Here starts the journey … we have chosen to build a new construction home! Really … the house chose us.

Where location was not our number one priority, this community sure hit all the right notes making our decision to build in a residential community an easy one. Sky Crossing is quite lovely as a whole. Offering it’s residents a community center equipped with a gym, multi-purpose rooms, lounge area, a large outdoor pool, as well as parks sprinkled throughout the neighborhood, including a village green with a basketball court, playground, barbecues and a splash pad. An elementary school is slated to be built in the coming years, making this community ideal for the remainder of Doodle’s childhood as well as the resale / rental of this home when the time comes.

Selecting a home at Sky Crossing was more challenging than we had expected. Residents have the option to build with either Pulte or Taylor Morrison. Both builders have beautiful homes to select from and incredible staff to support you along your journey. The Pulte selection of homes are quite lovely and we fell in love with the Patagonia and Dignitary models. What we loved about them was the option for a modern look and feel structurally, their ranch style layout and the fact that we lost no square footage in the move. The Cottonwood model from Taylor Morrison chose us. Everything about this home felt right from the moment it came into view. Not only did the home feel inviting from the outside, as soon as we stepped inside it felt like home. The structural options were exactly what we were looking for, we gained square footage in this home and the lot size was ideal for our love of indoor/outdoor living. I cannot explain the feeling I felt the moment we toured the model. I couldn’t shake it, it just felt right.

Big question answered – we had selected the home. It was now time to select the lot. Taylor Morrison has specific regulations regarding which lots a two-story home could be built on. Essentially a resident can only build a two-story home on a lot that does not back up to another lot, no peeping going on thankfully. There were only two lots we were interested in building on, making the process a bit more nerve racking. You see, one cannot just walk in, fall in love with a model, select a lot and start building. One must attend a lot release lottery. Such a process is instituted to control chaos, increase efficiency and ensure quality during the build process. We had to wait two weeks until the scheduled lot release. We showed up the morning of the lot release, added our name to the list and waited nervously for the selection to begin. While we waited we decided to explore the Pulte models and inquire with the sales office regarding their available lots and homes (the Mr is a risk mitigator and wanted to ensure that on this weekend we made a final decision about our next home – remember our love for the Patagonia and Dignitary models). When the lot selection started we were one of 18 other names thrown into to a hat to be drawn from. There were only 10 lots available and only 2 of those lots were lots we were interested in. I was stressed out and the math was not in our favor. The Mr stayed at the Pulte sales office discussing our options just in case, we had a back up plan in place and in the works. First draw – not our name, neither of our preferred lots. Second draw – not our name, but one of our preferred lots. Third draw – our name and the ability to select the other lot we loved.

We got the lot! We get the opportunity to build the home we envision. I immediately texted the Mr and said the lot was ours, the home is ours. We lingered while the drawing continued. It was hard to watch others leave disappointed because their desired lots were selected or frankly their names were one of the 8 drawn after all of the lots were gone. Where I understand the process, I also could feel the tension and the disappointment for those leaving empty handed. The joy was evident for those of us who got the lot we were after, to build the homes we have fallen in love with.

We stayed at the sales office that afternoon writing up our paperwork. The paperwork included many essential decisions to get the build started. We selected the elevation, Tuscan, pictured above (what our house will look like when complete). We also decided on added and upgraded structural choices such as; a garage service door, a multi-sliding glass door in the family room, a full covered patio, a double gate, a super shower in loo of a tub & shower combo in the master bathroom, a pair of interior doors for the den and a bonus room with the standard one-car garage. These structural upgrades had to be selected the day of signing as they are submitted to the city for permits.

It’s now time to let the waiting game begin. Every step of the process allows for decisions to be made and a wait to take place. From the time we selected our lot to the day ground broke was almost a month and a half. To carry that much excitement into a project, to hurry up and wait that long, it is a huge challenge for me. Thankfully we were kept busy with completing the sale of our home, moving, living in an AirBnB, moving again into our rental, getting somewhat settled and enjoying the design studio process. This journey will certainly teach me much about patience that I do not poses, but oh how sweet the reward will be when it is all said and done.

More on the Process of Buying and Building a New Construction Home:
The Hunt for Our Next Home
Times, They Are a Changin’ …