Building Our Dream Home

I almost hate to title this as “Building Our Dream Home” because when I think of my dream home, I’m in the south of France in a home that overlooks a vineyard and is about 20,000 square feet. Now that’s a dream. Then I come back to reality. My mind goes to Navy and Aaron (and possibly another little one) running around this new home we are about to build … and that’s a dream come true! Maybe this will be where we bring home baby #2 and I can do all my nesting in a new home.

Where it all began

The last month and a half have been a whirlwind of emotions. It all started when Aaron took me to see property — a lot that was available. This is a special piece of real estate because Aaron’s dad, who created and built Benders Landing, owned it. It’s the only available lot of their project. Which, if you think about it, that’s pretty wild. Twenty-something years ago his dad started this giant project, and now his son is buying the last available lot. Full circle!

While Aaron and I were out looking at what an acre looked like, I turned to him and said, “Why don’t we just buy this one?” To make a long story short: We did. I’ve learned a whole lot about land, including the fact that there’s quite a lot that goes into it. One thing that’s great about this lot is that it’s prepped and ready to be built on. No tree clearing is required, which can add a month to a building project.

The lot is also very special to us because Aaron is involved with the homeowners association. When it comes to building, this is a HUGE bonus. Once plans are drawn up, you have to take them to your HOA for approval. This can take 30-plus days. Since Aaron is on the HOA board, we will have our plans approved in an hour max. Having Aaron in this 21-home gated community can either be a curse or a great thing. I often wonder if we will get people knocking on our door wanting to ask Aaron personally for allowances and favors. Ha!

Our builder

Finding our builder came super easy for us. Because Aaron is in the business, he knows exactly where to go and who has a good reputation. Reliability is a key factor. He mentioned to me a company called Partners in Building. Aaron told me all about this model home they had in the gated community and how much he knew I’d love it. Turns out, I’m obsessed with it. You’ve seen it on my Instagram stories.

So, we sat down with the builder and had him explain the process of building. It honestly was a no-brainer, but I couldn’t just pull the trigger like that. I had to do my own research. I wanted to check out other builders and make sure Partners in Building was the right fit for us. Well, that was short-lived. No one does it the way PIB does it.

Key points as to why we chose PIB for building our dream home

• With this company, all costs are covered before signing on. There are no hidden costs. You spend a month in the design center picking every single thing out. So, in the end, you sit back and let the builder do what they do. You’ve done your part upfront.
• They only take so many builds a month, which means your home gets the individual attention it deserves.
• PIB can go fast or slow based on your needs. Our lease is up in March of 2020, and the goal is to get us into the home as close to that time as possible.
• If you want it, they can get it. Partners has been in business for a long time and has a great building reputation. This allows the company to have access to anything in the world you want to bring in to make your dream home an actual dream.
• Base items are still high-end items, such as the stove, baseboards, handles, doors, etc. You aren’t getting bottom-of-the-barrel items. I’d go so far as to say you start off with high-end items — without the high-end costs tagged along. This is possible because Partners buys in such bulk that it allows the company to keep costs down for the buyer.
• Partners has a streamlined and easy process from contract to building.

Where we stand now in our home building process

Each month throughout our building process, I want to share with you what we’ve done for that month. To start, we’ve sketched out our own plans and have given them to the architect who then put it all out on paper and made it flow and make sense. There were things to consider, like a big foyer, stairs in the foyer, high ceilings and a garage and kitchen on the left side. I wanted a hall leading to my office. It was also very important to have a guest room/nursery near our bedroom for baby number two (should God gift us with one). There’s a lot more, but that gives you an idea of the things we shared with the architect that were important to us.

This process is a little lengthy, and while writing it down, it may seem like it’s easy, but it’s not. Building our dream home takes some work but completely worth the time. There are lots of matters to take into consideration, from lining up the exterior windows to the size of the rooms. Do you have a game and media room? Does each kid upstairs get their own bath? Where is the pantry going to be? Do you have a back door? Do you have a door in the garage so it’s easy to access the trash cans? How do you hide the trash cans from the road? The list goes on and on. When you buy a house you think of these things, but it’s a whole other story when you personally place all these aspects of a home where you want them. Mama’s gotta have the perfect kitchen for all those recipes and dinner parties I plan on having.

Lot!

We’ve also purchased the lot. Well, sort of. We are rolling it into the construction loan so that we only have one closing, but it will be paid for in full within the month.

The contract to start building with Partners in Builder has been signed. Our appointments to get into the design center and meet with the DataSmart team have been scheduled.

What’s next?

Best case scenario: We close on the construction loan in 30 days and break ground sometime in July. The building process should take six to seven months. Of course, that’s if everything goes smoothly.

We also need to meet with the cabinetry company to iron out what all the cabinets throughout the house will look like. There’s the kitchen, pantry, laundry room, coffee bar area, bathrooms, closets and anything else I may be forgetting. It helps the process go faster and run smoother because I know what I want and where I want it all to go.

That’s it for now. I’m sure I’m missing something. If I remember, I will come back and add it to the list and then keep you updated in case you’re wanting to know the process.

Lots of you are remodeling and building or looking to build. That’s made this a lot of fun. Sharing your experiences and ideas with us have really helped. It’s all taken into account. Aaron and I discuss all these details. Keep them coming!

Here are some home organizing ideas I have planned for our dream home…so far!