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Thursday, May 28, 2015

Pre-Settlement Meeting (and don't listen to all those complaints)!

We had our pre-settlement meeting last week and everything went great. There were just a few minor things we pointed out that our PM marked to be "cleaned up". There was a scratch on the kitchen floor so he will be replacing that board before we move. The day before our meeting I took my parents to see the home and we had noticed a puddle right beside the basement door. It was just about gone the next day and our PM is almost certain it was from the door being left open when the sprinkler was running but he is going to keep an eye on it. He also said it would be  very rare for a walk out basement to leak and even more so for a RH walk out basement to leak....especially with our grading (you really couldn't ask for anything better than what we got...so blessed about that as the yard is the main reason we wanted a single family home).

We are very excited but it also hit us all the work we will have to keep track of (mainly with the lawn and just general maintenance). We've never had a lawn before so it will be new to both of us. We had no idea the work involved for new sod but we are going to love it. Some of the trees already looked "distressed" but that will be part of what the HOA's is in charge of so we don't have to worry with that. We did confirm  that we will have to maintain all the other landscaping (we weren't sure if the landscaping "upgrade" package included maintenance as well. It does not but we didn't think it did so that is fine).

I also want to say that we have been very impressed with our PM thus far and RH's in general. When searching for a new builder we saw  A LOT of complaints about Ryan Homes. Well, I think they were paying attention tho those complaints. They seemed to have put so many  new policies into place now and have stopped using many materials they use to use. We were also told that they now have to do a mold inspection almost 5 times before Settlement and that there is an entire regiment in place if mold is very to be found (which rarely is at this stage). We had never heard complaints about mold from Ryan home owners  but we do know 2 personal stories about mold in other new homes (Toll Brothers and Pulte) so it was a worry of ours since I'm highly allergic to any mold / mild dew.

Another thing to keep in mind about those complaints is that it really depends on the PM and who they decide to subcontract with. I found out today that one of my coworkers use to work for Ryan Homes. According to her Northern Virginia has (or at least had when she was working there) the highest customer service rate compared to the other areas RH's builds at. So when reading the complaints pay close attention to WHERE  (state and region) they are coming from. When considering buying any new construction home do some research on the PM first. We actually asked him right off the bat what his credentials were and which community he worked for before this. We were shocked at how much experience he had. We even knew some people in his old community so we asked how they liked him and we heard nothing but praise. If you notice a community is going through a lot of PM's that are not sticking around long that may be a red flag.

14 comments:

  1. Congrats on getting one step closer to your new house! We found all the maintenance information they go through in the pre-settlement meeting a bit overwhelming but the binder they give you is a really helpful reference. I totally agree about the region you build in being a big factor too. We read the negative reviews but so far our experience has been positive.

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  2. Amen to that, it's nice to hear the positive.

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  3. Hi Katie and Marc,

    My husband and I have purchased in Potomac Shores as well. We have purchased the Milan and will be breaking ground in early July. Oh the excitement and welcome to the neighborhood! I am thoroughly impressed with the neighborhood and the potential over the next 2 years! I did have a few questions 1) what appliance package did you get 2)is the plumbing in the laundry room gas or electric 3) did you mention a "upgraded landscape package" (hopefully this was your blog) and if so, was it offered as an option at purchase or was it something you guys brought up?

    Thanks in advance,

    Ashley

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    1. Hi, sorry for the late response. We have been busy packing! Congrats on the home. What lot did you guys get? Exciting that we will be neighbors. Here are the answers to your questions:
      1.) We got the basic appliance package for two reasons - we are not fans of stainless steel. We have SS now and the smudges drive us crazy. We are also not fans of GE fridge's in general. We have had problems with our ice maker and water filter since we got it. So we are most likely going to be selling our fridge on craigslist and buying a different brand. We didn't want our upgrade money to go towards appliances we weren't really happy with to start with.
      2.) Husband says the laundry room is electrical
      3. ) All the homes at Potomac Shores come with a landscaping package. Most other Ryan Home Communities have to pay extra for this but our Developer wanted a very specific layout so they required RH to include. They also put very strict guidelines on this in our HOA docs :( We have a "do not plant" list for many species.

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    2. Thanks so much Katie! We are in The Cove, Lot 157. We expect building to start the week of July 6th. We also plan to have scriptures or prayers written on the boards of the house. Just a nice way to bless our home. Happy moving

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  4. Most people are happy before closing. Most PM's are ok. It is after closing that most people become unhappy. When the crappy builder grade AC/Heat fails after 3 years. When you have to deal with water in the basement (very common), when you realize that your yard is on top of a decaying level of wood etc.. When you come across all the things that could have been done better..

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    1. Hi Anonymous,

      Sorry to hear of your house troubles. What region of the country did you buy in?

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  5. Nice home but the siding and roofing material RH uses is garbage. It won't take long before the siding bubbles or even melts as I've seen a few times. Your roof will last 15 years at most. Just budget for these things as RH loves builder grade materials. It's not their house so what do they care?

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    1. Hi Anonymous, thanks for the suggestion. I responded because I will be living in the community as well. I wonder if Ryan will be using a better grade siding and roofing considering that this is a high profile, luxury community. Potomac Shores is quite unique and considering the prestige that has been placed on the neighborhood, I would hope they would step up what they normally use.

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    2. Ashley is right. All the homes in Potomac Shores have James Hardie Siding

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  7. How is living in Potomac Shores?
    And the quality of the home?

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