We all want to be winners. Here you go:
I am giving away a lottery ticket to the first 25 people who leave comments here on my blog. Extra special attention will go to people who leave a meangingful comment that actually spurs conversation
Amazing Estridge Program Won’t Last Long!! December 18, 2009
When I learned about Estridge’s Guaranteed Buyout program (now discontinued), I was amazed by their commitment to their clients. When I found out that Estridge was building the home for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, I was inspired by their generosity. Now that I have heard about (and understand) their Fully Furnished and Finished program, I am yet again amazed and delighted by Estridge. This pilot program won’t last long, you only have until January 10, so you better hurry up and call me!
When I first heard about the program, I wasn’t sure how it would work. I thought it seemed to good to be true. Maybe they were leasing you the furniture? Maybe you had to pay extra for it? I had no idea.
So, I went to visit my friend Angela at Whispering Pines in Avon. She told me all about the program and how it works.
Imagine walking into your brand new home after closing, and it is completely furnished already. You choose what furniture you like out of a catalog; you choose your sofa fabrics, you choose the style of desk in the office, you choose if you prefer light or dark woods. Do you want a leopard print rug in the foyer or would you prefer an oriental or floral print?
Then I realized, if a buyer gets all new furniture when they move in, they could then sell their previous home with furniture included. Imagine how that could help your home sell faster than your neighbor’s house!
But, my Great-Grandmother gave me this dining room set and I want it in my new house! That’s ok, instead of dining room furniture, you can choose a finishing option. Each room has a list of finishes you can choose instead of the furniture offered–like having a room painted, flooring upgrades, a water softener, or deck. It’s up to you!
What’s the catch?? Well, to be honest, the catch is that Estridge wants to sell homes! That, and you only have until January 10th to get signed up! I will be at Whispering Pines tomorrow (Saturday, December 19th) for an open house from noon-2, so come visit me and I can tell you more. No, I don’t work for Estridge, I’m just really impressed by this program, and I know that a lot of buyers will be too.
Check out this video from Estridge!
C.P. Morgan to refund some earnest money March 10, 2009
Do you know anyone who was in the process of building with C.P. Morgan, who ceased home building operation on Friday, Feb. 27th? Pass along this info to them!
Company officials said last week that Hoosier customers whose homes have been completed or nearly completed and whose homes are ready for closing will be contacted by the title company within the next 30 days to schedule the closing.
Meanwhile, those who have contracts with the company but whose houses are not yet completed or nearly completed are having their earnest money refunded. Those checks, company officers said, will be mailed this week. I wonder what will happen to these half-finished homes?
A third group of customers whose houses have been finished but whose landscaping has not been completed will soon be contacted by Morgan’s landscaping contractors to finish that work as soon as the winter weather breaks. Money is being held in escrow for that purpose.
Arrangements to settle with Morgan customers in the Charlotte, N.C., market have not been completed but will be announced in that area in the near future.
Morgan’s telephone switchboard offers callers four different recorded options that summarize this information. That number is 317-848-4040.
Home Builder back in Business March 9, 2009
Good news for Central Indiana:
A new small home building company was launched last week in central Indiana. Davis Building Group will be led by Brad Davis, former chief executive officer of Davis Homes. The company will have a special focus on purchasing and remodeling vacant homes in central Indiana. It will also offer remodeling services to current homeowners and market custom and on-your lot homes.
While the company will market custom and on-your lot homes to accommodate the 3,000 to 4,000 homes projected to be built here in 2009, the new company will have a special emphasis on distressed homes throughout Central Indiana. Davis Building Group will purchase vacant homes and remodel them for sale at attractive market prices. Additionally, remodeling services will be offered as many homeowners are staying in their current homes until the market stabilizes and prices begin to rebound.
Yay! Sounds like a very responsible plan… Use what we’ve got rather than building so many homes that the market is saturated further.
“It is very important for us as an industry to focus on shoring up the existing housing market in order for the new housing market to return to a more active state,” said Brad Davis. “Many vacant homes are located in good neighborhoods and simply need a modest amount of renovation work to be attractive. Once the excess home inventory is re-placed in service, home prices will again increase as they have for the 50 years prior to the recent downfall.”
The group is committed to smart and green technology in their new home construction and renovation projects as well as counseling consumers on the types of healthy living options that are now available in the Indianapolis market.
“We have a unique opportunity to lead our industry in rethinking how we approach consumers as the housing market dramatically changes due to the current economic crisis,” said Todd Roberts. “The housing market will come back, but we think consumers will approach home building in a different manner. We believe they will focus on building unique but conservative homes that suit their individual needs and lifestyles.”
KB Homes Plans Tiny, Affordable Homes March 8, 2009
KB Homes is hoping to have big success thinking small.
The company is building 880-square-foot, two-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath houses in three suburban Houston areas. The homes sell for $64,000.
If the homes sell well in Houston, KB plans to build them in other cities.
CEO Jeffrey Mezger says the company is returning to its post-World War II roots, when small homes were the norm.
“Any time there’s been an age of exuberance and then the economy turns,” he says, “people get back to ‘What do I need?’ rather than ‘What could I buy?’”
Source: Business Week, Christopher Palmeri (03/02/2009)
Home Buyers are Reconsidering their Priorities January 30, 2009
Buyers are starting to veer away from the McMansions that were so popular in the 1990′s, and heading in a different direction. They have very specific ideas of how their home will fit in with how they live. While more and more home buyers are looking for “cozy” homes, they are also considering other things…
I never thought that a game could be so popular that you might choose your home based on whether there is room to play it, but many buyers are thinking of their Wii when buying. Will the living room be big enough to bowl in? Can I do yoga without having to move the couch every time? People want a room in their house where they can gather as a fmaily to play games, watch movies and hang out together.
Buyers want to lower their costs, so “green” features that will help lower utility bills are gaining more popularity. So are large pantries, which will allow families to stock up on sale items at the grocery store. They also want energy-efficient appliances and heating and air-conditioning systems. In a National Association of Home Builders survey, 91% of respondants would rather have an energy-efficient home with lower utility bills versus a cheaper home (with a sales price 2% to 3% lower) without energy-efficient features.
Other important home features include outdoor living space and home offices.
Greenest Home on the market! January 23, 2009
Many people have been considering ways they can help the environment by making their home a little greener. In fact, “Green” seems to be a very popular buzz word right now!
A Bend, Oregon real estate company has just announced that the National Home Builders Association’s 2007 Greenest Home in America is now on the market, listed at $429,000. 
The craftsman home “offers a comfortable living environment that looks and feels like conventional construction but employs the latest energy-efficient technology. With solar panels and convective air slabs to cycle heated air throughout the home, the new homeowner can rest assured his or her heating costs will be reasonable during the coldest months on the High Desert.”
“The interior design allows heated air to rise to a separate thermostat, which triggers a fan to push air down again at certain higher temperatures,” says builder Bill Hull. “Staggered studs in exterior walls allow for more effective coverage of insulation. High durability products were chosen for this home at a reasonable cost while foregoing products that had less longevity. And a major recycling effort during the construction process reduced landfill waste by 80 percent.”
If you would like to move to Bend, Oregon and purchase this house, or just see more photos of the inside, you can check out the listing here: Hasson Company Realtors.
Click here to go to the full article at RISmedia.
Code to Require Fire Sprinkler Systems October 29, 2008
Beginning in 2011, fire sprinklers will be required in all single and double family homes and townhomes under a rule approved recently by the International Code Council. Supporters of the code cite fire safety issues, and say that the sprinklers will help people have more time to escape a fire. Others worry about the cost of these systems and how that will effect the total cost of new housing and maintenence costs.
