Building: Choosing the home plan and floor plan.

I have already talked about how we fell into building but I wanted to discuss it a little more in detail. When we started we out we had several options to chose from as far as home plans went and all were within the price range we were comfortable with, so how did we choose? Well the great thing about our builder is that there are a lot of model homes to look at and they also build a few houses to sell later which we could also view. First we had to make sure that the houses we were interested in were available in the community we were interested in because different communities offer different homes to choose from. The community aspect was a very easy selection; it was simply a matter of elimination. We didn't want Columbus City Schools (that knocked out 2), we only wanted to spend X amount of dollars on our home (that took it down to 7 to choose from), we didn't want to live south of I 70 (which took out 3), and I needed to be able to commute to work easily regardless of the branch I was working in, this last qualifier left 2 communities to pick from, one was in the 270 loop and one was not. We chose the community that was out of the loop. See, easy peasy.

When we selected the community our selling agent (from here on out called P) let us know which plans were available in that community, then took us to see the homes. That day we saw the Rosemary, the Camellia, and the Sage. On paper we liked the Sage or the Lavender the best, but I am here to tell you that if you ever consider building see the house in action before making the commitment. We both loved the Rosemary straight off, the Camellia was way too narrow feeling for us and the Sage's plan felt too choppy in action. Based on our reaction to the Camellia and the Sage, P said that we wouldn't like the Lavender and didn't take us to see it. Basically it came down to a feeling and we felt the Rosemary would work best for us.

Once the home was chosen and the contracts signed you have 14 days to make any wanted structural changes to the plan. With every home plan there are structural options, from simple things like a pantry to big things like a bonus room. It's pretty strange, but we had basically no qualms about adding a 4th bedroom and bonus room, an island, and an extra window over the kitchen sink. The only two things we were really stuck on was a deluxe master bath and a basement. We ended up opting in on both of those options mostly for the resale value it would add and that was that. The really scary thing is that we totally agreed on everything (I know, right? Has that ever happened in the history of home building).

Next time: Choosing a lot, corner or no corner that is the question.