After moving in and living here for about a month now... I have few regrets.... but there are some things I wish I had known...
1. Upgrade the pad on the carpet. I can feel every little bump from the subfloor through the carpet.
2. Work with your PM and electrician if you can to move electrical outlets and light switches. I really didn't think this was that big of a deal...and it's not huge... but I have a big china cabinet that lights up and the outlets are next to it instead of behind it. Light switches seem to be in odd places, especially in the basement. I have to go downstairs and around the corner to get to the light switch.
3. Check every single window after you move in and inspect things closely before your 30 day walkthrough. Luckily, it has taken about a week for them to fix things and we keep finding things to fix. We have a great PM, so he just keeps sending people over to fix everything.
4. Ask PM if you can either install toilet paper holders/towel bars yourself, or mark where you want them. Our towel bar in the powder room is up really high and I don't want to deal with patching holes to move it right now.
5. Don't bother with a blower for the fireplace. Ours heats the entire house without the blower.
6. If you bake or host holidays... splurge for the double oven. This is probably the only real regret I have.
7. If you have a handy husband, don't pay for kitchen/bathroom knobs. We were able to pick what we wanted from Menards and installed ourselves for much cheaper and could do pulls on drawers instead of all knobs.
Things I'm soooo glad we did....
1. The upgraded paint package. We did Pavilion Beige and with the 2 story entry, it looks great. There is no way my husband was going to be able to paint that!
2. Builder built deck. Yes, it's standard, nothing fancy... but it's done. We grilled out our first night here.
3. splurged for the cabinets I wanted. Love my kitchen, it's the best part of the house.
4. rough-in for water softener. We had our water softener installed within the first couple of weeks we were here and it makes such a huge difference not only showering, but cleaning too.
5. Upgraded fixtures and doorknobs. We got the bronze upgrade. Love it! Looks so good.
6. Added windows in morning room and family room. We have a great view of the pond behind our house, and the windows brighten it up. We decided not to add side windows to the living room and bedrooms since they just look at the neighbor's house.
7. When they actually lock you out.... typically, the windows aren't locked.... we found ways in anyway, and we checked on things DAILY and took TONS of pictures.
The house has been an ongoing organizational mess... now that we are at least mostly unpacked... I will post pictures tonight after I give it a good cleaning!
And as much as apartment living/temporary housing sucked.... yes, it was totally worth it! Hang in there!
