Update to Our First Major Bump

Today was a rough day.  Tough decisions had to be made and the hard realization that the lot that John and I fell in love with will not fit our dream home.  My husband John came up with some options and the only option that is going to work is pick a new lot.  Now that sounds easy right.  Just pick one, or has Nike says “just do it”.  Well we have started the process with Gehan to look for a new lot.  Our sales associate and a member of Gehan’s management team are working diligently on our behalf to make our dreams come true.  No it will not be the lot we picked, but it will be a lot that our home will fit on. Yes John and I are deeply disappointed that this has happened, but we have a team of Gehan professionals  and a wonderful realtor who understands we are disappointed and they are helping us during this stressful time.  I know that we will reach an agreement on a new lot very soon.  I want to thank each of you who have reached out to John and I today.  We are blessed to have so many people who care for us and who have prayed for us today.  Yes, we have hit Our First bump in the road!  However, I am thankful for everyone who is helping us and I believe it will work out.  Tonight on Facebook Gehan Homes posted this 

And I believe that something wonderful is about to happen!  Just got to believe!

Our First Major Bump

Our first bump along the road of purchasing a new home came when the developer refused to sell Gehan a lot we had requested and instead sold the lot to Lennar Homes.  We were not promised the lot but were with the understanding that Gehan was the anchor builder in the subdivision and would have first choice on lots, not the case.  So, instead of Block 1 Lot 1 we opted for Block 1 Lot 5, still pretty good.

Our second bump and this one is a much harder than the first.  When we selected lot 5 we signed a contract and placed an earnest deposit on March 1^st, 2016 to hold the lot and lock in the price of the house along with structural options we had selected.  The plat that we all were using shown a lot with a 10 foot utility easement.

So far, all is great, we have a lot, and a preliminary structural design that would fit onto the selected lot.  We extended the garage three feet and added the extended covered patio in the back.  Several weeks had passed and in late March we finally were able to visit the Design Center.  Due to Gehan remodeling their space and the mockup kitchens were being “remodeled”  our second session was extended. Excellent, able to accommodate and allow us to take the time to dig through a majority of the samples stored in boxes to determine accent tiles for bathroom and kitchen.  All was great, early April we finished with the Design Center and we wrote a sizeable check to cover the additional expenses, over 150K in structural and décor changes.  We were so excited, planning this for over a year and have been waiting for section 4 to become available since October, 2015.

The Bump.

Unknown to us the developer submitted a “Final” Plat that was approved on April 4^th, 2016 by the City of League City.  The significant change that impacted us, the utility easement in the rear of the house changed from 10 feet to 16 feet which encroached on our plot plan of the house.   My wife was contacted by Gehan about the “Plot Fit”.  My wife is with the understanding that we cannot make any structural changes to accommodate the change in the lot.  Here are what I think are options:

• Allow for structural changes, shorten the house (remove the 3 foot extension of the Garage and reduce the concrete pad of the rear patio by 1 foot.  That will be within the available space leaving 0.78 feet, cutting it close.  Second best option.
• Start the process with the City of League City, a variance – http://tx-leaguecity4.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/Home/View/9705 .  Of course this will take time and Gehan wants to start the build, now.  Most preferred option but know that it may take a Month or more and approval not guaranteed, must show a hardship to the City.
• At one time, we were looking at Block 3 Lot 10 but that lot was sold to a couple on April 23^rd.  Had we known we would have chosen this lot.  An option, will Gehan contact this couple and see if they are willing to trade lots with us?  We will see if they will go the “Extra Mile”.  We spoke with the couple and they were not picky on the lot, just need a lot for their house.
• Select another available lot within section 4.  Several of the lots are not desirable and maybe one or two possible lots have some expensive premiums.
• Will see if there are any other options we are not aware of that will be agreeable that I have not thought of.
• The final and less desirable option, Gehan will be unable to abide by the contract signed and back out of the contract.

Today, we are in a holding pattern to see what positive solutions are available, to get past this bump in the road.

Gehan Design Center Visit

 

We have finished our new home selections at the Gehan design center.  There is so many items to choose from and so many decisions to be made on a build of a new home.  The first decisions that needed to be made was the brick, stone and exterior paint color.  Our final selection was Acme brick Adobe Wells and Boral stone Sonoma White. Our exterior paint is PPG 1024-4 Moth Gray. Our front door stain is JacoBean on mahogany and our shutters and wood trim is Coffee Bean.After we selected our brick and stone we selected a front door.  John and I saw this front door months ago and fell in love with it, as stated above we chose JacoBean stain which is not the stain on the door pictured.After picking our beautiful door it was time to start with the interior of the home and that is where the real detailed decisions have to be made. So for our cabinets throughout the home we chose level 5 Wyoming Maple Cognac.  Our countertops for the kitchen are Mirage Omagastone. Which is a quartz countertop, this countertop will be along the parameter of the kitchen with a beveled edge. The small square next to the Omegastone is the back splash for the kitchen.The kitchen back splash is Travertine Ancient Tumbled in Silver in a herringbone pattern. On the island we chose granite Titanium with a chiseled edge.

The flooring for the home will be hardwoods, tile and carpet.  The hardwood that we chose was Shaw Garden Glen Pathway which is a heavy scraped hickory hardwood.  The tile is a porcelain tile is Lucerne Grassen which will be in different sizes throughout the home.  The master bathroom will be 12 x 24 the laundry room and powder room will be 20 x 20 and the Jack and Jill bathroom and Andrew’s bathroom will be 13 x 13.  The carpet is by Shaw Floors and it is a linen color. The carpet we stayed with a level one for several reasons.  We did not see a carpet that we were in love with, the carpet we had in our previous home felt amazing and was very good quality.  At the design center the carpet selection was good but John and I felt that we would just go with standard and replace in the near future.  I have always wanted a light color carpet so I thought do it now because when we replace it I will be getting different color. The carpet color I picked might not have been John’s first choice.  However, in the end he was okay with it. We also selected our interior paint to be PPG Whiskers which is a very light gray color.

Moving on to the master bathroom.  This was the most difficult part and emotional part for me. For a year now John and I have been going to the Gehan Villanova model in Westwood.  We have loved the master bedroom and bathroom.  It was one of the many selling points of buying this home. I have told John for a year that I wanted our master  bathroom to look exactly like the model.  Well the accent tile that I have loved for a year now  was not available.  However, the team of ladies that work at the Gehan design center said they would try to get it for me.  Great news they were able to help make my wish come true.  I can not say how much I appreciate the extra work these ladies did to make my master bathroom exactly what I dreamed of. The accent tile is Luminous Glass and Travertine Luna Blend.  I love the way it looks with the porcelain tile.  The accent tile will go into the shower and around the garden tub.

So this is just a few of the many decisions that we made at the design center.  John and I can not wait to see what they look like in our home.  We are so blessed to be able to be on this new home adventure.  Of course each day I hope that I did make the correct decisions and that it all will look great together.  When we were at the design center it just seems like time flies.  It truly is amazing  making so many decisions in a short time period.  I watch the ladies on HGTV and it seems like it comes so easy to them, for me it was a struggle, fun but a struggle!  As far as our lot it is still vacant nothing going on yet.  I hope soon we will get a sold sign and a picture to post.  We are supposed to have a pre construction meeting in about two weeks.  So until then we sit, wait and dream!