Enjoy The Holiday Spirit Of “Hi Neighbor” Month

December 12, 2012

Did you know that December is “Hi Neighbor” month? Since it’s the time of year to spend time with family and friends celebrating the holidays, December is also a great opportunity to step outside of your new home and spread holiday cheer to your neighbors. “Hi Neighbor” month was created to encourage us to talk to our neighbors and start creating relationships that build strong communities. It is always more fun to make friends with the people who you see leaving in the morning or grabbing the mail in the afternoons.

Our communities are designed so that you interact with your neighbors. With our hectic lifestyles it can be hard to slow down for a quick conversation with a neighbor, but it will strengthen your community and if you ever need a quick cup of sugar, you will have a friend nearby to ask.

Have friends looking for a new home in the Long Island, NY or Northern Virginia areas? “Hi Neighbor” month is also a great time for current Birchwood Park homeowners to invite your friends to become your neighbors. If you currently own a Birchwood Park home and your friend purchases their new home in any Birchwood Park Homes community, you will receive a check for $2,500 through our Birchwood Park Homes Referral Program. All your friend has to do is write your name as a referral on the Guest Registration Card the first time they visit and a check will be headed your way after they close on their new home. Your friend gets a great new home and you get a little extra spending money too.  If you are not a current Birchwood Park homeowner and refer a friend to us, you will be eligible for our $500 referral award!

For over 65 years, Birchwood Park Homes has been designing and building homes of the very finest quality and value.  Visit one of our communities today and see just how great life can be or click here for more information.

Posted In: Birchwood at Wading River, Birchwood Park Homes, Buying A Home, General, Oak Knoll Farms

How Much New Home Can You Afford?

October 26, 2012

One of the first questions new home buyers ask us is “How much home can I afford?” With today’s great news about low mortgage rates and home affordability, the answer may surprise you.

How Much Home Can I Afford?
1. Focus on Payment, Not Price.

First, let’s focus in on the key element: your monthly mortgage payments. While many home buyers shop purely based off of the price of their new home, the overall purchase price isn’t what hits your checkbook on a monthly basis – while the monthly payments most definitely do. Thanks to today’s low interest rates, the affordability of these monthly mortgage payments has never been higher – meaning you can afford more home for the same money than you could a few years back.

How Much Home Can I Afford?
2. Doing the Math

To get a rough estimate of what monthly mortgage payments fit your budget, start with your monthly household pretax income. Generally, your mortgage payment should be about 1/3 of the amount your household brings in each month before taxes. Next, you’ll need to calculate how much space you have in your monthly budget after other financial obligations. Add up your monthly debt obligations like student loans, credit cards and alimony to make sure you’ll have enough money left over to spend each month – a 40% ratio of debt to monthly pretax income is a good “rule of thumb” to follow.

How Much Home Can I Afford?
3. Other Considerations

Low monthly payments and low interest rates aren’t the only ways you can save money on your new home:

Tax savings. The interest you pay on your monthly mortgage payments is tax-deductible – meaning you’ll be saving money on taxes each time you make your mortgage payment. Closing costs on your home are also tax deductible – and you’ll see both savings within a year of owning your home.

Lower Energy Costs. Your mortgage payments aren’t the only monthly bill that will be affordable in your new home! Owning a new Energy Star certified Birchwood Park home will save you some serious money. Our homes are constructed to minimize your monthly energy bills through tight construction, efficient windows and the latest in energy-saving insulation. The savings can exceed 30% over conventionally built homes.

Now that you’ve got a better understanding of the monthly mortgage payments you can afford, come in and see us! We’ll help you find a home that fits your budget – and your style.

For over 65 years, Birchwood Park Homes has been designing and building homes of the very finest quality and value.  Visit one of our communities today and see just how great life can be or click here for more information.

Posted In: Birchwood at Wading River, Birchwood Park Homes, Buying A Home, Economy, Energy Savings, Financing, First-Time Home Buyer, Housing Trends

Carve Out Some Time To Decorate For Halloween This Year

October 8, 2012

Now that October is here, it is the perfect time to get your new home Halloween ready! Carving pumpkins is a great way to spend time together as a family and create SPOOKTACULAR fall decorations.

Carving a pumpkin can be messy, but that is half the fun! When removing the seeds and stringy flesh, use a large spoon or ice cream scooper to speed up the process and keep your hands cleaner. Using a template or drawing on the pumpkin with a water-based marker beforehand will help ensure you get the design you are wanting. As you carve your pumpkin, gently push the carved pieces into the pumpkin. That way they’re easier to grab and you don’t mess up the design. If you do make a mistake, you can reattach a piece by using a toothpick to pin it back into place. To prolong the life of your jack-o’-lantern, seal in moisture by coating all cut surfaces with petroleum jelly or vegetable oil. Lastly, make sure that the candle flame is not too close to the top of the pumpkin!

If you decide carving a pumpkin is just too messy, you can always use permanent markers or paint to create beautiful pumpkin decorations! From monogramming pumpkins to creating a pumpkin topiary, there are hundreds of ways to get your home BOO-tiful for Halloween.

When you purchase your new home from Birchwood Park Homes, you will have the perfect space to decorate, entertain friends and spend time together as a family this fall. For more information, visit one of our exquisite communities today and see just how great life can be or click here for more information.today! For over 65 years, Birchwood Park Homes has been designing and building homes of the very finest quality and value.

Posted In: Birchwood at Wading River, Birchwood Park Homes, General, Oak Knoll Farms

Enhance The “Curb Appeal” Of Your Home For A Quick Sale

September 12, 2012

Create Curb Appeal with 10 Instant Fixes

When it comes to selling houses, there are some quick and easy things that you can do to create maximum curb appeal to get a sale.  One of the first things a potential customer sees when they pull up to take a look at the house is the front yard. Having a great looking lawn is something that every home owner desires, but it’s not the easiest thing in the world to maintain.  Depending on where you live, your lawn could become too dry or leaves could make it look unsightly.  Debris is the worst thing you can have on your lawn.  Certainly having a green lawn is of utmost priority in the curb appeal of a property for sale. As with anything, it will require a little TLC.  Here are some quick things that you can do to it to get the most out of the yard’s value:

  • Plant some seasonal flowers – choose flowers that thrive in your climate
  • Maintain and plant shrubs – and keep them trimmed
  • Install a walkway – either brick or stone is beautiful
  • Install a birdbath or lawn ornaments
  • Clean up debris, leaves and other unsightly junk

Many quick fixes can be done without costing a lot, except perhaps the walkway.  Fortunately, the installation will be a one-time expense and not recurring.  The enhancement will be worthwhile and could deliver a big return on your investment. Building a walkway to the front door and planting some shrubs will open the yard up and present a clear path to your home. It will make the potential buyers feel good as they approach the home.

However, the front of the home is only part of the equation. Getting the exterior of your home is equally important to create curb appeal. Some of the easy and quick possibilities can include:

  • Updating windows or washing them to make them easy to see in and out
  • Pressure wash the dirt and grime off the side of the house
  • New paint or touch ups
  • Shiny new doors or locks
  • Clean up

Just making sure that the house is spotless when homebuyers drive by is the smartest and most cost effective thing you can do when trying to sell a home. Beyond that, a quick touch up on the paint couldn’t hurt. If the locks look old or have tarnish on them, it may be a minimal investment to get new brass or antiquated locks.  This simple trick will cost less than $100 dollars and will also add security value to your home. If you have the resources, installing a new front door would look good to the buyers, as well. If your home has any windows that have cracks in them, or if they are simply getting old and are hard to open, then getting new ones will go a long way in getting your home sold.  Some people let dirt from rain, snow or just fingerprints and dust accumulate on the windows, making them look filthy. Clean them up and make your home gleam!

Remember that first impressions are usually what make the buyers bite on a particular home. It may not have anything to do with the overall value of the home, but rather how the home makes them feel.

For over 65 years, Birchwood Park Homes has been designing and building homes of the very finest quality and value.  Visit one of our communities today and see just how great life can be or click here for more information.

Posted In: Birchwood Park Homes, Selling A Home
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Should You Use A Realtor When Purchasing A New Home?

September 4, 2012

As a first-time home buyer, it can be incredibly confusing navigating the world of real estate, because let’s face it: buying a home is a very complex process. From financing options and contract terms to negotiating prices and closing costs, new home-buyers have a sea of confusing terms and legalities to work through before they can pack their bags and boxes and move into their new home. A realtor can be greatly beneficial to buyers looking for assistance with sorting through these things. While traditionally realtors also help clients sell their current home, many first-time buyers are opting to use realtors to walk them through the process of buying their first home to make the process as painless and easy as possible. But is a realtor always the best solution? This article will cover the advantages of hiring a realtor to ensure that you, as a first-time home buyer, are completely satisfied not only with your new home but also with your experience buying it.

As a first-time homebuyer you should be aware of the advantages associated with hiring a real estate agent.

The Advantages of Using a Realtor

– Realtors are trained professionals who know the real estate world inside and out. They can compile a list of features you want in your new home and find a floor plan that matches it perfectly. On the safety side of things, a realtor will likely know all about local health and safety codes and inspection requirements to ensure you buy a home that meets all laws and government regulations. Realtors are also familiar with all forms of financing options, contract terms and other costs involved in home buying, and can help you choose options that will benefit you best. Additionally, when looking at new construction homes, such as those built by Birchwood Park Homes, a realtor is likely familiar with the building company and can vouch for their professionalism and construction quality.

– A realtor can minimize the time it takes to sort through the paperwork involved in buying your first home, and will ensure that you fully understand all of the “small print.”

– Realtors are well-acquainted with the areas they work in, and can help by pointing out nearby positive features surrounding the community or by raising your awareness to any downsides near the home you are looking at.

When weighing the pros and cons of hiring a realtor as a first-time buyer, the choice is ultimately up to you. If you decide to hire one, make sure to research their background fully and read testimonials from previous clients to ensure you are hiring an agent who is qualified and has professional integrity. If you decide against employing a realtor’s services, be sure to spend plenty of time researching the legal and financial sides of buying so that you can best represent and assess your options as a buyer.

For over 65 years, Birchwood Park Homes has been designing and building homes of the very finest quality and value.  Visit one of our communities today and see just how great life can be or click here for more information.

Posted In: Birchwood Park Homes, Buying A Home, First-Time Home Buyer
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Birchwood Park Homes – The Quality Is In Our DNA

July 13, 2012

If you’ve been shopping for a new home for a while, you’ve probably visited a number of homebuilder websites and noticed that certain buzzwords show up time and time again. Words like “designer,” “value,” and “craftsmanship” get thrown around pretty liberally, and it can be hard to distinguish the reality from the marketing verbiage. So how does a homebuyer know what they’re getting when they buy from a builder? Will they be getting a heavy dose of meaningless catchphrases that fail to prop up a substandard home? Or will they move into a quality house built by a company that honestly cares about their reputation, their product, and their customers?

Here at Birchwood Park Homes, we have carefully selected a few words of our own to define the kind of homebuilder we work hard to be: quality, value and affordability. In the case of Birchwood Park Homes – these aren’t just words, but promises that form the reality behind every home we build.

When it comes to quality, the definition may be pretty easy: quality is a characteristic of excellence that sets something apart from others like it. At Birchwood Park Homes, quality is the way that our home construction techniques set our houses apart from those offered by the competition. Every home contains pretty much the same elements (kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms), and just about every home can house your family. But every homebuilder runs a business – part of which involves making enough money on the sale of each home to employ the countless people who make the planning, building and selling of new home developments possible. How each builder chooses to make that money can differ greatly – and it is one place where Birchwood Park Homes’ quality outshines other builders, 100 percent.

Birchwood Park Homes’ first commitment to quality is in our building model. Instead of artificially deflating our prices through substandard materials, less-skilled labor or a lack of home and community amenities, we have structured our business to make money through a streamlined in-house construction process that minimizes our initial costs, and passes those savings on to our customers. In our method, we purchase, plan and develop our own land, cutting out some middlemen traditional to the industry and saving us substantially on the cost of developing each community. It’s one of the main reasons why Birchwood Park Homes can offer such high-quality homes at prices that other competitors simply can’t match.

Our second commitment to quality comes in the form of our enduring relationships with our trade partners – the skilled men and women who choose the best materials and use the latest techniques to ensure that every Birchwood Park Homes house is strong, stable, solid and secure. Our tenacity and insistence upon “doing it right” sets us apart from many of our competitors. We impose rigorous standards on what can and cannot be used to construct our homes, and our communities have come to represent only the finest in quality and durability. Many of our trade partners have been doing business with Birchwood Park Homes for over 40 years, and we are dealing with the second generation of family members running these businesses. That’s why we are able to extend a 10-year structural warranty on every house we build, giving you peace of mind and proud confidence in the security and quality of the place that you call home.

So there it is: quality, defined. But don’t just take our word for it. Our satisfied owners are testament to the fact that for Birchwood Park Homes, quality isn’t just a buzzword, but a pillar of our ongoing business success, and a main reason why thousands of homeowners have chosen Birchwood Park Homes as their builder of choice. Stop by one of our communities and see for yourself how Birchwood Park Homes is building their legacy of quality, one house at a time.

For over 65 years, Birchwood Park Homes has been designing and building homes of the very finest quality and value.  Visit one of our communities today and see just how great life can be or click here for more information.

Posted In: Birchwood at Wading River, Birchwood Park Homes, Buying A Home, First-Time Home Buyer, Oak Knoll Farms
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Housing Market Continues To Show Positive Signs

May 22, 2012

In another positive sign that the health of the new homes market is beginning to mend, construction activity in April showed a hefty leap from a year prior, with gains in permits, housing starts, and home completions.

The data, released Wednesday by the Commerce Department, showed a 30 percent leap in housing starts from April 2011, as well as a nearly 21 percent rise in home completions. Building permits issued—a forward looking indicator—rose by 24 percent from April of last year.

With last year being widely recognized as one of the poorest years on record for new home builders, beating 2011′s grim statistics is a huge milestone for the industry, which in 2012 has been gaining traction toward stabilization. Builder confidence surveys show that home builders are feeling more optimistic about future sales and the success of new projects, and increasing employment (as well as signs of economic recovery and record-low mortgage rates) is bolstering the pool of prospective buyers.

The seasonally-adjusted annual rate of construction starts in April settled at 715,000. While the number is roughly half of the 1.5 million units/year pace that analysts consider healthy, the April number outpaced analyst and expert estimates, which on average called for a rise to 685,000.

Figures for new home sales will be released next week.

For over 65 years, Birchwood Park Homes has been designing and building homes of the very finest quality and value.  Visit one of our communities today and see just how great life can be or click here for more information.

Posted In: Birchwood at Wading River, Birchwood Park Homes, Buying A Home, Economy, First-Time Home Buyer
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There Is More Than Meets The Eye Behind Every Birchwood Park Home

May 21, 2012

You see a home under construction  and the workers building the home. You may consider the jobs represented by the various trades such as masons, carpenters, electricians, plumbers,  and painters. But according to Dr. David Crowe, Chief Economist for the National Association of Home Builders, these on site jobs account for only 50% of the total. The other 50% are off site jobs including manufacturing, retail and wholesale companies and professional services.

Manufacturers produce the building products such as cabinets, siding and shingles. 500 jobs are created for every 1,000 homes built. Retail and wholesale companies provide appliances, flooring and building materials. Over 400 jobs are created for every 1,000 homes built. Professional services include financial, insurance and real estate services.

Typically home building has been a major contributor to an economic recovery. When you consider all of the jobs created and sustained by each and every home built you can see why. The work force behind a new home is a massive collection of diverse businesses supplying, supporting and constructing the American dream.

For over 65 years, Birchwood Park Homes has been designing and building homes of the very finest quality and value.  Visit one of our communities today and see just how great life can be or click here for more information.

Posted In: Birchwood Park Homes, Economy, First-Time Home Buyer, General
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New Home Construction Rises To Highest Level In Years

May 9, 2012

On the back of a stabilizing real estate market, new home construction definitely appears to be on the rise with some of the most recent news, and it’s exciting to hear about. If you’ve recently applied for a new building permit, you’re not alone, as the number of people applying has hit one of the highest levels we’ve seen in quite some time, and it could be a certain sign that home construction is going to be on the rise very soon.

According to reports from TheStreet.com, new building permits this year have reached the highest number since 2008.  It’s truly welcome news for markets and the industry, and “adds to signs that the U.S. residential housing market is stabilizing and signals that construction-related work will pick up in the coming months.”

That being said, if local markets in major metro areas are going to be signing more and more permits, if you’ve been thinking about building or buying a new home you’ll want to get your place in line now before prices start going up.

For over 65 years, Birchwood Park Homes has been designing and building homes of the very finest quality and value.  Visit one of our communities today and see just how great life can be or click here for more information.

Posted In: Birchwood Park Homes, Buying A Home, Economy, First-Time Home Buyer
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How To Choose Your NY or VA Homebuilder

April 11, 2012

Getting a home built should be a lucrative investment and pleasant experience for you if things are done correctly.  When it comes to getting your home built correctly, there are some steps you can take to get a home builder you can trust.

The first thing you should do is figure out what kind of home you want to build and a have a clear vision of how you want to go about it. Once you have this down, the next step is to research builders that can meet your ideas and expectations.  Some home builders and contractors are bossy and have a certain way to go about doing things.  It’s important to find someone you like and who listens to you.  After all, you’re the one who will be living in the new home, not the builder.

One thing you need to keep in mind is that every builder has a niche or a style that is a hallmark of their company.  Some excel at certain things – like spacious interiors, high ceilings or curvy stairways – while others just hurry through the job as fast as possible to get paid.  For example; one builder may really good at building townhomes and not so good at detached homes, or vice versa. The reasons for this vary, but often it can be a function of their corporate culture .

So, how do you find the right builder for the job you have in mind? First, pull several builders in from the area and look through their portfolios.  Ask friends or colleagues, chances are somebody within your circle of influence has built a home within the last five years.  Study the work they have done.  Maybe even ask for a few names of other families whom they have built homes for.  Call a couple of past customers and ask how happy they are with their newly constructed home.

Next, call the National Association of Home Builders and get some names and numbers of more builders that you like and cross reference them with one that you already interviewed.  Never pick the first one – shop around!

Once you have narrowed down the home builders that you like the best, go through their credentials and look for information that you like and dislike. See how long they have been in business for.  Another important step that you can take to protect yourself from unscrupulous builders is to cross reference the name of the builder with the Better Business Bureau database to reveal any past problems. If you see no problems, then the prognosis should be okay.

You can also look to see if a particular builder has any special certificates or awards within their industry.  Awards can be a good sign that the builder takes pride in their work and is competitive.  Also check if they are members of any professional associations.

Following these guidelines are never a guarantee, but they will minimize the chances for contracting mishaps and will also let the home builder know that you are serious about getting your home constructed exactly the way you want it and with as few problems as possible.  Finding a good builder that you can trust will be one way to enjoy your home for a long time.

For over 65 years, Birchwood Park Homes has been designing and building homes of the very finest quality and value. Visit one of our communities today and see just how great life can be or click here for more information.

Posted In: Birchwood at Wading River, Birchwood Park Homes, Buying A Home, First-Time Home Buyer, Oak Knoll Farms
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