My first post!

So after months of thinking about building with Ryan Homes and looking at pre-existing homes, I've decided to go with Ryan Homes.  The development that I will be building in is called Pavilions at Pantops in Charlottesville, VA.  There are 3 floorplans to choose from: Beethoven, Mozart, and Strauss.  Unfortunately, Ryan doesn't have a model home for any of these floorplans in the area.  I've driven to Gainesville, VA to see the Mozart model which is 2 hours away.  There was no way I was going to buy a home without seeing what it looks like in real life.  I know that the model is decorated and everything to make you want to buy it but I still needed to see something. 

Last night, one of the sales people arranged for my realtor and me to see an empty completed Beethoven which is currently in settlement.  It seemed so tiny!  Those extra feet on either end of the house make a HUGE difference!  The salesperson is going to try arrange for me to see a completed Mozart this week before the owners move in this weekend.  I'm pretty sure that I will end up going with the Mozart.  Before I sign anything, I want to see the price list for upgrades.  Getting that list is like pulling teeth!  They really don't seem like they want to give this up.  I'm just trying to figure out what I should do now and what I should wait to do later.  Does anyone have any suggestions based on their experience?  Have any tips for me as I go through this process?  I am a complete noob to home buying and building.  I've been reading all the wonderful blogs about this process that are already out there.  Any tips or advice anyone can give me along the way is greatly appreciated!!