Week 2 -- Roanoke and Monticello
Sunday, February 18, 2007

Last Wednesday, I made an appointment with Hearthstone Homes at their Deerwood Location so yesterday, Saturday, we got to meet with one of their agents. Off the bat, we could already tell that the Hearthstone agent was much better than the Celebrity Homes agent. For one, he did not pressure us. Second, they were more updated in terms of documentation. Anyway, since we saw a lot of models online, all we had to do was pick those that were within our budget, suited our timeline (which is July of this year) and were ready for a look-see. He charted our options for us and provided us with a lot of info on how we might possibly be going about things. Theirs was pretty comprehensive and they only sold single detached homes so a lot of it was a no-brainer. As usual, we only get to customize those homes which are still under construction. For those that are done, we'll just have to live with what they have and do the customization ourselves.

After our meeting, we then went to their other site, Arbor Gate, where 4 models were still open for viewing. We saw the Roanoke, Newport, Monticello and Sanford Models. I finally remembered to bring my cam but the batt would only last 6 more minutes so I wasn't able to take good shots. Anyway...

This is the Roanoke.



This is Newport.


Here is Monticello.


And lastly, Sanford.


Right off the bat, we fell in love with the Roanoke and the Monticello! Hoen and I felt the same way right when we walked in the units. I never knew this about myself but I was partial to those houses with all the bedrooms on another or higher level as opposed to the main one. The farther the rooms are from the Great/Living Room, the better for me. And Hoen felt likewise. Of course, I gravitated to the kitchen right away. With the size of the house that's right for us, my dream kitchen is hard to come by and that's the one with an island and a breakfast bar. Sige lang, it's not like we will live here forever. We have to do a lot of compromise without settling for what's inconvenient.

What we loved about the Roanoke and the Monticello is the fact that it's not too big nor is it too small for us. The Roanoke has the bedroom level on top, the main level with the kitchen, the dining room and the Great Room, and then there's the basement which we can turn into a TV / workout room. And right when you enter it, a short set of stairs lead to the main level. The Monticello is very much like the Roanoke except that you walk in straight to the main level, there is an option for a sub-basement, and it is a little bigger in size. The Sanford and the Newport were ok but we weren't as awed as we were with the others. The downside? The location. Arbor Gate iss very near to the commercial/shopping centers but is probably 45 minutes away from Hoen's office. The Deerwood does not have much access to the city's commercial centers. But we'll look into that in greater detail later.

Anyway, Hoen and I, much as we are in love with those 2 Hearthstone models, will still look at other locations and used houses. We still have to keep an open mind. And today, we just realized that we will have a new house in 5 months. FIVE MONTHS! Woohoo!

posted by maudester @ 8:38 PM   0 commentus maximus