Cincinnati Nesties
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Building a Home
My DH are considering building a home through Fischer and it sounds like such a great idea, good deal, good location, but am nervous about building. Anyone build a home and have any suggestions... words of advice? I am just not sure on the idea of building and think we should keep looking.
TIA.
Re: Building a Home
We built with Ryan. I would never build again.
Keep looking there are tons of good homes on the market at a great deal.
The wisest word of advice I can give on the subject...pay VERY VERY CLOSE attention to the blueprints! Just this weekend we had a big stink on a change they made and never mentioned to us on our foundation (which is a big deal!) and it was something we never signed off on or authorized, but didn't find out about it until the foundation was poured. In the end, things turned out ok, but that was after 4 straight days of worrying, no sleep and arguing!
I told DH that if we ever build again, I will be going on a vacation until it is done!
The nice advantage to building is that you can personalize it to what you want in the house!
Best of luck on your home!!!
Thanks ladies I appreciate your input. It's def a tough decision.
We built and coulnd't be happier, but we used a small, independent builder that was only building 2 houses at the time so we pretty much had his undivided attention.
Being able to pick everything out and oversee the process is great, but you MUST check on it often. There are so many things to think about, such as where the heating/air vents will be placed, how many outlets you have and where those will be placed, etc. We picked up on a few things during our visits and had him change them right away. At first we only visited once a week, but once they started framing we were there at least every other day.
I definitely agree with this. We had a fixer upper first then built. We learned so much owning the first one that we knew what we wanted and knew what we needed to look for.
I also agree with this. We bought our first (existing) home about a year ago now and we're always discovering things that we'd like for our next home.
There's just so many little things you don't think about...like pp mentioned number of outlets/locations, which way the house faces (we face East and so the afternoon sun the backyard is *brutal*!), how much I *really* wish I had a porch (probably should have been closer to a "must" rather than "nice to have" for me!), etc.
I'm not even sure I would want to build in the future (I don't know that I could pick every little detail!...our gutted kitchen remodel was hard enough and I can't imagine doing an ENTIRE house including structural decisions!).
My advice is to take a look at what is already on the market first...you can get some great deals. For us, we were on the verge of giving up and building but after looking at over 100 houses over the course of a year, we finally found and jumped on one that was "close enough"
. If you don't find what you like, maybe consider building and if you do, make sure it's in a neighborhood where they are near completion. You don't want to be sitting next to empty lots (b/c in a down economy, who knows what builder/house will go in and when) plus they hold their value better if they're complete.
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Both building and buying an already existing home come with their own set of headaches. None of it is easy.
DH and I built with Fisher, and we won't again, but that's for a multitude of reasons. Realize going in that you're building a construction home- meaning there are set floor plans and you can do some personalization, but some of it is set. Because it's a construction home, they're going to be building several houses at the same time. This is why you MUST watch closely and make sure that everything is being done to your standards. Be prepared for stress, and make sure you go over every detail before you sign the paperwork. It's a good idea to take someone with you who has built with a construction home company before (Fisher, Drees, Ryan, M/I, etc... and knows how the process works).
If DH and I choose to build again, we will probably go with a smaller builder who isn't trying to finish a bunch of houses again. Or, we'll find an already existing house that has the structural things we want and can remodel to suit our personalities. If you opt to buy an already existing house, think about the fact that the paint on the walls can be changed, flooring can be changed, hardware on the cabinets can be changed, etc... for not a ton of money. I'm not trying to sway you either way.
DH and I have done both- built a condo through Fisher and bought a house that we've remodeled. Both come with their own sets of pros and cons-- you know what you want to do. The nice thing about new is that you can put in the upgrades where you want them before you move in. Buying an already existing home means the house has already "gotten the kinks" worked out. Neither is perfect, and you have to know that before you decide what you want to do. GL!!!