Our Selections:
- Brick Front with Porch
- Finished Basement - with walkout door to backyard
- Wooden Floor for Foyer, Powder Room, Dining and Kitchen
- Carpet for the rest of the house
- Gourmet Island with Granite counter-top in the Kitchen
- Fire-place in family room
- Stainless Steel Appliances
- Kitchen Vent-Out
- Tray Ceiling in Master Bedroom
- Ceramic tiles in Master Bathroom
- Added extra bathroom (3 bathrooms on the upper level)
- Bay Window in Dining room
- Double window in one of the unfinished room in basement - we are planning to finish it next year as a 5th bedroom
- 3 piece rough-in in the basement - again - planning to finish it later to convert as 4th full bathroom
- Garage opener
- Recess lights in foyer, kitchen
- Chair railing and Crown Molding in the Foyer, Living, Dining room and the stairs
- Gas cook-top, Electric connection for washer/dryer
(we bought the house in a promotion - so we got free basement, fire-place, brick front and porch & 33% off on all other upgrades :-) )
Morning room extension was not possible as the local code does not allow for our site :-(..so we just got a 2 ft extension in dinette
Guardian Selections
- In-wall Speakers in family room (Kiplisch)
- Flat TV rough-in for family room (over the fireplace), Master bedroom (we decided to pull the cables from family room to study room and from master bedroom to closet - so the accessories would be accesses remotely using logitech remote)
- Security system (added 1 keypad & heat sensor) - negotiated for 6 month free services - but got a discount of $400 upfront - which is equivalent to 10 months of service
- Extra 110v points for Flat TV connection, Closet in Master bedroom for the cable box/dvd player (Note: The Guardian upgrades do not qualify for the 33% discount)
CTI
- Maple Cognac cabinets in Kitchen and bedrooms
- Gunstock hardwood for the main floor (except living & family)
- Tan Brown granite (went well with Maple Cognac cabinet and Gunstock floor)
- Upgraded Stainless steel appliances with double wall oven
- Kitchen Vent out - we are planning to buy range hood after we move in
- Upgraded carpet for rest of the house with 6lb padding (i shall upload pictures of the selections soon)
Current Status
- Loan approved (via NVR Mortgage - took 2 weeks for approval)
- Construction started today, settlement in mid of June
- Watching the mortgage rate fluctuations very closely - we wont be able to lock rate until mid of April
- Today we had pre-construction meeting with PM to go through all the options - they missed couple of items (like Ceiling fan rough-ins that we selected for all bedrooms & Chair Molding). Need to closely monitor during this meeting as we went through all upgrades in detail.
So far, I am happy with Ryan folks (Sales Rep, Loan department & PM) - they have been honest and guided us with all pros & cons of the selections. Guardian rep was also good - he wanted us to get the 3-yr security contract - but did not push for rest of the stuff. We were not that happy with CTI - they didn't provide with much selections - in fact the model house had more selections (in their basement) than the CTI showroom. But we are now happy with the selections.
