This morning at 10:00am, we closed on our home! Despite some communication challenges between the mortgage and title companies (which at one point really had us questioning whether or not we were going to be able to close this week), everything went off relatively smoothly in the end.
Everyone ready for it? This is the last post before we actually close on the house. Assuming some missing piece of paper doesn’t blow everything on the 9th, that is… 
Lots of activity this past week as things race towards the finish line. Flooring installed, appliances, all remaining fixtures, concrete for the driveway and walkway, audio system, and front porch columns all happened in the past 5 days.
Since the middle of the week, more siding has been added (and a bit more had to be ordered), the yard has gotten a rough grade, a bit of exterior trim painting has been done, and the light fixtures are all in place.
I stopped by in the middle of this week because I knew there was a lot happening. The past few days have seen the tile installed in the bathrooms and around the fireplace, the upstairs bathroom fixtures, granite in the kitchen, nearly all the siding, and most of the power outlets and light switches.
This week the brick “skirt” was put on the house, and all the interior trim and walls went through their first round of painting. The newel posts and handrails for the stairs were also installed and stained. Tile installers were upstairs working on the bathrooms when we visited today too.
This week, most of the trim carpentry work was completed. Baseboards, window and door trim, cabinetry, interior doors, fireplace mantle — all installed! The place looks really different now.
Thanks to one of the contacts I made during the whole nightmare with our first builder, Hansen and Horn, I got news today that a judge has ruled Hansen and Horn will be liquidated and the company has been dissolved.
Wrapping up the tenth week, the drywall is all finished and the ceiling texture is in place. Since last week, they’ve applied some sort of skim and primer coats to the drywall, and the only thing left to do to it now is paint it. Before that, though, is trim carpentry — which starts this coming week!
At the start of this week, as insulation was being installed, I had our own inspector, Scott Surette, give the house a pre-drywall check. Scott was very impressed with the quality of construction and found no issues with anything, other than an overworked sump pump (which as it turns out is only a temporary one used during construction, they replace it before we move in).