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In December of 2007 the McGoughs began meeting with Joe Richardelli, the Managing Partner of Southland Log Homes' Fredericksburg office. Because of the strong relationship they have developed with Joe and others here at Southland, they have shared photos and information with us throughout the build.
In the letter below, dated January 30th, 2008, Mrs. McGough talks about choosing a log home floor plan, obtaining financing, and partnering with their Southland Log Homes Project Manager to get the log home package cut and delivered.
May, 2008
To Everyone at Southland Log Homes:
I am writing to express my excitement and satisfaction about the experience we have had with everyone there at Southland. This experience has been wonderful for us. We built the home ourselves to save costs, expecting the worst. We were very wrong.
We signed our Southland Log Home contract with Joe Richardelli in early December 2007, and took delivery in January 2008.
From the first day we met Joe we were very impressed. There was nothing Joe could not explain to us or get us an answer to regarding our log home purchase. We had checked into many log home dealers and no one was more knowledgeable then Joe. He even came in on his days off to meet with us with no interruptions, took every phone call and answered every question in detail (and boy did we have a lot of questions). Joe even came to our delivery to help us unload.
Once we had signed the contract with Joe he set us up with Keith Floyd, who served as our Project Manager. He made sure we got everything we wanted in our package, coordinated delivery, and generally acted as our "go to" person after the contract was signed. Keith has been our guide and our friend, always returning our calls and taking time to get us answers.
Kelly Hunt with Homeowners Mortgage set up our construction loan. Kelly was awesome. She walked us through the whole process (even set up conference calls with me and my husband so we could all be on the same page). She promised us our loan would close on the scheduled date and she made it happen. We could not have done this without Kelly’s help. She really knows her job and how to get it done.
Seeing the trucks come down the road with your new home is like Christmas all over again. I, my husband and daughter were like kids in a candy store. What a feeling seeing the Big Rigs roll in with your dream home on it.
Even our three delivery drivers were wonderful. David, Paul and Arleta were absolutely wonderful. When they came to deliver the house they were very sociable, had coffee and doughnuts with us, laughed and joked. It was a lot fun. We even took pictures with them for our scrapbook. My daughter was amazed that Arleta (a female) was driving that “Big Truck.” Arleta even called me after they left to thank me for everything. (I felt as though I should have been thanking them). They are definitely “Friends For Life”.
Now that we have assembled the home I have to say, with the engineering that goes into a Southland Log Home it is difficult to make a mistake. Everything is pre-cut so precise, i.e, logs, door bucks, etc… It makes this process so easy. We were putting up three to four rows of logs a day. We had it dried- in a month and a half. Here we are three and a half months later, and we are on the interior finishing work.
The best part of building a Southland Log Home is the contact people you have at your fingertips. We have direct contact with our salesman, mortgage company, project manager and the mill where our home was cut. You always have someone to be able to ask questions to and get answers from.
Overall, I would recommend Southland Log Homes to everyone. They are a great team and very organized. They all communicate with each other to prepare you for this process. When we first decided to build a log lome we were prepared for the worst. I kept thinking I am crazy for doing this but boy was I wrong. The only thing I was crazy for was not doing this sooner.
The McGough Family,
Rich, Tammy & Danielle
