Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Putting it Together

In the interest of complete disclosure, I have to admit that in the few weeks before we signed and for a few weeks after I was in complete panic mode. While the internet is a wonderful thing, it's the worst possible tool for self doubt as you make a huge decision. I would see a picture of what someone else did and think we should do that, too! Or what about this? Maybe that? I'm sure Kristi just cringed when she saw my emails in her inbox. I give her a lot of credit for talking me off the ledge more than once.

Once we had fine-tuned the layout, we signed on the dotted line. From there, things moved right along. We were given a binder that explained the whole process and what we needed to do every step of the way. We were encouraged to ready every bit of it to make sure we understood and to see if we had any questions. There are specific guidelines for building in a rural setting, which we really appreciated.

One of the first things we did after signing was set up an appointment with Heidi to finalize colors and finishes. Heidi had something come up, so Kristi helped out. Unfortunately my husband couldn’t make it to this meeting, so it was all on me. I did end up calling him a few times, but we had discussed everything (Too much, he would say!) and we were pretty set on what we wanted. It was nice to go over everything with another person, as I hadn’t seen a model or photos on the WH site of the colors we’re going with. While I realize all colors beige are the go-to, we’re planning to go with cooler colors- blues and grays with a splash of green. You wouldn’t think your cabinet and flooring choices would affect paint so much, but it really does! Kristi has a great eye and was very helpful with all her input. This meeting took quite awhile, but I walked out confident in our choices.
This is our floor, kitchen counter top, wall color (SW Vast Sky) and cabinets.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Picking a Plan

One of the best things about WH? Lots of floor plans. One of the worst things? Lots of floor plans. We went through models at 3 of the Ohio model centers, went to several open houses, and viewed maybe 6 houses under construction. As interesting as it is to look at all the plans on paper, it’s so much easier when there’s a physical space to walk through.

On our first visit to Wayne Homes many years ago, we met with Kristi. She told us to take our time- she had been worked with one client for 5 years before he built! I made a comment that 5 years was ridiculous, and no one should have to mess around that long. And here we are, 6 years later. Crow? It’s tasty!

Anyway, Kristi has been there from the beginning, and been nothing but supportive and accommodating. We had gone through the process w/ the Hartford II and were ready to sign when a family issue caused a holdup. We started all over with the Montgomery, and fortunately this one stuck. Ultimately we chose a ranch because this is our forever home, and we didn't want an upstairs we might not be able to access. The Montgomery had the size we needed and a layout we could tweak to suit our needs. The Craftsman exterior option sealed the deal.


We made several little modifications to the plan, and a few big ones. Whenever I asked about doing something I had seen on another model or in a magazine, Kristi made it happen. I’m not sure if all of the sales consultants are that talented at design, but Kristi is awesome. Fine tuning our plan took maybe 4 visits. The big decisions seemed to be the easiest, while I struggled with the small things.

One of the criticisms I had read about WH is that they lure you in with a low price then charge you for extras. Excuse me, but duh. It’s like buying a car. To get the lowest price, you’re not going to get a CD player, power everything and AC. You’re going to get the base model. We had a very definite budget, and Kristi worked with us to stay within that number. Are there WH clients for whom money is no object? Sure. We, however, are not those people.

When it came down to it, we spent our money on structural things- added sq. ft, full basement, etc. Cosmetic things can be changed down the road. While I would have liked granite countertops, a nice laminate will do for now. We also cheaped out on the flooring. With two very active boys, we went in knowing the flooring would have to be replaced sooner rather than later. Just go into the process knowing that there are upgrades you’ll want and you’ll have to pay for them. Also make sure of your wants vs. needs, and the things that are easy to change later if necessary.

I’ll also throw in here that our boys had to come with us on some of our visits to the model center. We were never made to feel that they were unwelcome. There’s a little lounge area with a TV that they would hang out in. And thanks to the fresh-baked cookies that are always available, they were happy little campers.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Why Wayne Homes?

If you found this blog the question you’re probably asking is “Why Wayne Homes?” If your experience is anything like ours, it was hard to find any kind of concrete information beyond what is available on the WH website. Oh, if only there were real people out there sharing their experiences! Funny- it was our sales consultant who told us about a guy who was building close by who was blogging about the experience, so I thought I’d check him out. You should too at: http://wayne-homes-review.blogspot.com/ Thanks for the idea, Brent!

Just to introduce myself, I'm M, my husband is B, and we're building on one of our farms in NW Ohio.

So, to back way up, we started thinking about building a house about 6 years ago. Since then we've looked at several different options, including large companies like Wayne Homes, Schumacher & K. Hovnanian, prefab homes like All-American and Uni-Built, and private contractors. All have their pros, and all have their cons. I've talked to every friend I have who built, and found out what they liked/didn't about the process and who built their home. I came to the conclusion that no homebuilder is perfect, no matter the price point. While I would have loved to have used a local contractor, it just wasn't going to work. Of the two we seriously considered, one wasn't too interested in returning calls, and one didn't seem to listen to what we wanted. If the planning stage was that painful, actual building wouldn't be any better. As for the prefab houses, B has two relatives who have them, and both have structural issues.

Of the large builders, WH was the one where we felt like we could get what we wanted at a price we could afford. The fact that the past customers I spoke with were all happy with their experience helped. None had any complaints about structure or poor customer service. One friend has a Wayne Home that was flooded in 2007. It’s a split level, and basement and entire bottom floor were flooded to the main level. The insurance adjustor told that that their house would have been a complete loss if it hadn’t been so well built.

This all leads to our build. Thanks for checking out our blog. If you have any questions along the way, feel free to ask.