How this process all started.

Back in July 2013, it became apparent that I was going to need to find a new home. Originally, I had looked at a few existing homes around Charles County. My employment required me to live in Charles County. A few people I knew had relatives or friends that had died recently and were looking to sell their homes. However, none were a good match. For example, there was a home owned by an individual about five minutes from my work. At $150,000 I thought it would be a decent starter home. It was one floor, had a large yard, but was small on the inside, and was in desperate need of updating. However, when the estate appraisal came back, it was valued at $210,000. That worked out to be around $180 sq/ft. This house was not a good value. Another house I was alerted to was about 10 minutes from work. At $180,000, this was definitely a viable option. However when the estate appraisal came back it was valued at $280,000, which was around $170 sq/ft. When both of these houses did close, they sold for pretty close to their appraised value.

Then on a quick decision, I took my brother, a friend of mine, and the real estate agent I was working with to sell one of my mom's houses, to look at some model homes. The first one I came across was the Mozart with a detached garage, being built by Ryan Homes. The starting price was around $250,000. I immediately knew that this was a great match for my needs. However, the process of qualifying for this house was going to be a substantial issue.

Fast forward to September, my mom's first house was sold. I asked the estate attorney if I could be advanced part of my inheritance. Since my mom's will was structured in such a way, I could be granted up to $100,000. I elected to take $85,000. The orphans court for Prince George's County granted my request, I paid off my auto loan, and qualified for up to $290,000 based on these parameters. I also had money saved up, so I was able to put down around $95,000 in cash, and was prequalified for up to $210,000 by two lenders.

I signed on the dotted line, and the row I had chosen had a building freeze. This was due to the fact a second entrance to the community was not constructed yet. I started to look at two other near by communities, one in La Plata and another in Saint Charles. However, I would have to forfeit my $15,000 deposit money to Ryan Homes. Then my agent was contacted by the sales associate that took over my contract. A unit came open in another row, and was due to have ground breaking within 3-4 weeks. I jumped on it. This ended up being a good thing, because the elevation (which is predetermined with townhouses in this community) was less expensive by $1000. I signed my lot change request, and it was granted. On a snowy early December day, I met with my sales associate and the construction managers, finalized my details and ground was broken about two weeks later. The progress until now has been slow since we have had a terrible by Maryland standards winter.

My next post is going to detail the options I chose, and why I chose them.

New Blog

Today I am starting my blog about building a Mozart by Ryan Homes in the Fieldside neighborhood in Saint Charles.

Back in September 2013, I signed a purchase agreement to have a house built. Today, the house is under frame. I plan on both writing about my forward progress, and how I got to this point. I am excited to be having my first home built.