Found One

Saturday Kerry and I went out to Plainfield, Illinois to look at the new construction out there. Plainfield is about 35 miles west of Chicago. We started out getting lunch at Chili's. I had a tasty burger. Kerry had a salad of some sort. We then went to the Prairie Knoll development by Town and Country Homes. The subdivision is in the final phase and only 6 lots were left when we got there.

We grabbed a brochure package from Caren with a "C" and went into the first model, the Granger. Four bedroom, 2-1/2 bath with a loft. Large first floor utility room and den. We were very impressed with the layout. The model showed an optional butler's pantry instead of the walk-in pantry. While the walk-in pantry is always nice, the butler's pantry option allows a more direct access from the kitchen into the dining room. And the regular pantry is still plenty big. Never mind the crazy amount of cabinet space in the gourmet kitchen.

Upstairs the optional "Ultra Bath" was in the master bathroom. The bedrooms were all well-proportioned and the loft area showed a built-in entertainment center (which we wouldn't need becasue we already have an entertainment center set up). As usual, the builders try to jam as many options into each model (a) so you can see what the options look like and (b) to get you to want to buy what you see.

The optional stair-rail was very nice but would be replaced with a half-wall if we didn't get the option. The flooring in the model had more or less throughout the halls, laundry room, powderroom and kitchen on the first floor. And of course the family room had the optional (but compulsory) fireplace. The model had the media niche but we may or may not get the niche.

The basement had a full basement optional but even with the standard crawl-spaces, there is plenty of room for a finished basement for a game room and execise area.

The model had the optional Victorian elevation (elevation "C"). The model didn't have the brick front which we probably will go with. There are lots of things that can be done as we found out when we sat down with Caren after viewing all three models. The second model, the Dolson, was also very nice. Slightly smaller but we simply preferred the layout of the Granger more. And the Hargrave was a little bigger with more standard features and, naturally, had a higher price point.

Caren brought up the options program and started pricing things out for us. We would name a feature we liked and she naturally informed us that it was an option. Then she brought up the price and tagged it into the program. Each time she made a quote, Kerry groaned in pain.

First, we started with the elevation. As mentioned, we went with the Victorian which had a nice front porch. Kerry preferred a hip-roof design with porch. The hip-roof was more pricey (more material than a traditional gabled roof) and I just really never cared for the hip-roof look. The Victorian was Kerry's second choice so she informed me that she would magnanimously allow me to choose the elevation. She also said that was the last decision I would have a part in. (Kidding?)

Butler's pantry (groan); ultra bath (ohhhh); gourmet kitchen (uhhhhhh); tile flooring (ewwwww); air conditioning (grrrrrarrrgh). And so it went. In the end, the quoted price wasn't far off of our mental estimate. Of course, with new construction being a buyer's market, the builder was offering a hefty ($15,000) credit towards options and Caren said that an additional $5,000 could and would be tacked on.

We didn't have to make a decision on those options at that point. We just were getting quotes to see how it figured against our initial thoughts. With only six lots left, however, we needed to decide whether to put a small (refundable) deposit down to hold the lot. The necessity was even further enhanced by the fact that only one lot was available for the Victorian elevation. Understandibly, the developer limits the number of houses that can have a certain elevation in a given area. They don't want an "Allentown" type neighborhood where all the houses look alike.

So we got out the checkbook and made the deposit. We then ran out to Culver's for a mint shake.

We then went to visit Cambridge Homes in a nearby Plainfield development. Right off the bat, I didn't care for the elevations. The saleslady gave us a single sheet of information and we did a quick walk thought. There were some interesting things. A private sitting area in the master bedroom of the larger model (the purpose which I'm still not sure). But the thing I noticed the most was the wasted floor space especially upstairs. In one model, there was a loft area but to the side, leading the the bedrooms the walkways merged into such a big area that it was like having a second loft. Except, you can't put anything there because you have to be able to walk through. If there was anything my dad, one of the top builders in Milwaukee for 40+ years, taught me, it was that an efficient use of floor space is paramount in any home design. Oh, the other thing he taught me was that since I can't drive a nail straight that I needed to become a lawyer.

We then looked at the lot, took some pictures (which I will post once I find my uplink cable). We then went back to the Granger to take more pictures, look at things a second time and to go pee. That accomplished we went to Menard's to purchase some items to get our condo ready to sell (the second prong of the attack). More on that later.

Long and the short of it is that Kerry and I are excited to be moving forward. We had no buyers' remorse after seeing the alternate builder's model and looking at the Beecher & Dill Romeoville homes again. Just looking forward to making this all happen!