One thing I must say that I think is pretty backwards with RH is the fact that they have you choose out all your options, floor plans, siding colors, etc, BEFORE you are actually approved. For people like us (we have had small credit issues in the past), it makes a time that is supposed to be happy and exciting a little nerve wrecking. I was excited about picking all the options but I kept thinking in the back of my mind.....What if we don't get approved? That would be devastating. So in order to keep myself grounded and not face too much disappointment in case underwriting fell through,,,,,,I always ride the middle!
Despite the fact that I knew we hadn't received our official Approval yet, I did enjoy picking the options for our new home!
Also, another thing that I wish RH would do is set up a design center where you can actually see bigger samples of the choices they have available. Mainly RH has most of the available choices (Cabinets, Counter tops, Siding, Brick/Stone) in the basement of the model. Usually they are small swatches and one cabinet door to see what the cabinets would look like. If RH had a design center it would make things a lot easier. The fact that most of the swatches are small, it makes it hard to feel confident that you have made the right choice. Needless to say,,,,,We did have fun making our selections!
Here are some of the options we decided on:
Cabinets (Kitchen & All Bathrooms)
Wyoming Square Cherry Bordeaux
Counter tops
Formica Butterum Granite
Flooring
Standard Laminate (We will install wood flooring later)
Carpeting
Standard all over except upgrade in Family Room & Padding
Siding Color
Khaki
Shutters
Black
Front Door
Classic Burgundy
Front of House
Bucks County Partial Stone
Appliances
Standard Black (planning to sell on craigslist) we want Stainless
UPDATE 07/29/2011: I was quite upset when I went into the Model yesterday and I saw in the basement that they actually had a pretty nice size slab of the high definition laminate counter tops on display now! From the small swatch we saw initially we thought it wouldn't look nice, now after looking at the larger slab this is exactly the look we wanted and we settled for the old style laminate. I will have to follow up with my sales rep regarding this issue. This is what I mean when I say they should have bigger slabs available for viewing. SMH!
UPDATE 08/05/2011: This past week we spoke with our sales rep regarding the high definition laminate and she stated that she needed to check with her manager and our PM to see if it was too late to change. Well unfortunately, she informed us that our PM said that is was too late and that they have a very strict schedule to stick to and we would not be able to change our counter tops at this time............
Despite the fact that I knew we hadn't received our official Approval yet, I did enjoy picking the options for our new home!
Also, another thing that I wish RH would do is set up a design center where you can actually see bigger samples of the choices they have available. Mainly RH has most of the available choices (Cabinets, Counter tops, Siding, Brick/Stone) in the basement of the model. Usually they are small swatches and one cabinet door to see what the cabinets would look like. If RH had a design center it would make things a lot easier. The fact that most of the swatches are small, it makes it hard to feel confident that you have made the right choice. Needless to say,,,,,We did have fun making our selections!
Here are some of the options we decided on:
Cabinets (Kitchen & All Bathrooms)
Wyoming Square Cherry Bordeaux
Counter tops
Formica Butterum Granite
Flooring
Standard Laminate (We will install wood flooring later)
Carpeting
Standard all over except upgrade in Family Room & Padding
Siding Color
Khaki
Shutters
Black
Front Door
Classic Burgundy
Front of House
Bucks County Partial Stone
Appliances
Standard Black (planning to sell on craigslist) we want Stainless
UPDATE 07/29/2011: I was quite upset when I went into the Model yesterday and I saw in the basement that they actually had a pretty nice size slab of the high definition laminate counter tops on display now! From the small swatch we saw initially we thought it wouldn't look nice, now after looking at the larger slab this is exactly the look we wanted and we settled for the old style laminate. I will have to follow up with my sales rep regarding this issue. This is what I mean when I say they should have bigger slabs available for viewing. SMH!
UPDATE 08/05/2011: This past week we spoke with our sales rep regarding the high definition laminate and she stated that she needed to check with her manager and our PM to see if it was too late to change. Well unfortunately, she informed us that our PM said that is was too late and that they have a very strict schedule to stick to and we would not be able to change our counter tops at this time............
August 17, 2011 at 10:15 PM
It's hard to tell from your posts what the dates are related to your posts, but you should have been able to make changes for a couple of weeks at least. We have made changes right up to and including at our pre-construction meeting...we have also made changes after we broke ground and we are about 30-40 days till settlement and are in the process of making another change. As long as the material hasn't been ordered yet, you should be able to make a change...might cost you a change fee, but it should be possible...especially if it is a standard option and not something custom. You can always contact your sales rep's manager.
August 20, 2011 at 11:54 AM
Hi BD, yes it's hard for me to blog every day so I have been updating about once a week. We are about 55 days from closing now and I am really confused as to why we were told no and you guys are still making changes 30-40 days out! I was told that materials were ordered but I don't believe it because I just received an email from my sales rep stating that she forgot to add the pricing for our flooring so we had to sign the change order to ensure that everything gets ordered correctly. I would assume the flooring and countertops would be ordered together. I am not going to press the issue because we are going to replace the countertops at a later date anyway, but nevertheless it is still annoying.