Now Is A Great Time To Buy A New Home!

The uncertainty vexing the housing industry seems to be coming to an end in some markets – and builders couldn’t be happier. New home buyers are benefiting from an historic opportunity, thanks to inventive designs, reduced pricing and low interest rates.

As the housing market has changed, builders have adjusted their product designs accordingly. For example, the call for smaller, more energy-efficient homes represents a hard truth: It costs a lot to build – and maintain – a bigger home. From tighter lending to material costs to heating & cooling, over-sized abodes are expensive propositions. In many markets the designs of homes have been scaled back, however the space is better utilized then the enormous homes of the past. Cottage or bungalow-style homes have been the answer for some markets. These homes have floor plans that are flexible, spacious and sustainable, while the smaller footprint means lower material costs for builders. The bottom line: Homeowners get a more affordable, more manageable version of their dream homes. And builders have a more affordable, more efficient line of homes to offer. Everybody wins!

If you’re sitting on the fence, don’t wait too long. Now really is a great time to buy a new home.

For more information. visit our website! Drop us a line with feedback or questions. Don’t forget to check out our Facebook page, too!

Brian Warren - Director of Sales and Marketing

Steps For The Home Building Experience: Part Two

We're revealing Steps 3 and 4 of our home building experience! If you missed 1 and 2, look for them under our July tab.

Step 3: Building

As a respected, award-winning local builder, we work with only the finest subcontractors and suppliers. We're your partners, at your side throughout the entire process. And our dedication doesn't end the day you move in. We have extensive experience building custom homes on individual home sites throughout Ontario and the surrounding counties. Each home is built 'on paper' before it gets built in the field, ensuring a finished product that fulfills your vision. And after you've moved in to your new home, our customer service staff remains at your service to address any warranty issues that may arise.

What truly differentiates @home is our team of professionals. Those individuals, and a dedicated group of contractors and vendors, mean that we can deliver a quality product with a focus on customer service and open communication. So, if you want to build a great home ­at a great price ­– on your land or ours – in the Rochester or Syracuse area, give us a call. We'll be around to answer questions and make sure that your house is everything you dreamed it would be.

Step 4: Owning

We wrote the book on homeowner satisfaction – literally! The @home Builders Homeowner Manual is your personalized guide to everything you need to know about your home and the process of building it. Reference material, checklists and helpful tips galore! Warranties are spelled out in easy-to-understand language, with contact names, phone numbers and all policies. Warranty Service Request Forms help to make repair requests a piece of cake. @home is committed to keeping a long-term relationship with each and every home buying to ensure that you needs and wants have been met to the fullest.

For more information. visit @homebuilders.com! Drop us a line with feedback or questions. Don’t forget to check out our Facebook page, too!

Steps For The Home Building Experience: Part One

We've come up with FOUR great steps for having a positive home building experience, but we're only revealing the first two! Stay tuned for a future post where we'll dish the last two steps.

Step 1: Planning

Deciding on which floor plan suites your families needs is almost as important as choosing the location in which you want to live. @home Builders offers dozens of designs and floor plans to suite every lifestyle. No cookie-cutter homes here! Each home reflects its owner. Our designs are distinguished by their comfort, convenience and contemporary designs. From floor plans to financing, planning to purchasing, we take the time to understand your family and help you design the home that you've always wanted. Our neighborhoods fit every lifestyle.

The Estates at Beaver Creek is nestled between Victor and Canandaigua, giving you all of the conveniences from both locations, while providing a tranquil and peaceful setting. Covington Place, in the heart of the Finger Lakes region, features well-manicured neighborhoods, and offers a convenient location that is close to the historic downtown as well as many recreational opportunities.

The Preserve has the most desirable home sites in Henrietta, New York. Featuring protected woodlands and waterfront homesites, homeowners enjoy a quiet country lifestyle while living minutes from downtown Rochester.

Factors Walk, located outside of Pittsford Mendon, offers breathtaking scenery, magnificent views, and stunning homesites. Timber Banks in Baldwinsville offers Villas, Row Houses, Cottages and Single Family Homes, as well as upstate New York’s only Nicklaus Design championship 18-hole golf course.

Step 2: Designing

Personalizing your new home is the fun part! Choosing finishes, materials, colors and designs help to make your vision come to life. At our new Design Center, you'll find everything from faucets to flooring here under one roof. It's convenient and easy. Take your time mixing and matching until you come up with just the right combinations. Our Design Center offers only the best products and features, as well as many Green options to fulfill your desire to be environmentally friendly.

Our Design Center is an amazing place to fantasize, brainstorm, and plan – with 2,500 square feet of space, dedicated to displaying all of the cutting edge products that will be built into your new home. You can do one-stop shopping here, so when you’re done you’ll see how everything works together.

We will carefully select the finishes, materials and colors that allow you to truly personalize your new home. Together, we can create a home that reflects your own sense of style while it fulfills your family’s needs. You'll feel confident in your decisions before we've even started to build your new home.

For information about our neighborhoods and our Design Center, visit us on the web here!

Reasons Why Rochester Is Such A Great Place To Live

Diverse Neighborhoods

Rochester is filled with diverse neighborhoods, towns and styles of homes. This tends to draw many people to this area simply because there is something for everyone here. Among all of our different communities, we offer single, double, and multi-family homes; waterfront properties; new houses built to your specifications; close proximity to city or country dwellings and so much more.

Educational Opportunities

The educational opportunities are limitless here in Rochester! The public schools have award winning athletic programs, beautifully maintained facilities, and staff members that have proven to be the best of the best. This area is filled with highly regarded universities and colleges such as RIT and the University of Rochester.

Entertainment/Attractions

Rochester has so many attractions – from festivals, concerts, wineries, theaters, museums and science centers, to breathtaking scenery and outdoor activities. This area hosts many cultural festivals such as the annual Ukrainian, Polish, Greek and Puerto Rican festivals. Rochester also holds a number of popular arts and crafts and jazz and musical festivals throughout the area with help from the local orchestras, Broadway shows, and galleries.

There is always something to do in Rochester! Thanks to the diverse collection of restaurants and shopping centers, you will never be bored. Downtown Rochester is constantly filled with energy and excitement, making it a great place to work, live and visit.

The many waterways in the area offer endless possibilities. The Erie Canal and Finger Lakes are home to a number of beautiful beaches, year-round fishing and an array of other outdoor activities that will be sure to keep you busy during the summer months. Rochester’s rich history allows for visitors and residents to enjoy the vast array of entertainment that this beautiful place has to offer.

For more information. visit our website here! Drop us a line with feedback or questions. Don’t forget to check out our Facebook page, too!

Going Green By Conserving Water

There are many ways in which you can be a “green” new home buyer. Many of you know how you can help to save power and energy, but what about saving on your water consumption? Consider the kitchen area, bathrooms, laundry rooms, outdoor irrigation, and pool/hot tub maintenance.

When building a brand new home, you have the advantage of choosing the appliances and fixture you want in your home. Keep water conservation in mind when selecting items such as your dishwasher, toilet, and washer. Other items to consider are your faucets, hot water heaters and sprinkler systems. With all of the energy saving options out there, it isn’t hard to introduce energy saver brands in your home. These energy saving options not only help to conserve energy and help the environment, they can also help to save you and your family a lot of money. Many of these products will eventually pay for themselves over time with the savings.

Heating water accounts for around 15% of a home’s energy use. “Green” water heaters use up to 50% less energy than standard models. Regular tank water heaters keep water hot and ready to use at all times in insulated storage tanks, which means that you end up paying for the water to be continually heated at all times, even when you aren’t using any water. “Green” water heaters, such as the tankless water heater, heat water on an as-needed basis. Water is circulated through a large coil and is heated only on demand, using gas or electricity. This option means that there is an endless supply of hot water.

Energy Star washers use about 37% less energy and over 50% less water than regular washers. Many have a greater capacity as well, which means fewer loads of laundry. By switching to an Energy Star qualified washer, you could save $135 each year on your utility bills, and with this savings you could fill three average sized swimming pools!

These are just some of the examples that can show you what a difference “going green” can make!

For more information. visit @homebuilders.com! Drop us a line with feedback or questions. Don’t forget to check out our Facebook page, too!

Top 10 Tips For Moving Into Your New Home

1. Become familiar with your surroundings. Locate the most important places of interest such as local grocery stores, banks, gas station, gyms, schools and hospitals or health care facilities. Also become familiar with the location of the nearest post office and be sure to fill out a change of address form. Take a drive around town and be sure to check out all that your community has to offer. The local Chamber of Commerce or Visitor Center may be able to help you with this.

2. Have all medical (for your family and pets!), dental, legal and school records transferred and taken care of before you make your move. Ask your doctors if they may be able to refer you to a provider in your new area.

3. Transfer all of your utilities and services before you officially settle into your new home. Schedule disconnection of all utility services at your old home. Be sure that all of your bills are accounted for such as electricity, gas, water, sewage, cable, phone, and internet. Also, change the address to any previous subscriptions you may have been participating in.

4. Stop into the DMV to get a new driver’s license and new tags for your vehicle.

5. Keep all receipts and documentation from your move in a safe place. Be sure to include items from the sale of your old home (if this pertains to you), papers from the moving company or truck you used, and everything you accumulated from the purchase of your new home. Having everything in one place will really help during tax time.

6. Safety First! Change all of your locks and codes to be sure that you and the members of your household are the only people that have access to your new home. Check all smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors and make sure that you have a number of fire extinguishers and other safety products somewhere where they are easily accessible.

7. Set up a checking account in your new locations before your make your move. Not every bank is available in every location so be sure that your current bank is available where you are going and if not set up a new account at a different bank. You will need access to money during all stages of your move. Some businesses will accept checks or cards, while others are cash only. So you will need to be sure that all of your money is easily accessible.

8. Make sure that you make a box just for the essentials when packing. You may want to include items like the coffee pot, coffee, snacks, toilet paper, trash bags, cleaning supplies, hand soap or water bottles.

9. Try to label all or most of your boxes beforehand so you will have an easier experience when it comes time to unpack and organize. Double check the amount of boxes and supplies you will need. Keep all valuable or difficult to replace items with you instead of packing them away on the moving truck.

10. Go out and introduce your family to your new neighbors. Other than helping you to boost your social crowd, this will help in case of emergencies and will help you feel more secure in your new surroundings.

For more information, visit our website here! Drop us a line with feedback or questions. Don’t forget to check out our Facebook page, too!

Forbes Deems Rochester One of Best Places to Buy a Home

Forbes Magazine featured this article on May 9th, 2011, deeming our city of Rochester as one of the best places to buy a home right now. Thanks to its great school system and fairly priced homes, it's easy to see why Rochester and its suburbs are attractive areas to settle down.

The article goes on to say "Though home prices in most areas around the country remain weak, the attractiveness of purchasing a home continues to diminish in the wake of the real estate bust. Fears of price erosion, a weak economy and foreclosure dog markets coast to coast.

But not everywhere. In places like the suburbs of Rochester, N.Y., houses look like a great buy. You can get a relatively new 3,000-square-foot home on a nice quarter of an acre lot in a good school district for between $300,000 and $400,000. "The real estate here is very inexpensive, it's about the same as renting and it actually makes sense for families," says Delores Conway, a real estate economics professor at the University of Rochester. "The houses are solid investments with good school systems that are fairly priced.""

To read the article in its entirety, please click here.