The Sonoma II model available in The Estuary of Mobbly Bay by Hannah Bartoletta Homes.
Take Note: New Home Community and Builder News
Anyone who purchases a home from K. Hovnanian Homes will automatically receive a transfer switch, an upgrade valued at more than $1,400. A transfer switch is used in place of an extension cord to connect a generator to selected outlets in a house. “Connecting a generator to any house can be a bit complicated,” says George Schulmeyer, division president. “Because we’re providing our customers with a switch already installed, all they’ll need to do is plug in their generators and their homes will be powered up and ready to go.”
Only three more homesites are available at Egret Glade in Wilderness Lake Preserve, a 680-acre, master-planned community in Land O’ Lakes. The Standard Pacific Homes’ project features Craftsman-style homes on conservation lots. Several homes now under construction are nearly complete and financing incentives are available.
Discounts of up to $50,592 may lure homebuyers to the gated, lakeside community of TerraLargo in north Lakeland. Avatar Properties is cutting prices on 18 Mediterranean-style homes that range in size from 1,874 to 3,402 square feet. Prices with the discounts range from $239,264 to $439,328. Plus, Avatar will pay up to 6 percent of the purchase price in closing costs, pre-paids and discount points.?
NEW MODELS
Construction is also under way on Samuelson Homes’ Britta model in Trinity, a community in southwest Tampa" target="_blank">Pasco County. The 2,768-square-foot home, being built on a conservation lot, has five bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms. The base price will be $349,000. The model has not yet been priced.
Hannah Bartoletta Homes has unveiled its $1.5 million Sonoma II with Loft in The Estuary of Mobbly Bay, a gated community off Dunkirk Road at the top of Old Tampa Bay in northeastern Tampa" target="_blank">Pinellas County. The 4,353-square-foot, Mediterranean-style home has four bedrooms and five bathrooms. Features include a European-style motor court, a three-car garage, an octagonal living room, a cast-stone fireplace and an outdoor entertainment area with a pool. The base price is $886,000.
Arthur Rutenberg Homes has opened a $1.2 million model home in Grand Cypress on Lake Tarpon. The home boasts an infinity-edge pool built to look as if it’s spilling into a pond behind the house. Instead of a screen enclosure, the pool and lanai are protected by a “BugFree Backyards” system. Also outside is a gas-heated spa and a fire pit. An upstairs bonus room with a 92-inch theater screen, twin flat-screen televsions, a game table and a balcony overlooks the outdoor living area. The leisure room, breakfast room and master suite also feature pool views.
EDUCATION
Earlier this year, Southern Crafted Homes launched a blog to educate consumers about topics related to the housing market. “While Southern Crafted Homes is a private homebuilder, this blog serves as a public forum for us to share knowledge and expertise in homebuilding with the public and to answer questions,” says Jim Deitch, executive vice president. Check it out at www.southerncraftedhomes.wordpress.com.
AWARDS
Crosland LLC has garnered two awards for sustainability practices at Longleaf in Tampa" target="_blank">Pasco County. At the 2008 Southeast Building Conference, Longleaf received a Grand Aurora Award for green construction in the residential development/mixed use development category. Longleaf also was one of three communities to receive an award from the Florida Yards & Neighborhoods program, which is a University of Florida Extension program that encourages homeowners and professionals to create and maintain Florida-friendly landscapes.
Homebuyer tip #33
Take a digital camera when you’re looking at homes. Photograph the exterior, the major rooms, the yard and anything else of interest. You may look at dozens of homes and remembering all the details about each will be difficult if not impossible unless you keep a record.