Passion First

We are stepping out of our normal locations of Windermere & Winter Garden to highlight a newer builder to the Central Florida Market, Pathfinder Development.

While at a Realtor Open House at their Venezia community located in Howey in the Hills, we had the pleasure of being introduced to their founder as well as their business.  They are both impressive.  John Rhodes is a highly decorated military veteran and founder of Pathfinder.  He brings his military integrity, leadership, keen eye for detail and perfectionism into his passion for home building.   The company’s name, Pathfinder, is derived from his time in the military.

Pathfinder pursues its passion first – building homes with integrity – so people can comfortably live the American Dream.  They pay attention to every detail, looking down the road, years ahead, to ensure the decisions made are the best for future generations as well.  Their hard work and steadfast commitment produces safe, energy efficient, affordable communities.  You can find their homes in Winter Park, Reunion, Longwood, and Howey in the Hills.

Neighborhood of the Week

Each week we are going to bring you a new community that impressed us in the Central Florida area. These neighborhoods are the cream of the crop, usually with great incentives for the buyers; we know all this because every week we are out in the field doing the research on these communities, building relationships with the Sales Associates, taking our own pictures and showing you what they have to offer along with our commentary!

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions .. but don’t get distracted

Shopping for a new home can be overwhelming!  There are many things to consider.  If you focus on the key features, you will be able to choose the right home that’s the right size.

• Sight Lines  – Are you wanting an open floor plan where you can see the family/living room from the kitchen?   Open floor plans feel larger than they really are.

• Room Placement – Do you prefer the Master Bedroom located a comfortable distance away from the noisier parts of the home?  Are you looking for a true sanctuary to retreat to?  Or is the goal togetherness, such as kitchens that don’t isolate the person preparing the meal.  The relative placement of rooms plays a major role in how a home lives.

• Traffic Patterns – The success of a floor plan isn’t judged by how it looks when you’re standing still or seated.  It’s how you move through it! The key is to avoid traffic patterns that interfere with the intended use of the room.  How easily can you move through the home you’re looking at?  How many points of entry to the kitchen are there?

• Windows and Light – Used in the right number and proportion, windows breath life into a home.  Aside form the practical benefits of fresh air and natural light, properly placed windows create a relationship with the exterior environment that enhances the indoor experience as well.  Windows can be as much a part of the interior design as wallpaper and tile floors.  They also play a significant role in a room’s perceived size.

• Choice – Does the builder give you the choice to make changes?  Some builders will make modifications to their floor plans.  One builder allows for the removal of a wall to make a much larger Master Retreat.  However, another does not allow for any changes.  This is very important to know and understand when starting the design process.

• Distractions – When you enter a Model Home, it’s designed to show you the best use of the home using the most updated styles.  However, you could walk into a Model Home and hate the color scheme the designer chose.  Don’t get distracted.  You may hate the shade of blue on the wall, but if the overall flow of the house works for you, then you may have just found your next home.

A New Home in 60 Days?

As you drive down the road, you see them.  We all see them.  Feather flags waving in the breeze, beckoning us to come in and view the new model homes.  This week we decided to get the details on Express Homes.

Express Homes has intrigued us for a while.  Their homes seemed to go up rather quickly.  And frankly, that just scared us.  As real estate agents and as consumers, that raised a red flag of warning.  Our first instinct is to think that quality would be compromised.  So, we decided to take a deeper look.

Express Homes is the beginning tier of homes of the four tiers offered by DR Horton.  In this tier, the company has decided to keep it simple.  By doing so, they can build your new home in 60 days!  How?  It’s actually very simple.  They offer a limited number of floor plans (in this community it was seven) and you only have three choices to make.

• You choose the floor plan that best suits your family.
• You choose between the different elevations offered
• You choose the cabinet colors.
• That’s it.  End of story.

The cabinet color choices are Light, Medium, and Dark.  It’s that simple.  The designers have done the work for you.  They have already selected the coordinating formica counter tops, carpet and tile colors.  So, you in essence choose a package.  And the pricing includes all of the appliances including refrigerator.   Granite isn’t an option.  Cabinet pulls aren’t an option.  Upgraded cabinetry isn’t an option.  Tile throughout isn’t an option.   There are no options.  If upgrades are an important of your purchase, they will happily transition you to the next tier of DR Horton in a nearby neighborhood.

Throughout our Model Home tour, we were pleased to see that the standard fixtures were quality recognized name brands.  DR Horton, as one of the largest builders in the US, has purchasing power.  They are able to purchase in enormous quantity getting bulk pricing.  So, they pass the savings on to the consumer.   Additionally, DR Horton has the capital to keep up with not only the demand of the consumer, but the supply needed for the immediate purchase.  They build two times the number of the average number sold.  So, if the average is 3 per month, they build 9 to ensure there is inventory for those who need to purchase a spec home.

Am we completely sold on them, not yet.  But, we are more than willing to give them a chance.  This division of the company is fairly new and their longevity in the market has yet to be seen.  We appreciate that they saw a need for the consumer and have been able to open doors for those who were having a hard time.

Millions of bargain-basement priced homes flooded the market after the housing crash, but the vast majority were swallowed up by all-cash investors, who rehabbed the homes as rentals.  That left regular buyers out in the cold.  Investor competition for distressed homes pushed prices up quickly in the hardest hit markets, adding yet another barrier to entry for lower-income or first-time buyers, who largely depend on credit.  This is what prompted the creation of Express Homes.

“We wouldn’t be getting into the Express brand if we didn’t feel like that that was the next segment of the business to recover,” D.R. Horton, CEO Donald Tomnitz said during the company’s April quarterly conference call.  As home prices have risen the past two years, first-time buyers have been priced out of the market, Tomnitz said. With Express Homes, the company hopes to convert young adults who are living with their parents and renters into home owners.

Email us today with any questions or if you would like further information: info@NewConstructionConcierge.com

It’s a Partnership

New Construction Concierge was formed to give Five Star/White Glove Service to those purchasing new construction in the Orlando and Central Florida Corridor.  We work with you in partnership from the beginning stages of touring model homes and choosing the floor plan that best suits your family through to moving day.

The services you can expect to receive include the following:

• Help identify the communities or developments that meet your needs for schools, commuting, affordability, distance from friends/family, investments or other requirements
• Schedule home viewing tours at your convenience
• Negotiate to get you the best price and incentives
• Assist with Design Center choices (if needed)
• Monitor your home’s construction with weekly updates
• Provide a free home inspection – Even new homes need inspections!
• Sell your current home for a reduced listing commission
• Assist to ensure Moving Day is as smooth and pain free as possible

If you’re looking for new home construction in the area, you have a lot of inventory to choose from. There are developments going up in almost every direction. Some of the building is so new that you can’t find it online yet. But we can.  With direct access to the builders, we can assist with getting you in on early bird pricing.

And, best of all, there’s absolutely no cost to you for these services!
Email us with any questions Info@NewConstructionConcierge.com