reserving our homesite (lot) + a lot of decision making
Our first official meeting with the sales representative at the community we wanted to live in was Saturday, February 15th. Since we were between floor plans, we only left the meeting with a reserved homesite and the options we wanted regardless of the floor plan. During this meeting, we brought our real estate agent along in order to get her input about some options that would be best to have right at the start of our building and options that can be pushed off until we were ready to do them once we closed. This really helped since this is my boyfriend and I’s first home and we wanted to be sure that the choices we made also were up-to-date with styles that are in the market now and what buyers would like to see in case we decide to sell the home anytime soon.
We were originally between the Allegheny and Ballenger floor plans, but had recently visited a Columbia model and liked the overall space and potential it held for the future. That didn’t make the decision any easier for us, though! We’ve been spending our free time visiting each model home again to make sure that the floor plan worked for us, whether it was now or potentially ten years down the line. We tried to think up of anything that we may want in the house and if it was worth adding the upgrade now or to do it later in the future. While we would have been happy with either the Ballenger floor plan or the Columbia floor plan, we wanted to make sure we would be able to afford our home if anything were to happen in the future, such as losing our job or even having children.
I think my boyfriend and I were very stuck in our heads and that was why we had such a difficult time deciding on just the floor plan. We were able to decide on optional upgrades quite easily since we both agreed on what we would want in the house and what we could live without and wait to add in the future.
In the end, we both agreed on the Columbia floor plan. This was a decision we made a few days after this initial meeting. Our sales rep was super kind and tried to help us compare the pros and cons for the Ballenger and the Columbia and gave us a few additional days to think about it.
At this point, it’s starting to get more and more real!
Pro Tips
If at all possible, visit model homes of your liking at least a few times to get an overall feel of how it might fit into your lifestyle.
Take a look at all of the models that are available at the community, either through a model home or looking at the virtual tour and floor plans online. This gives you an idea of what you can or cannot live without, but also allow you to compare floor plans if you are trying to decide between a home.
Ask every single question you have. Ask as many people as you can. You might get different opinions or even insight on things you wouldn’t have originally thought about.
Ask if there are any additional discounts or upgrades you can receive. We weren’t able to get any free upgrades, but we were able to get a discount for having someone refer us to the community. It never hurts to ask!
