David Gring

Most customers that are commencing the new home building process are not aware of all of the intricacies involved in selecting a homesite. After setting aside the important issue of price, forethought needs to be made for what city to build in, where to build within the city, and noteworthy building restrictions, such as minimum square feet. While site costs, grade of lot, location of lot in subdivision, and the location of the home on the lot are very important issues, I'm going to outline some of the more broad issues in determining your new homesite.

One of the first questions that I ask my customers is what geographic area, and more specifically, what city that the family wants to live in. Examination of the school system and demographics of the community, such as median age, median household size, and median household income are important to scrutinize. The local Chamber of Commerce is typically the best source to obtain accurate and up-to-date information on these items.

After the city is chosen, it is important to determine where you want to live within the city. Proximity to immediate family, distance to work, and access to highways, trains, or bus depot typically set some of the parameters for the subdivision of choice. If you are an empty nester, perhaps location to the grocery store, restaurants, and the shopping mall is important. If you represent a family with three children, proximity to school, retail, and the local YMCA might be imperative. If you are single, being close to the local healthclub, the movie theater, or your favorite pub can be significant. Where these businesses, your church, or the majority of your close friends are located can have an important influence on the subdivsion of choice.

Once the subdivision is selected, secure a copy of the restrictive covenants so that you can determine what building requirements are necessary. In addition to simply asking the subdivision developer, you can go to the County Recorder's Office and obtain a copy of the recorded covenants for a nomimal fee. The recorded covenants can be anywhere from four to forty+ pages in length. Review the minimum square feet for the type of residence that interests you - ranch, 1.5 story, Bi Level, Tri Level, Quad Level or 2 story home. Typically, the basement and areas such as porches, breezeways, and garages will not be included in the minimum square feet requirements. Make sure that the size of the home that you want to build can be built in that subdivision.

In closing, the best case scenario for securing the homesite of your dreams is to have your new home builder involved in the process, from the start. Your builder will already have an idea of your budget and the type of home that you want to build. They will also have first-hand knowledge of local subdivisions and where the majority of home building is taking place. Look for more blog posts on Selecting Your Homesite at Northwest Indiana Homesites m.

I'm sure that most American's, and certainly myself included, have been thinking about their stock portfolios and the financial well being of their family. My wife and I have made recent adjustments to where we are buying groceries all the way down to the amount of activities that we are involved in, that require time and money. I have found myself filling-up gas at the stations that I see the best price at, and even spending time on Sunday's looking through the circulars - never really did that before.

Additionally, I know from my religious upbringing and my faith, that we need to be good stewards of our money. I believe that everything that I have is a gift from God, and I need to be smart with how I save my money and how I spend my money. I also believe that God knows what each one of us need, and because of our faith in him, he will provide those needs. I'm not trying to employ a religious influence on anyone, but this is what gives me peace and hope that despite all that is going on around us, everything is going to be alright.

With that being said, for those that are considering buying a new home, there are numerous reasons to buy, now. Interest rates are still very solid, with slight daily fluctuations taking place both up and down. The speculation in everything that I have read is that mortgage rates are still going to come down over the next six months, especially with the importance on the housing industry and how that drives our economy. There is not doubt that the uncertainty with the winner of the presidential election is playing havoc with the markets. Once the winner is declared within a month, the pundits are saying that a lot of this volatility is going to go away.

Next, building costs have stayed in-check for over a year. Our company decreased the pricing on our homes early this spring almost 4% across the board, since building costs had not risen, and in an effort to spur more sales for us. That was a good decision, and we have had a very solid spring and summer this year. Customers that are signing contracts this fall can still benefit from the price stability. In looking ahead, unfortunately it doesn't appear that there is any doubt that pricing will rise to some extent in early 2009, especially with the inflationary factors.

Lastly, in the articles that I have read, home appreciation is still taking place in our market. In NW Indiana, we never saw the double-digit increases in appreciation, and we haven't seen the double-digit decreases, either. Home appreciation is typically greater and faster with new construction, versus an existing home. Our local press and especially our national press wants us to know about all of the negative factors in the marketplace. While there are some to note, most of it is not the "doom and gloom" that they want us to subscribe to. Again, I feel the current political process that is taking place is influencing a lot of what we read in the newspapers and see on television.

I want our potential customers to feel good about their decision and excited, knowing that we will build an excellent home for them, with the details and finishes that they want, in a very timely manner - five to six months.