OUR BASTROP MODERN FARMHOUSE: Feb 2021 Update

 Well, still here. Still designing and selecting all the things. Still waiting to start the construction loan process (thanks to a change with our requirements after the election results were announced. And hello needing to have X amount in the bank unexpectedly to move forward. EEK!) BUT, we are almost at the finish line. And by finish line, we mean starting line! HA! It's one and the same when building a custom home!

So,  as of February 5, 2021, here's where we are:

PLANS:

They are complete! We are so so so happy with the way everything turned out and we have no one but our builders to thank for that! Jonathan did a wonderful job bringing our vision to life and designing our plans to feature everything we wanted in every room. The trickiest part? The master bath! BUT, he worked it so many times until it was just perfect for us. 

We've decided not to share our completed plans at the moment but here's a peek from the outside!

DESIGN + SELECTIONS:

We feel really great about the direction of our design plans in hopes of truly creating our dream home. As far as selections go, we have finalized everything except tile + wood. We had originally shopped around and "picked" all of those options but to be transparent, we were in a little bit over our head. We made the mistake of meeting with the in-house designer versus a sales associate who actually knew the costs of the items we were selecting. So as we picked tile we got a lot of "well I don't know the exact price but I think it's somewhere in your budget." Quick note, some selections were about 4 times our budget! 

SO, we are going tomorrow to another shop in Austin to try again. This time making sure we are looking in the right places. 

BUDGET + ALLOWANCES:

Well, we got the first look and no shock to any of us, we are over budget. So we have had the initial meeting about where we need to dial back the allowances plus what we can wait on/exclude from the loan. So we know where to start and are simply just hoping we can move forward without having to give up too much. I know, easier said than done. 

Once we adjust a few pieces of our budget, we should know exactly where stand and what that construction loan will look like and be able to adjust from there. 

SO WHAT'S NEXT:

Well, first is working through our new flooring and tile selections. Then, we will narrow in on the total cost to build and the construction loan. If we have to make those decisions to cut (concrete driveway, removing appliances from the loan, etc) we will do so just to move forward and begin the process. We are so ready to get out of Austin, y'all!

The construction loan process is one we hope to start March 1st (this will be the end of the two month waiting period for the liquid assets requirement for the lender). For this, we will be giving our finalized budget, local comps in the area, and an overview of our plans to our lender. He will then have someone appraise our property AND the house by looking at our plans. As long as everything appraises, we will close within 30-60 days. So, fingers crossed for a late March/early April ground break!

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At the end of the day, we are blessed to be in this situation at all. This house is in God's hands and we know His timing is always perfect.