Lifestyle Builders Blog

This Sunday, May 8, we will be hosting a Grand Opening at our new decorated model home in Harper’s Mill. Come out and see this fabulous new floor plan – the “Bronte.” The craftsman exterior includes open rafter framing at the front porch, stone veneer, and a variety of siding materials.  The kitchen features granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, and huge island, and is open to the Family Room. There is a first floor guest bedroom with a full bathroom. Take in the huge master suite and master bathroom, that includes 2 large walk-in-closets.

At the Grand Opening on Sunday, you can preview all of the unique decorating ideas and trends; register for a chance to win a gift card from Bonefish Grill, Salon Del Sol, and Total Wine. While you are there, enjoy an ice cream on us!

LifeStyle Builders & Developers has been building new homes in the Richmond, VA area for over 20 years. Stop by one of our many communities, or our award-winning Design Studio to see what we have to offer.  We are currently building new homes for sale in Chesterfield County, Henrico County, Hanover County, New Kent County, Powhatan County and the City of Hopewell, plus we can build on Your Land.

Over the last couple of years, the technology wave has been building in all of our lives. We have seen things become available at our fingertips – on our smartphones – that we never dreamed were even possible. We quickly become accustomed to those conveniences, and forget what life was like “before”.

The integration of these technologies continues to grow, and has even moved into our automobiles. Who hasn’t seen the recent car commercials demonstrating the newest wave of integrated technologies that have moved into our vehicles:

Are we ready for these same tools in our homes? For years, “experts” have been predicting the rise of the “connected” home, with formerly disconnected systems working in integrated fashion, all controlled from one easy to use interface. For years, however, the cost of the technology was out of reach, because of the hardwiring and infrastructure required to implement it.

With the introduction of wireless technologies and devices, the infrastructure requirements and costs of the “connected” home have been dropping. With more and more people having smart phones, table computers and wireless routers, the cost of home automation is starting to come within reach of the everyday consumer. Check out this video and get an idea of how it can work, and how it can improve your lifestyle:

Is the time right? Have the costs finally reached a point where the average consumer will make the investment? We’d love to know what you think of these ideas. Is this something you would be interested in having in your next new home? What kind of costs would you expect to be involved with this type of technology?

LifeStyle Builders & Developers has been building new homes in the Richmond, VA area for over 20 years. Stop by one of our many communities, or our award-winning Design Studio to see what we have to offer.  We are currently building new homes for sale in Chesterfield County, Henrico County, Hanover County, New Kent County, Powhatan County and the City of Hopewell, plus we can build on Your Land.

News Flash: The real estate market has begun to show signs of improvement. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal outlines some of the reasons why.

The Richmond market is one of the healthiest in the nation, according to Builder Magazine’s annual rankings of major metropolitan areas.

Here at LifeStyle Builders & Developers, we are seeing a lot of renewed activity in new home sales. We just finished the first quarter of 2011, and we have recorded more sales in that period than we have seen since the first quarter of 2007.

So, what are people buying? Most of the activity is in the “pre-sale” arena. People are deciding to move forward and build their “dream home”. They sense that now is the right time to contract for the house that can be built the way they want it. By taking advantage of great pricing and interest rates, along with our wide array of floor plans and the convenience of our Design Studio, our buyers are putting together a “once in a lifetime” opportunity to build their next home.

LifeStyle Builders & Developers has been building new homes in the Richmond, VA area for over 20 years. Stop by one of our many communities, or our award-winning Design Studio to see what we have to offer.  We are currently building new homes for sale in Chesterfield County, Henrico County, Hanover County, New Kent County, Powhatan County and the City of Hopewell, plus we can build on Your Land.

Congratulations to the VCU Rams!

Sunday, the VCU Rams basketball team solidified their legacy as the “Cinderella” team of this year’s NCAA tournament. Scorned by the critics at the beginning of the tournament as not being worthy of selection, the Rams have won again and again. They have won convincingly. It has been an impressive run, all the way into the Final Four. The story has captivated us. It is the age old story of “David & Goliath”, where the small town, little known, undersized opponent outperforms, out-hustles and ultimately wins the game.

Why does this story captivate us so? Because we all want to see the “little guy” win. We want to believe that bigger isn’t always better. That anyone who puts their heart and mind to a task can achieve greatness. This year’s VCU Rams have done just that.

For the home buyer, we have entered the “March Madness” of the spring selling season. Here at LifeStyle Builders & Developers, we are experiencing a more brisk sales pace than we’ve had in several years. We are your “hometown” builder. We are not some big, multi-state or national corporation, with a corporate headquarters hundreds or thousands of miles away. We are the “little guy.” And we are having an impressive run of sales during the first quarter of 2011. Why? Because we are working to outperform and out-hustle our larger competitors. So, come see how partnering with us can help you to achieve your dream home!

LifeStyle Builders & Developers has been building new homes in the Richmond, VA area for over 20 years. Stop by one of our many communities, or our award-winning Design Studio to see what we have to offer.  We are currently building new homes for sale in Chesterfield County, Henrico County, Hanover County, New Kent County, Powhatan County and the City of Hopewell, plus we can build on Your Land.

One of the biggest challenges for a homebuilder is keeping up with all the building code updates and changes. There are national regulations, state codes, municipality rules – and each is often open to interpretation and/or debate. And sometimes they seem nonsensical or irksome. They interfere with the design of your house. They prevent you from getting a good signal on your mobile phone. And the more there are, the more costly your home will be.

Why?

The ancient Babylonians kept it simple – only six laws pertaining to building from the Code of Hammurabi:

• 228. If a builder has built a house for a man, and finished it, he shall pay him a fee of two shekels of silver, for each sar built on.
• 229. If a builder has built a house for a man, and has not made his work sound, and the house he built has fallen, and caused the death of its owner, that builder shall be put to death.
• 230. If it is the owner’s son that is killed, the builder’s son shall be put to death.
• 231. If it is the slave of the owner that is killed, the builder shall give slave for slave to the owner of the house.
• 232. If he has caused the loss of goods, he shall render back whatever he has destroyed. Moreover, because he did not make sound the house he built, and it fell, at his own cost he shall rebuild the house that fell.
• 233. If a builder has built a house for a man, and has not keyed his work, and the wall has fallen, that builder shall make that wall firm at his own expense.

The codes have evolved a little bit since then. Now they cover 700+ pages of sections and subsections and charts and graphs and numbers and calculations and conditions and exceptions. And it all seems too excessive and too confusing. But you know what? Those codes save lives. We can’t build for every condition, situation, or disaster; but we’re getting better at anticipating their potential and defending against them. A lot of lives were regrettably lost in the recent catastrophe in Japan. But a lot of people survived who might not have otherwise because of the strict building codes.

"Japan’s Strict Building Codes Saved Lives" from The New York Times

(click photo to read article)