So I guess this thing is happening

Yep.  We dropped the check off yesterday and signed the checklist this afternoon.  We are building a Ryan Home.  This journey started almost 5 years ago when we purchased our first home- a 3 story townhome in the popular Indianapolis suburb of Fishers.   The townhouse suited our needs; that is until our son was born in August 2010.  Almost overnight our family outgrew the townhouse.

Of course, finding a new home was going to be a challenge.  With the housing market in the toilet, there was little chance of us selling our house at a price that would be profitable.  So renting it out was the answer.   It didn't take long for my wife to scope out possible homes (frankly, I think she had been looking at houses the day after we moved into the townhouse).

We looked at some existing homes and some spec homes, as well as new construction sites.  Ultimately my wife fell in love with Ryan Homes and the floor-plans they offered.  Now we had visited this community over a year ago, before the model was even built, but we were not in a place to build a new house.  The model home, as well as the already built homes, was beautiful.   And with the plethora of floor-plans and generous incentives, it was a very tempting proposition.

Fast-forward to November 11, 2011.  We forked over $1000 and signed a purchase agreement.  For the next month, my wife and I discussed, debated and sometimes fought over options, floor-plans and layouts.  But we finally agreed that the Rome model was the best plan for us.  Though not part of Ryan's Signature Series, the Rome boasts the most square-footage of any plan they offer.  It is also by far the best utilization of space.  For example, the Rome is probably the only house I have ever seen that actually has a usable loft space (plus it can be finished off into a bedroom).  Over all, the Rome boasts more than 3000 square feet, a full-finished basement, up to 7 bedrooms, and 4.5 baths.

The next decision was which elevation to pick.  I liked Elevation A, but my wife wanted C. Needless to say, we decided on Elevation C.  =)  But we had to have the builder petition the HOA to allow them to build C because it requires stone on the front instead of brick.  Thankfully the HOA agreed.  The  builder then told us that our home would be the only one with stone, as this was not part of their plan (read: they don't want to be bothered haha).  So our Rome will be special in a few ways:

1)  Ours will be the only one with Elevation C (stone front)
2) Ours will be the first house in the community with a full brick wrap (besides the stone on the front of course)

Rome Floorplan Elevation C stone/brick example

I think that both of these things will be great for setting our home apart from the rest, as well as add a generous helping of curb appeal.

Overall, I can't believe this is actually happening.  I also am surprised as to how stressful it can be.  But I suppose this comes with the territory when your wife is constantly second-guessing her choices (I love you, honey).  I don't know many of those change-order forms I have signed.  Bronze hardware, then nickel, then bronze again.  Sometimes it can be dizzying.  But as of today, that part is over.  We delivered the check for 3.5% to Ryan, which means that construction will start once the Town of Fishers issues the permits.