Day Six: Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, y'all!

Today I was just too busy to get by the lot today. With the kids' class parties, work and then trick-or-treating tonight, Ive just been in nonstop motion all day. It's 11:11 pm and Im just now getting a moment to sit down and post a pic. This is one I haven't shared, so it'll have to do. This is looking at my lot and seeing who is down the side street from me. The four lots to the right of those are all sold. Lot's of building going to be happening here soon! Cant wait to show the progress!

And because it's so late, here's another.

Good night, La Conterra.

Day Five: Underwriting!

Even though it's stormy, I have some great news! Im in underwriting! Yes! It's true! This picture sure looks like God is shining down on me. :)

This morning at the office, on the fax machine, was an employment verification form for my HR department to complete. Im fairly certain it was sent back timely. I also got my divorce decree and child support order faxed over to my mortgage broker who was going to forward those on to underwriting. I wonder when we'll get final approval to go ahead with the design aspects. Im amazed that we're moving as fast as we are. I am enjoying it. :)

Yesterday I wasn't able to bring my kids with me when I drove by our lot to take the daily picture (we had swim class that lasted until after dark) so they were a little sad they didn't get to see the SOLD sign for themselves. Guess where they want to go "immediately after school"?  Yep, to see the lot. I love that they are just as excited about this as I am!

So, for them, here is what else we discovered:

This is a picture of 5 Sold lots that saddle up to the side of our house. Builders are going to go crazy soon! I wonder which one will start first. Mine, I hope!

Mom, this pic is for you! This is what the side fencing will look like. It's basically a square stone endcap-thing with fencing between. There will be two endcaps on my property, one at the beginning of this fence (in my front side-yard), and the other will be where my back fence meets theirs.  Hopefully they'll plant a tree or to along my section, too. Id love that!

Day Four: Surprise!

Look what I found today! SOLD!!!! Doesn't that look great?! I love it!

In further developments, Ive been working with a specialist at NationStar Mortgage since August. Ive been giving her my bank statements and payroll information on a monthly basis thereafter so all Ive had to get to her this week was a couple of disclosure statements that she required, a friendly note to underwriting about why NationStar has pulled my credit twice before and simple accounting of what my deposits are. Tomorrow I need to send her a copy of my divorce decree otherwise I'm all caught up on paperwork. I emailed all of that off to her and now we're just waiting for underwriting to give a final approval so that Chance at KB Home can order permits and we can get the design ball rolling.

Next will be going to the KB Home Studio and picking out brick and paint, flooring and cabinets, tile and fixtures. That will be so much fun! I pretty much know what I do and dont like already, but I am really looking forward to seeing all of my options.

Anyway, enjoy the view of today's picture. I sure am!

The Meaning of Ignacia

Seeing how my street's name is Ignacia, let's explore what that name means.  If you were to look up the meaning of the name Ignacia, you would probably be directed to a baby names website with the following information:

Ignacia is a girl's name. "ardent, burning". Feminine form of Ignatius, Latin  from the word "Ignis" meaning "fire" or "fiery one". This was the name of several saints, including the third bishop of Antioch (who was thrown to wild beasts by emperor Trajan) and Saint Ignatius of Loyola, who was the founder of the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits.

Ignatius is the name of several saints including the Philippian nun known as Venerable Ignacia del Espíritu Santo or, more commonly, Mother Ignacia, who founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Religious of the Virgin Mary. Ignatius was considered more apt to be borne by churches and schools than babies in the recent past, though it was not unusual from the late nineteenth century to 1930; it ranked as high as Number 602 in 1913.

If you speak Spanish, you probably say Ignacia like this:  \ig-na-see-ah\.

If you speak English, you probably say Ignacia like this:  \ig-nah-shah\.

I tend to say the later form.

Other interesting facts about the appearance of the name Ignacia or its variants:

Cate Blanchett and Julianne Nicholson are two celebrities to have named their children Ignatius.

Ignatius is the middle name of Percy Weasley in the Harry Potter books, and is a major character in John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces.

...And now you know the rest of the story. :)

Day Three: Misting

I know it seems absurd to take photos of the lot when there isn't anything going on, however, in the end I'll be able to set these pictures into motion and really see it all develop. Bear with me.
Today, it's misting.  This is taken from the side street. We are looking at the side of my house/lot.

The Chosen Floorplan

The house Ive been dreaming about and am finally building is Plan A-2755 (with Elevation B). It features 2,755 sq. feet with 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, all bedrooms upstairs along with a large gameroom. The master also features a private sitting area. Downstairs I am opting for the additional study to use as my office space. Other features include rounded corners and archways, 9' ceilings, an 8' front door and a covered patio on both front and back.

This is the designers drawing:

 

 

First floor (although this doesn't show the extended front porch):

 

 

 

Second Floor (doesn't show extra window in the gameroom or bumped out part of front bedroom):

 





Day Two: Still So Happy

 

 

As you can see, obviously nothing has changed, so today I took a pic from the left-most corner of my lot. I couldn't fit the entire lot in the picture. All that's missing is the corner/sidewalk area.

There will be one house behind me. Their house and land is the brown dirt you see in the back. The house with the blue dumpster that you see in this picture is actually the same house and elevation as the house I am building, except their floorplan is flipped.




Day One: Signed The Contract! And We Have Land!

Today was a wonderful gift from God! Let me backup. Yesterday I received a text from my salesman, Chance, who advised he was having a super sale in the neighborhood I was considering and wanted to know if I was ready to go ahead. I needed to talk to my mortgage lender first, who ran my credit report and advised I could go ahead. After the long journey Ive been on to get to this point, I am over the moon!

After brunching with my mom and praying about it, I scheduled with Chance to go pick out a lot and sign the contract this evening. We looked at a few lots, talked about slope, measured, used orange cones for visual, and I finally decided on a nice corner lot on Ignacia Drive.

This is where our home will be built!

The lot size is 62' x 110'.  The way the house will sit, the land slopes downward slightly towards the back, which means I wont have water standing at any time. My foundation will need to be built up a bit, but I don't mind. The thicker, the better! Right?! Since my house is also a two-story with a nice 10' bumpout on the backside, I'll have a bit of a view over the houses behind me that are built lower than me.

There will be a neighborhood-styled (and installed) fence on the outermost right side edge of our yard, running by the sidewalk, giving us a bit more space on the side of our house. I like that as it will give us a bit more side yard. Across the street is a light post. Im sure one day there will be a stop sign there, too.

Here is the lot looking straight on, as if we are standing in front of my house looking at it.

Below is the overall finished look of how the neighborhood is designed. My house is starred in the upper yellow section as shown. We will be the very first of 24 houses to be built on this street.

Enjoy the view today! In a couple of weeks, this will all be changing.

Welcome to Raising Ignacia!

Welcome!

This is my newest blog-venture where I will be documenting my family's journey to Ignacia. We are the first to buy and build on this street and we are excited to be able to watch every aspect of our home being built, as well as the rest of the homes on our street. And all of you future buyers of homes on Ignacia, while we wont document your homes being built, we will happily welcome you to Ignacia when your house is complete and you move in.

For me, homeownership is something I've always wanted. Ive rented for 18+ years in various apartments and houses in many different cities. However, it wasn't until I lived in Georgetown did I realize I was ready to buy. After looking at several homes, I knew this neighborhood was where I wanted to be. It offers wonderful sidewalks for walking to and from the amenity center, which I know my kids and I will frequent many times over. It has wonderful proximity to major arterials as well as the backroads to places I frequent. This will be a wonderful neighborhood to stay in.

Ignacia is in the section being built by KB Homes. I know many people have bad experiences, however thousands more have wonderful experiences.  I know there are people in this world who are quick to blame someone else for their problem when in fact it might have been their own error such as not following through with scheduled maintenance checks or not registering their appliances for warranty. I plan on documenting mine to be a voice for those who haven't gotten up to say they love their KB Home.

I am told the building process will take 4-5 months. Here, you will see a daily picture of our home's current status as well as a short synopsis of what is going on at that time. I hope you enjoy this journey as much as I do.

Don't forget to subscribe!