The house is OURS...tomorrow!

I am beyond excited to tell you guys that we are closing on our construction loan tomorrow and the house is officially ours! I cannot believe this day is here. I feel like we have been waiting so long and now we can finally make this house our home! It hasn't come without complications, frustrations, and situations, but it's here. Period.

We had a little bit of a bump this week though. Let me explain. To move in, you have to have a final inspection and the inspector has to give you a CO, or for those of you (like me) who didn't know what that stood for, it's a Certificate of Occupancy. Basically, they tell you that it's ok to move in. Well, we had that lovely inspection and the inspector found several things that were not up to code and did not pass us. We were a little worried but the problems were remedied and the guy came back today to check out the fixes. Well, we didn't pass AGAIN. Here's the deal...

If you ever build a house, make sure this doesn't happen to you. When our cabinet guy (who is amazing by the way) was putting the lower cabinets in near the stove, the floor was somewhat uneven; therefore, he had some major adjusting to do to make sure the cabinets were level etc. Well, in doing so, code was broken. The distance from the granite to the bottom of the upper cabinets MUST be 18". Ours is 17.5". SERIOUSLY...we can't pass because of 0.5"??? Well, the inspector DID give us the CO, BUT our builder has to write a letter to the county saying he will fix the problem(s) and they will come back out 3 weeks later to make sure it's fixed.

Here's the kicker...someone please tell me how this is going to be a quick fix?? We have a backsplash up, granite in ONE piece, etc. I just can't imagine how it's going to be remedied, but I have faith it will. I just hope it's not going to be a huge inconvenience to us once we're actually living there.

Anyway, off that topic. The last coat of poly was put on the floors tonight, cleaning ladies come back tomorrow to finish cleaning, and we'll be in there tomorrow night to get a few pieces of furniture in before Directv and ADT come to set up our TV and security system Saturday. I can't wait to start posting pics of the furniture and all the decor. That's what's really going to MAKE the house!! Stay tuned!

Closing date...moving date...for REAL this time!

It seems like we have had a tentative date for a while now for moving in. First it was mid June. This was at the very beginning of the process which is always bound to change slightly. Then, once we were in the dry and getting interior stuff going, we were told it would be July when we could get in. As we got closer and were pushing to get in, my husband and I put a July 1st ultimatum on our builder, and that didn't hold either. We started to get a little worried because we have vacation planned in July and it's getting closer and closer to school starting back for me. Well, finally, my dad (also the banker) gave us great news....we got our final inspection done to say we were 100% done AND....the rates dropped to an all time low of 3.50% and WE GOT LOCKED IN AT THAT RATE!

So, long story short...we are heading to closing this coming Friday and moving in Saturday (for SURE)! We may be able to even get in Friday night to start putting some things together. Jason went ahead and scheduled Directv and ADT for Saturday morning so we kinda need to have all our TV stuff in place for Directv. All in all, we are just so pumped that this is finally happening! I can't WAIT to get in and decorate:)

PUNCH list!

On to another week, and I have high hopes of getting the little odds and ends out of the way. This week should be all the little things getting done around the house to get us READY to move in. Not that we haven't been ready. Trust me. We are more ready than you know. Friday, my mom, dad, and Jason (AND a shout out to Thomas Ryan who helped a ton!!) moved all our stuff from storage into the garage. There was no way we were paying another month's storage rent for only having it in there a few more days into July. It was, by the way, the hottest day of the summer thus far. However, we managed to get everything tucked away neatly in the garage and it felt like a small accomplishment--getting that much closer to REALLY moving in.

Also, Friday, my favorite crew came in to finish the deck railing and screened porch system and got a few door handles etc. on. Hopefully, they'll be back tomorrow to get the shoe mold on and the rest of the hardware mounted. The deck and screened porch exceeded my expectations, and I am thrilled at the outcome! What do you think?

 Ed and Randy putting the first set of railing up:) 

 The brave Chad, standing on a "support" about 7-8 feet off the ground getting the screen system in place!

And the finished look...open decking and the screened porch (try to look past the not painted door..it will get done, SOON)!

Jason and I went to the house today to move some stuff around so the guys could get in and around where they needed to be to put all the shoe mold on tomorrow. We also found so many places in the sheetrock that needed touching up, so hopefully that will be an easy fix this week. Note to anyone wanting to build a house in the future: Be at your house OFTEN. Check every last receptacle/light switch for holes that need puddying. Look at your sheetrock with x-ray vision for imperfections, etc. Make sure everything is exactly how you want it...otherwise, YOU'LL fix it later (on your own expense).

Coming soon...a guide for those who want to build a house in the future from someone who's been through it. You won't want to miss it:) Seriously, stay tuned!