind. I used the Better Business Bureau as a reference and contacted several different companies to see if they could conduct a pre-foundation inspection Monday and 2 of the 3 do not do them at that stage because it is a waste of money since the city has to inspect it. The other company did not have availability that day. Either way, the builder's structural warranty is for 10 years so we're not worrying about it. Of note, Toll Brothers will not hold up building progress to coordinate inspection by a third party inspector.

The above plan was based on Mother Nature being on our side, however she must have an unresolved issue with me because it LITERALLY rained from 2pm yesterday until I went to bed after midnight. So the foundation will likely not be poured on Tuesday. That's fine with me - the longer it takes, the more time I have with my smaller mortgage ;-)

As mentioned in a previous post, Toll Brothers started the house without design center selections being made and therefore, we have been asked by the sales manager to make all plumbing selections and finalize them during our first meeting. Our first design center appointment is Wednesday and I am excited and afraid at the same time. Let's see what these high-cost builder's prices look like!

Today the family and I drove by the muddy lot to look at progress.  Here are the pics...

Surprise! They broke ground without us knowing!!

Today I went past the model/sales office to leave a check for 20% of the total cost of the electrical options. After taking care of that quick task, the family and I decided to ride past the lot just see what was going on. Well, well, well - they had already completed the plumbing rough in!!! I thought that I would have been told before anything had been started, but I was excited nonetheless. Of course I got out the car and took some pictures.

Now, we got a really good deal on the base price of the house and got the lot premium waived. Sometimes you have to sacrifice for a good deal and we sacrificed a great deal when it came to the size of the lot. People in other parts of the country will not understand how you could have such a large home on a small lot, but that's pretty much the norm in the master planned communities in the Houston suburbs.

Here are pics of the lot now with the plumbing rough-ins.

Our lot with the SOLD sign...again for effect

Our lot showing the beautiful homes of our neighbors across the street

My itsy, bitsy backyard - trying to look at the upside

Builder's meeting

Today I met with the project manager who will be overseeing the building of the structure I will call  home for the next 15 years. I could not stop smiling the whole time. Every time he turned a page with the plans, I got excited all over again.

The purpose of this builder's meeting was to verify the changes we'd made - electrical, data, structural options - prior to starting the house.  We went room by room on the plans and verified that everything was as it should be. We also verified the elevation and location of outside lighting, yes, I HAD to have soffit lighting. In addition, I also finally got to see the house plotted on the lot and see how much, or how little, the backyard will be. How exhilarating!

The project manager told me that over the last 1.5 years with builders being so busy in the Houston area, things don't quite move as quickly. If you need the services of a company you likely have to wait in line.

Next steps:

1. Go to the design center to finalize the plumbing details.
2. House can be started - foundation poured
3. Wait

Here is information I was given today:

1. My lot is waiting to be scraped. We are currently in line for lot scraping (see above).
2. The build time is estimated to be 6 months from foundation being poured :-)
3. I can visit as often as a would like. He actually encourages it.
4. Independent inspectors are encouraged and can be there during the framing and final stages. I inquired about after installment of insulation as well.

Here are some pictures for kicks and giggles...

Plot plan

Floor plan

My lot!

Oh yeah...

The sales manager hit me with a good surprise! I had to sign a new Exhibit D, which shows the building specifications because they changed the Level 1 tile to Level 2!!! First of all, there should never be Level 1 or Level 2 tile in a home that costs this much. Nevertheless, I'm happy about that. It means that I have to pay less to upgrade my tile. :-)

Until the next update...

Riverstone, my future community

Hello guys!

Since I have a few free moments, I guess it's an acceptable time to give a little information about the master planned community I will be moving to.

Riverstone is a master planned community in Fort Bend County, TX, which is a neighboring county of Harris County in which Houston, TX is located. So, it's located outside of Houston, TX.

The current master plan for Riverstone includes 5,000 homes or 15,000 residents. I emphasize current because master planned communities tend to change their master plans when it is convenient for them. Initial plans did not include a site for multi-family housing a.k.a. apartment homes, but the master plan sure includes that now. And boy are some of the earlier residents angry! The Riverstone website boasts that resort-quality amenities, excellent schools and a multitude of retail options are part of the community.  There are all sorts of fabulous retail options by the main entrance already (Target, Home Depot, Starbucks, Walgreens, Kroger, etc.). The community currently has 2 pools, an expansive 3.5-acre dog park and plans for The Club at Riverstone which will be the site of tennis courts, a swimming pool, water park, playground, pier, pedestrian trails and more! Who wouldn't want to live here right?!

The Club at Riverstone
source: www.riverstone.com/amenities

For those of you who do not know much about master planned communities, they can be pretty large. The idea is that there is one large community with smaller 'neighborhoods' within it.  Here is the master plan as of today's date.  Thinking about moving here gets me so excited!

Riverstone Master Plan
original pdf file: http://www.riverstone.com/uploads/images/maps/RS_MPC_Mar2013.pdf

Blueprints, electrical and multimedia options

My husband and I met with the sales manager and multimedia guy today to make selections for electrical options (like additional outlets, ceiling lighting, distributed sound speaker locations, etc).  I must say, this whole process actually seems REAL now that I have actually made some customizations.  This meeting is the first meeting since signing the contract way back in February - the 19th to be exact.

We chose to place cable outlets in each of the bedrooms, and placed the included 6 outlets that include Cat-5, telephone and cable in the family room, master, study, game room, media room and 1 in my oldest son's room. I'll go over the details of my floor plan in a different post. We also chose the location of 4 speakers for the distributed sound system (2 on back patio & 2 in kitchen), chose 3 places for pendant lighting over the counter (the pendant lights are not included), added another place for a second dining room chandelier, & added an outlet for rope lighting in the master bedroom tray ceiling. Whew!!! I'm sure I left out some other minor details but you get the gist.  Oh yeah, we also chose the location of our 5 exterior soffit lights. I wanted more, husband didn't, so I settled.

The next step is to have the sales manager and the multimedia guy email us our choices and the new floorplan showing our options selected today.  We have 3, yes, 3, design center appointments coming up which have to be completed before moving on to the next step which will be starting the house!!!

I asked the sales manager for her best estimate for the latest she believes we will close and she said they will probably have us in the house by the end of the year. I took that estimate with a grain of salt. I'm mentally preparing myself for a January or February close. The also told me that they will likely start my house before we are done at the design center. Paperwork I was provided with specifically said they will not, so that's what I'm telling myself. And anyway, I'm in no rush to have a much bigger mortgage.

These are the completed steps so far:
1. Signed the contract February 19th, 2013 - required a deposit of 5% of the base price, 20% of the structural options and a 'note' for the other 5% of the base price. Apparently in other states Toll Brothers requires a deposit of 10% of the base price at contract. So, if for any reason we do not go through with purchase, we are still legally responsible for the 10%. Yes, scary. I know.

2. Waited. lol

3. Blueprints were received April 1st, 2013

4. Electrical and Multimedia meeting held April 10th, 2013 and selections were made.

Next up...receive the actual plot plan & design center appointment!!!

Ready to...wait?!

Hello and thank you for taking time to visit my blog about building my first new home. I am so blessed to have the opportunity to build my home and super excited about watching it come to fruition.

So, just some information about me and my family. I am married mother of 2 boys who just so happens to be a physician. I just finished my training 7 months ago and have been working for 6 months. My husband is not a physician (people love the ask physicians if they are married to other physicians). He works in the information technology field and loves what he does. Our boys are ages 7 and 2 and we currently reside in Houston, TX.

When I moved here for training, we purchased a home that was affordable for us. Is it an awesome community with lots of amenities? No. Is it a safe neighborhood? Yes. Please do not get me wrong, this  may be someone's dream neighborhood, but I can only speak my own opinions.

We looked at homes for 6 months and I searched real estate websites for longer and ended up looking at a Master planned community called Riverstone.  It is an awesome community with wonderful amenities, beautiful homes, nice scenery and great schools!

Life's turns and twists led us to Riverstone after seriously looking at other master planned communities and somehow not feeling great about purchasing there. We wanted to purchase a home and feel that not only would it serve as a great home to raise our children in, but also be a wise investment - Riverstone satisfied both criteria.

If you are interested in finding out more information about building a home - including all the ups and downs, twists and turns, visit my blog for updates about all that comes with building. You truly will be going along with my family for the entire journey.  We have not yet broken ground!

Looking forward to sharing my process with you!

Dee