New homes in Washington | Nevada
At one particular house in Summit Homes’ Emery community, the stars aligned for Enrique Moreno, and this “forever home” captured the hearts of his fiancée, his daughter and himself in almost the same way.
But let’s rewind this story to the beginning.
“Family is everything to me,” Enrique says. “My extended family was already here when I emigrated from Chile here as a child, and I always looked forward to the day I would start my own.”
He married for a time, and had a daughter, Arianna, 11. Although the marriage ended, his love for his daughter only grew. “She is the light of my life, and I hope I let her know that every single day.”
Time went by as a single man, and what began as a friendship many years earlier blossomed into the love both Enrique and Maritza were seeking. When the time came for him to propose marriage, a conspiracy to make it the most romantic event ever began. Enrique was thrilled that Arianna adored his wife-to-be and was excited that she insisted on playing a role. But together, they ran into a hurdle that could only be solved with the help of their new homebuilder, Summit Homes.
“When I began looking for a new home to buy, I was first considering resale homes so Arianna could stay at the same school,” Enrique says. “So, together, we would all go view different houses — but my ‘girls’ would easily point out the features and designs that just wouldn’t make sense for our family. It was my daughter who asked to visit this home in Emery — and when the three of us walked in the door the first time, everyone agreed, ‘This is it.’”
Almost enough for a happy ending right there, right? But it gets much better.
Enrique knew he wanted to propose to Maritza on their first Valentine’s Day together. So he began planning an entire day’s worth of events.
“I wanted it to last all day long because it was the start of the best thing that was ever going to happen to me,” he says. “And “I wanted Maritza to always remember this day.”
First, there were flowers sent to her workplace. Then arrived the first message in a bottle: “We’re going to have a great time tonight.” Together that evening they dined at Giada’s, where at the end of the meal, the waiter brought her another message in a bottle: “I want to take you back in time to the place we first met as friends.” The next stop: A surprise gathering he had arranged for all the same friends that had been at that first meeting — to join them again for this special night.
After a couple hours, Enrique gave Maritza another message in a bottle that read: “Now, let me take you into our future.”
At about 11:30 p.m., he drove her to their soon-to-be new home. And while in the car Enrique showed her a video that Arianna had made. In it, she expressed her affection for Maritza and told her how much she appreciated having her in her life — and especially for how happy she made her dad.
Enrique says, “As you can imagine, Maritza was very emotional and teary-eyed as she watched the video, and when it was over, I reached into the glove compartment and handed her a small box … inside was the key to the home.”
Although escrow wouldn’t close for a few more days, he knew that as his new life with his new wife would begin in this new place — it was from this spot he truly wished to pop the question.
“Because I’m a real estate agent, I know it’s almost impossible to get the keys before escrow is recorded. So I went to the builder to see if they could help me. At first, the answer came back as no, but I went to the Larry, the broker, to explain the circumstances, and told him I would sign any releases or do anything they needed to ensure there was no liability on their part.
“After I told them my story, they were very happy to help me make it happen,” Enrique says with a laugh. But they said, “Valentine’s Day or not, No candles!”
That was fine, because Arianna had already decided on a trail of rose petals and a room full of balloons. And when Maritza took the key she had been given and entered the home, she followed that trail to the kitchen, and when she turned to look at Enrique, he was on one knee, holding out a ring.
You can guess the happy ending to this story, right? Well, there is a punch line.
Not only did Maritza say “Yes!” — three days later, they discovered there was a baby on the way. Ten days later they moved into their new home, which was Enrique’s birthday, too.
As Enrique sees it, “The team at Summit Homes helped this family come together in the most meaningful way. Betsy, Craig and Larry were wonderful and helped me create a memory that all of us will treasure forever. To have the love of my life, the daughter I cherish, and a family that will grow up in this very home — which I plan to stay in for many, many years to come — it’s everything to me, to all of us.”