Building Our New Home

October 29th, 2005 - Initial Shopping

I'm back dating these first few posts since I'm starting this blog a little late. We started our search many months ago, hopping around to different developments here and there. Beck and I actually decided to plan a full afternoon's worth of looking at different models and builders. I had brought a camera in plans to take pictures and videos through the models.

We started out at a model at Pulte Homes. I can't remember the exact model that we looked at...I think it was the Windsor.



No matter. We walked into the model and was immediated approached by a salesperson. She didn't have alot of answers to our questions, nor did she have any floorplans to give us. Perhaps it was because we told her our price range. We walked through the model, which was nice, but not overly impressive. Granted, I hear good things about Pulte as a builder all the time, but it just didn't seem like you get a whole lot for what you pay for (though, quality might be the advantage there!) ohwell....Scratch that...

Next up we went to Garland Griffin Homes. Now this was a builder that we actually liked. Both Beck and I know a couple that just moved into one of these babies and they seem to love it. The prices were reasonable and you definitely get a decent amount of house for the money. The model was a higher-end model (as they usually are), so it was a little difficult to envision a smaller version that was closer to our price range. Unfortunately, their website is pretty crappy, so I can't link a good picture. I do have to say that the salesman was definitely very friendly and didn't push us at all...which was rather nice. They actually just opened a few premium lots that were quite nice...though, premium comes with a +$7000 price... Overall, the model was gorgeous (and expensive) but it would have been nice to see what a smaller house would have looked like.

Garland Griffin pretty topped our list from the builders that we had seen in the past month...but there was just one major drawbacks. The city that the development was in had mucho taxes... Definitely worth considering.

After GG, we decided to hit a Ryan Homes development that was nearby. Now, just a little backstory... We have friends that have purchased through Ryan just last year. Those same friends picketed Ryan homes because of a surprise sewer assessment that would have cost them $6000. So we went into the development a little suspicious. The development was a bit on the smaller, side and looked a bit crowded for my taste. We decided to move on from there...

We hit a couple of other developments, including Premiere Homes and some other one that I can't remember. None of these other offered sizes that we were looking for...

Anyways, that was pretty much it for our initial shopping trip. The frontrunner so far was Garland Griffin... But first, off to a Halloween Party.

posted by blimpy @ 1:41 AM