The first thing you can do is establish one central location for papers and mail so everyone in your home knows where to find certain items. Next, decide what you’re going to keep and what you can get rid of. 

Children bring home lots of papers from school, so determine what percentage will get saved. As much as you’d like to keep all of their school work, it’s just not realistic to do so. Instead, display the most important or memorable papers on the refrigerator or on a bulletin board. Then, take a picture or scan the rest so you can save them electronically, minimizing clutter.   You can also store school papers in a 3-ring binder, a file folder in a drawer, or a storage box. 

It’s also a good idea to set aside one area for your children to do their homework. This not only helps minimize the clutter in your home, but it will help your children concentrate on the task at hand. Make sure this area has plenty of supplies available such as paper, pencils, pens, etc. Depending on the age of the child, the homework area could be the dining room table, a desk in their bedroom or a table in the living room. 

If your children are involved in various after-school activities like sports and clubs, post a schedule on the refrigerator or some other place where everyone in the family can see it.  A handy organization tool is to assign each member of the family a different color to keep track of who has to be where and when.  (If you or your spouse prefers computer organization, Yahoo! and Google provide free online calendars to help you manage your time.)  Make sure you note on the schedule which parent is picking up and/or dropping off so no child gets left behind!  Remember to check your schedule at the end of each day, so you know what’s coming in the days ahead. 

Landon Homes offers better built, affordable green homes for sale in the renowned Frisco Independent School District. For more information, visit our website at LandonHomesUSA.com or contact Tanya Smith directly at 214-707-0347.

How many times have you bought an item “on sale” only to find out the price was actually marked up before the store decided to lower the price? So, what seemed like a bargain at the time really wasn’t – since the “sale” price was actually higher than the normal price of the same item at another store.

Unfortunately, some home builders and contractors use this same tactic.  They will lowball you to get the job and then come up with every opportunity they can to charge you extra, so you wind up paying much more than if you had gone with someone else.

You may also come across two homes with the same square footage and same number of bedrooms and baths in two adjoining neighborhoods. However, one is more expensive than the other. Does that automatically mean the cheaper home is the best value?  Not necessarily.

In these situations, you’ve got to do your homework. That means conducting a side by side feature and structural comparison to find out if you truly are getting the best deal with one builder over another.

One area to review is the type of energy saving features your builder offers. For instance, Landon Homes is the first builder in the Dallas-Fort Worth area to use 2×6 exterior wall construction instead of 2×4. With 50% thicker lumber, the walls of your home are stronger, and can hold 57% more insulation. As a result, your home won’t experience as much unwanted heat loss or gain, reducing your energy demands and lowering your utility bills in the process.

As you conduct your new home search, find out if your builder uses quality materials and has a good reputation for customer service.  You can save money in the long run by paying a little more upfront on a home that is built to last and helps keep your energy costs down. 

For more information about Landon’s better-built by design, energy efficient homes, visit our website at www.landonhomesusa.com.

For instance, if the current interest rate is 4.5 percent, the interest rate for the buy down would begin at 2.5 percent the first year, increase to 3.5 percent the second year, and then rise to 4.5 percent the third year, where it would stay throughout the remainder of the loan’s 30-year term. The title policy is included in the promotion, and there are no loan origination fees. 

As an added incentive, Landon says every customer that purchases one of the special 2/1 buy down homes will go into a drawing for a brand new Nintendo WII family gaming console package. 

If for some reason you don’t need to take advantage of the extra-low interest rate buy down being offered by Landon, Flagstone loan officer Patrick Iglinsky says he can mold the promotion into something that will be beneficial for you. 

The mortgage process may not be easy to navigate these days, but Iglinsky says he works closely with the Landon team and the title company to manage the flow of information for the home buyer. As a result, Iglinsky says he helps ensure that the approval process goes smoothly from the day the contract is signed to the day of closing. 

For more information about Landon Homes’ 2/1 buy down promotion, visit our website at www.landonshomesusa.com or contact Tanya Smith at 214-707-0347.

By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
stevebrown@dallasnews.com

Dallas-Fort Worth home prices continued to edge higher during the second quarter.

D-FW was one of 100 U.S. metropolitan areas that saw improved home prices from a year earlier, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday.

Median home sales prices in the area rose 2.1 percent in the second quarter from the same period the previous year, the Realtors said. That beat the nationwide increase of 1.5 percent.

And it was more than double North Texas’ first-quarter gain.

Almost two-thirds of the U.S. markets that the Realtors track had year-over-year price rises at midyear.

But analysts aren’t overselling the latest numbers, which are compared with the depths of the housing shakeout in 2009.

“The recorded home prices in many markets were significantly depressed last year because of a large percentage of distressed homes sold at discount,” said Realtor economist Lawrence Yun.

“Now as more normal, nondistressed home sales are occurring, the median price in many areas is showing higher values,” he said.

Sales of distressed homes still account for almost a third of U.S. purchases nationwide, according to the Realtors.

An increase in the number of sales of higher-priced homes in some markets may also increase the median price, Yun said.

In the Dallas area, sales of homes in affluent neighborhoods are up sharply this year.

Nationwide, prices were up for the first time since 2006 in the closely watched report.

Some of the biggest second-quarter price increases were in California, which in recent years suffered huge residential value declines. Prices were up 36 percent in San Jose, 25 percent in San Francisco and 17.8 percent in Riverside.

Prices were still falling in more than 50 areas, including Cumberland, Md., -15.4 percent, and Tucson, Ariz., -13.7 percent.

The D-FW area had the best quarter price performance among major Texas markets. Prices were up 1.3 percent in the Austin area.

But median home sales prices fell 1 percent in Houston and were down 3.2 percent in San Antonio.

EXISTING HOME PRICE CHANGES

Some of those features include: thicker exterior walls, which hold more insulation; air conditioning units that exceed Energy Star standards; and cardinal glass windows that block a significant amount of the sun’s radiant heat, saving homeowners up to 20% on their monthly energy bills. To better understand how our homes are built, check out our video and 3D construction animation on our Website!

Robert and Jennifer Anderson can attest to the energy savings. This couple recently bought a 3066 sq. ft. Landon home in the Villages at Lakeview in Frisco ISD. Their old home was a one-story, 1900 sq. ft. house, located just two miles away.

“We had anticipated seeing a higher electric bill in the new home strictly due to the larger size, but had figured the increase would be minimal due to these energy saving factors,” said Robert Anderson.

However, the Andersons were pleasantly surprised when they received their first electric bill for one full month in their new home. The couple said they used 1659 Kilowatt hours of electricity during June/July, compared to 2076 Kilowatt hours for the same period a year ago when they were in their previous home. (FYI – that house was built in 2003, so it’s not that “old” and the couple said their a/c unit was in a good, professionally maintained condition.)  

The net result: the Andersons saved $53.96. Robert adds, “I would have never imagined that a house with 1166 more of square footage would have a lower electric bill.”

If you’d like to visit one of our better built, affordable, energy efficient models for yourself, contact Tanya Smith anytime by phone at 214-707-0347 or just click on our LIVE CHAT feature throughout the Landon Homes website at www.Landonhomesusa.com.

What’s spurring all that growth? Good jobs and affordable housing, as well as a favorable business climate. There’s no corporate income tax, building costs are relatively reasonable and regulations are minimal.

One city that’s been helping to pump up the metro area’s growth is McKinney, site of Landon Homes’ Shiloh Ranch community. McKinney was the nation’s third fastest growing city last year, and has ranked number two in population growth for the last decade.

Newcomers are flocking to McKinney because of the city’s great schools, safe streets, low crime and robust employment opportunities. Defense contractor Raytheon has a 3700-person facility here, and companies involved in financial services, medical technology and eco-friendly manufacturing are moving in. 

While McKinney has been growing like mad, it still retains that small-town feel, thanks to its tree-lined streets surrounded by rolling hills, ponds, parks and 42 miles of hike and bike trails. What’s more, McKinney has a gem of a downtown, featuring lovingly restored 19th-century buildings that house restaurants, boutiques, and galleries; the 1875 courthouse contains a new performing-arts center. 

For more information about Shiloh Ranch and McKinney, contact Tanya Smith anytime by phone at 214-707-0347 or just click on our LIVE CHAT feature throughout the Landon Homes website for speedy answers to all your new home questions.

Landon Homes is proud to feature the Villages at Lakeview a new home community in Little Elm. Whether you’re shopping for your first home or an empty nester looking to downsize, Landon has your perfect home.

The Enclave at Lakeview offers some of the best prices in the Frisco Independent School District. This master-planned community includes four amenity centers, with pools, parks, trails and more. If you have a growing family that needs a bigger backyard and more space, consider the Reserve at Lakeview. This community offers estate-sized homesites – 74’ and 84’ wide and 3-car garages. In the middle of those two neighborhoods you’ll find The Dominion at Lakeview. It’s conveniently located just east of Lewisville Lake and is served by the area’s newest and best schools. Panther Creek Parkway leads directly into the Lakeview location from the Tollway.

Lewisville Lake offers a diverse water experience for homeowners in the area and we are just 4 short miles away from, fishing, water skiing and sailing,  just to name a few of the options available to you. The newest marina on the lake is Cottonwood Creek Marina. This meticulously maintained, fun, family-oriented facility is the only marina with fuel docks and ships store that is open year round on Lewisville Lake.

Cottonwood Creek Marina offers both open and covered slips with electricity and city water available at each slip. The marina also offers personal watercraft docking areas and courtesy slips. In addition, Cottonwood Creek is an annual sponsor of the “Anything Floats Derby” held in conjunction with the Town of Little Elm’s Autumn Festival.

For more information about Little Elm or our other new homes in the North Dallas area, visit our website at LandonHomesUSA.com or contact Tanya Smith anytime by phone at 214-707-0347.

McKinney, TX was not only ranked #5 in CNN Money Magazine’s top 100, but it boasts the highest job growth rate since 2000 in the top ten!

# 5 – McKinney, TX

Top 100 rank: 5
Population: 125,000
Unemployment: 7.8%

–Vanessa Richardson

http://money.cnn.com/…/PL4845744.html

There is no easy answer to that question because everyone’s financial situation is unique.

When you rent, you have little or no maintenance to worry about, and it’s easier to move when you want. But you don’t get any tax benefits, you don’t have any equity build-up or control over rent increases. And there’s the possibility of eviction.

On the other hand, there are quite a few benefits to owning a home.

For one thing, home buying costs tend to be fairly stable. Fixed-rate loans don’t go up (although taxes and maintenance costs can.)  The amount of money typically spent on rent can be about the same or less than a monthly mortgage payment.  But once you factor in the tax benefit for homeowners, the savings can be significant. 

People in higher tax brackets may get more bang for their buck when buying a home, since they’re able to deduct more interest costs and property taxes.

Other benefits of home ownership include:

• Property builds equity
• Sense of community, stability, & security
• More likely to make friends and join local organizations
• Free to change décor and landscaping
• Not dependent on a landlord to maintain property

In addition, there are fewer regulatory restrictions on Texas home builders than in most other states. So that has kept the cost of buying a home reasonable.

Visit Landon Homes and see why we’re rated one of the best Dallas area new home builders. Our better built, affordable green homes are ready now in premier neighborhoods. Visit our website at LandonHomesUSA.com or contact Tanya Smith directly with your new home questions at 214-707-0347.

By ERIC AASEN / The Dallas Morning News

eaasen@dallasnews.com

http://www.dallasnews.com/…/062310dnmetcensus.19e354d.html

In North Texas, the newcomers keep coming and coming and coming.

Frisco was the nation’s fastest-growing city last year, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released Tuesday. McKinney wasn’t far behind, ranking third.

The top 25 list is studded with several other North Texas cities, including Lewisville , Fort Worth, Carrollton and Denton.

Frisco claimed the top spot among cities with more than 100,000 people, thanks to a 6.2 percent population increase during a 12-month period starting in July 2008. Its Collin County neighbor, McKinney, scored a 5.5 percent jump.

Any way you slice or dice the census data, Frisco and McKinney remain chart toppers. Over the past decade, Frisco also had the country’s biggest population growth, while McKinney ranked No. 2.

More than 102,000 residents were in Frisco in 2009, compared with fewer than 34,000 in 2000, a take-your-breath-away 204 percent jump.

In 2009, McKinney’s population was nearly 128,000, up from about 54,000 in 2000 – a 135 percent increase.

All that city growth has helped pump up Dallas-Fort Worth. The area added more residents than any other metropolitan area in the country, both in the last year and the past decade, according to census data released in March.

Credit the population growth to good jobs, as well as an economy and housing market that aren’t as bad as in other parts of the country.

All of last year’s 10 fastest-growing cities are in Southern states, including North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee. Of the 50 fastest-growing cities, 19 are in Texas.

Texas’ robust population growth – it’s the fastest-growing state – means it’s bound to add at least three new seats in Congress after the 2010 census, which is under way.