What floor plan did you choose, and what attracted you to this design? 

The openness of the downstairs and the Hadley floor plan in general was perfect for my family. When picking the design, I thought of my mom as I always wanted to give her a bedroom in my home. She wanted the first floor, so instead of the sunroom, I picked the bedroom with a full bath downstairs. I also loved the split family room upstairs. My nieces and nephews are always at my home, so this gave them extra space to enjoy themselves. Instead of choosing a five-bedroom design, I also placed my office upstairs, so the office turned out to be a huge space. Overall, the flow of the home is just amazing!

As you have watched your home come to life, what have been your favorite features?

My favorite feature is the screened-in porch with a fireplace. I love being outside. Also, my mom wanted her own bedroom downstairs on the back end of the house, so to be able to give her exactly what she wanted when she comes to visit was such a big deal for me.

What did you enjoy most about the building process?

Since I own a real estate firm, I deal with a lot of builders. However, Drees is by far my favorite. So many builders do not update clients on a weekly basis like Drees. It felt so refreshing to have a group of people who provided updates and were so hands-on during the entire process. My favorite part - besides Drees being available for my question and concerns - would have to be the Design Center and selections experience. It's so much fun and exciting when you are able to pick out every detail for your home. The Design Center prices are amazing for the upgrades too. 

As a Realtor and Drees homeowner yourself, what advice would you give others who are interested in building a home?

When building a home, always look at the reviews on the warranty before picking a builder. Even with new homes, things will sometimes go wrong and some builders have warranties in place but never come out to fix things. At Drees, they have been amazing and really stand behind their brand. Even when I had an issue after closing, the Customer Care department was by far the best I have seen in my 10 years of doing real estate.

Be sure to see what the line of communication is with the Builder/Project Manager and how often they will send updates on the progress of the home.

Tour several homes before building to get an idea of your must-haves. Know that the model home is not what your home will look like, so be sure to know what comes standard and what are upgrades. When building out the home, I always recommend to price it out first with everything you want, and then go back and take out what are not the must-haves to get you to the price you want.

Lastly, be sure to have a great agent who has building experience to coach you along the way. If you're in the Raleigh/Durham area, don't hesitate to reach out to Price Residential Group. 

Why did you choose to build with Drees?

I actually drove the community for an entire year before buying. I would manifest that I was going to be in this community soon. The location was perfect for me, because I'm a country girl and wanted to be close to Raleigh while also near my family. This move cut down 30 minutes of my drive to my family and also made it an easy commute for my mom, allowing her to avoid the busy highways. It was the ideal location and the home design that made me pick Drees.

Learn more

To learn more about building your own Drees home, click here and select your location. Interested in other personal stories from the Homeowner Spotlight Series? Click here.