Building a New Home with Ryan Homes

We recently decided that we wanted to build a new home and started the process of looking a little over a month ago. We narrowed it down to a few areas we liked and found a newer subdivision that was being built by Ryan Homes. The location was perfect for us…close to schools, parks and shopping. We also liked that it was slightly tucked away and had some lots that backed to woods. One thing we really wanted was more privacy as we didn’t have that in our previous neighborhood.

While we are still in the early stages of this process, please check out our experience so far of building a new home with Ryan Homes below!

Pre-Approval

First and foremost, we gained our pre-approval through NVR, who is Ryan Homes’ preferred lender. By going through them we will receive money off at closing. So far they have been great to work with.

Choosing a Model & Lot

We started out touring the model home, which is the Genoa model. We liked this one but really wanted a home that had the master and other bedrooms on the same level. The Hudson model stood out to us because it was the perfect size (a little over 2700 square feet) and had everything we wanted. It has 4 bedrooms with the option to add an additional one, the option for a study and a loft as well.

Unfortunately, there was no model home for the Hudson so we had to make the choice based solely on a virtual tour and floor plan. We would also be the first to build this model in the neighborhood as it was just brought on.

After we decided on the Hudson model, we met with the sales representative and decided on a lot. There were only a few available, and we picked one that backs to woods and also has a retention pond on one side. The lot premiums in this neighborhood varied from 7K-15K. (Obviously this will be different in every neighborhood).

After we finalized our lot and model we went through and decided which elevation we would want for our Hudson model. Again, these vary from neighborhood to neighborhood. These go up in price as you pick a higher letter. For the Hudson, the most basic elevation has a small front porch with no shutters. We chose elevation K as it had the larger porch and shutters on the windows. I also liked the way this one looked compared to the others. This is all personal preference though!

Upgrades

The next step was to go through and choose our upgrades for our Hudson. The standard package in our neighborhood includes things like an appliance package, smart thermostat, 42″ kitchen cabinets and flooring and 8 LED lights that you can choose to place anywhere in the home. The cabinets included are a dark cherry slate color and this was one of the first things I wanted to upgrade.

Interior Package

Ryan Homes does not let you simply change the cabinet color, you have to choose a package that changes the cabinets, flooring, carpeting and counters throughout the home. I found this website that shows you all of the current interior packages they offer. With having pets and small kids we really wanted lighter colored flooring. We had dark floors before and they show EVERYTHING.

After some debating we decided on the Morrison interior package. This package allowed us to have white cabinets in the kitchen (Sonoma painted linen) and a grey-ish flooring throughout the first floor. The Morrison package also includes a white quartz countertop in the kitchen.

Structure Upgrades

Structurally we decided to change a few things. There is a “flex” room as you walk through the front door and we decided to add doors to turn this into a study. There is also another study on the first floor with a small 1/2 half bath that we decided to convert into a bedroom with a full bath. We then turned one of the bedrooms upstairs into a loft. This left 3 bedrooms upstairs and one downstairs and 3 full bathrooms.

Kitchen Upgrades

Here is a list of things we decided to upgrade in the kitchen:

• Pendant lights over kitchen island
• Range gas hook-up
• Refrigerator
• Tile backsplash (this was fairly inexpensive and worth it in my opinion) We chose the white subway tiles.

Living/Dining Room Upgrades

Here is a list of things we upgraded in the living/dining room:

• Replace carpet in living room with flooring
• Ceiling fan rough-in in living room
• Gas fireplace
• Electrical for TV above fireplace
• Light in center of dining room

Upstairs Upgrades

Here is a list of things we upgraded upstairs:

• Roman shower in master bathroom
• Ceiling fan rough-ins in master and both bedrooms

Outdoor Upgrades

The only thing we upgraded on the exterior of the home was to extend the concrete patio to 12 X 16.

Exterior Package

After we made all of our upgrade selections we then had to choose an exterior color package. Again, Ryan Homes in our neighborhood did not let us pick and choose exterior colors. We had to select a package that included primary siding, accent siding, shutters and door color. To be honest, I was not particularly pleased with any of the color packages Ryan Homes had to offer in our community. I had a certain look in mind and none of them were close to what I had envisioned. This is the one we finally decided on. I am planning on likely changing the door color once we are settled in.

Finalizing Contract

After we chose our upgrades, we paid our deposit to hold our lot. We were given 7 days to look over everything and make sure we did not want to make any changes. On the 7th day we returned to meet with the sales representative, added any additional upgrades, and signed our contract to officially purchase our lot. At this point we paid our down payment as well. This is something that you can choose based on what type of mortgage you go with.

At this time we are continuing to provide NVR with needed documents to be approved and lock in an interest rate.

Our next step will now be to meet with a Project Manager at Ryan Homes to finalize everything. After this meeting they will then be able to break ground on our lot. As of now we have an estimated completion date of June 15th.

So far I have been pleased with the process. My only complaint is that I wish there was more freedom to choose upgrades instead of everything being part of a package. It would have been nice to pick and choose things like flooring, cabinets and exterior colors. I will continue to provide updates as our process of building a new home with Ryan Homes carries on!