Building A Home

The milestones of building a home

August 3, 2018 by Lauren Stonehouse

When you think about the different milestones in your life what do you think of? Getting married? Having a baby? Growing in your career? Finding your passion? Buying your first home? Whatever the milestone is, it is a moment that helps us grow.

Buying a Home

Buying your first home is a huge milestone. Buying a 2^nd or 3^rd home is also an incredible milestone. Let alone building a home is a milestone. All that hard work of saving, research, conversations have paid off and you truly have a place to call your own. This is probably one of the biggest investments you will make. Buying a home is a journey from the moment a home is considered, until getting the keys to the front door.

The Search for Value

When on the search for a new construction home consider the value, you get for your dollar. What things are included? What are the different selections to choose from? The Thomsen Homes value includes a sod yard, deck or patio, upgraded exterior and appliances all included. The sections offered are quality with a large variety to choose from. The service and attention to each and every client is our top priority. The aftercare warranty of your home is also a valued asset to working with a builder you can trust. At Thomsen we pride ourselves in the fact that we can take care of our clients well after their home has been built.

Check out Andrew and Katelin’s Thomsen Moment as they reached this milestone of building their home with Thomsen Homes.

If you want to meet this milestone and find value in a builder, you can trust make your Thomsen Moment happen today!

The Meyers’ Home Building Journey: Part Eight

May 9, 2018 by admin

Following along with Brady and Jenna on their Home Building Journey, next up: their final walk through and closing on their new home. If you missed their journey, check out part one through seven of the Meyers’ home building journey.

Final Walk Through and Closing

Closing day has finally arrived!

We headed to our FINISHED home bright and early to do our Final Walk Through with Nate from Thomsen Homes. We looked over the items that were noted at our Pre-finish Walk Through to make sure they were addressed, which they were. We had a couple floor panels in our kitchen that needed to be replaced, but the supplies hadn’t arrived yet. Everyone at Thomsen Homes was precise in making sure that things are noted and we had them within a couple weeks without having to follow up ourselves.

Paul, Construction Manager, and Steve, Assistant Construction Manager, even stopped by to check on our Walk Through to make sure that we were happy with everything we saw. They were pivotal in making sure that all of our selections were accurate and ensured that our home was built in a timely manner with precise attention to detail!

We then headed over to the Thomsen offices. First we met with Nikki, the Client Relations Manager. She walked us through the home warranty process, got us set up on the website to report any issues that may arise (which will be addressed at our one year mark), and she even shared an awesome system that sends out text reminders for things like preparing for winter! It’s nice to know that we won’t just be signing the papers today- the team at Thomsen is invested in you for the long run and want to make sure that you continue to love your home!

Finally, Dani, the Closing Officer from FM Title, came in so that we could sign on the dotted line and receive the keys to our home! She walked us through and explained everything that we were signing, which looked and sounded a lot like Spanish to me. She made sure to answer any of our questions and ensured that we were educated on what we were signing.

As we walked out of the conference room, the music was on and a large team of Thomsen Homes’ employees were gathered and waiting for us to come out! We were greeted with cheers, clapping, and hugs! It was so incredible to see and feel their genuine excitement for our new home! We weren’t just another customer- we had a team of people invested in our home building process. A team of people that we continue to be connected with. A team of people who truly care.

We are so excited to start moving in to our forever home! We were given an incredible “Welcome Home” gift complete with a card, blanket, gift cards, a touch up kit, and a voucher for a house cleaning! Let the unpacking begin!

Modern Exterior Home Plan

March 12, 2018 by admin

Contemporary with a touch of lux, introducing the Modern exterior home plan option. Modern homes are increasing in popularity, especially in the Fargo/Moorhead and Grand Forks areas. If you are someone who wants an eye-catching exterior home, the Modern exterior home plan will add the curb appeal you’ve been looking for! Check out our new exterior home plan options including the Modern option for all our home plans. From our 2180 bi-level to 2086 2 story, the Modern exterior option is the minimalist look you’ve been searching for.

Modern Features

Our Modern exterior home plan features a lux look with a bold exterior, with clean lines and the use of industrial materials. The Modern emphasizes rectangular forms, horizontal and vertical lines, and traditional materials used in new ways. Materials such as sleek stucco, wood and brick are used to reflect a modern aesthetic. Traditional horizontal siding is replaced with vertical board and batten, used in large planes. Brickwork is simplified and used rectilinear as accents to the exterior. Modern exterior colors typically include mushroom tones, dark grays, black, white and varnished wood. Modern homes utilize their surroundings to mimic the exterior by including greenery and large rocks to add to their curb appeal. Continue the modern look inside your home with an open floor plan concept to compliment your lifestyle.

2090 2 Story 3 Stall Modern

1944 3 Level 2 Stall Modern

1706 Rambler 3 Stall Modern

If you’re looking for more Modern exterior ideas, check out our Pinterest board!

Haven’t heard about our new exterior home plan options? Check out this blog post.

Is your home still the one?

February 14, 2018 by admin

This Valentine’s Day, it’s time to think of one relationship that you often don’t put a lot of thought into – the relationship with your home. What does your home mean to you? Do you love your home? Do you spend a lot of time with your home, putting in endless hours of time/ care into your home? Like most relationships, it’s a good idea to step back and evaluate the place you spend your days and nights. How do you feel about your floor plan? Your location? To help you dig deeper into your home relationship, take this quiz offered by Zillow: How Much Do You Love Your Home?

We’re gathered here today to find out … when it comes to your home, is love enough?

Your life changes over time: new relationships, new jobs, new hobbies. Sometimes, you can make changes to your home to adapt to your lifestyle — but sometimes you can’t. And the hardest part? Knowing when to let go.

Take our quiz to find out your relationship status — with your living space.

love_your_home

What were your results? If you got ‘Ready to Move on’, check out our Available Homes and stop dreaming, call us today before you’re dream home is gone!

Our Journey with Thomsen: Part Seven the Pre-Finish Walk Through

January 10, 2018 by Lauren Stonehouse

Part seven of the home building journey, Brady and Jenna talk about what it was like to be so close to moving into their new home and what it was like to do the pre-finish walk through of their home.

Pre-Finish Walk Through

The day we finally got to walk in and see our house, full of all the decisions we made, had come. I can’t even put in to words how exciting it was to FINALLY walk into our home and see everything all together. We had been driving by for weeks and weeks watching it go up and seeing the exterior changes, but that doesn’t even compare to stepping inside and finally seeing it all!

Nate met us at our house and before walking in warned us that there were still things that needed to be done. There are individuals that meticulously walk through your home looking for “blemishes” that need to be touched up before closing. And when I say meticulous, I mean there was blue painters tape all over marking where something needed to be painted, or sanded, or filled in. What a relief to know the care that goes in to making your home literally perfect. Bryan, our construction manager, even stopped by to introduce himself and show us a couple areas that they would be replacing in the flooring and why (spilled glue). I appreciated seeing yet another person that was invested in the quality of our home.

My husband brought our upgrade addendums with on this walk through to help us stay focused on our choices. If something wasn’t right, Nate made a note in his phone to follow up on after our meeting. (I think that list ended up with only two items on it after 45 minutes of going through every room.) The builders and contractors are thorough and care about doing it right.

My favorite part of this walk through was Nate’s genuine excitement for us and the choices we made. Once again, everyone we worked with invested in our home building journey with them—it’s another reason we feel so confident not only in the choices we made for our home but in our decision to build with Thomsen Homes again.

To learn more about the Meyers’ home building journey check them out here.

The Meyers’ Home Building Journey: Part Six

November 13, 2017 by admin

Following along with Brady and Jenna on their Home Building Journey, next up: their electrical walk through. After meeting with our design specialists for a second meeting to select their interior selections, Brady and Jenna met at their home with Heidi and their electrician, Adam with Aurora Electric. Check out part one through five of the Meyers’ home building journey.

Electrical Walk Through

Our house has officially started to go up and we look forward to seeing the changes each day on our family car ride! Prior to our electrical walk through, we were given a list of potential electrical upgrades to look through in advance. Some of these choices we had already made and some we added that day.

Once the entire house was framed, we met with Heidi and Adam, our electrician, to walk through the house and make electrical choices. Our electrician was very knowledgeable about the standard number of outlets that needed to be in each room and the placement for switches, outlets, and lights.

Armed with a black Sharpie, he began marking where everything would go! When we weren’t sure about something, he always gave his honest opinion to help with our decision making. We knew going in to this walk through that we wanted to add canned lighting in the living room and family room, but he aided in where they should actually go to be the most functional.

The most challenging (and slightly stressful) choice for me was where to place our dining room light fixture. We had the measurements of our table, so Heidi and Adam helped us map out its location in order to make sure that our light fixture would be centered!

This may sound like a lot, but we were able to accomplish all of this over my lunch hour! Along with being knowledgeable, they are also extremely efficient in guiding these decisions with their expertise! Its days like this that we were incredibly thankful for the team that surrounded us so that we left feeling confident with our choices rather than overwhelmed and unsure! As always, their goal is to make sure that you’re making the right selections for YOU, not just what’s considered standard.

Stay tuned for part 7 of the Meyers’ Home Building Journey.

The Meyers’ Home Building Journey: Part Five

September 27, 2017 by admin

After Brady and Jenna had their first design appointment and picked out their exterior selections, they met with our design specialists for a second meeting to select their interior selections. Follow along for part five of Jenna’s guest blog and the Meyers’ home building journey.

Interior Choices

The first thing I hear when people find out that we are building again is, “Oh, I could never make all of those decisions!”

I agree, there are a lot of decisions to make, but I can’t say I ever felt overwhelmed by them. This is credit to our design team—they will steer you in the right direction, give you their honest opinions, and offer ideas that you never would have considered in order to make your home come to life.

Every selection is right there in Thomsen’s office—they lay out standard selections and if you don’t see something that you like, they then direct you to the upgraded choices. Can I be honest here? We didn’t need to look at many upgraded options for our interior selections because the standard choices are absolutely stunning! At this meeting we chose our stain color for cupboards, doors, and trim, our paint color, carpet, laminate flooring, vinyl flooring, door style, and countertops.

Beyond the color choices, we also were able to look at the standard kitchen (yes, they have a beautiful kitchen right in their office that you work in to make all of these selections). This is where we could see if we needed to change any cupboards to a drawer, add pull outs inside a cupboard, and more! It’s truly about making choices that will best fit your needs! In our first home, we had no idea what we needed and the standard options worked great! This time around, we made only a few adjustments to the kitchen. We added a drawer bank to replace a cupboard and put a pull out garbage in our island. (A must for one of our dogs who has figured out how to unlock our garbage can!)

Finally, we had to select what I’m going to call fixtures. This includes things like the cupboard handles, faucets, showerheads, added cubbies, and light fixtures. Once again, were not pressured into having all of these decisions nailed down. Heidi and Amber helped us make a list of decisions that we weren’t ready to make and gave us a deadline for when we needed to have them made. They were also great about following up with us and continued to send us options and pictures via email! Remember when I said they’re organized? It’s incredible how helpful they were throughout all of this! (And judgement free—I changed my mind about our deck three times in one day! Yikes!)

I am so excited to see all of our choices come to life in our house! I can only imagine how beautiful it is going to be, and I credit our design team for helping us make this happen!

The Meyers Journey with Thomsen: Part Four

September 6, 2017 by Lauren Stonehouse

Soon after Brady and Jenna signed their purchase agreement they met with our design specialists to start sections on the exterior of their new home. Checkout part four of Jenna’s guest blog and their home building journey.

Exterior Meeting

We wrote our purchase agreement in the winter knowing that they wouldn’t start building our house until the ground thawed, but we were still able to jump into the decision making process rather quickly (with some wiggle room)!

Our next meeting was to make exterior choices. We were able to pick up a little packet with samples to get our minds started towards what we wanted, but doing a little research in advance also helped with these decisions. We drove around many neighborhoods to look at colors, the difference between brick and stone, front porches, trim colors, and yes, even shingle colors!

We met with Heidi and Amber, our design team from Thomsen homes, and were amazed at their knowledge, expertise, and organization! They had a clear agenda for our meeting, but going off the schedule to discuss a random question that popped up never phased them.

We started by walking through our site plans to look at structural changes. For example, we decided to move a door on the main level to a different wall. They made notes right on our site plans and sent them off to the developer to be modified and reprinted before we left!

Exterior Choices

Next up, exterior choices! This is where our experience building four years ago was a little different. Four years ago, we didn’t even look at the color choices that were considered upgrades because we knew that it wasn’t in our budget for our first home. This time around, being that this is our forever home, we knew that an upgraded color was likely going to be our choice. (If you’re on a tighter budget, don’t let this upgrade make you nervous! We absolutely loved the color of our first home as well, we just had a different idea in mind after I had a little too much fun exploring Pinterest.) Since we had a more specific color choice in mind the second time around, they assured us that if a sample wasn’t on hand that we had in mind, they would do their best to help us find the color we were looking for. Thankfully, they had exactly what I had envisioned!

Remember earlier when I mentioned how organized Heidi and Amber are? We’d move on to our next exterior choice, I would be conflicted on a decision, and they would quickly pull up pictures of different builds that Thomsen had done to give me a visual comparison. This alone gave me so much ease with our decision making because I didn’t have to try and imagine what something would look like.

After we made all of our selections, they lined them up on these neat little shelves so that we could see our exterior choices all together. They encouraged us to take pictures as well! These pictures were so nice to look back on as we continued to dream about our soon to be forever home. (But they also came in handy down the road when we decided to add a deck and needed to choose a color that correlated with our exterior choices!)

The final step of this meeting was to look at the standard verses upgraded options for a water heater and sump pump. I’m going to be honest, this part of the meeting was like listening to another language for us because we didn’t even know it was an option for upgrading. They encouraged us to think about it and we weren’t pressured to make a decision that day. We went home to talk it over with our parents (one was actually able to stop into the Thomsen office later in the week to look at the choices) and then we felt confident with our choice with their help and guidance.

This is the perfect example of Thomsen Homes being more than just a home builder. They value your opinion and truly want you feeling confident, not pressured, into the choices you make. Whether it’s a standard choice or an upgrade, you will be getting a spectacular house that was made for you!

Stay tuned for more blogs on Jenna and Brady’s home building journey!