Wow, where to start. First of, this is the Mike of Sue & Mike. Let me rewind a bit to what put us on this path.
We are your typical suburban couple, 40 something, married 20 something years. We have two hairy kids that have four legs and make a mess. The house we are currently in was a custom built for us a little more than 16 years ago. Your usual 2 story, 4 bedroom suburban home. Nice big yard, big rooms for family gatherings, great location close to major roads and shopping areas. But as time has taken its toll on my body, I find the yard more of a challenge than a enjoyable hobby and find the steps from the garage to the 1st floor and from the 1st floor to the 2nd floor more of an obstacle every day.
So, to paraphrase Lewis Carroll, "The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things: Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--" and a single level house.
We had been saying for a couple years that we would someday need a house with at least a 1st floor master bedroom. Never really looked, just kind of kept browsing the market place. No one seemed to be doing single level homes in Pittsburgh until recently and those with a 1st floor master were usually much larger and much more expensive than we needed.
Then this past spring, a new development was started just down the road. It was to be an active over 55 development. All single level homes and townhomes, built on a slab. Now, we are not at 55 yet, but we discovered that at least 25% of the homes must be available to people under 55. So one day, we stopped just to look. We liked what we saw, so we went back again to look and to talk. Next thing we know, we had a floor plan we liked and a lot we liked. During the discussions we found out two things that put a stop to the entire process. One, turns out you only own the concrete pad your house is on, so no planting trees or sheds or patios. Not totally a deal breaker, but when we were told the only fence we could put up was for an area about 12ft deep by the width of the house and that we could not plant grass in it, well we walked. We love our dogs, they are big crazy hairy kids, who need room to run and play safely and a 12x35 ft run is not it.
However, the seed was planted, so we began looking a little more earnestly. We would sit and look at houses on Zillow almost every night. Then one day, while driving home, I saw a sign for a new Ryan Homes community called Highland Estates. I went online later to check it out and found out that it was being built on an old country club golf course that we knew of and that was very close to our first home (a late 80's Ryan townhouse) in Ross Township. But what really peaked my interest was the fact that the 3 cul-de-sacs in the plan were going to be "Legacy" homes. Basically, smaller single level homes for empty nesters. We looked at the various floor plans and talked about pros and cons. Eventually agreeing on the Pisa Torre model best meeting our needs.
So, one Saturday, not too long ago, I stopped to take a look around. I liked the "Legacy" cul-de-sac for phase 1, only 12 home sites and the side of the street I liked was very flat. So I stopped in the model home to see what other info I could get. That is where I met Brittany, the sales rep. She showed me the map and what lots were available. It turns out that one of the few lots left on that street could only fit a Pisa Torre model. Seemed that fate was smiling on us.
So, I went home and shared all the information with my wife and we later went back to take a look at the lot and at the model home. Next thing I know we are setting up the pricing meeting...to be continued.
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