In looking for a place to retire, we wanted to check out areas in North Carolina since we have family nearby. When my husband and I visited Chapel Ridge, we knew that it was where we wanted to live! We asked our realtor to see what was available and she showed us a property under construction. We found out that the builders were ICG Homes. Since we were from California, we were unfamiliar with any of the builders in North Carolina. So, we wanted to visit a finished property of theirs so we could see the quality of their craftsmanship. We were very pleased. Their attention to detail was evident as we walked through the home. The home was beautiful and many things that we liked were already "included" and considered standard.
The lot we purchased hadn't begun construction yet but the review process by the ARB had begun. In our case, the floor plan and color palette was already chosen. Luckily, we were very happy with the selections! Even though we didn't get to choose the exterior colors, we got to choose everything else and make changes to the home so that it could be uniquely ours. We switched out the windows in the Master bedroom and added sliding glass doors and an extra patio off the bedroom. We also added slate to the front porch and closed off the kitchen door to give us more upper/lower cabinets. We also added a decorative wood beam in the family room and switched the ceiling fan to a chandelier. It was no problem! ICG was very flexible with us and helped us get exactly what we wanted. The one challenge we faced was that we were doing all of this from California! Luckily, we were able to visit NC in September to choose lighting, floors, paint, cabinets, etc. and got to meet with the contractor in November and February. Those were very helpful visits and they were more than happy to meet with us and go over everything. We asked lots of questions because it was our first time building a house! We never felt rushed. They took their time with us and made sure we were happy with the decisions.
The design of the homes on the ICG website are all lovely. They definitely do quality work and offer a variety of floorplans to satisfy any buyer! We liked that the outside designs included a metal roof accent and a variety of textures (siding, bricks, and shingles). And that the finished home included landscaping! That's not included in new homes in California... that's all above and beyond the cost of the home! So for us, that was a pleasant surprise. We also had a couple other surprises... we got to configure all the closets in the house to our specifications and found out that the upstairs Bonus room had built-in shelves and a bench seat! It's a really nice feature.
We found everyone at ICG Homes and the Home Center to be helpful, flexible, and kind. I loved working with Emily and Stacey at the Home Center. We had a marathon day picking interior/exterior lights, paint, granite, tile, etc. with Stacey back in September. Even when I second guessed myself and wanted to switch to a different color or tile, all I had to do was contact them and they were able to make the changes. They offered opinions that were very helpful, too. When our flooring was discontinued, Emily FaceTimed with us so that we could see the other choices that were available. We appreciated that since we were out of state. John and Mike were great, too. They worked with us and helped us get the home we wanted.
I think their strength is that they really do want the buyers to "make it their own." As such, they tried hard to accommodate our changes and get costs back to us in a timely manner.
We are thrilled with our home. I never thought we'd live in such a beautiful place. The design of the home, from inside to outside, is truly lovely. It's warm and inviting... it feels like home. We also love all the custom details. I would definitely recommend ICG Homes to anyone.
