North Florida Builders is now including a new type of home warranty on every home it builds: the “Worry Free Homes” warranty provides homeowners with 20-year coverage on structural defects along with a five-year extended service coverage protection on additional items.
The “Worry Free Homes” program provides homebuyers with a 20-year Structural Home Warranty included in the price of the home. It offers protection from any structural defects from the homebuyer’s closing date. Provided by Bonded Builders Home Warranty Association, each warranty can be transferred to the new owners if the home is sold.
In addition, “Worry Free Homes” provides a five-year Extended Service Protection (ESP) plan which provides extended service protection on 33 items including appliances, electrical, plumbing and heating and cooling systems for up to five years. Service is offered through a nationwide network of factory authorized, licensed and insured service providers. The ESP Plan also is offered by Bonded Builders Home Warranty Association and is backed by one of the nation’s largest insurance companies.
“A home warranty like this one is unheard of in the building industry,” North Florida CEO Howard White said. “If anything breaks down, our plan covers it. Many homeowners purchase service protection plans for their major appliances and pay hundreds of dollars each year for coverage on just a fraction of the items we cover in our ESP plan.”
North Florida Builders “Worry Free Homes” warranty also includes a five-year extended warranty on the roof.
? ? ?
The Boxwood at Baymeadows (right) is a condominium community at 4915 Baymeadows Road between Philips Highway and San Jose Blvd. — it’s the former Gloucester Apartments.
The project renovation features two, three and four-bedroom condominiums ranging in square footage from 1320 to 2350 within the 100-home development.
The amenities include a community pool, tennis court and community center with catering kitchen. Prices start in the $80’s.
Arlington Properties Inc. is the developer and Lifestyles Realtors Inc. is the exclusive sales and marketing coordinator.
? ? ?
Watson Realty has joined a golf network by becoming an affiliated broker of GolfandHome, which handles residential golf real estate services worldwide. GolfandHome has created a national forum to assist golf home buyers and sellers through marketing alliances and extensive on-line exposure. Golf homes will be featured on golf Web sites along with their network of over 250 partner sites including AOL.com, Yahoo.com, USAToday.com, and more. In addition, golf homes will receive exposure through national advertising in The New York Times online.
? ? ?
Atlanta-based Morrison Homes, a wholly owned subsidiary of international builder George Wimpey PLC, has announced its second phase of estate home sites are now available at North Hampton.
Morrison Homes has 80-foot and 65-foot homes sites and several floor plans available. The three, four and five bedroom homes range in size from 1,927 to 3,337 square feet and are priced from the low $200s.
The Sherwood II, Morrison’s North Hampton Estates model home, is also available for sale. With 2,375 square feet of living space, the four bedroom, four bath home features an upstairs bonus room, study and three-car garage. The home is situated on a wooded lot and priced at $313,990. Morrison also has three model homes currently under construction at North Hampton Estates with completion expected in the spring.
? ? ?
Access to the beach has become a hot topic of debate in Ponte Vedra Beach recently, as a growing number of area residents have begun to complain about there being too few and inadequate public beach accesses in the area.
Residents of Ocean Grande Condominiums in South Ponte Vedra Beach are fortunate to have never had to worry about this issue, enjoying unlimited private beach access through the Serenata Beach Club, located just across the street.
And soon, things will get even better.
Dayco and Devlin Properties, the developers of Ocean Grande, have commissioned work on a state-of-the-art tunnel to be constructed under A1A, providing homeowners beach access, without having to cross A1A. Work on the $1.2 million tunnel should be completed in April.
BGCO, a civil and general contracting firm based in Jacksonville, is managing the project, which will use 500 cubic yards of concrete and a pre-cast, segmental arch bridge, to create a 12 feet wide by 8 feet tall and approximately 100 foot long tunnel. The tunnel will be constructed three feet under sea level in order to protect it from the weight of the road and the traffic above.
? ? ?
Richard R. Dostie New Home Collection has redesigned its Web site, www.rrdostiehomes.com. Clients can go online and build a virtual dream home by selecting criteria to match their lifestyles and budgets. A database matches customer preferences with one of Dostie’s more than 50 available floor plans.
The site also allows individuals to tour and view details on all of the custom homebuilder’s new home communities with options for viewing all of the available floor plans and elevations featured within those locations.
Customers can also visit nine select model homes through a virtual tour that allows 360-degree, rotating images of the homes‚ interiors and some neighborhoods.
? ? ?
LandMar Group LLC and ICI Homes have begun construction on the first Club Homes at The River Club (below) in Grand Haven. In addition, the next phase has been announced. All of the Club Homes in Phase I have been sold and reservations are now being accepted for Phase II at River Club.
“We have seen a very strong response to the Club homes,” said Project Manager Jim Cullis.
River Club homes are attached dwellings designed to give the look and feel of single-family living. One and two-story plans are available ranging in sizes from 1,832 to 2,172 square feet and can be customized to meet homeowners’ specific needs. The River Club features views of the 1st, 9th, 10th and 18th fairways of Grand Haven’s golf course.
At completion, River Club will have 72 townhomes designed by Bloodgood Sharp Buster Architects and built by ICI Homes. Prices begin at $214,000 with premiums for certain lake and golf views.
? ? ?
ERA Real Estate has added the Seniors Real Estate Specialist (SRES) designation to its roster of online courses.
The course, offered through the Senior Advantage Real Estate Council, is designed to educate sales professionals about the special needs and concerns of mature Americans when buying or selling property.
The wider availability of the course recognizes the rapid ongoing growth of the seniors market and the need for skills in handling these transactions.The two-day program features seven 90-minute sessions that educate designees about issues such as related tax and estate implications in the home buying and selling process.
The course also focuses on financing options for mature clients, counseling tools and specialized marketing programs. Students also learn about the emotions that face mature clients such as allowing strangers to come into their homes, selling a property that has been in the family for many years and earning respect and trust from clients.
“It is important for real estate professionals to understand the needs of the senior market, which is expected to increase by nearly 80 percent during the next two decades,” said ERA Real Estate President Brenda W. Casserly.
In addition to the SRES designation, council members receive continuing education opportunities, ongoing updates on senior real estate issues and senior Web site/Internet referral clients. A quarterly newsletter is also part of the membership package.
? ? ?
Victoria Robbins Realty recently sold the entire Newport Harbor community within 48 hours of its marketing program launch as North Florida Builders purchased the entire 33-lot, waterfront community for an undisclosed amount.
Developed by Dallas Lee and Harry Trevett, Newport Harbor is located in north Jacksonville on the Cedar River. The community is situated on a peninsula surrounded by Cedar Bay and marshes.Of the community’s 33 lots, 22 are waterfront and 11 back up to nature preserves.
? ? ?
Residents of The Neighborhoods of World Golf Village have made one Jacksonville girl’s dreams come true.
Eleven-year-old Rachael of Mandarin and her family will visit Walt Disney World this month after residents and Davidson Realty agents raised the funds for the family’s seven-day, six-night trip.
The Neighborhoods of World Golf Village hosted a “Bon Voyage” party for Rachael at the Swim & Tennis Center at the King & Bear to present her family with tickets and Disney memorabilia.
Resident children and families attended the festivities and met Rachael and her family.
The community sponsored Rachael through Dreams Come True, a non-profit organization with the goal of making the dreams of children with life-threatening illnesses become reality.