It's been a long time...

Well hello world!!!  I know it has been a ridiculously long time since I have posted anything here, but I wanted to provide an update on how things have been so far.  The master planned community continues to grow at an alarming rate and Riverstone still ranks #4 in the entire country and #1 in the state of Texas for sales. That means increasing prices and MORE equity for me!!!!! While the equity aspect is wonderful, that also means increasing property taxes as well.  Granted, the property tax rate here is 3.2% of the appraised value (which does not translate to the market value of your home), every dollar counts. But I digress.


Before discussing my most recent dealings with Toll Brothers in my next post, I will try to address some things that I have been asked about my home.

Insulation
I cannot recall whether this has been mentioned in  a prior post, but I have cold/hot rooms in my house.  My home faces Southeast and I have absolutely no idea if that has to do with anything - but I figured I'd mention it. I don't follow any sort of feng shui so I don't really care in that sense. It appears that the direction my home faces could come into play simply because the colder rooms are all on the same side of the house. I'm not really sure that there's anything that could be done to prevent these types of things. I did my due diligence and inspected the insulation and still have this issue. I attempted to have my HVAC system balanced so that air flow is directed in such a way that the entire room is comfortable. My husband sabotaged my attempt by accepting the HVAC guy's assessment saying that everything was 'working properly' and not bringing the cold/hot rooms to his attention. Oh well.

Alarm System & Insurance discount
I really wish I had not gone with Westminster Security, the home monitoring company owned by Toll Brothers. The draw, as usual, had to do with having the equipment (window and door contacts, 2 motion sensors and 2 keypads) installed for free if you signed a contract with the Westminster. In my home, 2 keypads just aren't enough and we contacted Westminster to inquire about an additional keypad and I think they quoted us at like $250. :-|   That's just ridiculous. After that quote I looked at my paperwork and would you believe that the contract is for 6 freakin' years? Bottom line - don't do it.  You take away your freedom to choose your security company and upgrade to the other services offered by other alarm companies are decent rates. My homeowner's insurance discount was for 2% ($160) for having an alarm system.

Honestly friends, the longer I stay in this house the more I realize that there are company that do EVERYTHING after the fact. I'm sure it's nothing to have an alarm system added afterwards. I have seen my neighbors customize their homes EXTENSIVELY (or you can interchange that word with EXCESSIVELY depending on the neighbor). The down side of course is that it's a little different paying cash as opposed to financing something for 30 years. But needless to say, don't let trying to save a little lock you into a contract with a lackluster security company with keypads from 1985.

Media room
We had our wiring done through Toll Brothers but please believe that there are lots of people out there that have added everything in their media rooms after completion of their home. The company we used does all sorts of home theater installations.

We also used them to install our security cameras.  I know, I know.  No, we are not celebrities who need to monitor who is on our property. But, we do not have a peephole and our front door is recessed so we cannot look out any window in our home and see who is at the door. And plus, they are just nice to have.

I have zero knowledge about sound dampening insulation but I truly believe that would be money well-spent. We do not use or media room during the week usually but my son would be able to hear every.single.word from those speakers.  So consider asking about options available to provide some sort of sound barrier for the neighboring room. 

Construction Quality
I have no complaints with the overall quality of our home. I have looked at model homes for other builders and immediately see the difference. I have even been in homes of people I know with new homes and see that their standards are less. Like everything else, I am quite sure this will vary by construction manager and how thorough and particular they are and what they demand from the contractors.

My next post will be about my ongoing ordeal, I mean experience, with addressing warranty claims.

Until next time!!!

Estimate for Covered Patio & Warranty claim list

Hello all and thank you for taking a look at my blog!

Last week we met with the designer from Texas Custom Patios to go over the design and see the final figures for the covered patio we would LOVE to add to our home.

The guy was very nice and went over the materials that would be used for our patio cover and what would be included with the price of our patio. So here are the details for what we wanted.  We wanted a covered 340 soft patio with attached composite shingle roof to match current roof. Stucco would be used to match our home as well with arches to match the rest of the exterior of our house. Pre-finished pine is to be used for the patio sealing. The company would install 2 ceiling fan connections, 6 can lights and necessary switches and the floor would be stamped concrete.

In addition to the standard covered patio we requested pricing for an outdoor kitchen to include granite counters and backsplash as well as appliances (grill, drawers, double side burner, fridge).

For the concrete area we have now we felt it would be a good idea to have a pergola installed constructed of stained Cedar.

If you have a weak heart, please stop reading now.

The total for the above-listed items came to --- (drum roll please)

$62,500

No covered patio for us. lol

At least not with this company.
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Now that everyone has been given smelling salts and returned to being conscious,  I'll give a little info on how the process is going with warranty claims.

In my previous post I showed how buyers submit warranty claims to Toll Brothers.  Almost 1 month ago I submitted the following claims:

• missing electrical outlet in laundry room
• door trim coming loose on front door
• bubbling of one of the doors to the study
• flashing on roof and 1 shingle lifting
• Exterior trip chipped
• Soffit light hanging

Honestly, the process is not easy despite me not having another process to compare it to. The online submission is easy, but afterward trying to coordinate with the all the trades is very challenging.  First someone from the warranty department contacts you, then the construction manager. Then they want to see the items in person (during the week). Then the trade companies contact you directly to schedule the repair. Toll Brothers should consider paying the companies a little extra to come out on weekends. Every person that we've had do warranty repairs did not work on weekends. This means that you have to take off from work to have a repair done. And if you cannot try to schedule different trades on the same day, that means more time missed from work.

So far only the electrician has contacted us and WE are being asked by Toll Brothers to supply them with the electrical plans so they can verify that there should have been an outlet on the long wall in the laundry room. I'm sorry -- but I thought the builder would have a copy of the electrical plans. 

I'll update as more repairs are made.

Thinking about building with Toll Brothers? Consider a different neighborhood to save $$

I happen to live in a neighborhood, Riverstone, that has a neighboring master planned community by the same developer. My master planned community is in 2 different cities - part of the neighborhood is in Sugar Land and the other is in Missouri City. If you anything about real estate then you know it is all about location, location, location. The neighboring community is in Missouri City just does not sound as sexy as Sugar Land when you say it out loud.

Several months after I moved in I decided to pay a visit to the Toll Brothers model in the next community - just because I felt like it. Well! As soon as I told the sales person that I had just purchased in Riverstone he gave me a list of reasons why I should have come and spoken to him first. So, since this community is in the less-sexy city, the builder throws in some perks to attract people to the community. The community itself is beautiful, but saying you live in Sugar Land has a certain 'je ne sais quoi.' I was informed that in that neighborhood, the model floor plan, the Sandhaven, comes as shown in the model. Say what?! Yes.

As far as my floor plan, the Vallagio, there was a $60k price difference between the communities when I signed my contract and the lots were a lot larger. In addition, the Vallagio in the less-sexy city comes with a pergola. The tax rate is also slightly less at 3.03% vs 3.3976%. Yes the difference is slight but if you consider the final price difference, then you could save yourself $2k/year.  For those of you who do not live in the Houston area, you are likely appalled that $2k could be saved by such a small tax difference. Houston area property taxes are ridiculous, but there aren't any state income taxes. On a house valued by the appraisal district to be $600,000, approximate taxes could be $18,000 without exemptions. That equates to an additional $1,500 per month; more if you escrow because a cushion is required. So take that into consideration.

With all the statements above, I do not regret choosing Riverstone because the location works better for me. If the floor plan is more important to you than the location or your commute to work, then consider finding a neighborhood where there base price is cheaper and more incentives are given. If location is more important, choice the location that you like and be willing to pay more.

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!

Post-closing Toll Brothers experience

We closed on our home in October and we have truly been enjoying the past 8 months living in our new home and taking advantage of our the amenities in our new neighborhood.  Overall, we have been pleased with the finished product and I do like the method that Toll Brothers uses to submit claims for warranty issues. For now I will simply go over Toll Brothers' warranty claim process.

Claims are submitted at www.tollhomecare.com. The state and community are selected, then the log on information provided at closing are entered.

Once you log in, you select the type of issue (i.e. electrical) and then the area of the house experiencing the issue. After selecting those things you have the opportunity enter free text and elaborate further. You can enter several issues during one warranty request/inspection submission.

After you are done entering your requests, you submit it and a message is shown stating that you will be contacted shortly.

Voila!!!!  Your warranty request has been submitted. No speaking to someone on the phone. No visiting a sales office. No fuss.

I will post soon about our experience with Toll after submitting previous requests and will also share what he have had issues with.

Thanks for looking!

I'm baaaaaacccccckkkkk!!!!

Hello everyone,

I took quite a long hiatus from blogging after moving into my home.  We are certainly enjoying our home and even more so, our neighborhood. The neighborhood is beautiful, the homes are gorgeous and the neighbors are friendly.

Since moving in I've been making mental notes about all the little things I SHOULD have done or even COULD have done, but did not think about before signing the contract.  I will be making posts about these things and also discussing my plans for decorating - including the costs of such projects.

Here's to more posts!!!

MINE, ALL MINE!!!! (Insert heart here)

Today we visited the house as it's HOMEOWNERS!!!!!  We are excited beyond words and I am in awe that God would bless me with this home.

I am not the type of person who can now sit still and relax. There are things to do!!!!  Some people may be asking what the in the World there could be tackle at this point right smack dab in the middle of my celebrating. Well, there's plenty.  Today the family and I tackled the following tasks:

• sealed the travertine in the entire master bath
• sealed grout in secondary bathrooms with ceramic tile (still need to finish)
• wiped all counters (bathroom and kitchen)
• filled jetted tub with water and disinfectant and ran jets (suggested to be performed monthly if you use it infrequently)
• dusted the ENTIRE house (all corners, lighting fixtures, shelves (storage closets, pantry, bedroom closets), above cabinets, ledges)
• sprayed more bug spray (never too much)
• programmed garage door openers
• created code for keypad for garage
• cleaned bathroom toilets
• hung temporary blinds (yes, the cheap Redishades) in Master bedroom
• cleaned some of the hardwood floors with Bona Hardwood cleaning system
• waaaaay too much flooring to clean it all - have no clue how I will do this long term

But wait!!!  There is still a lot left to do. We will not be moving into our new home for several weeks so we have the following lined up prior to bringing our belongings from our current home:

• meeting with a designer for ideas on how to tie in the great room and kitchen/breakfast area and also how to dress up my current sectional to match the style of the new house
• getting an estimate from painter for painting kitchen/breakfast area, kids bedrooms and possibly master bedroom and part of great room
• taking things from current home to new home once or twice during the week
• serves 2 purposes - de-clutters current home which is better for showings AND decreases the amount of things needing to be moved by movers
• finalizing plantation shutters and meeting the shutter person to hang temporary shades
• researching how to clean marble flooring and then actually do it
• researching best way to protect hardwood and marble flooring during moving
• continue to keep our current home in 'showing condition' at all times - we want it to sell!

A LOT  going on, but at least it does not involve submitting documents and/or getting quotes from too many companies. :-)

Monday visit

I was out of town this past weekend so I did not have my usual weekend visit. I really needed to go anyway because I will not be able to attend the first walk-through tomorrow because I do not want to take a valuable day off. The goal of my visit today is to take a thorough look around and make note of anything I feel needs to be addressed.

My gorgeous hardwood floors were uncovered so I FINALLY got to see them in all their glory. After seeing them all uncovered I am very happy with my flooring choice. It breaks up some of the beige and I think it will look really nice once I add more color. With the floors being uncovered, the house is 99% complete. The only thing left to do is correct things mentioned in the inspection report.

Drum roll please....

Study

Picture taken from front porch

Dining Room 

Great room!

Breakfast area

Kitchen - obviously

Catwalk above great room

View from breakfast area to downstairs guest bedroom

Taken from catwalk

I honestly only found a handful of things, which were minor, that I would like addressed.

• I am still not happy with the touch up paint job done on the cabinet. Some contractor must have scratched the side near the double ovens while putting up tile.
• The floor transition from the foyer to the dining room (marble to hardwood) is a tad uneven.
• More info: Per Toll Brothers, they are the only builders who make sure that different types of flooring are even and therefore require no transitions (sample pictured below). If you look at my pictures above you will not see a perpendicular piece of wood demarcating the transition:



• My picture: 

  

  The wood is raised above the level of the marble a little - all other areas a fine

Mid-week Visit and Shutter Estimate

I drove out to the house today for two reasons  - to check on things and also to meet with someone from  a window covering company for an estimate.  Upon arrival I saw that a section of the driveway had been removed. I am not sure what the reason was, but I trust that it was necessary. While I was walking around with the estimate guy I noticed some water near the baseboard in the garage.  I will have them check on it.

Removed part of driveway

Water underneath baseboard - that is NOT on the ground

Close up

The estimate guy was very nice and seemed knowledgeable. He was very familiar with homes in my area and even told me what other people with the same floor plan had done with window treatments. My plan is to only have plantation shutters placed on the windows in the front of the house for uniformity. I want a clean look from the street so all the rooms in the front of the house will have the same color. The rest of the house will gradually get appropriate window coverings.

Some people, like my mother, are not familiar with plantation shutters so I will include pictures of plantation shutters and hopefully you think they are as beautiful as I do. These shutters come in a variety of materials with PVC and real wood being popular. According to the estimate guy the price difference in the two is minimal because PVC needs petroleum to be made and petroleum is expensive...TMI, I know. My plan was to do painted hardwood in the house and PVC in the garage but since the price is not different, wood all around it is. Some of you may be wondering why in the Dickens I would pay to have plantation shutters installed in the garage. Believe me, I really do not want to pay for them to be installed there but garage actually looks like part of the actual interior from the front and I want a uniform look.  A lot of homes in the neighborhood have them in their garages as well.

I will need a total of 8 shutters. We'll see how much the quote is for. I sure hope it doesn't make me lightheaded; passing out is embarrassing.

Here are examples of plantation shutters:

See how the windows in the garage face the front?

More Toll Brothers Advice

My last post was full of compliments for Toll Brothers, at least in my community, because of how my building process went overall.  Yes, there were minor hiccups here and there but overall things went smoothly and issues were addressed.

The most recent issue we came across involved our media room. After the initial construction meeting and before the foundation was poured, we met with the multimedia guy. During this meeting we discussed how to set up the media room. In the model, the AV equipment was in a closet, but of course that was some non-standard option. Naturally our next question was, "Well where are we supposed to put our equipment?" His solution was that he could build a cabinet to put adjacent to the wet bar that could store the equipment. He could make it the same height as the counter and it would blend in. We loved the idea and we had him route all the cables there on the plan. Now, fast forward 5 months.  There is no freakin' cabinet. We were emailed an invoice following the initial meeting showing the costs of different media options (i.e. addition CAT-5 outlet, additional audio pre-wire, etc) but there was no mention of a cabinet, but we discussed it so it should be fine, right? NO!!!! Since there was nothing in writing, it's as if there was no mention of it or as if the conversation never happened, even if we would be willing to pay for it. I mean, who in their right minds would have wire directed beside the wet bar for no good reason? The sales manager and the multimedia guy did not argue with us they simple said there will be no cabinet.

Given the above situation, my advice is the following:

• ALWAYS write things down that are okay'ed by ANYONE working for the builder 
• You typically only meet with the sales manager, construction manager and multimedia guy
• Once an invoice is provided, double check everything with what you wrote down address it
• ALWAYS ask what EXACTLY is included in an option such as a wet bar, butler's pantry, media cabinet, or whatever and be VERY specific
• Ask if the cabinets come with the glass doors, upper cabinets or under cabinet lighting like in the model. NEVER assume that your upgrade option will be like what you see in the model.
• We were surprised that the price of the wet bar only included a lower cabinet and a sink. The wet bar in the model had upper and lower cabinets. Don't be surprised by what your option does not include
• Address your concerns sooner rather than later
• We asked about the cabinet 4 weeks after the multimedia stuff was done. We thought maybe they were still making it. Perhaps if we weren't so close to closing they may have considered doing SOMEthing.

National Sales Event...more information

Several times per year Toll Brothers has 'National Sales Events' during which they offer money towards design center selections or structural options PLUS Free upgrades.  Since I tend to mention things that were part of the National Sales Event (NSE), I felt I should list all of the incentives. These change with each NSE so the information I am providing is from the NSE that took place February 9-24, 2013.  I could not find this information anywhere online.

$10,000 Towards Design Center Selections

OR

Structural Options

PLUS

Additional Amazing FREE Upgrades Below!

$2,000  Credit Toward Emser Tile Flooring Upgrades

$500 Credit Toward Shaw Carpet Upgrades

$500 Credit Toward Armstrong Hardwood Flooring

$400 Credit Toward Kitchenaid Appliance Upgrades

$400 Credit Toward Progress Lighting Upgrades

Free Baldwin Front Door Hardware Upgrade - up to $300 Value

Free Single-Stage Crown Moulding in 2 Additional Single-Story Room

Free Front Door Upgrade (one level up from standard)

Free Iron Stair Baluster Upgrade (one level up from standard)

Free Audio Pre-Wire in 2 Rooms

Free Gas Stub and Additional Hose Bib

Free Thermostat Upgrade to Honeywell Pro 8000 and 4" Media Filters

Free Trash Bin Pull-Out in Kitchen

Free 8 Additional Recessed Can Lights

Free Obscure Glass in Master Bathroom Window Over Tub (No Glass Blocks)

Free Paint Upgrade in a Single-Story Room

Free 30-Gallon Live Oak Tree

Free Exterior Keypad at Garage Door

Free 20x72 Dressing Room Mirror

In addition to the above, we were given another $2,000 for design center selections for previewing the design center (which was far, but totally worth it for this incentive).

Some people may be thinking, "Free? Yeah right. They probably just increase the price for the Sales Event!" Well I am convinced otherwise when it comes to Toll Brothers. Bottom line is this: Toll Brothers does not negotiate with their prices. Therefore, the ONLY way to get anything extra from Toll Brothers is to purchase during one of the National Sales Events. This was not planned for me, it just so happened that the week before I signed the contract is when I looked at the model and considering going with them.

While Toll Brothers is very aggressive with their pricing and lack of negotiating as well as with their contract protecting them to a degree that should be questioned, I would not hesitate to build with them again. This is all being said before I actually move in. Yes, I had communication issues with the sales manager at times, but overall things went smoothly and mistakes were promptly corrected. In the end, my house is gorgeous and I honestly feel like I got a quality home where corners were not cut and quality products were used. 

Weekly Weekend Visit

We visited the lot, as usual, with the expectation that not much would be noticeably different.  The major difference was that the appliances are in!!! They were not mentioned during the weekly construction update so it was a nice surprise. As far as appliances ago, we stuck with the standard double ovens which are convection ovens. I found this information on overstock.com helpful with both explaining the differences between traditional ovens and convection ovens and the benefits convection ovens offer:

1. How is a convection oven different from a traditional oven?
   A traditional oven uses radiant heat to cook food. While this is a time-honored method of cooking, one side of a dish may receive more heat than the other side, causing the food to bake unevenly. A convection oven constantly circulates the hot air inside to provide a consistent temperature on all surfaces of the food, resulting in even cooking.
2. Do convection ovens cook food faster?
   Yes, food cooks faster in a convection oven due to the increased food-surface temperature. The airflow boosts yeast breads to new heights, allows fats to render quickly, seals meats and creates tender, flaky pastries. While each convection oven comes with specific manufacturer's specifications, cooking time is typically shortened by approximately 20 percent.
3. Are special pans necessary?
   Regular pans are fine, but pans with lower sides are desirable because high pan sides may hamper airflow. A flat cookie sheet produces evenly browned cookies in less time than a cookie sheet with sides. When roasting, place the food item on top of a roasting rack, positioned within a shallow roasting pan. The rack allows the hot air to circulate around and under the roast, cooking from all sides.
4. Should conventional recipes be adjusted?
   Because food cooks faster in a convection oven, you should check for doneness approximately three-fourths of the way through a traditional recipe's recommended cooking time. In addition, you may need to lower the temperature of baked goods by 20 to 25 degrees to keep cakes, breads and biscuits from baking before they can rise sufficiently.
5. Can a convection oven cook more than one rack of food evenly?
   This is where the convection oven shines. Unlike a traditional oven where you must remove and switch multiple pizzas to different racks during the cooking process, a convection oven allows you to load every rack with food without compromising the food on any rack. The hot air circulates between racks and heats all food surfaces evenly without the food being rotated.

We upgraded the venthood to one with a more powerful fan just in case something gets a little burned on the stove. lol We upgraded the cooktop and dishwasher as well, but only because we were given a credit of $400 for the National Sales Event.

They have completing the finishing process with the wood on the stair rails and they look really nice.  

The fireplace has been 'trimmed out,' whatever that means. When we were at the house today I could not tell the difference for the life of me. I will have to rely on photographic evidence!

Weird tilt-out sponge tray

Kitchen with appliances

Carpet has been replaced by marble

The 'trimmed out' fireplace - I don't see the difference

Second staircase

My venthood and cooktop - blue tape marking a damaged tile

Midweek Visit :-) & Weekly Construction Update

Today's visit was awesome! It was awesome primarily because of two things. One, the tile in the foyer has finally been uncovered and they are gorgeous. Two, the carpet has been installed!!!  I have wanted patterned carpet for such a long time. It is the little things like this that make me feel so appreciative and blessed. I love the carpet. Period. Yes, it contributes even more of the the color BEIGE to the house (don't act like you hadn't noticed) but I do not plan on having so much BEIGE forever. I have to pace my changes for budget reasons to be honest. I plan on staying here for at least 15 years and I think that is enough time to add color.

Love the marble

Master with carpet

Carpet up close

Also, hardware has been installed - meaning towel bars, toilet paper holders, towel rings, door stoppers and door handles. Everything looks great.

This time I came to the house prepared. In tow I had blue painter's tape, which we were told to use to mark things we notice that need to be addressed, and my bug spray! I don't have time for finding spiders in random places once I move in. Call me crazy, but if I get it taken care of now, I will have less surprises later. I didn't have enough energy to spray both upstairs and downstairs so I just sprayed the perimeter downstairs.

I used the tape the mark several things we'd noticed over the weekend and some new things I noticed as well.

Here are more pics taken today.

Here is the area I mentioned before where there would have been 3 types of flooring - wood (covered), marble, and carpet (shown). The carpet will be removed and replaced with marble.

Master

Game room 

Upstairs hall

View from foyer to great room

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Weekly Construction Update -

Due to the Holiday the construction update was later in the week than usual. Here's the update:

- The carpet is in (see above)
- Hardware will be going in today (see above)
- The construction manager will walk around the house this week and make a list of things that need to be fixed
- Next week will be all about inspectors

Everything is coming together!!! Weekend Lot Visit

I guess the 3rd time is the charm when it comes to back splashes. Let's take a walk down Memory Lane and see just what my poor back splash has been through.

Naked

Wrong!

Ummm....no. Try again.

Yaaaay!

The hardwood floors have been completely finished. Hip hip hooray!!! Now, unfortunately I cannot truly appreciate them because they have the protective paper on them. I can't wait to see them uncovered for the first time.

All covered up

A little peek

Let's see, what else has been done since Wednesday? Well we decided to look more closely at things that needed to be fixed. This way there will be less to be addressed during both our independent inspector's walk through and our next walk through. We noticed a few things but I have a lot of confidence in our awesome construction manager and feel that he is probably aware of everything we point out before we actually point it out. Regardless, we will bring these things to his attention.

Paint needs to be touched up above door

Paint on cabinet chipped

Some sort of residue on front door frame

Moulding with apparent gap

MId-Week Lot Visit

First let me say this...I absolutely LOVE pulling up to my future home. I am still amazed by the transformation and by how much of a difference landscaping makes.

Now, when I entered the house, I looked into the study and the hardwood floors were almost complete in that room!! The installers had prepared the concrete foundation for putting the floors down in the dining room and there was actually flooring down in part of the back hall and kitchen. It looks great so far, but with dusty footprints all over the place, it's hard to love them right now.

Study

Kitchen & breakfast area

Hallway from kitchen to laundry room & guest room

My pantry

The protective paper has been removed from the master bathroom floor so I can really appreciate the floors and I must say I love them!

The incorrect accent tile has been removed from the back splash. The construction manager was there and I will very happy to see him there. I have only heard WONDERFUL things about him and how thorough he is. I have only seen him a handful of times (at pre-construction meeting, at walk through after inspector's report and one random time), but I truly appreciate how willing he is to address things that arise. I really wanted to hug him. :-|

I am looking forward to seeing the hardwood floors on Saturday when I come check on things again. I'm sure they will look great once they are all down. And, one of our soon-to-be neighbors is having a party on Saturday and has asked the sales manager to invite everyone in the neighborhood - those building, those who just moved in, those who they have not had a chance to meet. I'm a social person so I'm dragging the family with me. It should be fun!