River House Diary

We had the formal turning over of the house keys ceremony yesterday. We received a lot of nice parting gifts but this one was our favorite. Every once in a while we would receive a credit for something in the contract we decided not to do. Of course, the credits always went towards covering my overages much to Pete’s chagrin. He kept telling TAB he wanted his credits in “dead American presidents.” And he finally got his wish! Dead presidents refund; personal collection

Our builder has selected our home as one of their entries for the New Bern Parade of Homes 2020 sponsored by the New Bern Home Builders Association. The judging takes place on April 15. Our house will be open to the public on two weekends -- April 25 and 26 and May 2 and 3. We hope to see you there! Courtesy of New Bern Home Builders Association

Included in the contract to build our home was a selections presentation. It included everything used to price our house from the front door to the number of paint colors that would be used. We were given a Selections Workbook that included a schedule for the ten signed selection sheets we would be required to submit. Our schedule is: 05/29/2019 -- Exterior (roofing, siding, windows, exterior doors) 06/05/2019 -- Plumbing 06/05/2019 -- Appliances 06/12/2019 -- Cabinets and Closets 06/12/2019 -- Interior  (interior doors, casing and trim, fireplace and staircase) 06/21/2019 -- Electrical 06/21/2019 -- Flooring 06/28/2019 -- Paint 06/28/2019 -- Bath and Door Hardware 06/28/2019 -- Miscellaneous Late fees may apply, charged daily until the selections are submitted. Divorce could be in my future if we miss a date. Pete hates late fees. He believes there's simply no excuse for incurring them. We had begun making selections late last year after re-engaging with TAB so I f...

We signed the contract to build our house with TAB today. Pete and I celebrating being in debt again; personal collection The contract is a firm-fixed price contract with three areas of unknown costs, which was unusual for TAB. We were unable to get a price quote for site preparation due to the Hurricane Florence recovery efforts. Our contract included only an estimate. Also, our plans would have to be reviewed by a structural engineer to ensure they met or exceeded local building codes. Because we are on a river in hurricane country, there could likely be additional costs. Finally, depending on where we located the house on the lot, the foundation may exceed the four rows of cinderblock included in the contract. Next, the hurry-up-and-wait period while permits are pulled and the structural engineer weighs in on changes to meet codes. I have been busy setting up electrical, water, and sewer service to the lot.

Our weekend project was to read the final version of contract documents TAB Premium Built Homes sent. Four copies of the contract; personal collection All Pete's work history with government contractors is coming in handy! Pete reading all the contract details; personal collection

"When one has finished building one's house, one suddenly realizes that in the process one has learned something that one really needed to know -- in the worst way -- before one began." -- Friedrich Nietzsche There are literally thousands of advice articles on the Internet about how to choose a contractor for your custom home. We followed none of that advice. TAB Premium Built Home house in Morehead City; courtesy of TAB  Premium Built Homes Pete and I lived in two houses in Virginia and extensively remodeled both of them. We were very lucky with our contractor, Harold Leff, and worked with him on both houses starting in 1990. It was a sad day in 2017 when he removed the lockbox on the front door of our second house! We appreciated the quality of his team, his eye for detail, his creativeness, and how easy he was to work with. He wasn't going to be the cheapest contractor in town, but you get what you pay for. We wanted to find another Harold when we buil...