From Offer to Keys: Your Path to 16754 SW Perth Road

The promo's written eligibility rules require you to pre-apply with TMHF before the offer is submitted. This is not optional and it is not a recommendation. Skip this step and the 4.99% rate disappears.

What to do:

1. Go to www.taylormorrison.com/home-financing.
2. Complete the online pre-application. Allow 30 to 45 minutes.
3. Have ready: your two most recent pay stubs, last two months of bank statements, last two years of W-2s, and your driver's license.
4. Once submitted, TMHF will assign a loan officer who will contact you within 24 hours.
5. Confirm with the loan officer that your pre-application is on file and tied to 16754 SW Perth Road specifically.

I want your independent inspection scheduled for the week of June 8 to 14. That gives the builder 7 to 10 days to address any findings before closing. Calling the inspector this week, before the offer is even in, accomplishes two things: it locks the date on his calendar before he books up, and it sends the builder a clear signal that we are inspecting independently, which tends to result in better internal quality control on the final touches.

What to do:

1. I will send you the contact info for the inspector I recommend for Taylor Morrison homes in South River Terrace.
2. Call him this week. Tell him we are looking at the week of June 8 to 14 for a final walk inspection on a Taylor Morrison new construction.
3. The inspection runs $500 to $700. Plan to be on site for it.

Why I keep saying this: I have walked enough new construction homes in Washington County to know that even the best builders miss things. Drywall seams that telegraph. HVAC ducts not fully sealed. Outlets wired to the wrong breakers. The inspector catches what the builder's quality control missed, before you take possession. It is the cheapest insurance you will ever buy on this house.

Before we write the offer, I want us to walk the home together one final time. With construction in final touches, this is essentially what the home will look like at closing. We are confirming three things:

1. The lot. The MLS says it backs to greenbelt with a territorial view. We confirm what that looks like in person.
2. The standard finishes. Quartz counters, gas appliances, laminate flooring, high ceilings. Anything you wish was different is either a design center upgrade (if the home stage allows) or an after-purchase project.
3. Construction status. Final touches mean paint, fixtures, trim, and final cleaning. Anything obviously incomplete needs to be on the builder's punch list before closing.

Taylor Morrison uses their own contract. We do not draft from a blank state form. They send us their contract, we fill in the terms, you sign, they countersign.

What the offer will include:

• Purchase price: $604,999 (the current list after the May 20 reduction)
• 1.5% seller contribution toward closing costs, rate buydown, or first-year HOA, written into the Incentive Addendum
• Earnest money: typically 3 to 5 percent on Taylor Morrison contracts
• Financing: TMHF, conventional, 30-year fixed, rate locked when the pool window allows
• Closing date: target June 25 to 30
• Closing agent: Fidelity National Title (required for the promo)
• Inspection: 7-day inspection contingency, even though the builder's contract treats this as optional

Where we have leverage: This home has been on the market 72 days. That is a long time for a Taylor Morrison spec home in South River Terrace. The price reduction on May 20 already reflects some of that pressure. Whether we have room to ask for additional concessions on top of the published promo is something I will feel out with Brian directly before we put pen to paper.

Once Taylor Morrison countersigns the offer, you will sign a stack of builder addendums. This is where new construction departs hard from resale. Read each one carefully. I will walk you through every line before you sign.

Addendums to expect:

• Incentive Addendum — documents the 1.5% promo contribution and the 4.99% rate lock terms. The most important addendum financially.
• Construction Timeline Addendum — gives Taylor Morrison flexibility on the completion date. The June 30 close is the target, but if construction slips, this addendum protects them.
• Materials Substitution Addendum — allows the builder to swap equivalent materials if supply chain issues arise. On a home this close to completion, this is mostly a formality.
• Warranty Addendum — defines Taylor Morrison's 1-year workmanship, 2-year systems, and 10-year structural warranty coverage.
• HOA Disclosure — NOVA management, $101/month, community amenities, governing documents.

Earnest money on Taylor Morrison contracts: Your earnest money is at greater risk on new construction than on a resale. On a resale, earnest money is fully refundable until you remove inspection and financing contingencies. On a Taylor Morrison contract, earnest money typically becomes non-refundable at specific construction milestones or after a defined inspection period passes. Once that threshold is crossed, walking away means losing the deposit.

What this means for us practically: We use the 7-day inspection contingency window in the first week of June to get the independent inspection scheduled and any major issues identified. After that window closes, the earnest money is committed.

The 4.99% promo rate is tied to Taylor Morrison's pool of funds. As soon as your loan is in the pipeline, TMHF will tell you when the rate lock window opens. Lock immediately.

Why immediately: On a 4-week-out closing, floating the rate is gambling. Rates can move materially in a week. The promo locks you at 4.99% if you secure the lock while the pool of funds is still available. If you wait and the pool runs out, you fall back to whatever TMHF is quoting at that moment, which will almost certainly be higher.

From contract through closing, TMHF's underwriting team will request documentation. Common requests:

• Updated pay stubs as we approach closing
• Bank statements showing the source of funds for your down payment
• Letters explaining any large deposits in the last 60 days
• Possibly a tax transcript request

The rule: Respond within 24 hours. Underwriting delays are the single most common cause of closings missing their target date. A document request that sits unanswered for three days can push your closing past June 30, which means you lose the promo rate.

This is the step I am most insistent on. The inspector you booked back in Phase 1 walks the home, runs his systems testing, and produces a written report.

What the inspector is looking for:

• HVAC functionality, duct sealing, balanced airflow
• Electrical: outlets wired correctly, GFCI in wet rooms, breaker labeling
• Plumbing: water pressure, drain function, hot water delivery, no leaks
• Roof: flashing, ventilation, no obvious defects from the exterior
• Insulation: visible insulation in the attic, no obvious gaps
• Doors and windows: open and close properly, sealed correctly
• Cosmetic: paint touch-ups, drywall seams, scratched flooring
• Code compliance: smoke detectors, CO detectors, handrails

What we do with the report:

1. You and I review it together within 24 hours of the inspector delivering it.
2. We sort findings into three buckets: builder must fix before closing, builder should fix before closing, you can address yourself later.
3. I send the must-fix and should-fix list to Brian formally.
4. Builder addresses items in their final punch list before the orientation walk.

About a week before closing, Taylor Morrison schedules your orientation. We use blue painter's tape to mark anything that is wrong, missing, or unfinished.

What the orientation covers:

• How everything works: HVAC, water heater, appliances, garage door, smart home features, the air conditioning rough-in (the MLS says "Air Conditioning Ready," meaning the system is plumbed for it but not installed)
• Warranty registration with Taylor Morrison
• Room-by-room walkthrough to identify any remaining issues

What gets blue-taped gets fixed before closing. Touch-up paint, scratched floors, drywall imperfections, loose hardware, missing caulk, doors that do not close properly. The builder typically has 5 to 7 days to address everything tagged.

What I bring to the orientation:

• My own punch list checklist of common Taylor Morrison issues
• The findings from your independent inspection so we cross-check what is still outstanding
• A camera, because photo documentation matters if anything becomes a dispute

In the final week before closing, three things have to happen:

1. Builder finishes all blue-tape and inspection items. I confirm in person.
2. TMHF issues "clear to close," meaning underwriting has signed off on the final loan package.
3. Fidelity National Title confirms title is clean and ready to record.

What you should expect from me in the final week:

• Daily check-ins as we get within 5 days of closing
• A walk-through of the Closing Disclosure (the final accounting of every dollar) at least 3 days before closing, so you have time to ask questions and verify numbers
• A second mini-walkthrough of the home the day before or morning of closing to confirm all blue-tape items are resolved

Closing happens at Fidelity National Title. You will sign roughly 50 documents. Most are formality. The ones that matter:

• The note (your promise to repay the loan)
• The deed of trust (the lender's security in the property)
• The Closing Disclosure (the final dollar accounting)
• The warranty deed (transfers ownership to you)

Bring:

• Government-issued photo ID
• Wire confirmation for your cash to close. Fidelity will send wiring instructions. Verify them by phone using a number you find independently, never by replying to the email. Wire fraud is the single biggest financial risk in any closing.
• Patience for signing your name 50 times

Timing: Closing typically takes 60 to 90 minutes. I will be there.

After closing records (usually same day, sometimes next morning), the home is yours. Brian or his team will hand off the keys, garage door openers, and the homeowner orientation packet.

The first 30 days:

• Set up utilities: PGE (electric), NW Natural (gas), Tigard Water Service, Pride Disposal. I will send you the contact list before closing.
• Register your warranty with Taylor Morrison if not completed at orientation.
• Note anything that emerges in the first 30 days. Taylor Morrison's warranty has specific claim windows. Items identified in the first 30 days get fixed under the early warranty without question.
• Schedule any moving services. Most movers in the Portland metro need 2 to 3 weeks of lead time during peak summer.