Wednesday, March 6, 2013

What's this About??

We live in a community where the following houses are offered for sale:
**Update:  Jasmine Model They are currently preparing this model for its new home owners.  This model has been on site for three years; however, when the market started to shift and people began purchasing they did not want this model. We have just a few Jasmines in the community.  It's pretty; but not functional and practical to me.  People who began purchasing last year had to travel to other cities to see a model and others took a leap of faith on the homes listed below.  We drove an hour away to see the Rome.

Homes being offered:
Milan
Naples
Verona
Ravenna
Rome
Victoria Falls
Avalon

And NOT one family has built a Ravenna or a Verona! However, when I read the blogs you find Veronas and Ravenna's being built it many communities? Is it your community offering? What seems to be the popular build in your community? Certainly, in our community the Rome became so popular they got rid of the Jasmine model and built a Rome (elevation C with front porch). As you know, the front porch was a non standard request on our Rome and we had to wait 8 weeks for approval and tbey loved idea so much they built the model with it and now folks can purchase with or without the front porch! We definitely started a trend! But back to the mystery--why are folks not buying the Verona or Ravenna? We have nearly three hundred more houses to build so it will be interesting to see how it unfolds because the only homes being built are the Milan, Naples and of course the Rome!

***Ohhh I forgot to mention; if I am correct the Victoria Falls floor plan is still on the wall of the NEW Rome model which was released at the end of February.  This means it is still being offered; but only one family has built this home since January 2012 and it is housed next door to us on Lot #29. We have an Oberlin on Lot #27 whose elevation looks like a Victoria Falls.  It has a very cute floor plan.



42 comments:

  1. It's not unusual for a community to buy more of the model home or what is available to see for themselves how it will look. Our neighborhood had the model Avalon and now it's the Waverly. In our area there is the Victoria Falls and a Courtland Gate. Those are the 3 hot homes right now. Before it was just the Avalon so the neighborhood is full of them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is the interesting part--our model for the past three-four years was a Jasmine model! I think before the market shift people were drawn to the Avalon, the Zachary and the Belford because I see more of those homes in the RH communities next door to us (the Legacy & the Greenfields).

      Delete
  2. That is interesting... Our community offers the Jefferson Square (model), Victoria Falls, Courtland Gate, Oberlin, Sheffield (newer offering), and Avalon.I have not yet seen a Sheffield or and Avalon. The Jefferson Square and Victoria Falls seem to be the most popular and started to see several Oberlins as well. By far the Jefferson Square is the most popular but I think that is because it's the model. It will be interesting to see what gets built once more sites are released (my guess is the Spring). It is fun to watch :-) Hopefully you will get some Ravennas and Veronas for variety!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, it would be nice to have some variety with the other homes because it is nice to watch the community unfold. It would be nice to see a Ravenna and Verona Model. I just found out the Savoy model is being offered in Maryland.

      Delete
  3. I think there are a few reasons.
    -How familiar is the sales rep? We didn't know squat about the Ravenna until the sales rep listened to what we wanted in a home and made the recommendation to look at a Ravenna.
    -What is the model? What are the immediate surrounding models? People won't buy an existing house because the carpet or paint color is crappy (even though easily fixed). So it stands to reason, with a lack of vision, people will gravitate towards the models they can easily walk through.
    -Back to the sales rep, I would guess they are given incentive (but I could be wrong) to push certain models over others.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The model for the past three-four years and maybe longer has been the Jasmine model. When I asked our SR why people were not purchasing the other models, she said, it had something to do with the placement of the staircase. Even for us, the Rome was not mentioned as an option because we were considering the current Jasmine only because it is what we could SEE. After going home to examine the floor plan and looking at the model it was totally not going to function according to our needs. This is when we started looking at the floor plans on the wall and discovered the Rome model. Interestingly, they did offer a huge incentive in January for only two lots with a Rome model which happened to be the LOT and MODEL we were choosing. HUGE $55K SCORE FOR US! We were elated to say the least!!!

      But I do have to admit as many times we stopped in the office, we had no clue about this offering. I called one day to schedule our purchase agreement appointment and the assistant SR told us about this offering and before we knew it--our cup-de-sac began to form. It was a great marketing strategy.

      Delete
  4. Yes, all are correct. The model in our subdivision is a Ravenna and that makes it much easier to imagine what its like, it also makes up a third of the houses here but luckily only two others have the same elevation as us and they are each in different cul de sacs far from us. According to our SR, its the most popular model in central VA--who knows?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Really?? You lucked up too with only a few homes having the same elevation. Sweet!! Each region is definitely defined differently. When we went to see the only Rome model an hour away, all the homes in the community had the cottage style elevations which is not approved for our community. Only elevations A, B, C are approved for our community and the Rome has elevations from A-N.

      Delete
  5. The model home in our community was not a big seller (the Middleburg). That is why they just built a ROME. The Verona and Rome are the most popular in our community. The Verona has several elevations (A-N) we have the cottage styles. We needed a 1st floor bedroom so there weren't many model that offered that within our price range. Our community offers the following:

    Florence
    Carolina
    Summerville
    Milan
    Middleburg
    Naples
    Winterbrook
    Verona
    Capri
    James Joyce
    Rome
    Somerset
    Canterbury
    Dorsey Hall
    Avalon

    Some of those are new as of January to our community.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Whoa! This is a lot of offerings!! This is fabulous!! I know one of our Roman Countrymen converted the front living and dining room into a one bedroom with a full bathroom which is one of the reasons I like the Rome because it offers such versatility. I need to check out the other models in your community.

      How large is your community and how many phases do they have? Are they currently offering all of these options at once because it definitely lends for a diverse community.

      Delete
    2. WOW! Those are A LOT of model offerings!

      Delete
  6. We looked at your community. I really wanted to move there for a long time. When we researched the models we determined that the Verona would be a good fit because it offered the first floor bedroom which we needed for my father -in-law and the option for the bonus room for a fifth bedroom upstairs. The base price was much higher there than another community that we had planned to move into before we decided to leave the County altogether and choose the Ravenna because the Verona wasn't offered. I'm sure others who wanted these models in the area had a similar thought process. In our community people are not allowed to build the same model/elevation unless there are three homes in between to ensure there is a variety. The Belford is the model in our community and most of the homes are the Belford. I asked our PM and he said that is typically what happens the model is the top seller in the community.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh wow! I had no clue you were in this neck of the woods!! What county did you move to and what's the name of the community? I had no clue they were still building the Belford.

      Delete
    2. Did you get the number of bedrooms you were looking for?

      Delete
    3. We landed in Charles. We did get enough rooms and with the new version we were able to add an additional bathroom so our princess will have her own!

      Delete
  7. Nadase did u notice too the prices have all gone up for the homes they now offer in Fairwood? I saw the price jump yesterday, in particular the Rome. Interesting....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awww Shucks!! This is great news for us!! I knew the prices would rise once the new Rome model was released!
      I can't wait to find out how much they are now! #happydance

      Delete
    2. After we signed the purchase agreement for the milan, our SR said that after his next sale all of the homes would be going up 5k. When we saw him again, he had confirmed that the price did indeed go up 5K across the board. So yeah, that is good news for us!

      Delete
    3. That seems to be happening across the board! In our development, since October when we signed, our model as well as the others went up a whopping $20,000! Tack on some of those lot premiums and for once in our lives we have equity in our house!

      Delete
    4. @ Justin where is your blog so we can follow your Milan journey? Are you in Fairwood on Lot #3?

      @ Elise, that is extreme !! Is it legal? That is just a five month period! Amazing!! Congratulations!!

      Our increase is 30k but that is over a years time (January 2012 to March 2013).

      Delete
    5. It IS extreme! Our SR explained that with the premiums on the lots they had to raise the prices to get the non-premium built houses closer to the same level I guess for appraising. I think the Jefferson Square may have actually gone up even more than that (the model). Good news for us, since we would have been out of luck had we looked now!

      Delete
    6. Here is the link to our blog! And yes we are on Lot 3.

      http://justinandtiffanysnewhome.blogspot.com/

      I got to meet Sheldon yesterday at Chick-fil-A.

      Delete
    7. The same thing happened in our community. I guess the market is on an up swing!

      Delete
  8. Hi all! Down here in Clinton, MD, my community is offering the following models:

    Savoy
    Palmero
    Ravenna
    Rome (this is a new model for our community!)
    Victoria Falls
    Jefferson Square
    Courtland Gate

    Our model home is the Savoy, and just like in most communities, the model is the most popular. We have lots of Savoy's. My SR just told me last week that the base price of all our models went up 5k.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Stacey, I am coming to check out this Savoy and Rome model!!!

      I have noticed that they typically go up in 5k increments. Our SR mentioned that they typically increase the price after three new homes are built; however, that was when the supply and demand began to increase. Since we have purchased our home the price has risen at least three times which is good for us. It was inevitable that the cost would rise once the new Rome model was released in February. Again, good for us! I am just excited that we were able to be apart of this journey/history while the interest rate and homes were much much lower.

      Delete
  9. Our community offered 5 models. Of the 18 homes, seems like maybe only 2 are the same as the model. Then we have a variety - the Bainbridge Hall and Victoria Falls seem to be the most popular. We asked to be allowed to build a model with a first floor master which, surprisingly, Ryan doesn't offer many of. I would think that would be more popular. We were finally given the option of building the Esquire, which is a smaller home than we wanted, but the Capri was the only other first floor master model they offer and wouldn't fit on our lot. Our county does not allow ranch style homes to be built, so the Esquire was our only choice. We do have quite a variety in our neighborhood, which I really like. No two houses look alike.

    ReplyDelete
  10. My home, the SAVOY is like Nadase's Rome, they take up 75% of the community.

    We just showed our home yesterday...and we got a $75 gift card to Atria's for our kindness.....thanks Lori our SR!

    Anyway, to my right are 2 more Savoys and this couple will be building on more down from us....that will make 4 Savoys on the same side of the street within 6 houses!!

    So I'd say Savoys.

    I think we offer
    Savoy
    Jefferson
    Victoria Falls
    Sewickly
    Dunkirk
    Verona
    Oakmont

    All i can remember right now.

    ReplyDelete
  11. In our area they list the typical 5 or 6 models for each community on their website and in the model sales office, but if you ask they will basically build any home that is available in the state, in any community, lot permitting. We originally went into it thinking that only certain models could be built in certain neighborhoods, but then asked and found out that was not the case.

    ReplyDelete
  12. We are in a modest community so we don't have a Rome or even a Ravenna, we have mostly Florence, Venice, Savoy and Sewickly's, and a few Milan's. Our model is a Venice which I think is mostly what has been built here and is what we chose to go with. Now it's mostly Savoys going up... I think there are 6 being built right now. From what I understand every lot has specific homes that can be placed on them due to set-backs and easements. One of the reason we couldn't build the home we did on the lot we wanted with a morning room, which at first upset me but I'm fine without it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow! This is definitely interesting! When we received a copy of the plat it showed the prospective homes for each lot; however, they did not have to stick to them because of the easements. Our lot called for a Rome; however, Lot 29 called for a Verona but a Victoria falls sits on it.

      I am glad that you happy with your home. I know lots of drama happens in between signing the contract and going to closing; but once you are in the home. It gently fades away.

      btw--what in the world is a Sewickly? lol I will check it out! I am fascinated with the homes probably because of my passion for interior design and fashion.

      Delete
    2. Sewickly is new in our plan, we have one up now. In fact we walked through it during the construction phase when we were picking our model. I can't quiet remember much, but it's a little smaller than ours, but has a bigger garage but has and integral garage so you loose a lot of basement....

      Delete
    3. here is the link for the Sewickly

      http://www.ryanhomes.com/find-your-home/our-communities/pennsylvania/peters-township/orchard-hill/sewickley

      Delete
  13. I'm one of the people who took a leap of faith on the Rome, having not actually visited a model. But, from what we could see from floor plans and pioneer Rome bloggers, we could tell this was the house for us. It's a sensible floor plan that has left us with very comfortable utility bills. The house is very energy efficient for a home its size.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sheldon, you guys were definitely BOLD!! I need to feel connected to the space! Actually, just looking at the floor plan had us both feeling connected and yet; we wanted to confirm the decision for the ROME so we drove an hour away. We absolutely LOVE IT!

      Great choice Sheldon, Great Choice! lol

      Btw--we need to discuss these utility bills. Is your wife home?

      Delete
  14. Almost all of the houses in my community are either Courtlands or Ravennas. But our model was Courtland and there was a Ravenna model about 5 miles away so I feel like that's probably a big reason why. It's still crazy to me that they would expect you to buy a home without ever seeing a model of it!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I know in our community the Verona with a bonus room would have fit our needs almost as well as the Rome (which we picked) but here the starting price is higher for a lower square footage(I'm not sure what it comes to with the 5th bdr/bonus). This is actually because the Ravennas and Veronas are built on a different set of (wider) lots, but when you're comparing the homes you don't realize that's why the prices are so different, so we eliminated those right off and I didn't realize we might have wanted to consider the options more closely till later.

    We looked at the Ravenna pretty closely when we were looking in PA, we really liked it but it does seem that the stairs are backwards. There all homes had basements and here almost none do, so we went up to a slightly larger footprint (Rome rather than Ravenna or Naples)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Nadase as it stands we have plans for the 23rd was waiting on confirmation. But happy birthday again and again!

    ReplyDelete
  17. So I saw your kitchen backsplash photos on another blog and wonder what you ever decided to do about it? When you step back and look at the kitchen, in the big picture, what stands out about it? I wonder... if you come up with a transition from the granite to the backsplash could it be solved that way? Honestly, I think the backsplash is a real compliment to the kitchen and I see what you were doing with it. But where it meets the granite, well, I see why that bothers you. Have you contemplated a piece of trim, painted to match the cabinets put right at the transition? You could lie it around for a few days without installing it to see if it would work for the eye.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Our community is looking like Rome and Venice are the popular choice. We chose the Florence, we are only a family of 3 and wanted a 3 bedroom with a loft. Plus our footprint is smaller so our lot will seem bigger. Thankfully we are the only Florence so far so we got to choose all our outside without regard to anyone else.
    http://ournewhomeflorence.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  19. They were actually pushing the Jasmine Grove (similar to Jasmine) in our community. We ended up with a Taylor though. Right now, they are only offering Shakespeare and Jasmine Grove as the traditional models available (probably per lot restrictions). Thanks for the helpful tips on my blog, btw! buildingmyryan.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  20. And about the models being built? I think a lot of people don't build Ravenna/Verona because they are bigger and more expensive. We got a six bedroom home with an office, two living spaces two dining areas, and a finished basement and I would just bet most people don't want a house with six bedrooms and don't want to pay for one. This is part of the reason we were so careful with our selections during build. If we ever want to sell we hope our choices and after build upgrades make this house THE house people want to buy. It also makes it a house we really love to live in! But the Rome and Venice models are much less expensive and have really nice floor plans.

    Am I the only one who studied every floor plan and decided what I wanted before ever stepping foot in a model home or calling the sales rep?

    ReplyDelete