Aloha All,
Well it's been a long time coming but I am finally settled into our home. Of my family of five I was the last one to finally live in our home. We closed back in January and at that time my hubby moved in. In June our boys moved in but due to military requirements I didn't get the pleasure to relocate until August. I am very fortunate to have received an assignment in the area and finally all be a family again under one roof!
Here are some updates from my last post :Furniture Woes"... our credit card refunded us the money we lost when we purchased a dining room set from the Roomstore which went out of business within two weeks of us ordering the furniture, all I can say is shady salesperson - she knew what was going on when we ordered!
We ended ordering our dining room set from Haverty's due in by 7 Sep. We did like a set from Rooms to Go, however since they aren't local I didn't want to take any chances with damages or anything else. Due to our experience with the Roomstore, I am very leary. Our family room furniture was ordered from Belfort Furniture in Dulles, VA and all I can say is outstanding service. The rep has been very helpful, friendly, patience, etc. I had lots of communication with him from Hawaii and he was amazing. We also ended up ordering our bedroom set and both were delivered on Friday. Our living room furniture is still on order, hopefully arriving end of August or early September. And our stuff from Hawaii arrives on the 17th. I know this is a work in progress but I can't wait to have my home squared away!
Well that's all for now, pictures will be posted soon!
JW
Monday, August 13, 2012
Monday, July 2, 2012
Furniture Woes
Hello all,
My time in the house was short lived as I had to depart to Biloxi, Mississippi after two weeks. I will be here until the end of July, back to Hawaii for a week and then FINALLY I'll be in our home (1st week of August) permanently!!!
So my two weeks were spent looking for furniture, however, somethings were not meant to be! Let me see where I can start. We visited a few furniture stores in our area and purchased a living room, family room, bedroom and dining room set as well as a server to serve as a mini bar in the basement.
Here's how everything turned out:
Living Room - We ended up purchasing a living room set and after we paid for it and were about to the leave store another salesperson mention that the set we had just bought had been discontinued...we immediately went to the store manager for confirmation and yes it was no longer available, we ended up getting our money back without a problem.
Bedroom - Then we went to another furniture where we purchased a bedroom set and upon delivery it was damaged. I called the salesperson and she agreed to send us another set that was to be delivered this past Friday. My husband inspected the furniture before it got off the truck and unfortunately it too was damaged, so we cancelled that order and will be looking elsewhere.
Family Room - Found a nice set that has been ordered and is expected for delivery the 1st week in August.
Server - Delivered with numerous damages, unfortunately we didn't read the fine print and once orders are delivered there are no cancellations. So they are to be delivering a new one this Friday. Keeping my fingers crossed that it arrives without damages.
And finally the dining room set - We ordered a dining room from the Roomstore...I am posting the store name for others to be forewarned...When we ordered the dining room, everything went rather smoothly, we were told the item was on backorder and normally would take 6-8 weeks to arrive, that was not a problem. Well I called them Friday to see if there was any update on the furniture and low and behold, the lady that answered the phone says that the Roomstore went out of business...I asked her the status of previous orders that had not be delivered but paid for in full, yes in full, I paid with my credit card, and she said she had no clue for me to call back on Monday. I immediately called my hubby and sent him to the store. He found the doors looked and after pulling and tugging for a few minutes someone finally came to the door. He asked for Lisa (who I spoke to) and she refused to come to the door, she sent a male to the door who reiterated what I was told. We contacted the credit card and they are working with us to refund us the money we had paid (I had also already paid my bill in full). Come to find out after some research, Roomstore had filed for Chap 11 Bankruptcy back in Dec and had not fulfilled orders or honored extended warranties.
So now we are back to the drawing board on all furniture except the family room...what can I say???
Well that's all for now...Take care and Aloha!
My time in the house was short lived as I had to depart to Biloxi, Mississippi after two weeks. I will be here until the end of July, back to Hawaii for a week and then FINALLY I'll be in our home (1st week of August) permanently!!!
So my two weeks were spent looking for furniture, however, somethings were not meant to be! Let me see where I can start. We visited a few furniture stores in our area and purchased a living room, family room, bedroom and dining room set as well as a server to serve as a mini bar in the basement.
Here's how everything turned out:
Living Room - We ended up purchasing a living room set and after we paid for it and were about to the leave store another salesperson mention that the set we had just bought had been discontinued...we immediately went to the store manager for confirmation and yes it was no longer available, we ended up getting our money back without a problem.
Bedroom - Then we went to another furniture where we purchased a bedroom set and upon delivery it was damaged. I called the salesperson and she agreed to send us another set that was to be delivered this past Friday. My husband inspected the furniture before it got off the truck and unfortunately it too was damaged, so we cancelled that order and will be looking elsewhere.
Family Room - Found a nice set that has been ordered and is expected for delivery the 1st week in August.
Server - Delivered with numerous damages, unfortunately we didn't read the fine print and once orders are delivered there are no cancellations. So they are to be delivering a new one this Friday. Keeping my fingers crossed that it arrives without damages.
And finally the dining room set - We ordered a dining room from the Roomstore...I am posting the store name for others to be forewarned...When we ordered the dining room, everything went rather smoothly, we were told the item was on backorder and normally would take 6-8 weeks to arrive, that was not a problem. Well I called them Friday to see if there was any update on the furniture and low and behold, the lady that answered the phone says that the Roomstore went out of business...I asked her the status of previous orders that had not be delivered but paid for in full, yes in full, I paid with my credit card, and she said she had no clue for me to call back on Monday. I immediately called my hubby and sent him to the store. He found the doors looked and after pulling and tugging for a few minutes someone finally came to the door. He asked for Lisa (who I spoke to) and she refused to come to the door, she sent a male to the door who reiterated what I was told. We contacted the credit card and they are working with us to refund us the money we had paid (I had also already paid my bill in full). Come to find out after some research, Roomstore had filed for Chap 11 Bankruptcy back in Dec and had not fulfilled orders or honored extended warranties.
So now we are back to the drawing board on all furniture except the family room...what can I say???
Well that's all for now...Take care and Aloha!
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Moving Day is getting closer
Aloha all,
Well it's been a while since we closed and I wrote my last post. Nothing really to post the last couple of months. As some of you may recall I am in the military stationed in Hawaii, well great news here is that I officially received my assignment to Maryland and will finally get to live in my house but not until August. My hubby has been living there solo since we closed. However, today the boys and I fly out and will be in our new home tomorrow. Looking forward to spending more than two days in it. The house is bare no furniture other than a bed, couch and two stools so I'll be keeping busy the next two weeks with shopping for furniture and curtains, as well as registering the boys for school. Unfortunately I will leave back to Hawaii but will return for good early August.
In other news, we got the grout in the master bath corrected and it looks great. All the other issues we had were also corrected with the exception of the dip in the kitchen floors. They put a temporary fix with the trim and after reading Sgt Rich's post on the possibility of them making things worse we decided at least for now to leave the trim as is and not mess with ripping up floors. Once I am there I will see how noticeable not it is.
Once we get settled in and have some furniture I'll post some pics. Until them take care!
Well it's been a while since we closed and I wrote my last post. Nothing really to post the last couple of months. As some of you may recall I am in the military stationed in Hawaii, well great news here is that I officially received my assignment to Maryland and will finally get to live in my house but not until August. My hubby has been living there solo since we closed. However, today the boys and I fly out and will be in our new home tomorrow. Looking forward to spending more than two days in it. The house is bare no furniture other than a bed, couch and two stools so I'll be keeping busy the next two weeks with shopping for furniture and curtains, as well as registering the boys for school. Unfortunately I will leave back to Hawaii but will return for good early August.
In other news, we got the grout in the master bath corrected and it looks great. All the other issues we had were also corrected with the exception of the dip in the kitchen floors. They put a temporary fix with the trim and after reading Sgt Rich's post on the possibility of them making things worse we decided at least for now to leave the trim as is and not mess with ripping up floors. Once I am there I will see how noticeable not it is.
Once we get settled in and have some furniture I'll post some pics. Until them take care!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Updates
Hello all,
Well it's been almost two months since we closed on our home and we have had many issues. From the posts I've read from those who have closed I haven't read any negative issues with your homes so I'm glad not everyone is experiencing the same. We expected to have the normal drywall issues and paint touch-ups but not the issues we've encountered. Since my hubby has had to endure this all alone he is not a happy camper right now, wish I could be there to give him some support as it's not the same from a distance.
Issue #1: Master Bathroom - As you may recall we had issues with our grout color in the master bathroom well here we are and the issue hasn't been resolved. We are noticing that our PM likes to cut corners and his very words to my hubby is "we can pretty it up"! He suggested they stain the grout to the correct color and we agreed but it only made the issue worse as they also stained the tiles on the wall which were fine. Now we have grout that is different shades on the wall and the floors. Since that didn't work I suggested that they scrape the grout and re-grout everything with the correct color. His suggestion was that we re-stain using a darker colored, he suggested this in front of the flooring manager who was at our house taking a look at the floors. The manager said you cannot re-stain over stain but he was insistent on re-staining. My husband again suggested that the old grout be removed and re-grouted, his suggestion then was to acid wash the tiles. I'm not the smartest person when it comes to fixing tiles but the mere thought of acid didn't seem like the right thing to do. Finally after much discussion and frustration, the grout has been scraped but it was not re-grouted with colored grout, instead it was grouted white and will be stained. I hope this is the final in this saga.
Issue #2: Kitchen - During my 2 days at the home back in January I noticed a glob of silicone underneath the counter top. I had my husband add it to our 30 day list so that it could get cleaned up. Well come to find out the reason it's like that is because there is a huge gap between the cabinet and the counter top. We asked for the cabinet to be lifted in order to fix the gap, well come to find out there is a dip in the sub floor. If the cabinet is lifted to close the gap on the counter top, there will be a gap between the kitchen floor and the cabinet. We asked for the floors to be fix but we were told no because it would be too much work for them. Instead they suggested a trim between the counter top and the cabinet. I'm not happy about this solution but I'm not sure that the floors will be fixed correctly and if they were to go that route we are unsure if the grouting will become an added issue as well as damaging the cabinets. I'm just wondering how the PM missed this when he was doing his walk throughs and check of the house while it was being built. In addition, the side of the oven wall was cracked and it was evident that they pieced it back together, we asked for the side to be replaced and after much kick back the PM finally agreed to replace it. In addition, if you remember the kitchen tile that was cracked and replace but only with the wrong color grout. Well it was fixed but the grout is slightly different. I'm sure the correct color was used but because it done afterwards from the rest of the floor it is somewhat noticeable. I guess we're just gonna have to deal with it.
Issue #3: Fireplace - Again during my visit I notice that the left side of the granite surround was not flushed properly it was protruding some and on the right side it was sunken in. Again we just placed it on our 30 day list, they came back on three different visits before it was finally corrected.
Issue #4: Guest Bathroom - Grouting in tile was sloppy and slipped over on to the tiles. This has been corrected.
Issue #5: Foyer Window - The foyer window had numerous scratches. The person who ended up trying to fix this had not been informed that he supposed to fix the scratches on the window so he apparently was not equipped with a ladder. When hee asked the PM for a ladder and the PM responded that wasn't his problem and to see if one of the individuals working on another house would let him borrow their ladder. He was not able to get some to lend him a ladder so he had to schedule. He returned the following week with a ladder to fix the window but in the process he scratched our hardwood floors. Our PM and a flooring person got into an argument in front of my hubby regarding how to go about fixing the floors. Still waiting to have those fixed.
We've had other minor issues to include paint on mirrors as well as light fixtures, landscaping, garage door, molding on floor in basement, improper piping, and scratches on stainless steel appliances but all have been addressed and fixed for the most part. We don't think we are being extremely picky but when we are paying so much for our home we expect it to be of good quality. We don't feel that we received a quality product nor are we receiving quality service from our PM. Hopefully this is an isolated issue and all goes well from here on out.
Here are some pics of the areas of concerns as well as the proposed fix for the kitchen cabinet...what do you think?
Well that's all for now...until the next post!
Well it's been almost two months since we closed on our home and we have had many issues. From the posts I've read from those who have closed I haven't read any negative issues with your homes so I'm glad not everyone is experiencing the same. We expected to have the normal drywall issues and paint touch-ups but not the issues we've encountered. Since my hubby has had to endure this all alone he is not a happy camper right now, wish I could be there to give him some support as it's not the same from a distance.
Issue #1: Master Bathroom - As you may recall we had issues with our grout color in the master bathroom well here we are and the issue hasn't been resolved. We are noticing that our PM likes to cut corners and his very words to my hubby is "we can pretty it up"! He suggested they stain the grout to the correct color and we agreed but it only made the issue worse as they also stained the tiles on the wall which were fine. Now we have grout that is different shades on the wall and the floors. Since that didn't work I suggested that they scrape the grout and re-grout everything with the correct color. His suggestion was that we re-stain using a darker colored, he suggested this in front of the flooring manager who was at our house taking a look at the floors. The manager said you cannot re-stain over stain but he was insistent on re-staining. My husband again suggested that the old grout be removed and re-grouted, his suggestion then was to acid wash the tiles. I'm not the smartest person when it comes to fixing tiles but the mere thought of acid didn't seem like the right thing to do. Finally after much discussion and frustration, the grout has been scraped but it was not re-grouted with colored grout, instead it was grouted white and will be stained. I hope this is the final in this saga.
Issue #2: Kitchen - During my 2 days at the home back in January I noticed a glob of silicone underneath the counter top. I had my husband add it to our 30 day list so that it could get cleaned up. Well come to find out the reason it's like that is because there is a huge gap between the cabinet and the counter top. We asked for the cabinet to be lifted in order to fix the gap, well come to find out there is a dip in the sub floor. If the cabinet is lifted to close the gap on the counter top, there will be a gap between the kitchen floor and the cabinet. We asked for the floors to be fix but we were told no because it would be too much work for them. Instead they suggested a trim between the counter top and the cabinet. I'm not happy about this solution but I'm not sure that the floors will be fixed correctly and if they were to go that route we are unsure if the grouting will become an added issue as well as damaging the cabinets. I'm just wondering how the PM missed this when he was doing his walk throughs and check of the house while it was being built. In addition, the side of the oven wall was cracked and it was evident that they pieced it back together, we asked for the side to be replaced and after much kick back the PM finally agreed to replace it. In addition, if you remember the kitchen tile that was cracked and replace but only with the wrong color grout. Well it was fixed but the grout is slightly different. I'm sure the correct color was used but because it done afterwards from the rest of the floor it is somewhat noticeable. I guess we're just gonna have to deal with it.
Issue #3: Fireplace - Again during my visit I notice that the left side of the granite surround was not flushed properly it was protruding some and on the right side it was sunken in. Again we just placed it on our 30 day list, they came back on three different visits before it was finally corrected.
Issue #4: Guest Bathroom - Grouting in tile was sloppy and slipped over on to the tiles. This has been corrected.
Issue #5: Foyer Window - The foyer window had numerous scratches. The person who ended up trying to fix this had not been informed that he supposed to fix the scratches on the window so he apparently was not equipped with a ladder. When hee asked the PM for a ladder and the PM responded that wasn't his problem and to see if one of the individuals working on another house would let him borrow their ladder. He was not able to get some to lend him a ladder so he had to schedule. He returned the following week with a ladder to fix the window but in the process he scratched our hardwood floors. Our PM and a flooring person got into an argument in front of my hubby regarding how to go about fixing the floors. Still waiting to have those fixed.
We've had other minor issues to include paint on mirrors as well as light fixtures, landscaping, garage door, molding on floor in basement, improper piping, and scratches on stainless steel appliances but all have been addressed and fixed for the most part. We don't think we are being extremely picky but when we are paying so much for our home we expect it to be of good quality. We don't feel that we received a quality product nor are we receiving quality service from our PM. Hopefully this is an isolated issue and all goes well from here on out.
Here are some pics of the areas of concerns as well as the proposed fix for the kitchen cabinet...what do you think?
Well that's all for now...until the next post!
Monday, January 30, 2012
Our Laundry Room
Here are some pics of our laundry room. This was our only purchase in the limited amount of time I was there. We were hoping for the red color but it was out of stock in the brands and options we wanted so we settled for the LG Steamwasher WM3360HVCA and LG Dryer DLEX3360V in stainless steel. I agree with Simon (Building a Michener II) that laundry is somewhat tight and there isn't much depth at least not in the Zachary nor the option for a utility sink unless we moved the laundry room to the basement which we really didn't want to do. I was worried that the washer and dryer wouldn't fit but thankfully it did.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
It's ours now!!!
Hello everyone,
I know I've been MIA for about a month but I have been keeping up with your blogs. Congrats to all those who have closed and to those soon to close. I'm writing this Saturday from Hawaii, yes I've returned :-( but here's a recap of the last week.
19/20 Jan - I was fortunate enough to make the trip to the east coast for the pre-settlement and closing. After a grueling 11 hour flight from Hawaii my hubby scooped me up at the airport and we headed straight for the house for our pre-settlement meeting. It started at eleven and we didn't get done until almost 4:30 pm. Our PM went through the entire house with us and then we had a blue tape party. There were a few things that needed minor attention such as uneven dry wall, spot painting, paint spots on the wood floors and banisters. But we did have and still have an issue with the master bathroom tile floors. We paid extra for colored grout and apparently they used one color grout on the walls and another on the floor. We addressed this to the PM and he said he could tell where the grout was lighter on the floor so they were going to take care of it.
21-25 Jan - Spent these days searching for a washer and dryer and blinds as well as shopping for furniture. We ended up buying a washer and dryer but will hold off on furniture until I return in August.
26 Jan - The morning of closing we had a final walk through but the floors were no better although he insists they took care of it. I don't doubt that they worked on the floors they just don't look right. We also pointed out a broken tile in the kitchen which he fixed but also used the wrong color grout on that floor so they will have to redo.
Closing lasted two hours...but overall the entire mortgage process was painless...we were fortunate to not have any issues and did not have to provide any last minute documents as I have read from other bloggers. We took our time reading what we were signing and it took a bit for the settlement agent to get us copies of everything we signed. Once we were done we got the keys and headed back to my hubby's apartment to start moving him over.
26/27 Jan - We were busy moving Thursday evening and all day Friday. I was grateful to spend two nights in my new home but that's all I got until August. I sent our PM an email regarding my dissatisfaction with the grout in both the kitchen and master bath and what the plan for correction will be. I hope to hear from him early next week.
28 Jan - Back on the long grueling flight to Hawaii. I know I'm lucky to live in such a nice place but I'd rather be in my home! Here are a few pictures of the finished home plus the issue with the grout.
Until next time..take care!
I know I've been MIA for about a month but I have been keeping up with your blogs. Congrats to all those who have closed and to those soon to close. I'm writing this Saturday from Hawaii, yes I've returned :-( but here's a recap of the last week.
19/20 Jan - I was fortunate enough to make the trip to the east coast for the pre-settlement and closing. After a grueling 11 hour flight from Hawaii my hubby scooped me up at the airport and we headed straight for the house for our pre-settlement meeting. It started at eleven and we didn't get done until almost 4:30 pm. Our PM went through the entire house with us and then we had a blue tape party. There were a few things that needed minor attention such as uneven dry wall, spot painting, paint spots on the wood floors and banisters. But we did have and still have an issue with the master bathroom tile floors. We paid extra for colored grout and apparently they used one color grout on the walls and another on the floor. We addressed this to the PM and he said he could tell where the grout was lighter on the floor so they were going to take care of it.
21-25 Jan - Spent these days searching for a washer and dryer and blinds as well as shopping for furniture. We ended up buying a washer and dryer but will hold off on furniture until I return in August.
26 Jan - The morning of closing we had a final walk through but the floors were no better although he insists they took care of it. I don't doubt that they worked on the floors they just don't look right. We also pointed out a broken tile in the kitchen which he fixed but also used the wrong color grout on that floor so they will have to redo.
Closing lasted two hours...but overall the entire mortgage process was painless...we were fortunate to not have any issues and did not have to provide any last minute documents as I have read from other bloggers. We took our time reading what we were signing and it took a bit for the settlement agent to get us copies of everything we signed. Once we were done we got the keys and headed back to my hubby's apartment to start moving him over.
26/27 Jan - We were busy moving Thursday evening and all day Friday. I was grateful to spend two nights in my new home but that's all I got until August. I sent our PM an email regarding my dissatisfaction with the grout in both the kitchen and master bath and what the plan for correction will be. I hope to hear from him early next week.
28 Jan - Back on the long grueling flight to Hawaii. I know I'm lucky to live in such a nice place but I'd rather be in my home! Here are a few pictures of the finished home plus the issue with the grout.
Until next time..take care!
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| Looking into kitchen from Family Room |
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| Morning Room |
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| Kitchen |
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| From Dining room into Foyer |
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| Master Bedroom |
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| Master Bathroom with light colored grout - should be darker! |
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| Darker grout on bath wall...lighter grout on floor... :-( |
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| Master Shower |
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| Upstairs |
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| Basement |
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| Basement |
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| Basement |
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| Media Room |
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| Kitchen tile that was fixed...wrong color grout!!! |
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| Another shot of the repaired kitchen tile |
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| Wrong!!! |
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| Our first purchase - LG Washer |
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| Our first purchase - Dryer |
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Got dates!!!!!
Hello all...
Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays! We have been making progress with our home and today I got great news...our pre-settlement date is set for 20 Jan and settlement on 26 Jan. So far all is looking good for me to be able to travel to make it to the final stretch and partake in some of the process...I am so ecstatic!
The house is coming along nicely. As of Monday the cabinets had been installed and the ceramic tiles had been laid but needed grouting. The fireplace has the surround and mantel. Windows and doors had trim and the doors were put in. Still a bit to go but all in all we're pleased with the progress and I can't wait to see it in person.
Well until the next post...have a happy new year!!!!
Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays! We have been making progress with our home and today I got great news...our pre-settlement date is set for 20 Jan and settlement on 26 Jan. So far all is looking good for me to be able to travel to make it to the final stretch and partake in some of the process...I am so ecstatic!
The house is coming along nicely. As of Monday the cabinets had been installed and the ceramic tiles had been laid but needed grouting. The fireplace has the surround and mantel. Windows and doors had trim and the doors were put in. Still a bit to go but all in all we're pleased with the progress and I can't wait to see it in person.
Well until the next post...have a happy new year!!!!
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