With the floor plan picked out it was then off to pick a lot. Prior to actually talking to anyone from Ryan, we had driven the the development a few times. Our concern was always how big the lots were. Neither one of us would particularly like having to maintain a large yard; however there’s something to be said for having a large yard. A larger yard decreases feeling like eyes are always prying in. It would also be nice to have a yard big enough to have outdoor gatherings in the summer time.
From the road the lot sizes didn’t seem particularly deep from the road. We were beginning to notice what appeared to be mounds in each lot that obfuscated our view though. So after meeting with someone from the Ryan sales team and going over an initial price / configuration sheet, we asked if we could walk some of the lots. We all piled into his son’s Accord and drove the two minutes from the model to some of the lots we had liked.
On our previous visits Brandy and I liked lots #9658, #9659, and #9660; there were also openings where lot #9668 and #9690 are listed (all the other lots either had homes already or are in the process of being built). Each lot was approximately a quarter acre and had a view of a small little pond. You could not really see the pond from the road so this was a happy surprise. We could imagine having breakfast in the mornings looking out to the peaceful little pond. This might also be the appropriate time to talk about lot premiums. Lots that either have extra space or some type of really good view are deemed to be “premium”. You pay extra to upgrade to a premium lot. So lot #9659 had the highest premium and we knew why, the view. The sales guy also explained that there is a drainage easement running through the back of property. This meant that we couldn’t do fencing or the like, but extended the open feeling of the lot (the easement is actually ‘community’ property). With our morning room addition the view of the pond would almost be framed perfectly. We decided to walk across the street to lot #9690, there was no premium there and the back of the lot butts up to an open field. The open field was really nice, but talking with the sales guy, this is where phase two is slated to be.
As we walked back to the car we noticed geese droppings on the road. Ugh. Geese. Those of you familiar with geese know these creatures are not to be messed with. They are nasty, mean, and poo all over the place. We drove back to the model, headed home with quite a lot to think about, and we let it stew for a few days. A few days later we decided to go see what lot #9668 had to offer. We went out and walked it ourselves. It’s a corner lot, so there wouldn’t be anyone next to us for a while. Phase two would be slated to the right of us wrapping around, so we would not have neighbors there for a while. There was also an easement that runs in the back of this lot. Because of that easement we wouldn’t have anyone directly behind us and the next house is pretty far away. So that is lot we decided on.
Now on to more pictures!
This will be going counter clockwise around the lot.
 Taken from the intersection of the two roads. Just behind me is the street signs |
 Taken from what is the front of the lot looking toward the house behind us |
 Corner of the lot this is looking toward phase 1 |
 Approximately a few yards down from the previous picture looking the other way |
 Taken from approximately from the outside middle |
 back corner of the lot, keep in mind there is still quite a bit of space behind me because of the easement |
 back corner of the lot looking the other way |
 Same location looking across the street |
 Side of the lot looking toward the pond and other lots we were considring |
 In the easement looking at the house behind us |
 Taken from the back corner looking across the street |
 Looking toward what may be Phase 2 |
 Back to the beginning |
The Bridge to Victoria Falls 