8 Ideas for a New Home Gift
Jaime and her now husband built their M/I Home in 2021 while they were planning their wedding, and then they moved in right in time for the holidays! You're going to absolutely love hearing their touching home buying story.
1. Tell us about your experience building your M/I Home as you were wedding planning! What’s one of your favorite memories from that time?
Since before we had even gotten engaged, we knew that we wanted to move into our next home in 2021. We had been saving for years at that point.
When spring 2021 rolled around, we had a lull in wedding planning. We had the dress and all the important vendors locked up, and details didn’t need to be sorted out for a few more months so we decided to start looking. The market at the time was just beginning to get wild.
In the first weekend we looked at houses, we put in an offer over asking price that was beat out by several others. The next week, we set up more showings only for the houses to be under contract before we could look at them. It was disappointing to be foiled so early on in what I thought would be an exciting process.
Since we already had the afternoon off on March 3rd, we decided to go look at the Cedarbrook Farm community just down the road from the first house we offered. We spontaneously walked through the model, talked to Kelly, and we loved it.
In looking at the lots available, the perfect one was left—on the cul-de-sac with picture-perfect window views of the pond. We went home with a book full of information so we could price out the upgrades we expected to select and then returned to sign on March 6th.
To be honest, it was the perfect time in the wedding planning process to get started building a home. We were getting married in July, so we had time before we needed to hone in on all the last minute details to start planning our dream home.
Travis and I spent a significant amount of time scouring the M/I Homes Pinterest preparing for the design center—so much so that we only needed one appointment to get it all done.
Though that wasn’t expected of us, I knew I wanted to do everything I could to ensure that we were in before Christmas—if that meant doing my homework and being prepared to make decisions quickly, I knew we could do it.
We completed the design process by early April, and we broke ground in June! Perfect timing for that stuff to get started while we switched gears back to the wedding.
One of my favorite memories from that time was simply visiting our homesite every weekend with Travis, walking the lot and imagining our future. We’d talk about throwing the frisbee with the dogs, raising our kids, and dreaming up our dream home.
Watching it begin to take shape as we were literally preparing to walk down the aisle to officially start that chapter together was so special.
2. Why did you choose Cedarbrook Farm as your new home community?
We knew that if we were going to build, we wanted two things: to be in Beavercreek and to choose a reputable builder we could trust. We did our research and drove through a lot of builder communities, and M/I Homes stuck out to us in the best way.
The location was perfect and we talked to the few people who had already moved in to get their feedback—glowing reviews! It just made sense.
3. Was this your first time building a home? If so, what were the parts of the process that stood out to you the most?
It wasn’t my first time, but it was Travis’s. It was fun to watch it all happen through his eyes.
I’ll never forget the day that we showed up to the foundation having been poured and him thinking aloud that it “felt small.” Mind you, we were moving out of a 1000 sq. ft. home into this 3700 sq. ft. home—it was anything but small.
Then, because our layout was flipped from the model, it was interesting when the framing went up. Until it was drywalled, it was hard to envision it any other way than the model.
When thinking about what stands out most, I think it is just how quickly it all comes together at the end. From the day they installed the insulation it was 6 weeks until we were moved in. That is a lot of finishing that had to be done in that time.
I was impressed and couldn’t be more grateful to Levi, our Construction Manager, for making mountains move and getting us in.
It was a blessing to have our first Christmas with our family as a married couple in our forever home surrounded by moving boxes!
4. What were the most important features in a home to you and your now husband?
The kitchen, the office, and the lounging space.
My husband is a fabulous cook—one of the many reasons I married him! He had been cooking with very little prep space or room to work. I was so excited for him to finally have a place to enjoy cooking on another level. Between the high-end gas stove to the large counter space to the deep sink, it was a major upgrade for us and he couldn’t be happier with it.
I needed a dedicated office for work and I got a beautiful corner office with a view of the pond.
And finally, we love movie and game nights, so having both the large living room and the bonus room for living spaces is honestly a dream.
We couldn’t even sit next to each other at the old house—it was too small. Now we can lay together on our giant couch and watch all the Netflix we want!
5. How did you celebrate once you moved into your home?
We moved in on December 23rd—2 days before Christmas! We celebrated by inviting my family down to stay (and help install some light fixtures) and having both our families over for Christmas Dinner. It was a delight being able to have all the people we love most in one space for our favorite holiday.
If that wasn’t enough, we motivated ourselves to unpack even faster by starting our new favorite tradition: an annual New Year’s Day party for our friends and their kids! It was great seeing so many people (and their little ones) running around in our space.
We had nearly 30 people in our home and didn’t feel cramped—such a blessing!
6. What advice would you share with future homeowners looking to move to the Cincinnati / Dayton area?
The Dayton area is amazing with so many wonderful gems to highlight. There really is something for everyone without all the headaches of a big city.
My advice would be get out and explore the area! If you love being outside, start touring the metro parks!
Are you a foodie? Some of our favorites are Salar, Roost, Sueno, and Thai 9.
The biking trails are glorious—be sure to know where the nearest one is to you.
The theater shows that come through the Schuster each year are delightful.
Or, if you’re a homebody, build a home that brings you peace. I absolutely love being in our home. It is my safe haven, and I couldn’t be happier with how it all came together.
We love hearing how our homeowners have settled into home sweet home. Read more happy homeowners' stories!
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