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Posted by Kari Montoya on Aug 4, 2020 11:15:00 AM

There’s a reason that the hashtag #keyday is always trending on social media. Moving into your own home—whether it’s your first, or your last—is a momentous occasion; one worth celebrating in person, and online. And what about when you’re moving into a home you designed from the ground up? You can’t replicate that kind of pride in ownership. Adair key days are worth working for.

The Bloom family of Mt. Vernon, Washington, recently celebrated a key day of their own—and are excited to share their Adair experience building a customized Willamette plan.

Steve and Rose Bloom

bloom

What made you decide to build with Adair Homes? Initially, we sought out Adair because we were impressed with the wide assortment of home plans available—and the fact that they could work within our budget. Once we began talking with Jim Hopkins, our Home Ownership Counselor at the Mt. Vernon office everything fell into place. We were sold! His construction knowledge (and friendly personality) gave us the confidence to move forward with our home build. 

What was your personal experience building a home with Adair?  How many adjectives are we allowed to share? It was exciting, hectic, frustrating (at times), and yet, wonderfully satisfying. Recently retired, I had time to invest in the leg work—and dirt work—myself.  Years ago, I worked as a Land Surveyor. That, and my experience building a large Koi pond at our previous home gave me the necessary tools to layout the foundation excavation site, run in the water and sewer lines from the street, and manage bringing in all the utilities. Our Adair Homes Superintendent was awesome and led me through the entire process. He managed the trades, I managed the site. 

What made you decide to build the Willamette plan? We really liked the floor plan and size. We were looking for a single story rambler style that fit our lot. We had several to choose from, but the Willamette had the best bedroom arrangement, and most importantly, a grillin' porch!

What was the process of designing the home like? Designing our home was exciting from day one. Working with Jim was easy. He led us through the design process, step by step. Colors, flooring, cabinets, hardware...everything. When I mentioned, "We can paint it ourselves,” Jim said, "Sure you can, but you don't want to, Steve." 

He explained how extensive the prep work would be—especially when painting a house for the first time. We also hadn’t considered the interior trim. I’m glad he suggested we use a professional painter—because if I’d attempted to do it all myself, I might have delayed the process substantially. 

I smiled and thanked him. I appreciated the heads-up. Jim also encouraged us to add the patio covered area—and I’m so glad we did. It is our favorite relaxing place. Jim also suggested we add additional trim around the window exteriors to "make it pop!" —We did—and it does!

What is your favorite part of your Adair Home? The Willamette’s open floor plan. Having all that space in the Great Room is exactly what we were looking for—that, and the covered grillin' porch!

Did you do any DIY projects on the build or take advantage of Adair's "Sweat Equity" program? Yes, Yes, and Yes. I did every single one of the available DIY projects, either by myself or with independent contractors (like the excavator and deck builder). 

There was a lot to do; set the stakes for the foundation excavation site, and make sure we could fit the house on the lot while still meeting the height limitation requirements. I hired an excavator, purchased and installed a hydrant and water line, removed all the construction debris throughout the build process, and covered the loose soil with plastic or straw. I ran a foundation drain system and downspout drainage, contacted utility companies and scheduled all hook-ups. During the winter, I kept the house warm with kerosene heaters for optimum drywall installation; hired the concrete contractor for the driveway, walkway and porch; hired a landscaper, irrigation installer, and finally, a hydroseed company to add the final touches. It was a lot of work—but very worth it.

If you had the chance to do it again, would you? Why/Why not? If this wasn't our "forever home", we'd do it again.

Most Adair customers receive the keys to their new home with "move-in equity", what was your equity position at the time your home was completed? When we were finished with everything, lawn and garden included, our home was worth 25% more than our total investment—including the price of the lot.

Of all the things you personally did on your Adair Home build, what are you most proud of? We chose the right plan. The Willamette’s open welcoming floorplan offers us plenty of room for family, friends, and grandkid sleepovers. 

Jim really helped us by explaining how certain features would add to the curb appeal, like extra window trim. Thanks to the Craftsman trim option, our home really fits in well with our "upscale rural" neighborhood style.

Want to see more of Steve & Rose's custom homebuilding journey? Check out their YouTube video where they document their home's construction from start to finish!

 

If you have a property and are looking forward to a #KeyDay of your own, Adair Homes offers a home building process that allows you to move-in your home with day one equity. Discover the all the benefits of building with Adair Homes online, or in person at one of our Design Centers. Your dream home is waiting.

 


About Adair Homes

With 50-plus years in the industry, Adair’s long term commitment to treating each customer with honesty, integrity, and respect has paid off, 21,000 customers strong and counting. 

At Adair Homes, our mission states: it is our privilege to build our customers the home they have always dreamed of. We believe in providing the greatest value for our customer’s dollar and finding innovative ways to value engineer homes. We believe that we can offer an outstanding customer experience that is both enjoyable and rewarding—and offer this one-of-a-kind customer experience as the largest on-your-lot builder in the West. For more info, get in touch with us here or call 1-844-518-7072.