I recently purchased a new townhome from Hamlet Homes in the Sage Hen Community at Mayflower Mountain, Utah, and overall, we are thrilled with our new home. The craftsmanship is absolutely beautiful, and the people involved throughout the building process were wonderful, responsive, and communicative. A big shout-out to Jordan Person, my salesperson and primary contact throughout the process. Jordan was always quick to answer my questions and was incredibly helpful, even after closing, in connecting me with resources for some of the upgrades and changes I wanted to make to the home. I also have to recognize Jeff Paluzzi, my project manager. After we closed, Jeff addressed every issue that came up in record time. He was on top of everything, extremely responsive, and made sure things were taken care of quickly. I couldn’t have asked for better follow-through. That said, there are some limitations buyers should be aware of, particularly if you are purchasing before construction is complete and customization is important to you. You are able to select flooring, tile, paint colors, cabinetry, countertops, and certain finishes. However, your choices are generally carried throughout the entire house. For example, the cabinetry and countertops you select will be repeated in the kitchen, bathrooms, wet bar, etc. You cannot choose different colors or finishes for different rooms. When I asked whether I could pay for a change order to customize certain areas, the answer was a firm “No.” I ran into a similar issue with the kitchen sink. I chose darker, moodier colors for my kitchen, and my sink choices were an undermount stainless-steel sink, which I didn’t care for, or a white fireclay farmhouse sink. I loved the farmhouse style, but white didn’t work with my design. I discovered that the same manufacturer made the exact same sink in gray, which matched my countertops beautifully and was approximately the same price. I asked if they could simply order the gray version instead and was told no. I even offered to purchase the gray sink myself and let Hamlet keep the white sink for another home, but again the answer was no. I ultimately accepted the white sink and, after closing, paid to have it professionally reglazed in gray. It looks beautiful now, but the cost of reglazing was nearly as much as the sink itself. It seemed like an unnecessary expense that could have been avoided with a little flexibility during construction. The most frustrating issue involved the upgraded black hardware package, which I paid extra for and included faucets, shower heads, and cabinet handles. Because I wanted to use different cabinet handles in certain rooms, I asked that the handles I had already paid for simply not be installed so I could decide where I wanted to use them after closing. I was told that if Hamlet did not install them, I would not be given the handles—even though I had paid for them. When I asked why, I was told that if the handles weren’t installed, the installation team might mistakenly install them anyway. I then offered what seemed like the obvious solution: let me pick up the handles and keep them until after closing. Again, I received a very firm “No.” I eventually had to escalate the matter and write to the COO before receiving a $500 credit for the handles, which I appreciated, although their actual value was greater. None of these issues changed how much we love the finished home. The quality of the construction is beautiful, and the people I dealt with directly—particularly Jordan and Jeff—were outstanding. My advice to prospective buyers is simply to understand what you are buying. Hamlet Homes builds a beautiful product, but the process is not designed for buyers who want significant customization or even relatively small deviations from their standard packages. There is very little flexibility, even when a buyer is willing to pay the additional cost. If you can accept those limitations, as I ultimately did, I think you will be very pleased with the quality of your home. We certainly are.