Picture Progression

For this entry, I thought I'd show you the progression of our house! With about a month left until our move in date, we absolutely cannot believe how quickly the past 5 months have gone!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Time I Really Saw My House Take Shape

Words could not possibly describe this feeling.  I was speechless then, and I am still speechless as I type this.  I could not have prepared myself for the emotions I felt when I saw the house with the brick and siding complete.

I stood across the street, gazing at my(!) house, with silent tears. I got to LIVE here?! Moments like this really make you think about how far you have come  and future possibilities.

Pre Dry Wall Meeting

Matthew did this meeting solo, as I was stuck at school for the weekend. This meeting consisted of a thorough walk through of the entire house.  They went room by room, using the building plans to ensure that all the outlets, phone jacks, etc were exactly where we wanted them to be. Any issues were quickly attended to by Tommy! (Pendant lights weren’t wired and within 24 hours it was fixed!)

The characteristics of the home were discussed and the inspector came to visit afterwards. Outside landscaping was described and a tentative timeline to completion was given. Our house was on schedule and coming along swimmingly.

Fun fact: The next morning at 7 AM – a Saturday to be exact – Matthew sent Tommy a text message with a question. Ten minutes later, Tommy replied and the issue was dealt with immediately!  We are really not sure if he sleeps. But like I said before, we trusted him completely and time and time again, he has proven himself.

The Top Ten Reasons to Work With Atlantic Builders

10. Atlantic Builders has a community to suit anyone’s idea of a dream home! They have large lots, smaller lots, lake access, townhomes, and tons of design options! They also allow you to do non-standard options, ensuring your house is exactly the way you like!

9. Dinosaur Bone Rights. Juuust Kidding. (But seriously, it could happen)

8. The homeowner’s manual is fancy! It is a well-designed, thoughtful addition to an already thorough process.

7. The interactive floor plan is just another great feature Atlantic Builders has! When we first decided to build, we spent hours figuring out exactly what we wanted.  This allowed me to see what our floor plan would be laid out, as well as what kind of furniture we’d have to buy.  This feature allowed us to feel confident in our decisions and know there wouldn’t be any surprises throughout the process. (We did have one surprise, but it was a walk out basement… the BEST kind of surprise!)

6. The adjustable hard hats are so cool. I was very impressed with these.

5. Atlantic Builder’s professionalism and attention to detail is outstanding. We were kept in the loop about everything, knew exactly what to expect, and were continuously impressed with the quality of service.

4. If there is one thing that Matthew and I aren’t… it’s uptight and stuffy.  And neither is the staff at Atlantic Builder’s.  Each person we have come in contact with has been upbeat, out-going, and possessed a fabulous personality. This process has been so much fun!

3. We love that we have laughed through this entire process. So reason three is simply this: If you like to have fun and want the building process to be a good time, choose Atlantic Builders.

2. The quality of their Homes is amazing.  From everything to price, location, energy efficiency, and reasonability priced options… you just can’t go wrong.  (What other companies consider luxury upgrades comes standard in an Atlantic Builder’s home.)

1.  The number one reason to choose Atlantic Builder’s to build your dream home is their AMAZING staff.  They truly care about you and the house they’re building for you! From the very first time TJ (Or is it LJ? MJ? :)) showed us the available lots, we felt like we were in good hands and taken seriously.  Jennifer, Tommy, Melanie, and the rest of the staff are incredible. They answers questions quickly, (even responding to texts on Sunday mornings!) and are genuinely happy for you.  They love their jobs, and truly like each other… it definitely shows with every interaction they have with customers.


I absolutely AM gushing. But hey, if you're this impressed with something... you should gush!

 

Pre Construction Meeting AKA Ode To Tommy

Due to the holidays and our busy schedule, the pre-construction meeting turned out to be the foundation was just poured meeting. (The delay was purely our decision)

 This meeting consisted of meeting with a Media/Audio expert (wonderful guy! Very helpful and informative!), as well as going over step by step the building plans for our home.

What could have been a long, boring, drawn out process was anything but. We laughed, we were serious at times, professional during others; but mostly we laughed a lot.  This was the first time we met Tommy, who would be our house foreman.  And Tommy, oh, Tommy was JUST was we needed. He’s a gregarious, get the job done, and have fun kind of guy.  We were instantly put at ease.  His knowledge, professionalism, and genuineness impressed us from the get-go. I had been nervous about the team building our house, but because we know Tommy had things under control, we slept better at night.

It was also during this meeting that we discovered we actually got a walk-out basement. Happiness ensues! Things just kept getting better and better…

And then Jennifer brought down a huge box of chocolate and we were in heaven.

When I imagined us building a house, I pictured long drawn out meetings where we had to wear our serious faces.  I thought we’d be bored to tears, but I was completely wrong…

We had a blast! It was thorough, professional, and filled with laughter.

We were one step closer to our dream home with a stomach full of chocolate and nothing but confidence in the team responsible for building!

Design Appointment

We had definitely looked forward to this appointment for a while! We had heard such great things about Melanie, and we were not disappointed.

During this meeting, you go through the design aspects of your house…Everything from the bathroom tile, kitchen appliances, and faucets.  We were once again impressed with the professionalism, openness, and positive attitude each member of Atlantic Builder’s embodies.

I brought a cute little sign I had found at a craft fair to show Melanie the look I was going for.  Her advice was invaluable, expertise enviable, and so, so talented!

It was so exciting seeing things together and imagining what our house would look like. Surprisingly, Matthew and I agreed on mostly everything. Crazy!

The Design Center has such a relaxed environment. We were encouraged to take our time and talk things out.  We couldn’t have been happier with Melanie, the options we had, or the overall experience!

 

Random Fun Story (Saturday Hide-Out)

Matthew and I are currently renting a lovely old house in Downtown. The neighborhood is full of wonderful people, wonderful dogs, and an overall feeling of hospitality. We always knew this place would be temporary, but it was here that we first fell in love with our new town… And that will always mean something to us. But…

All of these wonderful things about our current residence could not convince us to attend the Annual Neighborhood Block Party. Both Matthew and I have the type of jobs where we must be ‘ON’ all the time, and we look forward to relaxing on weekends.  And the Block Party fell on a Saturday after a particularly stressful week for the both of us. 

Unbeknownst to us, the Block Party was being held right outside our house… Meaning right beside our vehicles. We weren’t quite sure how we were going to ‘escape’ and Matthew was not fond of my jumping the back fence and running like the wind idea. So we had only one choice – walk outside, shoulders straight, say hello, and get in our car like nothing was up.  And that’s just what we did. 

Once we made our escape though, we were at a loss as to what to do for 5 hours.  And then a moment of inspiration hit us… We might not beable to go to OUR house… but we could go to the Model Home… which of course, was the closest thing to a home that we had at the moment.

So we did just that.  We crashed Jennifer’s afternoon.  After doughnuts and small talk, Jennifer and I set to work going over our options and figuring out what looked best with what. We picked out our backsplash, brick, and bathroom tile that day! It was a great way to spend the afternoon… not only because of the incredibly comfortable furniture, but because Jennifer and Atlantic Builders welcomed us into their ‘family’; we weren’t simply a couple purchasing a house… we’ve always been treated as though we are friends.

The Contract

The Contract (insert scary, intense music here)

Everyone had said that buying a house would be the biggest decision of your life. Although a very big purchase, I felt more relaxed and less stressed then when we bought a car a few months before.

The day that we signed the contract for our new house turned into a very long night. When we stopped by the model to look at the design options again and to talk to Jennifer, I definitely did not think that we would be signing a contract that day. After looking at all the options again and coming to a final price on what we wanted - the next step was to sign the contract. When we realized we had come to this point, we came to a complete stop… with hundreds of questions running through our heads.  Were we ready for this? Could we afford this? Are we going to be able to eat? And my personal favorite – Can I still buy the Louboutin's to celebrate earning my Master's degree?

Jennifer, I’m sure, could sense our anxiety.  She promptly sent us out the door to discuss everything over dinner. At dinner, we discussed, discussed, and discussed.

 I called the mortgage lenders to discuss my credit score and was completely shocked when I was told we really could afford this dream home. What followed was another hour of stress eating, triumphant fist pumps, and more disbelief. 

We then took another look at the options we have selected and decided we’d rather have the morning room and a brick front than a finished basement and front porch. At this point, we lost ourselves in dreaming about everything that we could do with that AMAZING basement. So many possibilities…

It was then that we realized our dream home could be a reality and we were really only a few months away from no more landlords! (This is in no way a slight to the few amazing landlords we have been blessed with over the years.  There is just a huge element of freeddom that comes with owning your own home) We could paint the walls any color; we could have pets, an in-ground pool, and... and… I digress…

We then went back to the Model Home to sign our lives away!  The signing process was very thorough! When I say thorough, I am NOT kidding… We went over each and every option… separated by random side conversations about dinosaur bones, pranks to play on our future children, and block parties. (Seriously, Jennifer is an absolute whiz at her job.  She took what was a huge anxiety-provoking moment for us and made sure we had fun)

The contract signing process was a very long night, but not once did Jennifer make us feel rushed or pressured.  We couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

 

Choosing Our House & Community

The process of choosing the model of home and the community that we wanted to build in was essential to ensuring that we will have a home that we love for years to come.

The interactive floor plan was a valuable tool in deciding the model of our future home. Due to our budget and the size of the home we wanted, we quickly narrowed the selection down to the Radford or the Chelsey. The interactive floor plan allowed us to see what the modified house layout would be. We added on the morning room, upgraded kitchen, extra bathroom and fireplace. After playing with the interactive floor plan and daily calls and visits with Jennifer we finally decided on the Chelsey model. (We were amazed at the patience! The staff truly understands the importance of the decision-making process! They get that this is YOUR home, your castle, your spot! They want it to be just as perfect as you do!)

Now to determine what community we wanted to live in! Kate wanted a place that had a community feeling, with sidewalks, play grounds, and an active neighborhood association. Matt wanted a place that had a little bit of land where a dog or two could run around!

As soon as we drove through another Atlantic Builders community, we knew this was the place for us. With two acre lots, sidewalks, playgrounds, and a pool, we both could have exactly what we wanted.

We had found the perfect community for our future home!

An Introduction Of Sorts

Hi! This is us:

If you would have told us that we would be building our first house, we would have said you were crazy. We always thought we’d have a starter home and save for our dream home. And this is exactly the strategy we had when we started looking for the house we’d live in after we were married.

After touring two houses, we’d had enough. We wanted square footage, a big yard… room to GROW! And all we were finding were adorable bungalows and century old mansions that conjured up images of Tara from Gone with the Wind. (For Kate at least….Matt doesn’t give a damn about Tara… see what I did there? )
We just weren’t finding what we were looking for. Enter Atlantic Builders.
Or actually, enter Jennifer and the Chelsy model. We happened upon the model and decided to take a look around.

After touring the model, we were impressed with how willing the sales team was to work with us.

One of the main things that impressed us was the lack of pressure we felt from Jennifer and the rest of the sales team. When we had toured other places, we were hounded with daily phone calls asking us when we’d be back to sign a contract.

There was none of that from Atlantic Builders.

What followed was weeks of playing around with the awesome Interactive Floor plan. This allowed us to find what we were looking for in our house. And find our house we did.

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to build a new home? This blog will chronicle our journey as Atlantic Builders builds our new home! Feel free to come along.