After selling our home in South Austin in April, we decided to build our dream home at Whitestone Oaks in Cedar Park, TX. Since neither my husband nor I have ever built a home, we were a little apprehensive about the process.
The first step was to pick the floor plan and the lot we wanted to build on. That part was easy. We fell in love with the model home and a large lot on a cul-de-sac caught our attention & met all of our requirements. Next step was a four hour visit to the design center to make our selections for the carpet, tile, wood floors, counter-tops, cabinets, fixtures, paint, outside brick and stone. Whew…what a day that was. We discovered that making a selection from a small sample is very, very hard. Signing mountains of paperwork was the next step. And finally, a meeting with our Lender to make sure he had every piece of our financial picture that he needed to process our loan.
It is hard to describe the joy of watching your house being built from the ground up. Our connection to the house seems much more intimate than any other house we’ve ever lived in because we are observing the “insides” of the house coming together….kind of like a birthing.
Fantasizing about what we want to do with the yard has given us hours of pleasure. We already have designated areas for our garden, chicken coop, fire pit, fish pond and dry river bed. We are so looking forward to creating an outdoor space that will make us say “ahhhhh” whenever we are in the yard.
Now, just in case this all sounds like puppy dog tails and pansies, let me set the record straight. Sometimes communication between the home buyer, builder, superintendent, design center and salesperson falls apart and mistakes are made. We’ve had some frustration in this area, but so far have been able to work it out. The Salesperson keeps telling us to have fun with the process, but some days we find ourselves searching for the “fun.”
Did I mention that my husband is a Home Inspector..LOL…he sees every mistake the framers have made and it drives him crazy. I’m about ready to ban him from the build site because he is driving me crazy with his anxiety.
In order to maintain a good relationship with our builder, we’ve decided to call in a structural engineer/inspector to inspect the work so far. He’ll provide us with a list of items that need to be fixed, and there are many. To avoid any ugly confrontation with the builder, we’ll give the builder the list and keep our emotions intact.
The most important thing we’ve learned is to call in the professionals to check the work. It may cost a little more, but provides the peace of mind needed to sleep well at night.
Stay tuned! As our home progresses toward completion, I will provide updates with important information about the home building process. If you are interested in building a home in Whitestone Oaks or anywhere else in the city, please contact me and I will provide you with some helpful tips.
EDIT: This post was written by one of our former team members who decided to retire from selling real estate and enjoy time with her family. For more information on Whitestone Oaks, call us today.
