Two Month Post-Move Update

Today marks 216 days since the first shovel hit the ground! What a whirlwind of a summer! New house, quickie vacation in Boston, beach days (for Jen and Chase, not me), Chase becoming an internet and local news celebrity... all in all, a massive success! With Chase headed off to Kindergarten, it seems like the perfect time for a two month post-move recap on the house building process!

Thanks to some last minute hustle from the builder and inspector, we successfully closed as planned on June 29th. I'm pretty sure our Project Manager broke a few speed limits racing back and forth to get the proper signatures and inspections but we're greatly appreciative! It was a pretty event-free closing. The dollars lined up as expected, we signed our names until our arms hurt, and a couple sets of keys (plus a goodie bag!) were in hand! It wasn't the most ideal time of year weather-wise, as we were hit head on with a string of 90+ degree days with zero rain! Regardless, with a handful of helpers and a box trailer we were able to unload both storage units and (most) of the parents house items in about a week! In fact, we emptied enough that first day that we slept in the new house that very night never looking back!

What do we think of the new house? First and foremost, Paparone has been absolutely ACES to deal with! Their team is beyond friendly from the sales woman we met on Day 1 to Bruce Paparone himself  who I finally got around to chatting with after we were all moved in. Not once did we feel like anything we said was being ignored, marginalized, or otherwise pushed to the side. When we had a question or concern, answers were timely and followed up upon. When I see prospective buyers drive into the neighborhood, I want to flag them down and convince them to write a check that day! Seriously, if Paparone gave me a free tee-shirt, I'd wear it every day!

That said, we knew from Day #1 that we were somewhat guinea pigs for a model of home that they had not build in the area, in a township they had never built before, and in a subdivision where we were first to knock on the door. A few kinks were expected and they were all handled perfectly.

Quality. Our builder paid great attention to detail. I've been through hundreds of new construction and renovation projects and the little things that slip through the cracks simply didn't here! Flooring transitions were level and tight. Tile work, flawless. Cabinets, zero sag or scuffs or other damage. Everything was clean, crisp, and sturdy. I know we didn't select the most luxurious of options, but it sure feels like something out of "Lifestyles & The Rich and Famous" to us! We were extremely thorough in our post move-in inspections of the house looking in every nook and cranny for a potential problem. At our 30 day Home Warranty meeting we (or at least I) felt like we were being super nit-picky about things like "small scratch in office door glass" or "little paint run in stairwell" but the warranty lady who sat down with us jotted everything down and immediately started dispatching contractors to repair. The item of concern for me was the grading of the backyard. It poured rain for 3-4 days leading up to our closing while the landscaper was laying hay and seed so some of the rutting and pitting was inevitable. Still, the warranty team has plans to fully correct that issue once the heat breaks in the fall and proper seeding can be done. So literally, my only concern can be fixed with a few bags of dirt. Can't complain about that. 

Comfort. We've gone from a home where the toys took over and made walking difficult to having enough extra floor space to do snow angels on the floor of each room of the house. We can't pick out furniture quickly enough to fill the space! The central air has worked evenly and flawlessly. The on-demand hot water heater has provided enough hot water for power naps in the shower. The utility bills are less than what we paid in a home half this size! And the layout has already hosted a family crab party, a fantasy football draft, numerous sleepovers, and a couple of pretty epic Nerf-dart battles already. Most importantly, the neighborhood is fantastic. Our neighbors to the left are very like minded, young, out-going, and eager to help. Our neighbor across the street is simultaneously the neighborhood watch but also knows how to party with his outdoor tiki-bar, kegerator, and pool! The court is quiet except for the occasional delivery vehicle or neighbor turning around which makes it excellent for the kids to ride their bikes and scooters. And despite living across the cul-de-sac from the retention basin mosquitoes haven't been much of an issue. The neighborhood is currently infested with baby ducks, but that's not really anything to complain about...

What would we have done differently? A difficult question that I've pondered quite a bit, but the answer is very very little. Irrigation would have been nice. Moving the sprinkler 10 times a day is a bit of a hassle, but with some timers it's not THAT bad and I've largely been able to keep the grass alive and filling up in the back yard. We made great decisions on the DIY projects that we took on rather than pay the builder/contractors. Our painter knocked it out of the park at an insanely good price (I'll share his number, just ask!), the ceiling fans and window coverings were an easy 1st week project, the backsplash is gorgeous and Jen picked out the absolute perfect tile, etc. What else... a keypad on the garage door would have been nice, but I suspect that's something I can add myself later. I definitely should have thrown away more junk before stuffing boxes in the back corner's of the basement. Ooohh! The master closet light switch should almost definitely be on the other side of the door (serious first world problem!)

So what does it look like?!? Moment of truth time. We're about 90% furnished and decorated (except for the Master Bedroom which is kind of a disaster and Jen might kill me if I even showed a picture).

We start with my favorite room in the house (obviously) heading down the stairs from the kitchen into the Man Cave. Carpet floors, shelving from Ikea, my RokuTV hardwired into the wall, and bobbleheads for days!

Of course, I have to have my very own bathroom downstairs as well! The Phanatic is always watching you while you go to the bathroom. I'm thinking a red accent wall will be added soon... 

The basement is 50% finished, with the other 50% used for storage. It's really the perfect amount of space for both setups!

Next, the garage. It's a cluttered mess at the moment, but I've recently ordered two massive ceiling mount shelving units that will hold most of the items on the ground. Once I can find my ladder, they will be going up. Maximum use of space!

Moving back upstairs and into the main living area is where it really feels like home. Our kitchen/living/dining layout is simply perfect for the three of us. Jen gets all of the credit for interior decorating. Dozens of trips to American Signature furniture, Target, Lowes, Home Depot, Homegoods, Big Lots, Wayfair, etc.. I get the credit for things actually being put together properly and pictures being hung level!

Downstairs office and bathroom. My office is right on the front of the house which, fortunately doesn't get the direct sun until later in the afternoon. All of the furniture in here for now is recycled from the old house but it's working out perfectly!

Moving upstairs we have laundry on the 2nd floor, a dedicated toy room, and a guest bedroom. Each are much nicer than they photograph but you'll just have to trust me!

As usual, Chase got the best deal with the bedroom on the front of the house with the biggest, brightest windows! He also his his own bathroom. His baseball theme is in full effect everywhere!

Master Bedroom photos are off limits per Jen, but the closet and master bath came out great. We painted the bathroom ourselves, so naturally it's not as perfect as the other rooms...

There's also an attic space that I haven't tapped into as well as a hatch that leads to storage in the garage attic. I'm thinking Christmas decorations or off-season clothes!

Outside photos will be reserved for the next (and perhaps final) post as I'm currently in the process of doing some planting in the front gardens and grass is finally starting to fill in the back yard. We're also hopeful about getting a fence installed in the next month or so and getting Chase's swingset and baseball dugout moved over here soon! It's all coming together!

What's Next? Well, the list of minor projects is dwindling down. As is the bank account, unfortunately! I'm hopeful that within the next year or so we'll have the fence wrapped up, all of the plantings done, some solid grass growth with sprinklers, and a deck of some sort. I might move that deck higher up the list, to be honest! We're outdoor people and we haven't really been able to eat a meal outside yet because there's nowhere to put a table! Plus, I have a pretty sweet grill that needs to be used more frequently! 

Thanks for following our journey! 

Last Post Pre-Closing?

With any luck, this will be my final post before closing! The PSE&G debacle is behind us, the majority of the township inspections are scheduled for Monday, our home owner orientation is scheduled for Tuesday, and unless there is some hiccup with obtaining a Certificate of Occupancy along the way, our closing should be on Friday the 29th! Not too bad considering we were secretly starting to think/dread that mid-July would be the date. Our living situation has been awesome, but 10 months is certainly more than we had hoped to be imposing on my parents!

I recently decided to build a monster sized binder with the millions of documents we've signed throughout this process. It's really helped me star organized and stay on top of some of the nuances of building a house. You look at so many flooring and cabinet and siding options that sometimes it's hard to remember exactly what you signed yourself up for. I would highly recommend that anyone building a home try to stay organized like they've never been organized before! It pays dividends later as we've already been able to point out a few little things that needed correction before they had the chance to hold us up!

Now it's crunch time and of course I'm beginning to dread the laundry list of post-close projects I've signed myself up for! I have a sneaking suspicion that my "summer" won't be quite what it's been in years past... So far I've come up with the following as my Top 10:

1. Install Ceiling fans/lights
2. Window Treatments
3. Paint interior
4. Backsplash
5. Fence
6. Garage workbench/organization
7. Build a new desk, a new basement table, and a new headboard
8. Basement Bar
9. Irrigation
10. Deck/patio

I took care of that top 1 today with a mini-Home Depot shopping spree to pick up the bedroom and office fans! I'm pretty stoked that the blades are the same colors as the ones we plan to use in the living room!

So that's it for now! A quick post, but I thought an update would be nice. I wanted to make sure everyone has a week's notice before I start calling in those moving favors! I've moved a lot of crap for a lot of people over the years (you know who you are!) so it's time to cash in (hopefully) next weekend!

PSE&G: My New Mortal Enemy!

I should be packing right now for a move-in date that's 12 days away, but unfortunately that is not the case. Late last week, we were informed of a hiccup with PSE&G getting to the house to set the meter. It sounds like they've twice pushed back their scheduled visit which has thrown the schedule way off. What should be like a 10 minute job for them is now likely going to push our closing back until after the 4th of July. What's so important about the stupid meter anyway? Well, it would be nice to know that all of the outlets and lights and HVAC and sump pumps work prior to move in so it's not really something I can argue about. And I don't really blame the builder (though I secretly wish they would have gotten up PSE&G's ass a little sooner!) because it certainly sounds like they've been getting the same run around from the utility and they are equally unhappy about having to reschedule. It's just a bummer all around. Worst of all, now I have to pay for another month's worth of storage unit fees! Ugh!!!

But... Paparone extended an olive branch to us this week by giving us a "sneak peek" into the progress they've made since our last visit. Everything (except electric service) is coming together awesome! 

Starting with the kitchen, the cabinets are perfect and the island we designed with the cabinet guy couldn't be better. Jen gets a nice pat on the back for the hanging pendants she picked out too! I'm harboring a small amount of sadness that we didn't spring for the quartz counter tops, but every time I get those negative thoughts in my head I go back and look at the price to remind myself why we stuck with granite. It will get the job done for the next decade!

One of our first projects will be a tile backsplash. We love the added depth of glass tile so we're about 95% sold on that as our choice. The next decision is whether we go with a solid or something with a little texture. After holding them up to the wall and the counter, we both agree on the tile to the left with a little bit of texture on the backing. Should be a nice little weekend project once we get settled!

The only real hiccup with the house came in the master bathroom where they forgot one of the corner shelves that we had asked for and identified on our markup drawings. It doesn't make a difference to me, but apparently foot shelves are a necessity for women who shave their legs (who knew?) The one benefit of having all this extra time is that making this tile fix shouldn't impact us at all. 

On the bright side, our dream living room fan is back in stock! This will match perfectly with the hanging pendants in the kitchen. We're debating whether we want a second one in the morning room, but will probably make that call after move in. My guess is that the windows on the back of the house will give us plenty of breeze when we want it. 

Otherwise, everything else is moving along well. Our yard was graded an feels much bigger than expected when you come out the back door, sidewalks/steps/patio were poured, driveway should be going in today, grass should be going down next week, and exterior trim is wrapping up this week.  

Now that we've gotten over the initial disappointment, we're okay with the 2 week delay. We have had an insane amount of support from family and friends during these past 8-9 months so a few more days won't hurt. This also gives us another round of paychecks to stash away (minus the stupid storage unit costs!!!) for window treatments, paint, fencing, a new basement TV, a new mattress, a desk, cabinets/workbench in the garage, irrigation, a deck/patio, etc. The list goes on forever... 

Closing Around the Corner!

Updates have been a little few and far between lately, mostly because all of the work has been behind closed doors! But FINALLY we have an answer to the question that people have been asking us for months: "When are you moving in?" Our closing date is June 25th!!! So if you owe me even the slightest bit of a favor, prepare to get a phone call!

I stopped by this afternoon and chatted with the Project Manager. Everything is on track for our Homeowner Orientation meeting on June 19th. That is essentially a punch walk for us to identify a handful of fixes. The loan paperwork is all in place, homeowners insurances is figured out, the appraisal is done, and today I paid (hopefully) the last storage unit bill! I'm told they will be pouring sidewalks and driveways next week, the siding guys will be back out to touch up a few things, finish electrical is complete, and the rest is on cruise control!

If you don't want to be bored by furnishings, this is where you can stop reading... 

So what else have we been up to? Trying to furnish the place! Jen decided long ago that pretty much every piece of furniture we own would not be nice enough for her shiny new house. Most everything we've stored for the past 10 months is probably going to the basement, attic, or the curb. I'll be honest, I've had a little bit of fun with it too. My inner bargain shopper has come out in full force trying to use every last gift card, coupon, and sale that I can find to save a few extra bucks.

We both fell in love with a sectional from American Signature Furniture down in DE (home of tax free shopping!) as well as a coffee table and end table that were paired with it. It's typically a cheaper furniture store, but we've had amazing success with their products in the past. Considering the prices we were looking at when shopping at the other big brand stores, this was a no brainer. because the sectional is a little smaller, we thought acent chairs would be a good idea as well and I'm especially proud of the deal that I found at Target where we got this pair for $160 shipped ($66 out of pocket after some gift cards and lingering Paypal balance!) Jen grabbed some giant curtains too. It's all coming together nicely!

Appliances were a decision that we may have lost a few friends over. Team Front Load vs. Team Top Load might be the most heated debate since blue/black dress vs gold/white dress! We ultimately decided on front load for A) Front controls B) Ease of use for short people C) More options available. We shopped every store that sold appliances and ultimately found the best deal on a set with the most features at Home Depot. This GE set has everything we wanted, including steam and it "looks pretty" according to Jen. The Refrigerator was an easy decision because the rest of our appliances are "slate" in color. That's an option exclusive to GE so we needed to find a GE refrigerator that fit our opening without breaking the bank. As it turns out, that's only two options. The one that was Energy Star Rated was $200 more, but comes with a $100 NJ Clean Energy Program credit which felt like a great bonus. The washer and dryer carry these credits too which was an awesome last minute find!

Lastly, we got around to getting crafty with customizing some stools to our liking and upcycling an old patio table that has been hiding behind the shed for 10 months. I told Jen that the fabric she originally picked out was "grandma's couch" but it's growing on me and works really well with my Target chairs! The outdoor table isn't perfect but considering I'm only out a little stain and a few cans of spray paint, it will get us through a year or two!

I'm predicting the first BBQ before the end of July! So close!