Closing on Our New Home! Empty House Tour!

[@janellef6902]

Congratulations. The finished house is gorgeous. Love it

[@RichGrillo]

Thanks, Janelle!

[@sherikarichardson503]

Congratulations beautiful home. We’re breaking ground on a Normandy this week.

[@RichGrillo]

Thanks and congratulations, Sherika. The Normandy is huge! We really liked how “grand” It felt walking into one of those.

[@jonathanrediabridges7051]

Congratulations!! The gimbal is super smooth! Great video

[@lamorereynolds3431]

Congratulations beautiful I just finish my process it was a wonderful experience !!!

[@RichGrillo]

Congrats to you too! Which model did you choose?

[@LifewithMiatta]

Congratulations on your new home it’s beautiful….

[@RichGrillo]

Thank you!

[@eaglel5558]

Thanks for sharing. The mechanical room doesn’t look good, ceiling looks low, stairs look narrow. I don’t like the squared shaped door knobs handles…..they don’t look smooth not homey. We just bought new home from Atlantic Builders last year at Fredericksburg it is really beautiful 😊

[@RichGrillo]

Congrats on the build. The basement and mechanical room are 8 ft ceilings. Main floor is 9ft. The good thing with door handles is they can be changed. I hadn’t heard of Atlantic builders before but will make sure to consider for our next home. Happy Thanksgiving

[@MaggieMagnoli]

Congratulations on the new home!!

[@RichGrillo]

Thank you!!

[@ashleythetherapist7831]

Love this floor plan

[@RichGrillo]

It’s what sold us on this model! We didn’t need this much space but we prefer the layout much more than the other models offered.

[@louisetarver8269]

Congratulations on your new home journey I just came across your channel your home is beautiful

[@RichGrillo]

Thanks, Louise!

[@brandon6541]

Beautiful home bro! Love it not to crazy but very nice, love the kitchen

[@RichGrillo]

Thanks, Brandon!

[@brandon6541]

@@RichGrillo Np

[@SimplySammie001]

Congratulations! Beautiful home!

[@kimswrld5321]

Congratulations on your new home it’s beautiful 😍

[@RichGrillo]

Thanks, Kim!

[@michaelmikoloa5803]

Been waiting for D day. Congratulations

[@RichGrillo]

Thanks! It was definitely exciting and tiring

[@sali6522]

Congratulations 🎉👏🎉

[@RichGrillo]

Thank you!

[@ejmakesus6]

Congratulations on your new home. Watching from Australia 🇦🇺

[@RichGrillo]

Thank you!

[@eboniebo1367]

Beautiful home ❤

[@RichGrillo]

Thank you!

[@leeallred8722]

Congratulations on your new home. Everything looks great and I know you and your family are happy. I am going through the process myself and I am supposed to close in October. How long did it take for them to finish the HVAC system?

[@RichGrillo]

Hey Lee - Congratulations on yours as well. They ran into some delays with our hvac due to the electric vendor. After it was installed and the drywall was done…about another 2-3 weeks. They set up dehumidifiers during that time so the hardwood wouldn’t warp with the humidity.

[@dianalovestoplan]

Your videos have been so helpful. My husband and I purchased a Lehigh and construction starts soon. My question is about the garage. We found out that Ryan Homes does not insulate the outer walls of the garage and curious if yours gets cold. We will be in PA and winters will be cold there and wonder if should I add a 220 volt plug in the garage for a garage heater to help with that 😂

[@RichGrillo]

Congratulations on the home! We are also in PA. They did install “leftover” insulation in part of the garage but you’re correct they don’t do the outer walls. It does get cold in the garage. If having a warm garage is important to you then I’d definitely consider it. Maybe even ask if you can purchase some insulation and have them install it, etc.

[@dianalovestoplan]

@@RichGrillo Thank you!!! We haven’t met our project manager yet which is soon, but when I asked our rep (seen another video where they allowed the homeowner to do it themselves during pre drywall) my rep asked the project manager and he said absolutely not, lol. Ours is super strict apparently, lucky us. Thanks for the info. I’m now definitely adding a 220 volt plug for a ceiling mounted heater. My cats strangely enough prefer to be in the garage in our current home and I bet they will be wanting in the garage there too. My electrical meeting is soon and now I’m definitely adding it! Your videos have been so helpful (we are in Missouri) and I’ve basically had to do everything virtually. My husband went out for signing and a house tour etc. but I haven’t yet and your videos have been a lifesaver for me as I plan and choose final options.

[@RichGrillo]

@@dianalovestoplan That is extremely kind of you to say. I’m happy that our experience has been helpful to planning yours! I could only imagine how stressful it must be to live out of state while planning/making decisions on the house. Hopefully the project manager will be a bit more flexible once you meet them and establish that relationship; however, by the books also may be beneficial to ensure you’re getting exactly what you expect. Our PM was a lot more personable than our sales rep but that relationship was built during the process. Either way, I hope you love the outcome and you’re probably right on installing the plug now.

[@nyrvamondesir3612]

I will be purchasing a corsica model in Pennsylvania. Did the builder fix all your issues with the home? I noticed some online reviews show that some buyers are complaining that once they did their closing, the builder was no longer willing to fix the issues. I’m scared this will happen to me.

[@RichGrillo]

Congrats on the purchase! They have been working with me to fix everything. Some things have to wait until spring when it’s warmer but otherwise, I’ve been happy with the support.

[@mjt178]

Can you please advise on the build quality on the Lehigh? Any issues you have seen or have become aware of?

[@RichGrillo]

Now that we’ve been in the house just over 2 years…no major issues. There have been a lot of items where warranty has come out to fix. For the most part they have been pretty good to work with.

[@mjt178]

Thanks!

[@RichGrillo]

@mjt178 anytime…biggest tip is to report and keep on them about warranty items

[@alanahaws5058]

We just started our process building a Lehigh. I wondered what size rug that is? What a fun experience! Thanks for the videos, they've been really informative. Oh also, did you just get a private inspector at the end, or throughout the process?

[@RichGrillo]

Congratulations on the new home! It’s going to go fast but also feel like forever for it to be done. The rug is 10 x 14. I did wait to have the inspector out until the end. I had spoken with them earlier in the process but they recommended waiting until the house is considered “finished” to come out. I’d recommend speaking to the inspector you plan on using to see if they prefer to be more involved earlier in the process.

[@FaithLoveDreams]

Congratulations on your new home!🎉

[@RichGrillo]

Thank you!

[@rohitmanaktala]

Can you please share a link to your rug?!

[@RichGrillo]

www.westelm.com/products/shale-striations-rug-t4549/?catalogId=71&sku=2142855&cm_ven=PLA&cm_cat=Google&cm_pla=Rugs%20%3E%20Solid%20Rugs&region_id=669950&cm_ite=2142855_14463142291&gclid=Cj0KCQiA-oqdBhDfARIsAO0TrGFCghBrKlcUEk3CBEh4-U2bOycnS8trPV7AVDSG8vfB-zG7xVAJopIaAgYCEALw_wcB

[@conniehard9145]

Can’t wait to see more videos

[@RichGrillo]

Thanks, Connie! It's been a crazy couple of weeks with moving and unpacking. Will be filming an update video here soon!

[@eprohoda]

Hia!~best picture!see ya!~

[@RichGrillo]

Thank you!

[@conniehard9145]

Love ur new home

[@OperationValhalla]

So my fiancé and I are looking at a Lehigh as well, how expensive are the options? Did you find the budget was being eaten quickly for what you got?

[@RichGrillo]

That’s an interesting question. It really depends on what your budget is and your location. We wound up spending around an extra 80k based on upgrades. They say typically expect to pay between 10-15% of the base house price in upgrades. We prioritized the things that were most important to us and we quickly went over where we wanted to be…but we’re happy now that we got the upgrades we did. It’ll be overwhelming when they start going through the upgrades and numbers. If you have some upgrades in mind I’ll let you know what the cost was or would have been for us.

[@OperationValhalla]

@@RichGrillo Thanks for the reply Rich. I'll look over the floor plan again and get a list of the upgrades.

[@Mariefrancegrsce]

Beautiful 😍

[@RichGrillo]

Thank you!

[@vanessarongstad8576]

What kind of light bulbs did you end up using ?

[@RichGrillo]

We use Lutron smart switches for the downlighting. I have a mix of Phillips Hue and Lifx for the places we wanted white/color bulbs and led strips

[@EvilVult]

Rich, could we connect to share lessons learned? We just signed our contract and change orders. We're in the first 15 buyers for our community and the only Lehigh. We haven't met with our CM yet. We would love to hear your lessons, tips, and tricks for buying a Lehigh!

[@RichGrillo]

Hey Shawn - First off, congratulations! Exciting times but also extremely important times to ensure your change orders are all in. The best advice I can give is document the process. I’ve already gone back multiple times to the video I made on our Pre-drywall w/electric to ensure I was mounting TVs in the right place and with proper stud alignment. If you’re going to get a security system, run the Ethernet lines to the corners of the house now. Even if not, Run Ethernet lines to each room. I’d recommend running conduit to the attic to make adding Ethernet a breeze. One of the biggest things we’re happy we did when looking back was to upgrade our Elevation and tray ceiling. If you have something structural that you’ve been on the fence about, just do it and you likely won’t regret it. Our elevation sets it apart along with the tray ceiling in the master. Feel free to email if you have any specific questions and I’ll do my best to help. [e-mail]

[@timmeezy]

@@RichGrillo Hi Rich! Congrats on the new home and closing. Was running the ethernet a request made to the PM, and when was this requested? Just wanted to inquire. Lehigh model looks great!

[@RichGrillo]

@@timmeezy hi timmeezy - I requested all of the room runs when making our structural and design choices. They charge a fee per run. I realized after that I wanted more runs for security cameras and spoke with the pm. He ran a few personally free of charge but I supplied the cable. I don’t believe that’s normal practice though…he just did me a solid.

[@timmeezy]

@@RichGrillo Got it! Thanks for such a speedy response!

[@chrystalsimmons]

Do you feel that the 1st floor room is small for a bedroom?

[@RichGrillo]

It would likely be fine as a bedroom. It’s 11 x 14 currently. When you do that they install closer also change around the bathroom setup to include a door from the room into it. I think you also gain a shower but lose all of the storage space.

[@lclarke7156]

What's the location of this house?

[@RichGrillo]

Hi - Pennsylvania

[@kristinesharp6286]

I don’t notice vents.

[@RichGrillo]

Thank you

[@thekirksiffs5285]

No fireplace?

[@RichGrillo]

Nope. We did not want a fireplace. Selected most other upgrades though.

[@thekirksiffs5285]

@@RichGrillo You have a GORGEOUS home! Just curious....is that a Samsung Bespoke fridge I see in the kitchen?

[@RichGrillo]

@@thekirksiffs5285 thank you very much! Yes, good eye. We have the Bespoke fridge and the new Bespoke washer/dryer

[@vanessarongstad8576]

Wow when in your master bathroom looks like if you reached your hand out the window you could touch the neighbors house. 😬

[@RichGrillo]

Yeah, they aren’t too far away. It’s about 20 feet between houses on that side. We installed privacy film on the window so it doesn’t bother us.