It’s tough making long distance changes to our new home. And yes, we made changes – lots of them. Most of this hassle is because we had to make initial selections in such a super rush. Don and I flew back to Florida just one day after spending four hours in the Sales Center pouring over samples of flooring, carpet, tile, countertops, and a whole bunch of other interior and exterior colors and options. We made some mistakes, but nothing that couldn’t be changed before the order for construction was sent to the manufacturer.
We began thinking of changes while on the plane back to Florida and continued to think about them for quite a while. Obviously we live too far away to visit the community sales center and discuss changes, so we had to rely on phones and FAX machines instead.
For over a month we burned up the phone lines discussing changes with our Sun Meadows sales manager. Telephone tag got to be a way of life, and it was frustrating. We would call and he wouldn’t be in the office, he would call us back and leave a message on our answering machine. We called back and he was unavailable - and so on.
A few times it was necessary to FAX a sketch and written instructions to make sure our changes were both understood and possible. Frankly we won’t know for certain whether or not all changes and upgrades were made until we do the “walk-through” just before closing, but feel confident that everything will be just right.
While some of our changes were necessary, others were simply things we had not thought of earlier. For example, as Don looked over the floor plan in more detail he noticed that a vent in the dining room had to be moved. It was located right on the spot where we plan to place a large china cabinet.
He also wanted J-boxes installed in the ceiling of every room to accommodate additional ceiling fans, as well as extra TV and stereo wiring and another GFI outside outlet on the patio. Since Don wants to use the bonus/laundry room as an office, the washer, dryer and utility sink hook-ups had to be moved to the garage and extra wiring installed for his computer and audio/visual equipment
Changes I wanted included upgraded rocker light switches and electrical outlets throughout the house, a dimmer switch in the dining room, a larger garbage disposal, stainless steel sink, pots and pans drawers in the kitchen island, an extra bank of kitchen drawers, and a special outside vent for my microwave/convection oven above the range. I needed an extra power supply and phone jacks in my office (the second bedroom) for my computers and FAX machine. We also made a few changes in both bathrooms to include more safety grab bars and additional vanity storage.
Fortunately, all our changes are not a problem for the factory as long as they are made before construction of our manufactured home begins. The challenge was deciding what we wanted and working with the sales manager to get the order in on time. This process would have been much easier if there wasn’t 2,500 miles between the sales center and us.
It’s interesting to note that some of the ideas for changes to our home resulted from long distance phone conversations with our future Sun Meadows neighbors. We met three couples in the sales center while choosing colors and materials. They were there for the same reason and planned to move in about the same time as us. It was a lucky break because they are all southern California natives and live near enough to Sun Meadows to run over there every week or so.
We have so much in common with these friendly 55+ people and hit if off right away. So friendly in fact that we exchanged phone numbers and agreed to keep in touch before the move. Soon after Don and I returned to Florida I called all three couples to ask about the changes they were making. These conversations were so cool because I got some good ideas and made new friends at the same time.
Now that all the changes have been requested Don and I both feel it’s a great advantage to have a new manufactured home built to our own specifications. For example, we were able to choose from over 60 floor plans available from the manufacturer. The home we selected is being custom built in the Silvercrest factory from scratch and customized to suit our personal needs and wants. We even altered some exterior features such as a patio cover design that’s half lattice and half solid as well as the 10’ X 12’ extra slab section next to the patio.
The options we selected aren’t free. In fact, the total inside and outside accessories boosted our sales price from $130,900.00 to a total of $137,800.00. Site-built homes with all the features of our manufactured home cost about 60% more. We feel like kids in a candy shop when all the candy was reduced by more than half price!
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