When homebuyers start their home hunt, they often spend hours pouring over pictures of homes and studying their floor plans. Today, they mostly do this online in the privacy of their current homes. But once their search gets real where they set out in the car to see the homes they have selected, it quickly becomes apparent to them that location is much more important than the home itself. Why? Because location determines their overall quality of life.

Location determines how much time they will spend commuting to their jobs. It determines how much time they spend running to the grocery store or going out to dinner. It determines the quality of the school their children will attend. It determines how safe they feel in their new neighborhood. It determines the possible resale value their home would retain. So after all of these realities settle upon them, they go back to their online searching and look for communities that meet all of these requirements. Only then do they start looking at the available homes in their newly chosen neighborhood.

So, these novice new homebuyers have learned why experienced homebuyers say: it’s LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!

At Lamar Smith Signature Homes, we choose where we will build our new homes after a careful study of where our homebuyers will want to live. As one of Savannah’s most experienced residential developers over the past 20 years, Lamar Smith has a long track record of developing successful new home communities. His latest new home community in the Savannah area is Teal Lake, and his decision to build in Teal Lake was based on LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION.

Teal Lake is situated on Savannah’s southside where it is commuter-friendly to most Savannahians and our military families. Just south of the Abercorn Extension/Hwy 204 off Highway 17 just past the popular WalMart shopping and dining area, Teal Lake offers a scenic, secluded setting yet easy access to I-95, Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Air Base, and both of Savannah’s major malls. Richmond Hill is 10 minutes south on Hwy 17. You’ll love the pool complex and lake within the community and King’s Ferry Landing on the Ogeechee River just 5 minutes from your door.  When time with your family is precious, you’ll discover that living in Teal Lake is the perfect answer to that all-important quality of LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION.

One of the beautiful perks of living around Savannah are the coastal activities – and one you never want to miss is when the Tall Ships come to visit!

This weekend the Tall Ships sailed up the Savannah River and whether you view them from River Street in Historic Downtown Savannah or from the high-rising Talmadge Bridge crossing over into South Carolina, it’s a sight to behold. So if you’re thinking of moving to Savannah, this is one more thing to add to your “pro” list!

Lamar Smith, our CEO & Builder, was meeting with Leadership Georgia in downtown Savannah and snapped this photo on Saturday, May 5th.

The Georgia Department of Community Affairs, upon recommendation of the State Codes Advisory Committee,  has appointed a task force to review the state minimum standard codes, including the International Building Code and the International Residential Code, and to look for opportunities to improve any provisions relating to disaster resilience.

This task force will review specific provisions relating to hurricane, tornado, and flood resistant construction. The outcome will increase construction requirements for disaster-resilience and be made available for adoption in all disaster prone areas. As anyone knows who chooses to live along our beautiful Georgia coast, we must always be vigilant and prepared for these natural disasters. It’s part of the price we pay for enjoying the lifestyle and beauty of coastal living.

We are proud to announce that our owner/builder Lamar Smith has been asked to serve on this Disaster Resilient Building Code Task Force. Mr. Smith is honored by the appointment and will represent the Home Builders Association of Georgia.

What can our friends from up North teach us about what home buyers want?

Plenty, it turns out. It’s clear the preferences of Canadian home buyers closely match those of American home buyers.

The nationally-recognized designers from Rooms in Bloom shared their experience in a recent blog post. As the 2012 Home Staging firm in Canada, they should know. These expert interior designers devote a big portion of their firm’s work to helping real estate professionals and home builders “stage” or decorate homes that are currently for sale. Like many top interior designers, Heather Cook and Alana Merrit of Rooms in Bloom find the challenge of staying one step ahead of the latest trends while staging homes for sale to be of great value in all of their interior design work.

As you search for a home, look for these trends. You’ll find today’s new homes deliver on the features home buyers like you want most. And when you’ve found your new dream home, keep these ideas in mind as you feather your new nest.

Let’s take a look at how today’s new homes compare to re-sale homes in delivering:

THE TOP 10 FEATURES HOME BUYERS WANT

1.  Open Concept Homes — New homes offer spacious, flowing floor plans, and high ceilings that older homes don’t provide.

2.  Smaller Homes — It’s important to consider what it will cost to heat, cool and maintain your home. The wide array of new homes make it easy to find the size just right for you.

3.  Outdoor Living Spaces — True in Canada and even more so in the many temperate areas of the U.S.

4.  Neutral Decor — Probably best for selling a home, but as a new home buyer, don’t be afraid to display your true colors.

5.  Modern Kitchens — The heart of every home and where new homes shine with the latest & greatest design, cabinets, countertops, lighting and appliances.

6.  Smart Growth — Many of today’s Master-Planned new home communities offer Community Clubhouses and Pools, protected nature areas, hiking trails, playgrounds and more.

7.  Going Green — Hands down, new homes win here, too.

8.  Linen Closets & Smart Storage Options — New homes take the win in this category, too.  Simply compare the far larger walk-in closets of today’s new homes with the cramped closest of old homes.

9.  Energy-Efficient Fixtures & Appliances — Our new vs. resale home comparison is turning into a rout! Today’s new homes feature enormous energy efficiency in appliances and throughout. A typical new home of today is much more energy efficient than a home built just five years ago. And a new home compared to a 10-20 year old home? Game over!

10.  Double Car Garage with Organized Work/Storage Space — You’d be hard-pressed to find a new home that doesn’t score a “10″ on our Criteria #10. And, in many cases, three-car garages or greater are available with storage space to make the man of the house grow weak in the knees.

It’s looking like a landslide win for new homes vs. used houses in delivering the features home buyers want. The odds are good that a new home is your best bet to realize your dream home. And while you may plan to stay for many years in your next home, it’s also clear your new home will be much more likely to meet a buyer’s needs (should you ever wish to sell it) compared to a used home that’s already out of date today.

Sometimes a good article comes along that you just want to share. Such is the case today. Below is one written by Harvey Mackay, an associate one of the world’s great wordsmiths, the late Jim Rohn. One of Rohn’s best known quotes:  “Success is what you attract by the person you become.”  Well, enjoy Harvey’s article below, and come see us soon at any of our new home communities!

“To Get Ahead, Use Your Head” by Harvey Mackay

I’m the last person in the world who would tell you not to work hard. I’m also the first one to remind you that working hard must also be tempered by working smart, or you might just be wasting a load of effort. There is a reason why we were born with both muscles and brains.

Consider the story of two lumberjacks in a tree-cutting contest. Both were strong and determined, hoping to win the prize. But one was hardworking and ambitious, chopping down every tree in his path at the fastest pace possible, while the other appeared to be a little more laid back, methodically felling trees and pacing himself. The go-getter worked all day, skipping his lunch break, expecting that his superior effort would be rewarded. His opponent, however, took an hour-long lunch and then resumed his steady pace. In the end, the eager beaver was dismayed to lose to his “lazier” competition. Thinking he deserved to win after his hard work, he finally approached his opponent and said, “I just don’t understand. I worked longer and harder than you, and went hungry to get ahead. You took a break, and yet you still won. It just doesn’t seem fair. Where did I go wrong?” The winner responded, “While I was taking my lunch break, I was sharpening my ax.”

Hard work will always pay off; smart work will pay better. Remember back in college, there were the kids who studied all day and all night, but still struggled to pass exams? Then there were the kids who studied hard but also found time for a game of cards or basketball, and still aced every test. Both groups studied the same material, attended the same lectures taught by the same professors, and took the same test. Was the second group just that much more brilliant? Maybe, but my money’s on the way they approached their material and learned how to study. If they were smart, they applied those same principles after graduation: work hard, but work smart.

That’s a lesson that can be learned by even young children. A little girl visiting a watermelon farm asked the farmer how much a large watermelon cost. “Three dollars,” he told her. “But I only have thirty cents,” the little girl said. The farmer looked around his field, and feeling sorry for the little girl, pointed at a small watermelon and said, “That one’s thirty cents.” “Oh good,” she replied as she paid him, “Just leave it on the vine and I’ll be back in a month to get it.”

Call it creativity, call it ingenuity, call it whatever: I call it using your head. Knowing how to analyze a situation and how to execute an action plan will put you ahead of the game in the long run. There’s nothing wrong with having a leg up on your competition—it’s how you win. The combination of hard work and smart work is the formula for success. Think about what needs to be done, and then think again about the best way to accomplish it—not necessarily the way you’ve always done it, or the fastest way, and certainly not the hardest way. Never make work harder than it has to be. That’s just a colossal waste of time.

Perhaps the ingenuity award goes to the fellow who came to the Canadian border on his motorcycle, carrying two saddlebags strapped across his seat. The border guards asked the obvious question, “What’s in your saddlebags?” “Rocks,” was the reply. So the guards emptied the bags to check out his story. Sure enough, all they found were rocks. So they sent him on his way. The next week, the same fellow came to the crossing, again on a motorcycle, again with the same payload. The guards checked once again, and found more rocks. Off he went. The scene repeated itself weekly for several months, until finally the guards couldn’t stand it any longer. “We know you are smuggling something across the border, but every time we inspect your saddlebags we find only rocks. Please tell us what you are up to, and we promise not to turn you in.”

“Well,” the fellow replied, “It’s really very simple. I’m smuggling stolen motorcycles.”

Mackay’s Moral:  It’s good to work hard. It’s great to work smart. But it’s best to work hard and smart.

Today’s new homes offer more benefits than ever before. Here’s a quick list of the Top 10 Reasons why so many home buyers prefer new homes to used houses:

1.  Design Your Dream Home Your Way:   Why settle for someone else’s choices? Select your favorite cabinets, countertops, appliances, carpets and floor coverings, bath and kitchen fixtures. Your new home will reflect your taste, not someone else’s.

2.  Choose a Floorplan and Room Layout that Meets Your Needs:   Want a Master Bedroom on the first floor? With massive his and her’s walk-in closets? Done! With high ceilings and a luxurious, resort-style Master Bath? Would you like a sitting room with fireplace in your Master Suite? Build your Master Suite, your way.

3.  All New, Under Warranty:   A used home has tired products that may soon need replacing. Your new home — and the products that comprise it — are brand-new and under warranty. What’s the cost to replace a roof, appliances, and countertop or water heater on a used home? Those same components of your new home feature the latest designs and building materials — and they offer years of comfort and enjoyment before needing replacement.

4. Energy and Cost savings:   Today’s new homes are far more energy efficient than homes built just five years ago, and no comparison to homes that are 10, 20, or even more years old. New homes offer much higher levels of performance in heating, cooling, and insulation. Why settle for drafty, energy-wasting single-pane windows in a used home? Our new homes offer double-pane, low-E windows with special coatings that save energy in both heating and cooling season.

5.  Comfort and Indoor Air Quality:   Today’s new homes meet stringent energy standards and codes not in place in the past. They combine high-performance energy efficiency with state of the art ventilation and air filtration. The result is year-round, consistent and draft-free comfort with higher indoor air quality.

6.  Low Maintenance:   New cars today are computer-designed and computer-equipped and they perform far more reliably than a 10- or 20-year-old car. Homes are the same. Today’s new homes not only have open floor plans and high ceilings to reflect the way we live today, they’re also made of state-of-the-art building products that require less care and maintenance.

7.  Community Amenities:   Many new homes are built in Master-Planned Communities with state of the art Community Centers, Pools, and Clubhouses. Many new home communities feature walking trails, protected open lands, and some of the best new schools and shopping nearby or even within your new home community.

8.  Advanced Technology and Design:   It’s possible to replace all of the single-pane windows in a resale home with state of the art high performance windows. It’s also possible to add insulation to a used home. However, it is very expensive to replace out of date appliances, cabinets and countertops in that used home. And it’s simply not realistic to dream of high ceilings on the first floor of a 10-year-old, two-story home. All the more reason to build it your way for the way you live today.

9.  Safety: State of the art circuit breakers.   Electric garage door openers with infrared beams that stop if a tricycle or child is too near. High-efficiency furnaces and air conditioners that use the latest environmentally-friendly coolants. Cabinets, carpets, and paints that use fewer Volatile Organic Compounds so you and your family can breathe easier.

10.  That New Home Feel:   A used home was someone else’s dream, reflecting someone else’s choices, and someone else’s family memories. You may love avocado-green appliances, and you may be willing to scrub stained countertops or grease-encrusted ovens and cooktops, but more and more people prefer that never lived-in feel.

When was the last time you went to a department store and selected used clothes? Or visited a car dealer and paid more for a used car than a new car?

New homes offer the latest designs, style, comfort and quality and provide a care-free lifestyle so that you can enjoy your home, not work on it.

Here are five reasons why getting a pre-approval letter is a good idea.

Most home buyers know they should get a mortgage pre-approval letter from a lender before they begin seriously shopping for a home. But the reasons for this advice aren’t always clear, and buyers sometimes are dismayed by the amount of paperwork involved. Here is some of the reasoning behind the advice:

1. A pre-approval letter is more reliable than a pre-qualification letter.  Getting a pre-qualification letter is easy. You just call a mortgage broker or lender, provide some basic financial information, then wait a few minutes for the letter to come through your fax machine. Getting a “pre-qual” from a Web site is just as easy. Enter some information, click “submit” and voilà.  On the other hand, a pre-approval letter involves verification of the information. Rather than taking your word on faith, the lender will ask for documentation to confirm your employment, the source of your down payment, and other aspects of your financial circumstances. Granted, a pre-approval is more time-consuming (and possibly more stressful) than a pre-qualification.  The additional due diligence is exactly why the pre-approval carries more weight.

2. You’ll know how much money you can qualify to borrow.  Most home buyers have a rough idea of how much they would feel comfortable paying every month on their mortgage. However, there’s no quick way to translate that monthly payment into a specific maximum mortgage amount because other factors — down payment percentage, mortgage insurance, property taxes, adjustable interest rates and so on — are part of the calculation. And, you might not be qualified to borrow as much as you think you should be able to borrow, depending on your income, your debts, and your credit history.

Why do the benefits of a new home far outweigh a foreclosed home? Read on to find out. . .

1.  Many foreclosures are sold “as is” with no inspection and no disclosure requirements that could require major hidden repair bills.

2.  Peace of mind. Brand new homes are under warranty and can be personalized with appliances, cabinets, countertops, carpets, floor coverings and other personal preferences to meet individual needs and tastes.

3.  Newly-built homes are highly energy-efficient, saving the buyer money and helping the environment.

4.  New homes come equipped with the latest home automation and wiring components that provide state-of-the-art hi-tech capabilities and home entertainment resources.

5.  Financing a new home is much easier than financing a foreclosed home. Many builders offer incentives to reduce closing costs, unlike banks that are seeking to get foreclosed homes off their books.

Buyers must calculate the true cost of purchasing a foreclosed home and getting it into move-in ready condition.

Estimate legal fees and repair costs based on price per square foot on foreclosed houses of various sizes and conditions in nearby areas. After you compute the final cost of what it will take to fix up that foreclosed home, compare that figure with brand new Lamar Smith Signature homes that are located nearby and sell in a similar price range.

As a buyer, you must discover all the hidden add-on costs involved in purchasing a foreclosed home and decide whether the initial cheaper sales price is actually a good value.

The true cost of a foreclosure home may give you sticker shock!

Have you considered the repair estimates on:

Appliances

Exterior Paint

Foundation

Interior Paint

Carpet/Flooring

Drywall

Cabinets

Countertops

Plumbing

Electrical

Windows

Termites

HVAC

Mold Removal

Roof

Interior Cleaning

Get legal fee estimates on:

Is home currently occupied? What about possible eviction fees?

Does home have clear title?

Does home have any outstanding liens?

Once you have checked into and collected estimates for any repairs or legal fees that would be required to get the home into the same condition as our new homes or at least into the condition that you would accept as “move-in ready,” then compare to the cost of buying or building a brand new home at Lamar Smith Signature Homes. We think you may be surprised at the money you’d save and the home you’d have without all of the headaches of a foreclosed home.

Spring is definitely in the air, and everyone’s thoughts turn to getting outside and fixing up those things around the house that bugged you all winter — that’s when you start thinking about “should we wait any longer?”

Of course, what you’re really thinking about is “should we wait any longer to buy that new home?”

Instead of constantly fixing things in a home that has seen its best years or trying to fix the landscaping that suffers from weary-looking bushes and scraggly lawns — why not start with a new, energy-efficient home that is designed just the way your family wants to live? And a yard with fresh new sod and a clean palette waiting for your creative touch? You keep reading about the low interest rates and prices — unlike anytime in maybe the past 50 years to buy a home! Now, you’re afraid this special time may be passing you by.

As the economy is showing signs of life again, you know this incredible opportunity to own a brand new home with more luxury than you dreamed won’t last forever. So, after you’ve finished mowing the lawn and planting a few flowers to do what you can for your old place, why not sit down and take a good look at our new floor plans and all of the communities where we are building at Lamar Smith Signature Homes?

From a gorgeous, golf community like Lost Plantation in Effingham County, whose school system is the envy of the region, all the way down to Covington Pointe in Glynn County, which is the gateway to the Golden Isles of St. Simons and Jekyll Islands — we have 7 communities all along the I-95 corridor in the price range most families desire, the $120′s to the low $200′s.

Our Preferred Lenders can help you figure out the best mortgage program to fit your particular circumstance, and our New Home Consultants will listen to your list of wants and needs in a new home and help you uncover a host of floor plans to consider. Now that’s what springtime really means — a time to start anew and dream.

At Lamar Smith Signature Homes, we help you “dream, build, live…beyond the ordinary!”

The Foyer in an Athens Plan

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