Archive for June, 2010
On The Level: A House Becomes a Home
Posted by: | CommentsHouses are funny, as far as purchases go. Not like cars or boats and things that are generally mass produced and shipped wherever. Houses are built in a specific place, often for specific people. And it’s in that, that they are completely different from all those other things. Houses become homes.
Houses are as different as people. No matter how many times a particular model is built, one is never like any other. And I don’t just mean that no lot is ever quite is the same. Of course selections differ and the trees and how the sun hits a house will always vary. But in the sense that once you move in a house, it becomes your home. Unique to you and unlike any other.
That occurred to me as I waded through the learning curve of building a house for the first time. I, of course, was focused on the logistics of scheduling. How A comes before B, and so fourth. But once the house was complete and someone moved in, I thought about how that house is going to be the backdrop for moments in these people’s lives for years to come. Rooms won’t just be dimensions contributing to the total square footage anymore. They will become offices and baby rooms. From the moment the first piece of furniture goes through the front door, it ceases being a lot number on a neighborhood plat, and becomes where memories are made on graduation nights and anniversaries.
So I realized no matter how many times I run the same schedule on the same floor plan, to the people who move in, it is a house like no other. It’s their home, regardless of who else may eventually live there; they can always drive by and remember super bowl parties and family dinners. It became a more significant way to spend my day, not building a house for someone to buy, but a home for someone to live in.
Did You Know: Property Taxes
Posted by: | CommentsPROPERTY TAXES
Between 2006 and 2009, property values dropped 21% nationally. According to the National League of Cities, 25% of American cities raised their property tax rates in 2009. Like it or not, local governments depend on property taxes to pay for schools, police, libraries and other services. So it does not follow that just because property values drop that property tax bills will follow. You may wish to consider contesting your latest property tax bill. If so, call your local tax assessor’s office and ask about the process. Then here’s what you do. Check your assessment for correct land size, house size, and other imporvements. Collect information on at least 3 recent sales in your neighborhood that show your value is lower. They need to be properties similar to yours. Take Photos if your home needs repairs that would lessen its value. File On Time. In some areas, missing an appeals deadline could mean a year wait for a second chance.
Style Post: Selecting the Right Community
Posted by: | CommentsWhen it comes to selecting the right floor plan for their new home, homebuyers often spend a great deal of time walking through decorated model homes, finished homes, and homes under construction to find the perfect plan. Many prospective buyers browse the internet looking at elevations and floor plans online. While this process is important, the selection of the right floor plan should come after the right community is chosen. Here are four questions that should help narrow the search:
- What part of town do we want/need to live in? Most often, the part of town is dictated by such considerations as school district, proximity to work or friends or family, or some other high level need that makes one area more desirable than another. Before choosing a plan, eliminate at least 75% of the locations because they do not meet some or all of the requirements listed above.
- What type of neighborhood do we desire? Some buyers want subdivisions with full amenity packages such as pool, golf, or tennis. Other buyers specifically do not want a neighborhood with a Home Owner Association that dictates rules that each house must conform to. Wanting a neighborhood with children the same ages as your own for playmates is often a major consideration for young families. Age-restricted neighborhoods are often the perfect pick for the empty nester buyer and may be the driving force in the selection process.
- What price range of house do we want to target? Once geographic location and type of neighborhood has narrowed the search, the price range of the homes for sale should be used to further define the 2 or 3 neighborhoods that fit within the search criteria. As we all know, the value of the location and the size of the homes being built has a direct impact on the price range of every community. We may want a golf course neighborhood, but don’t want to pay the price these homes end up costing. Price range is usually a consideration and can be used to limit the search.
- What size of lot do we want? Finally, we can narrow the search even more by deciding upon the desired lot size. Some communities on well-located (and expense) land, often contain small lots that keep the price range of the homes within limits. Communities with larger lots may be located further out from the central business district where land is less expensive. In some cases the limitations of the lot size may eliminate certain types of houses such as single story plans simply because the house will not fit on the smaller lot. If lot size is important, it can help eliminate some of the neighborhoods under consideration.
All of the above considerations precede the actual selection of a floor plan. By answering the four questions, you can eliminate a lot of the community choices and make the selection process much less confusing and more time efficient.
Couch Cushion Architecture
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From an early age, humans are driven to find that little place of their own. A place of escape; of comfort and security. And they will create that place with whatever resources are available. A cardboard fort, a treehouse of scrap lumber, a pillow bunker. But, while their creativity is infinite and knows no bounds, how do the creations of these young builders and designers stack up in form and function? Over at the BuildLLC Blog, the editors take these structures to task in A Critical Analysis of Couch Cushion Architecture.
We’d love to see what the local young homebuilder community is working on. Email pictures of your children’s compositions to dcoughlin@lifestylebuilders.com, and we’ll post and critique a sampling of them. And who knows? Maybe one of them will be the inspiration for one of our future designs!
Coming Soon – New Neighborhoods!
Posted by: | CommentsLOCATION! LOCATION! LOCATION! LifeStyle Builders and Developers, Richmond’s New Home Design Leader will be expanding it’s presence in Chesterfield County, offering homes in both Elm Crest and Mount Blanco. Elm Crest is an exciting new neighborhood perfectly situated in the heart of Midlothian off of Courthouse Road. We will be offering homes from four of our plan collections with prices starting in the $290s! Mount Blanco is the newest, waterfront section in Meadowville Landing just off Route 10 in Chesterfield County and provides an easy commute to Fort Lee or Richmond. Our Colonnade Collection will be offered and prices will start in the $290s. In New Kent County, Lifestyle Builders will be offering homes in Patriots Landing, a community with stunning home sites and incredible amenities, where LifeStyle Builders will be participating in the 2010 Homearama! What is Homearama? Check back in with us for details in the upcoming months!
