We are approaching our third full month at the Landon. It's nice to call home and we are still decorating it and making it our space. I've found time to play some x-box in the study and my fiance happy in the great room watching Gilmore Girls. Even our dogs are feeling at home and understanding the rules of the new house. We all are finding our routine.
We still have some things to move from the old house and I haven't started to finish the basement. I was able to make a bicycle pully rack while we are both super busy.
While we are generally happier with our new home, specially compared to our old 60 year old small starter house, we still have a lot of things that need addressed. Ryan Homes still has some things they need to address.
Gas Fireplace - Our fireplace has stopped working all together. Sometimes it might light for a minute or two but then immediately go out.
Fireplace Stonework - We have several issues with our stonework. First is there is a stone with concrete stuck on the front of it. These are man make stones so there is some concrete left over from another stone stuck to it. We also get an extremely cold draft from the stone base and slabs. It is as if they never insulated the inside around the fireplace. This fireplace is a big hole in the wall and it shouldn't be letting as much cold air in as it does. Lastly, we have one of the slabs installed so out of level that it looks like our fireplace is crooked and running downhill. It looks really bad. Hopefully they can fix this slab and spray expanding foam insulation around the fireplace inside.
Morning Room Door - Our door continues to not latch or struggles to latch. If you dont lock the deadbolt a strong wind from outside will push open the door. The door plate needs moved. They also left the door knob on so loose that it moves around and has scratched all the paint on around the doorknob area.
Dishwasher - They must have put the cheapest dishwasher they make into this house. It leaves our dishes dirty. We basically have to wash our dishes by hand prior to washing them in the dishwasher. It does such a bad job that it's a joke that Ryan Homes can consider this a functional dishwasher. Our PM said he would swap it out and he had nothing but complaints about this model.
Guardian Speakers and Network - Guardian never finished their installation. They installed two wires on the outside of the house but nothing is installed out there. They never installed the external speaker. We have speakers in the great room, but none of them work with the MP3 outlet. I can't even get them to buzz so I dont think they have power. The data panel in the basement has items placed in the box but never plugged in. They did a really crappy installation and their sales person has stopped communicating with us. Our PM even said they have been doing crappy work. I wrote a letter to their CEO asking for someone to contact me about the work they never completed. They called to schedule a tech and never apologized for the crappy work they did.
We have a bunch of small things as well.
Missed painted areas
Mystery Leak in shower door
Basement light that stays on 100% of the time
Various drywall patches
Sticky Door
We have Ryan Homes sending back a crew on the 5th to fix all these things. Hopefully they all get addressed.
We still haven't received any other offers from the other house. This is really odd since the house had 2 deals fall apart and one deal missed since it was under contract. I can see the webtraffic is high and we had tons of people save the house online. We also installed a new furnace and electrical panel since they were inspection issues. What is sad is people are commenting it needs too much work when it has a updated kitchen, main bath, all new windows, updated furnace and electrical panel. Not to mention I doubled the joists on the deck for double support and poured a new concrete cap to the fireplace. The hardwood floors could use a good sanding and the walls a fresh coat of paint, but that's common with a house 60 years old. I feel like buyers are being picky on the looks and missing key updated infrastructure and location.
