This post is sponsored by Lennar, the leading builder of quality new homes across the nation. At Lennar- Everything’s Included, offering the best value at an incredible price. Their homes demonstrate customer commitment by showcasing outstanding new construction and homebuilding excellence.

As I folded clothes in my bedroom, I listened as our toddler mimicked, “Vroom, Vroom.” Everyday, he pulled himself up onto the sofa and gazed in wonder. Giddy with delight, this prime viewing area gave him first hand access to all the motorcycles, trucks and vehicles as they pulled into the gas station across the street. Literally, right across the street, as in yards away from our windows. (Don’t let that beautiful green grass fool you. At the edge of that picture is the side street with the gas station entrance.)

Now, while this this joy fueled our son by day, the same “music to his hears” was not quite the sweet melody this momma desired at 11:00pm.

Our first rented apartment holds so many special memories. Graduations, jobs, parties, first babies and more all commemorate this wonderful slice of our life, but the noise of a busy highway and continual activity of a gas station which didn’t seem like a big deal as a single working woman became a huge determent as a mom of two young ones. When we first choose to rent, we did so because the chant of “Location, location, location” rang through our mind. Now the chant of “Don’t run to the edge of the grass. No, you can’t go see the motorcycle” came to fruition.

Simple ideas for building a new Home

And thus the journey to find our first place began. We made our list of pros and cons in reference to continuing to renting vs. purchasing our own home and my husband’s finance side won out. He wanted the tax benefits, as well as the return on our investment that home ownership might bring. We were debt free, except for the soon to be mortgage and knew that this was where we wanted to put our money.

We were young and really didn’t know anything about purchasing our first home. We began looking at older homes and I loved the challenge of fixing them up, but my husband tried to remind me he could not help. That put a damper on my thought of a great before and after, plus with young kids, that may not have been realistic.

Then a sudden life change became a reality. We decided to make the move from WI to NC and bought a ton of land. Our entire thought process shifted to building a new home and that was our only option. There were so many questions that we didn’t have answers to and there are still things in our home that bug me. I didn’t know what I didn’t know at the time.

I certainly didn’t know about Lennar Homes and their “Everything’s Included” approach. It fascinates me and is a concept that anyone looking to purchase a new home should consider. They don’t promise the moon, but then let you know later than none of the amenities are included. That tripped us up a lot when building because we made plans, set our hearts on certain aspects, but then kept having to change them when we found out how much all the extras added on to the over all cost.

I love how they describe their “Everything’s Included” philosophy: Your Touch of Style Shouldn’t Have to Cost Extra. From the counter tops up to the ceiling and back down to the floor, Lennar homes include thousands of dollars in luxury features at a price that was previously unattainable in the home buying process. With Everything’s Included, you no longer have to haggle, hope or compromise your dream home – because your dream features are already included.

Lennar has done the research up front to find out what most people want in a home and automatically include that. Their national purchasing power allows them to give the best value possible right off the bat. Speaking from experience as a new home buyer (well, when I was many years ago), that makes such a difference and removes a lot of the stress out of the process.

I’ve shared how I live on 30 acres with my brothers and extended family. The only missing piece is that we haven’t been able to build a home yet for my parents to move and now the conversation has moved towards building an in-law suite onto one of our homes. A separate private suite is actually a growing trend which allows for long-term guests, family members or anyone else who can utilize this innovative space. Lennar offers NEXT GEN – The Home within a Home®. What a wonderful solution. I wish we had thought of that when we were building. They offer a complete suite with bedroom, eat-in kitchenette and living room. It can be integrated into a home’s living space or kept as a private residence.

It’s been 17 years since we built our home and we’ve certainly packed memories into this place. My finance husband says it’s definitely the best financial decision we ever made. Since interest rates are at an all time low, we were able to refinance and consolidate our mortgage, enjoy the tax write -offs and all the accrued equity. We are so close to paying off our mortgage and that will be a true celebration of home ownership.

What were some of the things that were important to you when you were thinking of renting or buying a home?

If you are looking into buying a new home, check out Lennar Homes to see if their communities might be a match for you.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Lennar Homes. The opinions and text are all mine.