Friday, March 8, 2013

A good home starts with a good foundation...

I drove by the home site last night and was surprised to see the foundation is poured!  My dad said lumber delivery is next!  I've never been more excited to see a bunch of concrete slabs and a mud pit in my life! :)  Things are moving along swiftly and we FINALLY were able to get everything we needed to send our loan application to underwriting for approval.  We still have to pay our tax bill but hey, the government is slow at paying out so why should we hurry up to pay them!  We will send it out next month, it's just rough writing so many large checks at once, we had to make our last payment of our down payment/good faith money this week so spreading things out as much as we can makes things a little bit easier on the wallet.  Sometime when I see all our hard earned savings going to RH I think "gee.. we could have gone to Jamaica like 10 times on that!" but then I keep reminding myself that this is the home where we will start our family and make new memories and it's a solid investment for our future.  But when I look at all the pictures from our past Jamaica vacation I keep kicking myself JUST a little!  But all in good time... we will be back there even if I have to eat ramen noodles for an entire year!

So, enough of that rant, I do have some questions if anyone out there has some advice on appliances.  We will be looking for a fridge and washer/dryer soon, we are trying to do it on a tight budget so nothing too fancy, I don't need a fridge with a TV or that can tell me the weather or if my shoes match my outfit (lol, like I would need that anyways, I'm pretty stylin... lol) but I want to know what brands to looks at, what to avoid, etc.  I know that we want a french door stainless with the ice/water thru-door and a front loading washer/dryer.  I thought I would want a HE top loader but after speaking to some appliance people at Sears they said that it you plan to wash a comforter, it won't get it clean because the max water level only goes up about 6 inches, they said the size is deceiving and about 1/2 of the top loaders they sell are returned within a month for a front loader.  Now, I don't know if this is a load of BS or what, so that's why I'm asking for some honest opinions!  I really have no clue where to start!  We are lucky to be closing around Memorial Day so we can hit up the sales.

Oh and to my new future neighbor DB if you are reading this, I saw your house yesterday too!  You are really making progress!  Framing is done, doors and windows are in, it's coming along nicely!  And you are only a stones through away, so I hope you like cookies cakes and sweet treats because I love to bake and if I don't give some away I will eat it all myself and be a slave to the treadmill for weeks :)

We have some warmer weather coming up but I hope that dang rain stays away!  Looking forward to seeing more progress as it comes along!


10 comments:

  1. Hi Rachael! I am starting to read reviews on refridgerators too! I am going to check our Sears Outlet in Bridgeville. My mother bought a fridge there years ago and has never had a problem. It had a little, very small dent on the side which you don't see. She got her oven there too. I am torn between french door or bottom freezer. Fortunately, we have a washer and dryer. One less expense, yay! And I found a blog yesterday of someone who just moved to Fayette Farms and they said they purchased their fridge, washer & dryer there. Worth a look, and if I can save I am all for it!

    Oh no, you like to bake! I can easily choose sweets over food for a meal. Well, between Turbo Jam, Zumba or Les Mills Body Pump DVD I can work it off!

    I can't believe how fast the house is coming along. I stopped by today and I think they were pouring concrete in the garage and there were some guys on the roof. I didn't go back into the cul-de-sac today, but if I do I always peek at your lot too.

    ~db



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks DB! I live in Bridgeville now, so I'm giong to check out Sears outlet for sure, my girlfriend got her fridge there too for a steal! Dent on the side, but it's surrounded by cabinets! We use to have a nice LG washer/dryer but we sold out home last January (to move into a cheap apt. and save for our dream home!) and we had to include it in the sale to get it sold :( but I love new toys so I don't mind :) Now, the hubby, that's another story!

      You will have to send me the link to the person that started the blog in Fayette Farms, that was actually where we first looked at to build but honestly, I felt like we were getting the run around and being lied to by the SR there, Bev is the bomb is that's one of the reason why we choose LR instead.

      It's all so exciting! I was going to stop by the site again tonight b/c I'm just such a stalker! But we have an event at the Heinz History Center tonight, food and booze! Can't pass that up!

      Delete
  2. Here is the link: I just stumbled on this blog yesterday.

    http://buildingaryanhomesiennamodel.blogspot.com/2012_09_01_archive.html

    We didn't even consider Fayette Farms. When we went to see the model, my husband felt that area was 'too country'. He is a city boy for sure!

    Have fun tonight!
    ~db

    ReplyDelete
  3. Huh, did I forget you guys were in my backyard? Bridgeville is super close to me...........We live in O.H. (not ohio)

    Where are you guys at?? Gosh don't I sound like a Pittsburger..LOL

    I am trying to think what LR is?? Hmmm?

    ReplyDelete
  4. We bought a Samsung french door refrigerator in stainless steel and love it! It was expensive though. Honestly, we probably would have been stuck with a side-by-side if we hadn't caught the french door refrigerator on sale at Lowe's on Black Friday. There's a big difference between $3199 and $1899! There were some Samsung models that were a little smaller that might fit into your price range though... and the Samsung refrigerators seemed to have great reviews.

    This is the refrigerator that we bought... http://florencewithryanhomes.blogspot.com/2012/11/we-bought-refrigerator.html

    We went with a high capacity top loading washer and dryer because we've heard many horror stories about mold/mildew around the seal and worn out bearings in the front loading washing machines. I've washed my big comforter in the washer with no problems so far... it came out nice and clean. I think either way it's a personal preference though. Just do some research because salesmen will tell you anything to make a sale... especially at a store like Sears where they work on commission.

    This is the washer/dryer set that we bought... http://florencewithryanhomes.blogspot.com/2012/08/appliances-should-they-be-same-brand.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah we are going to start doing out research I'm trying to stay under 2k for the fridge which is doable I just have an expensive taste :) I fall in love with things that I can afford, but I was going to go to lowes to talk to them bc like you said I need an unbiased opinion and te sears guys are a little pushy and you never know of they just make more of a commission on certain brands or models. I am learning towards the Samsung or LG brand for the fridge everyone seems to rave about the Samsung appliances, so now we just have to find the time to go on a shopping trip :). Thanks for the advice!

      Delete
  5. Yeah we bought our counter depth KitchenAid Stainless at Sears Outlet and am happy to say that Best Buy is charging $2899 for it and after Darryl the Sales Rep took care of us we got it for under $1000 with out a scratch or dent on it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Holy smokes that's a deal!!!! I hope that we can find a deal like that! We will also be buying our washer and dryer so maybe we can play off the "we are buy 3 appliances so we deserve a discount" theme! Maybe I should ask for Darryl! How long ago did you buy your fridge??

      Delete