Most importantly, WE GOT A HOUSE!!!
Now to explain:
So we heard back from our SR yesterday. They were not happy with our offer. To make a long story short, we were off by a couple grand from hitting their DP figure. They wanted us to give up some options...which wasn't going to happen! Not if we were to buy/build this house. We decided to take off the "free" blinds that I mentioned in an earlier post(because nothing is free), add in on the front side of the offer the really nice tile for the owners suite, added the blower for the fireplace and then raised our offer just barely. Because I'm doing a 100% financed VA loan, we are also rolling in the closing costs not covered by their 3000.00 that they offer, so that too has to come off the top from the purchase price. So, end story is, we had to tweak a bit but we got our house for not much more than what we would have ended up with had we went the other way and we only had to give up the thing that we wasn't even counting on having (the blinds). Completely stoked!!
Now I guess it's time to hurry up and wait for the weekend so my wife and I can meet with our SR to pick out colors. SR said that he was submitting the paperwork today so that the flooring people and Guardian can call and set up those appointments. We won't have too much room to play with so depending on what simple upgrades cost for things like better padding for the carpet and *maybe* an upgrade to the laminate floors in the kitchen...Guardian won't be making anything off of us. I'm a techno geek that works in IT so I'd like to have a few of their options but we will have to pass on those type upgrades. With Guardian our list will be simple. Extra 110 outlet above fireplace and if the funds permit, prewire for tv mount. That's it.
I'll update again when I hear back from them for the appointments and/or we choose our colors this weekend so that people can see what it was that we chose.
Color(s) meeting will be important but I've got to be home by 4:00 so I can watch Georgia beat Alabama in the SEC championship! :)
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Contract Signed, Offer Made
My wife and I met with our SR last night. Very cool that he was willing to meet with us on Thanksgiving eve to sign the contract, he's awesome.
Last post I covered our back story which kind of ties into this post about our "offer". Like I explained last time with how Ryan Homes likes to operate, we went about it backwards. I feel that it helped us out a bit and I'll explain. First, obviously by the blog post we chose to go with a Venice. Now let me cover the options that we decided to go with:
What we added:
There are a few other little upgrades that we chose but those are the more important ones I think.
Still to add after looking at all the options before the 14 day deadline for change order requests:
What we're adding/upgrading with the flooring people and Guardian:
What we passed on but wished we could have worked it in but to stay within a decent budget
We passed on the hardwood floors. They're beautiful but we wanted to use that money for other things like:
Also, I really wanted the banister railing but for something so small, I couldn't justify the 495 dollar price.
Everything else is exactly what we wanted! We figure that the hardwood floors is something we can revisit a few years down the road.
We were really surprised by our SR last night too when we met up to sign the contract to find out that Ryan Homes is also throwing in for FREE, window blinds on every window in the house for contracts that are signed before the end of November. Free 1200.00 upgrade! Obviously that's their price and could be done for around 800.00 I think if we had to do it ourselves but shoot, I'll take it!!
So now, to tie back in with what I started with. Everything that I've listed earlier brought our grand total to about 171,000.00 plus or minus for the NET Sales Price. (185,000.00 to include for the added incentives/discounts) Our offer that we submitted was for 165,500.00 Now obviously we have to wait to see if they accept it but I'm a haggler at heart. I haggle for EVERYTHING. This whole process has been fun for me in regards to putting the perfect deal in place all while getting just about everything that we want.
If you are reading this and contemplating a build with Ryan Homes, you need to get familiar with DP. That's Direct Profit. Ryan Homes strives to stay above about 21% direct profit in all their builds. RH will rarely, if ever, negotiate on the base home price (149,900.00 in our case) but obviously their upgrades are way over priced and only adds more to their direct profit margins on each house for those that do not haggle or ask for better discounts. This is where you have leverage! USE IT!! As long as your offer is not completely absurd and fairly reasonable...AND falls in line with their DP projections...they are willing to deal and entertain offers, regardless of what your SR might say. For the longest time (in the beginning) even our SR tried to say that RH doesn't do offers. As time went on and my relentlessness to haggle never wavered he started to cave one day and then I knew I had him :) Just remember to not take it personal because their job is to gain your business, all the while, obtain the best possible profit margins for the company that employs them.
So that's it. Today is Thanksgiving and my family and I have so much to be thankful for this year. We're super excited about the coming days and watching this thing happen. Our SR said that hopefully he would hear something back on our offer by Friday but if not, should be Monday. After that he said that we're gonna move quick because we've already done the hard part and that's the whole hurry up and WAIT to get though the pre-approval process and actually get it from NVR. He said that normally their process is to get someone to sign the contract or proposal to purchase and then they have to wait to get through underwriting. And with NVR...it takes For-Ev-VER!!! (those are my words).
I'll update again when we hear something!
Last post I covered our back story which kind of ties into this post about our "offer". Like I explained last time with how Ryan Homes likes to operate, we went about it backwards. I feel that it helped us out a bit and I'll explain. First, obviously by the blog post we chose to go with a Venice. Now let me cover the options that we decided to go with:
What we added:
- Elevation B with Partial Stone and Veneer Front
- Morning Room
- Kitchen Gourmet Island
- Granite C-tops
- 42" Cabinets w/ crown molding
- Upgraded faucet fixtures
- Recessed lighting package
- Fire Place with upgraded beige marble fill
- Owners bathroom type E w/ soaking tub and shower alternate layout
- Upgraded garage door to carriage style with opener and 2 remotes
- Flood lights on rear of house
There are a few other little upgrades that we chose but those are the more important ones I think.
Still to add after looking at all the options before the 14 day deadline for change order requests:
- Adding the more elaborate tile in the owners bathroom (can't remember the option code) 1095.00
- We want to add the utility wash tub/sink in the garage 495.00
- A blower w/ remote for the fireplace 300.00
- Also, we get for free the standard 10x12 patio but for like 200 difference, we want to do the 12x14
- Lastly, we need to confirm how many power outlets are in the garage and also external outlets around the front and rear of the house for Christmas lights.
What we're adding/upgrading with the flooring people and Guardian:
- Extra cable outlets in the other bedrooms
- Prewire for TV mount in living room
- Budgeted for upgraded carpeting and padding
- Also upgrading the kitchen to a lot better laminate
What we passed on but wished we could have worked it in but to stay within a decent budget
We passed on the hardwood floors. They're beautiful but we wanted to use that money for other things like:
- Granite countertops
- Kitchen island
- Upgraded the elevation to be what we think is that beautiful partial stone and veneer
- Beautifully tiled bathroom, etc.
Also, I really wanted the banister railing but for something so small, I couldn't justify the 495 dollar price.
Everything else is exactly what we wanted! We figure that the hardwood floors is something we can revisit a few years down the road.
We were really surprised by our SR last night too when we met up to sign the contract to find out that Ryan Homes is also throwing in for FREE, window blinds on every window in the house for contracts that are signed before the end of November. Free 1200.00 upgrade! Obviously that's their price and could be done for around 800.00 I think if we had to do it ourselves but shoot, I'll take it!!
So now, to tie back in with what I started with. Everything that I've listed earlier brought our grand total to about 171,000.00 plus or minus for the NET Sales Price. (185,000.00 to include for the added incentives/discounts) Our offer that we submitted was for 165,500.00 Now obviously we have to wait to see if they accept it but I'm a haggler at heart. I haggle for EVERYTHING. This whole process has been fun for me in regards to putting the perfect deal in place all while getting just about everything that we want.
If you are reading this and contemplating a build with Ryan Homes, you need to get familiar with DP. That's Direct Profit. Ryan Homes strives to stay above about 21% direct profit in all their builds. RH will rarely, if ever, negotiate on the base home price (149,900.00 in our case) but obviously their upgrades are way over priced and only adds more to their direct profit margins on each house for those that do not haggle or ask for better discounts. This is where you have leverage! USE IT!! As long as your offer is not completely absurd and fairly reasonable...AND falls in line with their DP projections...they are willing to deal and entertain offers, regardless of what your SR might say. For the longest time (in the beginning) even our SR tried to say that RH doesn't do offers. As time went on and my relentlessness to haggle never wavered he started to cave one day and then I knew I had him :) Just remember to not take it personal because their job is to gain your business, all the while, obtain the best possible profit margins for the company that employs them.
So that's it. Today is Thanksgiving and my family and I have so much to be thankful for this year. We're super excited about the coming days and watching this thing happen. Our SR said that hopefully he would hear something back on our offer by Friday but if not, should be Monday. After that he said that we're gonna move quick because we've already done the hard part and that's the whole hurry up and WAIT to get though the pre-approval process and actually get it from NVR. He said that normally their process is to get someone to sign the contract or proposal to purchase and then they have to wait to get through underwriting. And with NVR...it takes For-Ev-VER!!! (those are my words).
I'll update again when we hear something!
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
A Long Time Coming (with our rather long background story)
My wife and I have been looking to build our very own home with Ryan Homes for quite a while. Our first visit to our "would-be" community was over a year ago. We both were trying to decide if we wanted new construction or pre-built. After walking thru the model (a Venice) and seeing the cost kinda sky rocket out of our (then) price range after choosing the elevation and options we would like to have, we decided that the pre-built arena would be the place for us, although we both really wanted to build our own home.
We were working with an agent at the time and he used his connections to put us in touch with a mortgage broker to help get us a pre-approval to buy our first home together. Because I was fresh out of college and new to the area here in Greenville, SC (moved here for my current job) we were practically forced to trust our agent (which we didn't know from Adam either) on his recommendation. We started a rather lengthy process of obtaining our pre-approval. After about a month we had our number along with the approval. We searched and searched for that perfect home for our family in this area to start what we hoped to be our new hometown. With a new job and a lower starting salary than what is typical for my industry we were just trying to get the most for our money, along with enough home to grow for years to come. It wasn't long before we realized that we had to compromise on our champagne dreams with our beer budget. The houses that were in our price range were either in a bad area or a longer commute than what I wanted. Finally we found one that seemed to be it. We placed our offer, was returned with a counter to which we countered and then struck a deal. We signed docs and a couple days later had a ratified contract for the home and although my wife and I were still thinking about a new home...were trying to be as happy as possible about having our own home, however that came to be. Fast forward like 3-4 weeks, after we had paid for the inspection, the home appraisal and other random things out of pocket and moving closer to a closing date we abruptly found out that our broker moved to a different company and the one he was now with had tighter lending requirements for a loan. Lending requirements that I personally did not meet with a BK in my recent past. While I had a credit score that was really good (or so I was told for what I had went through) it was not their 640 that they needed to have. I sat sadly at a 631. He tried to shop it around to his "buddies" in the industry in which we were told the same thing by all of them...Talk to us when you have at least 2 years on your new job. By then your credit score should be well above the 640 that we need. Needless to say my wife and I was devastated. We had already started making purchases for our new home. A larger TV, theater seating for my "man cave", other little odds and ends that just seemed to make the sting hurt even more when we reflected on them. After a few weeks of being really frustrated we finally decided that maybe God had a better plan. One that we would have to wait and see because we sure didn't feel like there could be one at that moment, even long into the future.
Now fast forward almost two years. I'm still at the same job. I've been blessed to receive two rather large raises that are not the norm for other companies and we've also added to our family. We started to revisit this topic back in August. Mainly because 3rd floor apartment living really stinks but also because of our coming daughter (number 2 we have a 5 year old too). Still we had our documents from when we tried this the first time and when we went back to speak with our SR we had them in hand to compare. Their specials had changed of course but overall, much was the same give or take and with the two years raises we were able to add even more of the real features that we wanted, i.e. a lot better elevation, granite counter tops, morning room, island in the kitchen, etc. Armed now with a better work history and higher salary and hopefully a lot better credit score we decided to move forward with Ryan Homes. Because of the lengthy story that I just went through I was adamant about not putting ANY money down what-so-ever until the underwriters at NVR gave us the go ahead with a pre-approval. Again, this all started in early August. We've had to fight some things tooth and nail with our SR (although he's very patient and understanding) and with our LO with NVR. Our SR kept trying to push to get that down payment and our LO just seemed to drag his feet at every moment. Much of which my wife and I think had to do with our demands and because it's not the SOP for buying/building with Ryan Homes. See, Ryan Homes likes to rope their buyers in by showing them an amazing house and getting that retainer so that you have some skin in the game. This serves a few different purposes. It keeps you locked in so because you don't want to lose your money but more importantly for them, they have your signed documents for what I feel is a slightly overpriced home that you cannot negotiate any further after your initial wants/needs are put into the proposed sales order. Completely opposite of the normal home buying procedures within the pre-built arena in which most won't even entertain your offer without knowing you have a pre-approval in hand to show them you are serious. Like I said, this was something I demanded should they want to sell a house to my wife and I. At first it was no problem. Later, it started to become an issue but I stuck to my guns, threatened to walk away (but was dead serious) and, well, finally they came through!! My wife and I received the call yesterday that we have our pre-approval. It's not the final of course but it's the approval that we needed to move forward. Only two conditionals which are not a problem. They need a quote for home-owners insurance and they want documentation on two rather large deposits that I made to our bank account that's outside my direct deposit paycheck. (So I collected a few reimbursement checks from my work for travel. If I don't need the money in the bank, I like to collect them until they total a couple grand) This I guess is a huge no-no that I'm having to explain away and document now. Lesson learned. Its really a blessing to have even though it's creating heart ache now :)
So with that, we are off on our journey to build our very own Venice! We are super excited and will be updating this blog as time goes on to document our experience in this dream come true. Already though NVR Mortgage has shown to be all that and more of what their reputation says about them. Hard to deal with, constantly needing the same document(s), pay-stubs, etc. I have had a few stern words for our LO and I'm sure he's eaten a few that he's wanted to share with me but overall we are both very professional and we both are focused on the same common goal; to get my family a new home. I've had much time to pour over these blogs, I've learned a ton of other peoples experiences and I hope to help other would be buyers with my own blog. Many thanks to those that have went before me to document their story for people like me. I can certainly say that my wife and I are very appreciative!! Until the next update...
We were working with an agent at the time and he used his connections to put us in touch with a mortgage broker to help get us a pre-approval to buy our first home together. Because I was fresh out of college and new to the area here in Greenville, SC (moved here for my current job) we were practically forced to trust our agent (which we didn't know from Adam either) on his recommendation. We started a rather lengthy process of obtaining our pre-approval. After about a month we had our number along with the approval. We searched and searched for that perfect home for our family in this area to start what we hoped to be our new hometown. With a new job and a lower starting salary than what is typical for my industry we were just trying to get the most for our money, along with enough home to grow for years to come. It wasn't long before we realized that we had to compromise on our champagne dreams with our beer budget. The houses that were in our price range were either in a bad area or a longer commute than what I wanted. Finally we found one that seemed to be it. We placed our offer, was returned with a counter to which we countered and then struck a deal. We signed docs and a couple days later had a ratified contract for the home and although my wife and I were still thinking about a new home...were trying to be as happy as possible about having our own home, however that came to be. Fast forward like 3-4 weeks, after we had paid for the inspection, the home appraisal and other random things out of pocket and moving closer to a closing date we abruptly found out that our broker moved to a different company and the one he was now with had tighter lending requirements for a loan. Lending requirements that I personally did not meet with a BK in my recent past. While I had a credit score that was really good (or so I was told for what I had went through) it was not their 640 that they needed to have. I sat sadly at a 631. He tried to shop it around to his "buddies" in the industry in which we were told the same thing by all of them...Talk to us when you have at least 2 years on your new job. By then your credit score should be well above the 640 that we need. Needless to say my wife and I was devastated. We had already started making purchases for our new home. A larger TV, theater seating for my "man cave", other little odds and ends that just seemed to make the sting hurt even more when we reflected on them. After a few weeks of being really frustrated we finally decided that maybe God had a better plan. One that we would have to wait and see because we sure didn't feel like there could be one at that moment, even long into the future.
Now fast forward almost two years. I'm still at the same job. I've been blessed to receive two rather large raises that are not the norm for other companies and we've also added to our family. We started to revisit this topic back in August. Mainly because 3rd floor apartment living really stinks but also because of our coming daughter (number 2 we have a 5 year old too). Still we had our documents from when we tried this the first time and when we went back to speak with our SR we had them in hand to compare. Their specials had changed of course but overall, much was the same give or take and with the two years raises we were able to add even more of the real features that we wanted, i.e. a lot better elevation, granite counter tops, morning room, island in the kitchen, etc. Armed now with a better work history and higher salary and hopefully a lot better credit score we decided to move forward with Ryan Homes. Because of the lengthy story that I just went through I was adamant about not putting ANY money down what-so-ever until the underwriters at NVR gave us the go ahead with a pre-approval. Again, this all started in early August. We've had to fight some things tooth and nail with our SR (although he's very patient and understanding) and with our LO with NVR. Our SR kept trying to push to get that down payment and our LO just seemed to drag his feet at every moment. Much of which my wife and I think had to do with our demands and because it's not the SOP for buying/building with Ryan Homes. See, Ryan Homes likes to rope their buyers in by showing them an amazing house and getting that retainer so that you have some skin in the game. This serves a few different purposes. It keeps you locked in so because you don't want to lose your money but more importantly for them, they have your signed documents for what I feel is a slightly overpriced home that you cannot negotiate any further after your initial wants/needs are put into the proposed sales order. Completely opposite of the normal home buying procedures within the pre-built arena in which most won't even entertain your offer without knowing you have a pre-approval in hand to show them you are serious. Like I said, this was something I demanded should they want to sell a house to my wife and I. At first it was no problem. Later, it started to become an issue but I stuck to my guns, threatened to walk away (but was dead serious) and, well, finally they came through!! My wife and I received the call yesterday that we have our pre-approval. It's not the final of course but it's the approval that we needed to move forward. Only two conditionals which are not a problem. They need a quote for home-owners insurance and they want documentation on two rather large deposits that I made to our bank account that's outside my direct deposit paycheck. (So I collected a few reimbursement checks from my work for travel. If I don't need the money in the bank, I like to collect them until they total a couple grand) This I guess is a huge no-no that I'm having to explain away and document now. Lesson learned. Its really a blessing to have even though it's creating heart ache now :)
So with that, we are off on our journey to build our very own Venice! We are super excited and will be updating this blog as time goes on to document our experience in this dream come true. Already though NVR Mortgage has shown to be all that and more of what their reputation says about them. Hard to deal with, constantly needing the same document(s), pay-stubs, etc. I have had a few stern words for our LO and I'm sure he's eaten a few that he's wanted to share with me but overall we are both very professional and we both are focused on the same common goal; to get my family a new home. I've had much time to pour over these blogs, I've learned a ton of other peoples experiences and I hope to help other would be buyers with my own blog. Many thanks to those that have went before me to document their story for people like me. I can certainly say that my wife and I are very appreciative!! Until the next update...
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