Thursday, November 21, 2013

We've Closed!!!

Closing was not as smooth as we anticipated, but hey all that matters is we are proud homeowners. I  promise I will come back and share our closing stress sometime soon, just give me a week or two. Shortly after closing we dropped the paint off at the house, because the painters were coming that night to get started, and should be finished by sometime this evening. We went by this morning to get a sneak peek and it looks so damn good already! Our movers are scheduled for the 30th, but were going to start moving in the items we've purchased this weekend. Home Depot installs the blinds on Monday so after that we will start moving in our larger/ more expensive items.

I am such a bad blogger and didn't realize until we were at home last night- I forgot to take photos for the inside of the home, or them handing us our keys.

Here's one of us shortly after closing in front of our home.

The Alexander's

Saturday, November 16, 2013

4 Days until closing!

Thursday we went by the house and the landscaping was complete as promised. I became pretty pissed after opening the kitchen cabinet under the sink and seeing a large hole in our cabinet floor. I also noticed that there were numerous, possibly little things, that have not been started let alone was there anyone there doing anything. I guess nobody else got the memo that we are supposed to close in less than a week.  As Hubby and I continued to walk around we saw that the dual thermostats had not been installed on either floor, nor had the breakers been completely repaired. What the hell?

After a frantic call to our PM he assured me that none of this would prevent us from closing on time and would all be resolved by Monday. He also scheduled our Pre-Settlement meeting for Monday at 10. We are both so excited!




Hubby drove by the house last night after work to get a picture of it all lit up.
 

Wish us luck on Monday and that there are no major findings. We're so ready to get out of this apartment and be in our home. 

Until Next Time,
-The Alexander's


Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Our House is 90% Complete!

Today marks Day 100/ Week 15 of our process, and so much has happened since our last post. This past Saturday the bottom half of the driveway was poured. Sunday there was no change. We were disappointed and thought nothing would happen being that the following day was Veterans Day so we assumed not much would change.


Yesterday (Day 99), the tile guys were back adding grout to the back splash that morning. We didn't want to be in the way so we decided to come back later that evening. We were both shocked to come back and see lots of carpenters and painters cutting up trim for the interior and adding finishing touches to the exterior as well. We didn't get out due to all of the men still working but we did notice the other 1/2 of the driveway was present.YAY! When I got home I then became convinced that they mistakenly painted the shutters the wrong color and the trim was not dark enough. Let's just say I was "straight tripping".

Can you see the ugly colored shutters?


Day 100- First thing we noticed was our perfectly color coordinated house in all the colors we remember picking! I am so happy I didn't send an email to the PM last night about the color anxiety I was having. He definitely would have thought I was crazy.  Once we got to the front door we noticed the house had electricity and had the permanent lock. I take it we will have to start visiting during business hours only for the next 7 days. When we walked in all doors had handles and door stops on majority of the doors. Wall dings were taped to be corrected and a bob cat was outside getting ready to start the grading. All missing baseboards were added, and did I mention we had electricity? That was of course until I blew the fuse by trying to test the garbage disposal. I was positive I broke the house before we even owned it, but the PM ensured us that 2 of the breakers were acting wonky so the Electrician would be back out to repair it. He also informed us that evening they would be finishing grading on the property and tomorrow landscaping would be done. Hubby already had a conversation with the PM in regards to picking the location of the trees so we came back later this evening after grading was complete and hubby placed stakes in the yard.  On our way out we saw that whoever did the grading damaged and cracked the driveway on the edge. It has been pretty cold for Texas the past 2 days so the upper half of the driveway is not completely dry. It looks like the person drove on it or hit it while doing the grading or both.
Isn't she lovely?
 Pardon the screens do not belong in the kitchen, or the fact that the outlet covers have not been added  but it still looks gorgeous!
 Did you notice the missing cabinet is now installed?
 Me enjoying Standing on the back patio. Go Longhorns!!!


Our cracked driveway :(
 I think that our PM saw the cracked driveway, because the 'Do Not Park' block was added later that evening when we returned.

 Hubby and I made a pact that we will not go back in the house until our orientation, however we will drive by and see the landscaping progress tomorrow. :)

I can't believe that in 8 days, this home will be ours. Ahhhh!

Until next time,
-The Alexander's

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Week 13 and Week 14

 I apologize that this has taken me so long to post, but I have been dealing with a family emergency. I'm  currently typing this from my iPad since I had to travel to NY unexpectedly, so if the formatting looks a little weird- I apologize. I will make all adjustments as soon as I get to a desktop to adjust the format.

The remainder of week 13 was pretty slow. Not much happened, and maybe that is because they wanted minimal walking on our newly installed floors. On Thursday (Day 88) we noticed the A/C people had been by to install all of the vents and the interior condensing unit. 

The following day (Day 89) all bathroom counter tops had been installed. Also our dishwasher appeared and waiting in the kitchen. I spoke with our PM for our weekly call and he informed me that our driveway forms was going up in preparation for them to pour the following week. 

Up until seeing good picture, hubby was apprehensive about the bathroom Classico granite selection. I love it and he's actually in love with it now.
 
An up and close view of the master bath countertops.

Our stainless steel dishwasher waiting to be installed
 


Week 14
Day 92 (11.04.13): I pulled up and noticed lots of movement inside the house. Much to my surprise all of the toilets, sinks, faucets, our water heater, shower heads, and kitchen Granite was being installed. It definitely felt like Christmas as I walked room to room to see a crew working diligently to install different things. 

Master sink with faucets
Powder room- we're missing a framed mirror here. 
 
Kitchen view with Granite. Doesn't it look beautiful?
 
Up close of the St Cecilia Granite.


Day 93: I didn't go by the house

Day 94 (11.06.13): The electrician came by to install all of the outlets, light switches, and lighting through out the home. Our front door was installed and stained, and the railing was stained. We noticed that behind our back door there was some swelling on the wall. When hubby touched it he noticed that a piece of the drywall appeared to have been crushed. We called our PM and he states he saw it during his walk-thru and had plans for someone to come and repair that piece of the drywall. Our cabinet is still M.I.A and our PM was under the impression it would have arriveyf the week before. I'm not picky- I just hope we have that cabinet by closing. The dishwasher is still in the box and waiting to be installed. Maybe they are waiting for our other appliances to arrive before they start installing. 

Front door - Hubby's other demand!
 
Stained stair rail
 
Kitchen can lights and outlets
 

Dinning room chandelier 
 
Master bedroom ceiling fan!


Day 95 (11.07.13): hubby visited the house since I'm gone and he reports that all of the carpet was installed. The concrete still has not been poured due to all the rain, but as soon as it dries yo we will have a driveway and several walkways. He states Guardian was present doing their thing and so he stayed out of their way and documented all of green tape markups from the PM. 

Looking down the stairs
 
Upstairs hallway looking into master bedroom,

Our house!
 
View of other homes in community from an upstairs bedroom

Well folks that's it for now.
Until Next time,
- The Alexander's