Our original home search started Oct. 2016 we were looking specifically for a single level home as I have a partial artificial knee and like to avoid stairs if necessary. One afternoon after leaving my in-laws we drove past a sign for a Ryan development and my husband said "Maybe they have single level homes" I said "I doubt it most large builders do not build single level homes." Well I feel like the universe set me up just so I would have to eat my words because once we got home my husband insisted I look them up and of course there was the beautiful Carolina Place. http://www.ryanhomes.com/find-your-home/our-homes/single-family/carolina-place/cnp00
At that time we still had my husbands bachelor condo and unfortunately the market was not kind to us, so to even think about selling it we had to clean out our savings which was also our down payment for the Carolina Place. 😢
We listed our condo in November and 3 days later we had an offer, unfortunately the deal fell through because the buyer was using an FHA loan and for condo's if 20% of the home owners are behind in their HOA fee's FHA loans will not be approved. Well this went on for months we had a total of 5 offers but all were FHA. Finally we only allowed Conventional or LPMI loans to view the home and then in March 2017 we received a conventional offer. The week we moved into my in-laws and were preparing for closing, the bank he was using denied the loan so we relisted the home. Three weeks later the previous buyer found another bank and we closed on May 25th 2017. We paid $305,500 for our home and we only sold it for $215k so we had to take a hefty loss not to mention helping with closing cost and fixing all the issues in the inspection $5000 and painting, professional top to bottom cleaning and shampooing carpets (another $4000 total) just because we did not feel right turning it over with holes and stains.
Throughout the year we had been keeping in touch with our Ryan sales rep and checking on lots and current promotions, but we would not sign a contingency because we did not feel secure enough with our HOA issue. Since lots were getting slim and we were not sure of the fate of phase two in our development we started looking at other communities and builders. We had a difficult time finding a single level home we liked and kept thinking about the Carolina Place.
One day my husband took a drive to a county south of us (he needed a specific store) and decided he liked that area and asked me to look in that county, that is when I found Quality Built Homes. We fell in love with the Brentwood model as it had everything we were looking for (we were looking for single level, 3 bd, 2.5 bath, dining room and morning room) this model actually had 4 bd, 3.5 bath and dining room and morning room.
At that time we still had my husbands bachelor condo and unfortunately the market was not kind to us, so to even think about selling it we had to clean out our savings which was also our down payment for the Carolina Place. 😢
We listed our condo in November and 3 days later we had an offer, unfortunately the deal fell through because the buyer was using an FHA loan and for condo's if 20% of the home owners are behind in their HOA fee's FHA loans will not be approved. Well this went on for months we had a total of 5 offers but all were FHA. Finally we only allowed Conventional or LPMI loans to view the home and then in March 2017 we received a conventional offer. The week we moved into my in-laws and were preparing for closing, the bank he was using denied the loan so we relisted the home. Three weeks later the previous buyer found another bank and we closed on May 25th 2017. We paid $305,500 for our home and we only sold it for $215k so we had to take a hefty loss not to mention helping with closing cost and fixing all the issues in the inspection $5000 and painting, professional top to bottom cleaning and shampooing carpets (another $4000 total) just because we did not feel right turning it over with holes and stains.
Our old condo the end unit
Throughout the year we had been keeping in touch with our Ryan sales rep and checking on lots and current promotions, but we would not sign a contingency because we did not feel secure enough with our HOA issue. Since lots were getting slim and we were not sure of the fate of phase two in our development we started looking at other communities and builders. We had a difficult time finding a single level home we liked and kept thinking about the Carolina Place.
One day my husband took a drive to a county south of us (he needed a specific store) and decided he liked that area and asked me to look in that county, that is when I found Quality Built Homes. We fell in love with the Brentwood model as it had everything we were looking for (we were looking for single level, 3 bd, 2.5 bath, dining room and morning room) this model actually had 4 bd, 3.5 bath and dining room and morning room.
QBH Brentwood model
We crunched numbers, added upgrades and even put a hold on the home, but as we researched the house we discovered it was well water, septic and propane heat but I loved it so much I could look past this. The last piece of the puzzle before our deposit was I kept encouraging my husband to try this commute straight from his job on a weekday so he could get a true feel of how it would be...well he hated it and I did not want him spending 4 hours a day commuting, so as much as I loved this home I had to break up with it (there were tears lots of tears). Then my husband took me back to the Carolina Place model and I realized though I had to choose between having a bedroom and dining room and it did not have a powder room for guest I still loved it.
Though we made nothing on the sale of our condo we have always been thrifty and live below our means so with some extra discipline we were able to save the 5% deposit in a few months and will have more than 5% by the time we close. So on June 8th we met with the SR got a pre-approval through NVR and on Friday June 9th we signed the contract (with only 3 lots left in the community). Saturday was when we put our sold sticker on our lot.
We crunched numbers, added upgrades and even put a hold on the home, but as we researched the house we discovered it was well water, septic and propane heat but I loved it so much I could look past this. The last piece of the puzzle before our deposit was I kept encouraging my husband to try this commute straight from his job on a weekday so he could get a true feel of how it would be...well he hated it and I did not want him spending 4 hours a day commuting, so as much as I loved this home I had to break up with it (there were tears lots of tears). Then my husband took me back to the Carolina Place model and I realized though I had to choose between having a bedroom and dining room and it did not have a powder room for guest I still loved it.
Though we made nothing on the sale of our condo we have always been thrifty and live below our means so with some extra discipline we were able to save the 5% deposit in a few months and will have more than 5% by the time we close. So on June 8th we met with the SR got a pre-approval through NVR and on Friday June 9th we signed the contract (with only 3 lots left in the community). Saturday was when we put our sold sticker on our lot.
We had a rough night with a sick toddler but still excited
Today we meet with our loan officer to go over loan options and tomorrow we are going to look at the Ryan homes near us to look at siding colors and also go to the model crazy far from us to go take measurements of a few things. That's all for now check in weekly for updates!
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