[Agent Jones]

Originally Posted by TrueBlueVenom

agreed on the carpet pad, phase inspections. go with faux wood blinds - lot cheaper than real wood (truthfully, once they are up, you will almost forget about them. get at least 2" blinds - you get a better view with them turned open).

you'll be getting tax breaks (on your mortgage interest, etc) so between that and having your own home, it more than beats renting. be sure to apply for the Texas Homestead exemption (saves on taxes and somewhat protects you from getting kicked out of your home. also, find out about the HOA in your area. my last house, the HOA was lax (both good and bad); the current ones - pure Nazis.

also, pick a lot that will have a relatively level driveway; nothing tougher than a steep driveway and a Mustang

Thanks! I apply for the homestead exemption every year! save about 300 bucks a year on taxes! the builder has a discount on the Real wood blinds that makes them almost the same price as teh faux. real - 525 (normally 1200) Faux blinds 400. so i dont mind spending the xtra 125 for the real thing. HOA is 425 a year so its not so bad. the HOA i have now is 100 bucks a year but they suck!

[X2CRAYZIX]

GOOD LUCK with the build !!!! If you have any questions feel free to send me a line...

[Agent Jones]

Originally Posted by X2CRAYZIX

For the cost of the upgraded carpet and pad you could go wood or engineered wood floors .It would be better for resale value and a hell of alot healthier and to say the least much better looking .
Plantation blinds are the 2 inch wide slat blinds like mini blinds but wider slats and either wood or a wood composite or a durable plastic. Its probably what you are getting.As for the price on the blinds you are getting that is a damn good deaL IF THAT INCLUDES INSTALL. I install these on a regular basis and that is below what the labor price would be on 17 windows.
Dont bother with the phase inspector because each phase is gonna be inspected anyways by the building inspectors (.plumbing inspection framing inspection its all in there) just my .02 on that.If a builder or his crew wants to hide something trust me most of the time noone is gonna find it
I second what Wiked had to say.Be very involved in the build but just dont tell the crew how to do there job lol cause as a ex builder and now a home improvement specialist I know how much it pisses them off and that is when alot of corners WILL be cut.

GOOD LUCK with the build !!!! If you have any questions feel free to send me a line...

Thanks i appreciate all the info! i really dont like wood floors throughout the entire house. but i will agree with it hellping the resale value, it reall set apart the house i just sold and helped me sell it quickly. I am getting the wood floors in the dining room. the upgraded lvk 3 shag carpet is 1600 and upgraded lvl 2 pad is 400.

so you do home improvemetns for a living? what do you speicalize in? or do you do it all?

[X2CRAYZIX]

Everything but major elec and major plumbing (insurance doesnt cover it and not liscened in either of those)
I use to own another business with a friend and his father when I lived in Maine and we would build custom custom homes at about 4 a year . Upgraded framing, upgraded products and such .
I feel ya on the carpet thing , if thats what ya like then thats what ya get!!!

[Agent Jones]

Originally Posted by X2CRAYZIX

I feel ya on the carpet thing , if thats what ya like then thats what ya get!!!
I just dont like the health issues associated with carpet...........

heath issues??? what health issues are there. I have always been in a home with carpet and have never heard of this...is it that is can hold more stuff and disease in it or something?

[X2CRAYZIX]

A

[X2CRAYZIX]

BTW ... post pics as the build goes through its stages....

[Agent Jones]

i will. im gonna try to make it out there atleast once a week or every other week to see the progress...im really excited to see this prcoess of looking for a builder, picking a floorplan, doing financing, option, build etc be over. It took me over a month before i even decided on which community and builder to go with. i have been to almost every community in the NW side of sa out side of 1604 between potranco and 1-10!

[X2CRAYZIX]

hopefully a city tax free area lol

[Agent Jones]

Originally Posted by X2CRAYZIX

hopefully a city tax free area lol

YEP!!! thats why i was looking out side of 1604...so do you do grass or outdoor landscaping?

[X2CRAYZIX]

I can but dont usually lol but the wifes cousin is awesome at it

[Agent Jones]

oh ok well it comes with burmuda, and i wanna get zoysia or st augustine

[JENA]

Originally Posted by Agent Jones

plantation blinds??? sorry not familar with those...i probably have seen them just dont know them by name

they are the wood blinds that they custom fit to any window, but are fully attached to the window frame, you can use them like regular blinds, but also open them up from the inside like shutters I attached the google link for some ideas. gl

plantation blinds - Google Image Search

[Stumpy]

when i bought my house, i only upgraded the things that i couldn't change later, like a fireplace, stand up shower and garden tub, etc. i hung my own blinds and after only two f bombs on the first set, it was really easy. took me about 30 mins to hang about 10 sets. also did all of my own ceiling fans. those were a little harder but cheaper than the builder doing it. i spent about $1000 at lowes and had it all done in a weekend. the builder will ass rape you on the little things like that. we're putting tile in the main areas of the house this Christmas so we didn't upgrade the carpet. don't go hardwood or laminate. from what i've heard, you don't get your investment back on that like you do on tile. unless you always wanted wood. simply put, keep it cheap at the table and save the money by taking care of it yourself. hell, i sodded my backyard for 175.00 and four hours of my own time. the builder wanted to charge me around 600-800 for them to do it.

[FIRSTMOM]

take pictures of the framing process. it really saved our butts when we went to hang a pot rack in our old house. We were able to figure out where the major support was and in which direction because it required two hooks. Kept us from having to patch in the ceiling. If you havn't picked a lot yet try to get one with a north south facing, will save you loads on energy bills. also, a lot of the electric companies are offering rebates for different energy efficient items, check on them and if your builder gets them that $$ should be passed on to you (in my opinion) If you have CPS the info is on their website. Also with water companies.

[FIRSTMOM]

on the blinds issue, check on overstock.com, they are not that hard to hang. the fake wood will not turn colors as fast as the wood when the window gets a lot of light during the day. I got a ton of things from overstock for our house and it saved us tons of money!!!!!! the other place i saved was with costco, they have a great website. even got my tub through them and it was 1/8th the cost of local places.

[JENA]

Originally Posted by FIRSTMOM

on the blinds issue, check on overstock.com, they are not that hard to hang. the fake wood will not turn colors as fast as the wood when the window gets a lot of light during the day. I got a ton of things from overstock for our house and it saved us tons of money!!!!!! the other place i saved was with costco, they have a great website. even got my tub through them and it was 1/8th the cost of local places.

+1 on Costco

[Agent Jones]

Originally Posted by Stumpy

when i bought my house, i only upgraded the things that i couldn't change later, like a fireplace, stand up shower and garden tub, etc. i hung my own blinds and after only two f bombs on the first set, it was really easy. took me about 30 mins to hang about 10 sets. also did all of my own ceiling fans. those were a little harder but cheaper than the builder doing it. i spent about $1000 at lowes and had it all done in a weekend. the builder will ass rape you on the little things like that. we're putting tile in the main areas of the house this Christmas so we didn't upgrade the carpet. don't go hardwood or laminate. from what i've heard, you don't get your investment back on that like you do on tile. unless you always wanted wood. simply put, keep it cheap at the table and save the money by taking care of it yourself. hell, i sodded my backyard for 175.00 and four hours of my own time. the builder wanted to charge me around 600-800 for them to do it.

cool, yeah i getting things like extenstion on the house and garage, things that cannot be done easily afterwards. i also picking up a couple of things that they are running really good specials on, like the wood blinds for less than 600 bucks installed. lowes wanted over 900 for just the blinds. also the front and back yard come sodded for free. Hardwood floors helped me sell my last home for market value which is hard to do with the way the market is right now. Who was your builder?

[Agent Jones]

Originally Posted by FIRSTMOM

take pictures of the framing process. it really saved our butts when we went to hang a pot rack in our old house. We were able to figure out where the major support was and in which direction because it required two hooks. Kept us from having to patch in the ceiling. If you havn't picked a lot yet try to get one with a north south facing, will save you loads on energy bills. also, a lot of the electric companies are offering rebates for different energy efficient items, check on them and if your builder gets them that $$ should be passed on to you (in my opinion) If you have CPS the info is on their website. Also with water companies.

Thanks for the info, i am trying to get a North/South. The builder is on CPS list of energy star builders so thats a plus. I called CPS and they also said that you get a discount on your bill if you have atleast 3 different lines of gas in the house. So ill get that discount also since the house has a gas furnance, stove, and water heater

[aguilarf]

Are you incorporating any Smart Home features such as Cat5/6, fiber optic, HDMI, or additional coax drops? Much easier to do before the sheetrock goes up.