Matador Ranch is having a community party Saturday October 23, 2010 at the Neighborhood Park on Joyner Ranch Road. The fun begins at 3pm and includes food face painting, bounce houses and lots of prize giveaways.
Neighborhood Party at Matador Ranch!
Could there be a better time to buy?
In my 37 years of selling and building new homes, the answer to the question is absolutely now is the best time to buy.
Why? Let’s look at the reasons:
1. Lowest interest rates in history. Never have interest rates for homes ever been this low. They may never be this low again in our life time.
2. Lot prices are the lowest in 5 years. After an 18 year increase in lot and home prices, now the prices for lots have come down below the cost to produce the lot. When the market returns to normal, the price of lots will be twice the current cost. Also, there are no new developments for lots due to lender not loaning money for development. When the lots we have now are gone, it will increase the price of home dramatically if there are any lots to purchase.
3. Profit margins on new homes are the lowest in 20 years. Due to lower demand for housing since the tax credit expired, builders are offering homes at the lowest profit margins in 20 years. It is a buyers market so take advantage of it.
4. Energy features in new homes are the highest ever. This makes the total payments to own your new home the lowest ever. Adding green energy features to our homes have made it easy to guarantee heating and cooling cost.
I have never seen the new home market this great for the buyer. My advice would be to take advantage of this time and purchase a new home.
-Ron Formby
Halloween Events Near Antares Homes Neighborhoods!
Crowley: Haunted Hayride October 23, 2010 7pm to 11pm. 900 E Glendale, Crowley TX 76036
Fall Festival at Fort Worth First Church of the Nazarene October 30, 2010 6:30pm to 9pm
Burleson: Burleson Senior Center Halloween Dance October 29, 2010 7pm to 9pm.
Boo Bash October 30, 2010 6pm to 8pm.
Mansfield: Halloween Party October 29, 2010 6pm to 8pm at the Mansfield Activities Center.
Fort Worth: Fort Worth Zombie Crawl October 23, 2010 8pm until the Zombies are exterminated. Prizes awarded at 11pm.
Dia De Los Muertos at Rose Marine October 30, 2010 7pm
Witch’s Night Out Benefiting the North Texas Food Bank October 23, 2010 3pm to 10pm.
Boo at the Zoo October 22-24, 29-31 Noon to 5pm.
Hangman’s House of Horrors Open the next two weeks on Friday, Saturday and Sunday 7pm to midnight Friday and Saturday and 7pm to t10pm on Sundays.
Rocky Horror Picture Show at Ridgmar Movie Tavern 11:55 pm October 23 and October 30, 2010.
Fall Festival at the Japanese Garden October 23-24. Saturday 9am to 5pm and Sunday 1pm to 5pm.
Form Boards and Plumbing Rough
When you drive by a home site in a neighborhood that has on-going construction you may notice that some of them just have a rough outline of a slab made out of what looks like 2×4’s. That may stay there for several weeks before anything else happens. Placing the form boards on the home site often happens before the builder has been issued building permits and that is why it stays there for so long. The home site is surveyed and the lot dimensions are checked for accuracy. The home site is “benched” meaning the vegetation is cleaned off the pad site where the forms will be placed. The form boards are set according to the footprint of the home with 2×12’s. The form is then surveyed to make sure they are on the property and out of any easements and within the building lines. The next step is to obtain a permit. A City Permit is an approval from the city to go ahead with construction. By obtaining a permit the city has agreed to inspect the home at different stages of the building process. No builder or remodeler can legally commence work with out a permit. The next step is a drop of plumbing sand on the building site. The sand is for bedding the pipes to give them cushion and fall. The plumber begins digging where all of the plumbing lines will be placed inside and outside of the forms. The plumbing lines installed in one day. We install Zurn PEX water supply lines. They are better than copper lines because they require fewer fittings and are more resistant to mineral lime and scale buildup. PEX is more energy efficient because it does not dissipate heat as readily and it is better able to withstand freeze and thaw cycles because it can expand with a freeze and work just as well after it has thawed. Once the lines are run, they are filled with water and we leave them filled to check for leaks. The City Inspector will come to the site and conduct a Plumbing Rough inspection of all of the plumbing lines that will be concealed in the slab. The Inspector will also look at the fittings to make sure they are installed correctly and make sure that they align correctly with the fall of the lines that will carry waste to the City Sewer lines. And that my friend is the process from dirt to the plumbing rough. Thanks Certified Graduate Builder Brooks Rowe for the consult on this Blog post!
Caring for Your Countertops
Our Standard counter tops are Wilsonart Laminate. These are wonderful because they are so durable and they come in so many beautiful colors. We have over 20 colors in our Standard Options to choose from in our Selection Studio and our buyers really love the choices that we have. But, how do you care for them? Well, it’s really easy! I visited the Wilsonart website to find out more. Make sure to use a cutting board when chopping up foodstuffs since the surface can be marred by sharp objects. Always use a mild cleanser like Windex. Be careful to never clean with abrasive cleaning products and limit the use of bleach on the laminate counter tops.
We often have homeowners who choose the granite countertops as well. I found a great website that sells granite care products! We recommend that you use Bar Keeper’s Friend to clean the granite. It is very important to seal it once a year since granite is a naturally porous stone. Never stand on your granite since it is possible to crack it that way.
If you have a favorite cleaning product for your countertops please let us know!
Living Below Your Means
Before the recession hit the nation, home buying trends were toward buying the biggest and most expensive home you can buy with the goal of short term appreciation leading to a huge windfall on the re-sale of your home. Well, we all know what happened to that trend. Nevertheless Antares Homes was pretty quick to begin downsizing our plans to meet the market where it currently is. People are still buying larger homes, but instead of just a few people living in them, multigenerational families are living together. Another trend we are seeing is our customers buying a lot less home than they are qualified for. I hear my customers tell me over and over again that they want to live life and not be strapped and chained by their home. Now, I’ll tell you, lending is tight. No bank is going to lend more money than they think they will be able to re-coup and so when someone is qualified for our largest floor plan in a neighborhood and they want to buy one of the smaller ones, I have to ask: Why? I mean, there is a difference between living in the smallest floor plan and living in the largest floor plan. When you can buy a $160,000 home and you are telling me you want a $115,000 home, I do worry that I’ll have an unhappy homeowner on my hands at some point. Surprisingly, that has not been the case. What our homeowners are looking for is a little freedom and a lot of peace of mind. They seem to be content to live in a little smaller home, enjoy the benefits of our energy efficiency and bank on a steady appreciation rate. They are spending their money on vacations, hobbies and improving their properties. They are prepared in case a spouse loses a job or a child gets sick or a family member needs their help. These are all very current concerns for everyone today and the person who decides to have a smaller mortgage has choices in life that others don’t. I’ll be interviewing a lovely couple named April and Terrence and we’ll get a closer look at living below your means.
Winterizing Your Home
It’s that time of year again! The heat has been turned down outside and your dog’s coat starts to thicken up and all of a sudden you can sleep with your windows open. Most people start to think about winterizing their homes as the weather stops being brutal for a minute. Since this is Central Texas and not the Midwest or any other clime which has snow for ages, winterizing here is a little less intensive. The main areas to worry about are the places that cold air and rain can cause problems.
- You want to check around your doors and replace any weather stripping that is worn or has come loose.
- Check around your windows and caulk in spots where your caulking is damaged. In a newer home, you may not need to do this for several years, but it is a good idea to check this every season.
- If you have a fireplace and it hasn’t been used since January, it is a good idea to call a chimney sweep in to inspect your chimney and remove any bird nests or other pests such as bees or wasps that may have decided your chimney is a great place to live.
- Be careful not to stack firewood against your home. This can cause a couple of problems, one of which is giving termites access to your home and the other is excessive moisture against the slab and siding. Also, rake and clear away any debris that has accumulated against the slab and siding over the summer months.
- Another thing to plan for is having an HVAC professional come to your home to inspect your unit and clean the ducts if necessary. If you burn candles often or have pets living in the home you should change the filters every month even if you buy the three month filters.
- Buy some rock salt and keep it in the garage for those surprise ice days.
- Cut away tree branches that have grown up against your home.
- Make sure your rain gutters are clear and downspouts have splash blocks positioned so that water is siphoned away from your slab.
- Disconnect water hoses and, even though we have the frost proof hose bibs, I suggest installing an inexpensive insulated cover once the weather is threatening to freeze.
As you are inspecting the exterior of your home for things to seal up, make sure to NEVER seal up the weep holes in your brick. Those spaces at the bottom of your brick area on top of the slab are there on purpose for drainage and you can void your brick warranty and other warranties on your new home if you seal them. Any moisture that gets behind the brick needs a way out and that is provided by those weep holes. Happy Winterizing and enjoy the cooler weather!
Can I change the Floor Plan?
Yes, but there are limits based on the price of the home. In the first time or first time move up homes, the limits are more restrictive to keep the price low and the construction time and delivery date fixed. In custom and higher priced homes, there are sometime no limits because the price includes the right to make large changes and there are very few limits as to the time or delivery schedule. Make sure to ask the sales person as to what is allowed or not allowed.
-Ron Formby
This is a very frequent topic of conversation in our sales offices. One of the items we will never change is the elevation–the look of the front of the home–which includes not only brick placement and front porches but also the roof lines. Something that would seem very simple like adding or removing a window can have a huge ripple effect in the materials needed for the roof line, the framing and the load of the home. One other thing in a home we will not change is the plumbing. When looking at a floor plan in one of our brochures, you might see a perfect place to bump a bathroom back into an adjoining bedroom or closet and move the sinks or showers around. Our value pricing is based on building the same home the same way every time. Plumbing is a major expense in a home and it runs throughout the slab. To change the plumbing in a home, we have to re-engineer the layout of the plumbing in the slab and this is expensive. We will, however, exchange a tub for a shower if you choose, since that plumbing is already there. We do have a few framing changes as options on a few of our plans. These typically involve changing a bedroom or formal dining room into an office with double doors. Sometimes our buyers want something a little different that is not requested as often. These framing changes that we do allow inside the home are called non-standard options. These items will be discussed with your salesperson and your change requests will be submitted with a signed contract.
Halloween Costume Contest
Announcing the Antares Homes Halloween Costume Contest! To participate in our Halloween Costume Contest, you must post a photo of people in Halloween costumes in front of your Antares Home on our Facebook page. www.Facebook.com/AntaresHomes The deadline is October 30th, 2010 at noon. We are giving away three goody baskets for the winners who will be announced on our Facebook page on the 30th of October. No home yet? No Problem! If your home is currently under construction or pre-construction, just pose in front of your unfinished home or with your Antares Homes SOLD sign! You must either be under contract or closed on your Antares Home to participate. If you do not have a Facebook page, you can e-mail your photos to me at [email protected] and I will post them for you!
Recipes for Bryan and Nikole
Appetizer:
French bread, pre-sliced
Brie
Honey
Walnuts
Non-stick cooking spray
Coat a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray and place French bread slices on the cookie sheet. Lightly coat bread slices with non-stick spray and put into an oven pre-heated to 350. At the same time place Brie in a shallow baking dish and put into the oven at the same time as the bread. Remove bread when it starts to brown. Remove Brie as it gets melty and starts to pour out of the rind. Scoop some Brie onto the toasted bread, top with a few walnuts and drizzle honey over the top and eat. MMMMmmmmmm.
Salad:
Hearts of Romaine
Matchstick Carrots
Roma Tomatoes
Cucumber
White Onion
Mushrooms
Crumbled Goat Cheese
Avocado
Chop, slice and dice into a pleasing arrangement and serve with your favorite dressing.
Pasta Sauce:
3 Italian Sausages
1 Can tomato paste
1 *oz can garlic tomato sauce
1 *oz can Roasted Tomato and Garlic tomato sauce
1/2 tablespoon sucralose
Italian Seasoning to taste
Onion powder to taste
Couple of tablespoons of white wine
A little water or chicken broth to adjust thickness to taste
Brown sausages and then slice. Add sausages to the remaining ingredients and let bubble for an hour or so. Serve over pasta. We had whole wheat Rotini.
Dessert: Thaw and Eat Key Lime Pie. Bryan says he will eat a whole one while he participates in an online gaming binge on his X-Box. I would love to be able to stomach a whole Key Lime Pie, but I just can’t. I had trouble serving myself in the first place and dropped it on the table both times. Yes, I ate two slices. Can you blame me? It was Marie Callender’s.