Fall 2011 Parade of Homes Real Family Experiences
Category: Newsroom » Parade of HomesSM » Parade Featured Stories - August 19, 2011
Five home buyer families relate their experiences.
Triple Play
Kevin and Tammy began their home building saga even before they got married. The young engaged couple from Parkers Prairie were planning their wedding when they began looking for their first home 12 years ago. They wanted something in the northwest edge of the metro but hadn’t thought specifically about building.
Their introduction to the home building world was a little serendipitous. “Out of the blue, we went to a first time homebuyers seminar put on by a mortgage lender and realtor,” explained Kevin. The realtor from the seminar took them to see existing homes in the area.
“Then we looked at some model homes,” Kevin said. “We got to thinking that instead of buying someone else’s version of a home, maybe we should build and get exactly what we’re looking for.”
That began a three-home relationship with Christian Builders. The couple found a lot in a neighborhood in Rogers and worked with Christian to personalize a modified two-story home plan that appealed to them. That was also when Tammy discovered she liked the whole process and had a knack for choosing colors and finishes and making design tweaks.
They moved in, got settled, and before they knew it, along came Abigail (Abby). They learned fast that the housing needs of a couple were a bit different than those of a family. “We found out that a step-down living area wasn’t the best option for a toddler,” Tammy pointed out. “Whenever she got anywhere near that step we’d dash over to stop a tumble.”
“One time I actually fell down the step,” Abby declared.
Planning more children, the couple wondered ‘why wait?’ and began to look for a more family-friendly home. They were really happy with their home building experience the first time, but still widened their search to existing homes as well as other builders. But in the end, they came back to Christian Builders which built their second home in the Highlands neighborhood in St. Michael.
Theirs was the fourth home in the Highlands, a two-story set on a cul-de-sac, which they loved. “When we moved in we had one kid, but six-and-a-half years later we had three,” said Tammy. “By then I knew I wanted to do a few different things in our house. We also wanted to have a little more privacy.”
“Tammy talked me into selling,” Kevin admitted, “which I was pretty neutral about. Everybody was telling us how bad the housing market was. But we put it on the market and it sold in just two months.”
Thus began a new round of house-hunting, this time keeping their search within the Albertville/St. Michael School district. They did their due diligence, looking at a whole host of homes and lots, but once again, they came back to Christian Builders, and back to the Highlands. Their new home is just a few blocks from their second house, set on a quiet cul-de-sac with a natural woodsy wetland in the back yard.
“This time I sat down with the designer and said ‘I want the bedrooms this size, the toy room back there’,” Tammy laughs. “I just knew exactly what I wanted and what would work for us.”
Just seeing this active family in their environs and you know Tammy had it figured out perfectly. The toy room, which will become a den or office down the road, is tucked off the mudroom, adjacent to the kitchen. It was neat as a pin when we visited, but with three active kids (Abby who is now eight, Preston at five and Jayden two), it likely won’t stay that way for long.
They love to gather in the cozy family room, and the kitchen includes the pantry they so missed in their second home. The three kids each have a bedroom upstairs which shows off their unique personalities, and located just down the hall from mom and dad’s elegant owners’ suite and the convenient laundry room. The big, walkout basement hasn’t been finished yet, but has plenty of possibilities that actually might keep them in this house for awhile.
Building three homes may be considered a challenge for some, but this couple makes it look easy and fun! They also had plenty of praise for Christian Builders. “I will say I have a trust for those guys,” said Tammy. “They’re fantastic, and it’s not like we didn’t look at other options.”
“The best thing about building new is getting what you want, exactly how you want it,” both Tammy and Kevin agreed. The worst? Moving with three kids. But the enthusiasm and joy that this family gets from a home that works perfectly for them is truly fun to see.
Country Luxe -- Visit this home #73 during the Fall Parade of Homes
“What started out as a great new home turned into our ultimate dream home,” say Matt and Mike with satisfied smiles. The path to this dream destination started with a chance click from a Star Tribune advertisement to the Parade of Homes website. Mike's eye was caught by a home constructed by Homes by Tradition, and suggested to Matt that they go take a drive to visit during the tour. You know how it goes, 'just to look,' Mike remembers, “it felt relaxing to walk in the front door and feel the openness of the home.” One look was really all it took for this couple to start planning their next chapter.
“When we picked out the lot in the middle of winter, there were two feet of snow on the ground. We decided on the lot across from the lake and walking path for the views and shape,” says Matt. That choice influenced the home's design from the beginning. Starting with a Homes by Tradition standard model, they worked with Tom Rauscher & Associates to design to their desires. “We were able to add a wrap-around porch to take full advantage of the lake views, and re-designed the upper level to accommodate three bedroom suites rather than four bedrooms, moved windows to face the lake. We even got a larger laundry room,” recalls Mike.
Both were very involved in the entire process and came to the drawing board with previous experience. They had always lived in older homes remodeling and adding on as they went. They'd never contemplated building a new home because of the perceived cost. Both were pleasantly surprised at the affordability compared to existing housing, especially knowing first-hand how much a remodel can cost.
Living in a small Cape Cod home near Lake Nokomis for six years, these urbanites had even toyed with the idea of building a Minneapolis loft. “If we're leaving Lake Nokomis, you know it is for another great spot, and Spirit of Brandtjen Farms really has it all,” says Matt, “Plus, we've already promised our regular lunch stops that we'll be back often, it’s simply a quick jaunt up the freeway.”
The pair run their own graphic design company out of their home, so being able to design the lower-level to meet their business needs was a huge bonus. It also gave them a chance to put into practice the energy efficiency options that their builder offered. “We never planned on building green, but because the builder already incorporated so many of the practices, we ended up seeing the long-term benefits and going with it.” Mike enjoys telling. “We've been told we have one of the best HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) systems south of the river.”
Now their dream home is completed for you to tour, and they can hardly wait to move in and make it their home... and office. As Mike and Matt said, “it’s our vacation place that we get to live in every day, and we wouldn't want to be anywhere else.”
When downsizing becomes a priority
Michon and David decided to move closer to the Twin Cities once their youngest son left for college. David, who had spent 18 years as a Lutheran minister at a parish in Marshall, was ready for a new challenge. Michon, a painter, was excited to move closer to the Twin Cities so she could more easily connect with other artists. For years, she had been making the six-hour, round-trip commute to Minneapolis every month to attend a visual arts critique group.
Once David’s transfer went through, the couple began looking at both new and existing single-family homes in Watertown near David’s new parish. After looking at about 10 homes, they chose a new, two-bedroom, two-bath rambler that had been built by Plymouth-based D.J. Dalbec. Located in the Forest Hills development, the home’s backyard borders a pond where wildlife is plentiful.
In a perfect world, Michon says she might have opted for a few different surfaces, but the couple didn’t want to move into temporary housing while building a custom home when this brand new home suited them so well. And, the unfinished basement left room for them to personalize the lower level. Besides the natural light that floods both levels of the home, Michon and David love the home’s open floor plan. “There’s no wasted space,” says Michon. “The layout is very efficient.”
At 1,500 square feet, the home is about half the size of the 2,600-square-foot Marshall home where they raised their three sons, Isaac, Peter, and Christian. Their new home is much more energy efficient due both to its smaller size, newer construction, and the builders’ interest in building only Energy Star qualified homes. “We are very interested in conserving energy,” Michon says.
For David, conserving energy also means commuting to work by bicycle. The owner of two road bikes, a commuter bike, and a mountain bike, David took up winter biking about six years ago. “I bike year-round because I can. It’s fun,” says David, who logs 2,000 miles a year. The home’s three-car garage provides ample space for David to tinker with his bikes, and he has no regrets about downsizing. “We didn’t need all that space,” David says, referring to the couple’s previous home.
Neither David nor Michon are concerned their boys will suddenly return home looking for a place to live. “Isaac is married, in medical school, living in Milwaukee,” says Michon. “Peter is moving to Japan to teach English.” If Christian, a third-year student studying physics at Saint Olaf College, returns home during school breaks, he can always crash in the second bedroom, now a combination guest room and office.
At this stage of their life, Michon and David are pleased with the energy savings they enjoy in their smaller, newer home, and instead of a game room or indoor theater, they have their bikes and backyard pond to help them expand their living spaces.
Family Foundations
Just two weeks after moving in, Jim and Jan had a surprise visitor ring their doorbell. “Our granddaughter had come over to share her first batch of still-warm cookies,” Jan tells, “we instantly knew we made the right decision to move closer to family.”
The couple had moved to Savage nine years ago after their children had moved away. Now these happy grandparents have the entire family gathered back in Edina — all less than a mile from each other. “By the time our grandchildren are teenagers they won't have much time for us, so we started planning our move as soon as they were back in Edina,” says Jim.
“We knew we wanted our new home to be in Edina’s Country Side neighborhood. We looked at the options of buying a vacant lot and remodeling existing homes,” says Jan. The couple had been thrilled with the home McDonald Construction had built for them nine years ago in Savage and knew they wanted to work with them again. So when they found their dream locale, they asked Bob McDonald to came out and discuss the site's possibilities. After thoughtful consideration they decided to tear down the existing home and build from scratch.
Architectural designer, Teresa St. Amant, took care to design the exterior to sync with the existing 50-year old neighborhood while making the interior feel open and airy. They also designed the lower-level with intentions of Jan's almost 94-year-old mother moving in. Although she didn't see the construction process through to the end, she enjoyed the demolition and early phases immensely.
“Even though we are in our 60’s, we consciously chose a 3-level home because we watched our parents stay active late in life with stairs in their homes. But we're realistic too, so we have a low-rise wide-tread stairway that will accommodate a chair lift and included a dedicated space for an elevator shaft if needed.” explains Jim. “The entire home-building process is so streamlined, it can be quite amazing to watch it all come together so quickly,” recalls Jim.
“We were involved in the details by choice. My 'home planning binder' went everywhere with us,” says Jan, “we enjoyed spending time looking at finishes in other models and local showrooms to see [our options] in action.”
The couple also got to know many of the craftsman involved in creating their home. Jim remembers, “Jan made treats for them often. We even had someone thank us, saying they were employed because we decided to build and that really stuck with us. Many of the same craftsman that built our Savage home nine years earlier are still with McDonald Construction, that made it special and more intimate.”
“This is going to be party central, so it was made to handle large groups and designed to be fun and casual. The grandchildren are already planning to perform plays in the lower-level family room, where an elevated step will serve as their stage,” explains Jan.
Both Jim and Jan agree, “we'll remember the day the fireplace was installed, the tile completed, and all those details – our home means more to us having seen it take shape.”
Swapping the basement for a loft
Green cards in hand, Julie and Joseph decided it was time to set down permanent roots in the United States by buying their first house. “But I was pregnant at the time with our second child, so instead we extended the lease on our apartment and put buying a house on hold.”
Nine months later, Julie and Joseph, both natives of India, began their home search—a full three months before their renewed lease expired. And, they knew exactly what they wanted: a newly constructed single-family home, preferably in one of the five Minnesota cities on Money magazine’s list of the best places to live in 2010.
After looking in Eagan, Eden Prairie, and Woodbury, Julie and Joseph thought they had found their single-family home in Apple Valley, but the purchase fell through, so they quickly shifted gears and started scrolling through online listings in Plymouth. They hadn’t even considered buying a townhouse until a photo of one popped up on their computer screen.
“My husband wasn’t enthusiastic because it was not a single-family home,” says Julie. “But the single-family homes in Plymouth were very expensive and beyond our budget.”
With time running out, Julie persuaded Joseph to at least look at the townhouse. The following day, they signed a purchase agreement. “My husband needed some convincing because he really wanted a home with a basement for his entertainment room,” Julie says. “But the only thing missing was the basement, and we decided we could compromise on that.”
The home had nearly everything else the couple wanted, including being located in one of Minnesota’s top school districts. “We wanted a school district that would provide a good foundation for our son who started kindergarten this year, and the townhouse had good yard space where the boys could play,” Julie notes. “It also had all the upgrades we wanted—stainless steal appliances, a fireplace, and wood trim.” In addition, the corner-unit townhouse had an open floor plan and a loft that Joseph could use as an entertainment room.
The townhouse, located in the Legacy Park development and built by Lennar, was move-in-ready, and Lennar agreed to pay closing costs because the townhouse was a model on the Parade of Homes. The extra savings was yet one more consideration that helped sway the young couple.
The 1,900-square-foot, three-bedroom, three-bath home is perfect for now. All three bedrooms are on the same floor, which makes it easy for Julie and Joseph to keep close tabs on their young sons, Juan and Jayden, who share a bedroom. The home’s other bedroom gives the family ample space to entertain overnight guests.
The association takes care of the lawn work, snow shoveling, and outdoor maintenance, which makes the townhouse even more attractive. “It would be difficult for us to manage a single-family home until the boys grow up a little bit,” says Julie. They plan to stay in the home for the next couple of years at least, and when they do eventually buy a single-family home, Julie and Joseph hope to keep the townhouse as a rental property.