One of the first places to visit on your shopping trip in Frisco should be the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, IKEA. The popular store features a supervised children’s area where your family can play while you leisurely browse through 50 different room settings for décor ideas. 

IKEA is located along what’s called “The New Furniture Row.” This corner of Parkwood Blvd. and State Highway 121 features other leading furniture and home décor retailers including Ashley Furniture, Haverty’s, Rooms to Go and many more.

There are plenty of smaller boutique shops in the area too – from Frisco Square and Main Street to Lebanon Road. At these individually owned and operated stores, you’ll find designer-made home décor items not found anywhere else in Frisco. 

Another popular Frisco destination is Sam Moon Trading Co. This retailer, known for offering the latest handbags and accessories at wholesale prices, recently opened a Home Accessory store right next door. Good deals on home décor can also be found at the Centre at Preston Ridge, which features more than 100 shops and restaurants including Kirklands, Stein Mart and Marshalls.

If you’re interested in buying a new home in Frisco, visit the Landon Homes website at LandonHomesUSA.com for information on the better built, affordable green homes for sale in Austin Ridge, Grayhawk Estates or The Villages at Willow Bay.

The ranking is a significant accomplishment considering that Frisco is one of the fastest growing cities in the nation. It’s also a testament to the hard work put in by the city’s police officers and civilian staff to ensure that Frisco remains a safe place to live, work, and visit. You can also see why the city’s slogan is “Progress in Motion.” 

Frisco is proud of its heritage, too – dating back to the mid 1800s, when settlers first came to the area while traveling the Shawnee Trail. The town was named for Frisco Railroad, which owned the land on which the community was built.  Residents and visitors alike can learn more about the local history at the Frisco Heritage Museum, which features a living village with interactive exhibits. 

Frisco’s highly rated schools, its variety of sports, recreation, shopping and dining options are also why the city is so appealing to new residents. If you’d like to make the move to Frisco, Landon Homes has a wide selection of affordable, green engineered homes for sale at Austin Ridge, Grayhawk Estates and The Villages at Willow Bay. These communities are conveniently located near the North Dallas Tollway, and minutes from the Stonebriar Mall, Frisco Rough Riders and the Dr. Pepper Stars Ice Arena. 

For more information about homes for sale in Frisco or to schedule a model home tour, visit the Landon Homes website or contact Tanya Smith at 866-898-3603.

Why should you buy a quick move-in home versus a resale? There are several reasons. 

1. Builders Warranty – A brand new home comes with a warranty from the home builder, so you have peace of mind should anything break down in the house. With a resale, you’re dependent upon how well the previous owners maintained the property. Even when you have a home inspection performed before the purchase, there’s a chance for problems to be missed.  
2. Upgrades – A move-in ready home often includes options and upgrades that are appealing to new home buyers. Plus, the builder often includes features that have been popular with existing home buyers, so you know the design has been tested by families like yours. 
3. Pricing – Builders typically include large incentives on move-in ready homes, so you could get a better deal on a brand new home than you would on a resale.  
4. Energy Efficiency – A new home includes the most up-to-date energy saving features and construction techniques, enabling buyers to save money on utility bills and insurance premiums compared to an older home.  

If you’d like information on the available move-in ready homes for sale in North Dallas, contact Landon Homes at 866-898-3603. Landon Homes is rated among the best Dallas area home builders. Our better built by design, affordable green homes are ready now in premier neighborhoods.

When you buy a home in Austin Ridge, you’re getting great value for the money in the highly sought-after Frisco School System. Our Premier Series homes are priced from the $250s to the $290s, starting at 2,877 sq. ft. up to 3,802 sq. ft. These homes are available in one or two-story models, offer stone elevations, granite in the kitchen, a rear entry garage, and generous designer upgrade allowances.

Our Executive Series homes are exclusive gems within our community, with oversized home sites of 80’ x 125’ that back up to an extensive greenbelt space. Only 34 of these sites will be available among the 260 homes Landon plans to construct in Austin Ridge, and the first sites have all been purchased. A waiting list of families has been started for the next 3-5 homes that will be released in the Spring of 2011.

Step inside our new model and you’ll be able to see first hand the energy efficient features that Landon Homes is known for. Our “Better Built by Design” philosophy provides state of the art materials in home energy saving features such as 2’ x 6’ exterior wall construction, tankless water heaters, radiant attic barriers and Low-E windows that block a significant amount of the sun’s heat and harmful UV rays.

If that’s not enough to convince you, Lone Star Ranch provides an exceptional amenity center, featuring a three-tiered resort-style swimming pool with waterfalls, a large clubhouse that can be rented for private events, as well as a fitness center loaded with equipment. Located minutes away from Lake Lewisville, there are an array of golf courses and shopping centers, as well as a variety of entertainment options including Dr. Pepper Ball Park, Pizza Hut Soccer/Events Stadium and Stonebriar Mall.  Plus, Cinemark is opening a brand new, state of the art movie theater across from Pizza Hut Stadium, with all of the latest in HD and sound technology.

To schedule a tour of Landon’s new model home in Austin Ridge, visit our website at LandonHomesUSA.com or contact Tanya Smith anytime by phone at 214-707-0347.

Landon Homes in Frisco, Texas EXPLODING with New Buyers in Austin Ridge

Who is curious about the newest Frisco Homes to hit the Market in DFW?  Not Landon Homes.

The newest builder on the block is absolutely taking the city by storm.  The Austin Ridge Community could be the most sought after community in DFW.  They are selling homes like crazy and are having to take a waiting list on homes on their smaller lots!  What other builder in Frisco has a waiting list? 

I have seen many builders in the area and how they build, and have never been as impressed as I am with Landon Homes.  They have created an unbelievable bar for other builders in energy efficiency as one of the first major builders in DFW that use 2 x 6′s instead of 2 X 4′s.  This helps with the insulation issue by providing up to 60% more insulation than the new home builder standard, and the huge savings being passed on to their customers makes Landon Homes a incredible buy for the price.

John Landon has the experience, beautiful open floorplans that make sense, and has created the ultimate value for the middle of the road buyer, or the buyer that wants one step below custom!

Call me today at (469) 733-2723 to take advantage of the newest builder on the block in DFW, Landon Homes in Austin Ridge, and I promise you will not be disappointed in these Frisco homes! 

Brad Holden

Holden New Homes

http://www.holdennewhomes.com

It is important to know where the candidates stand on the issues. So do your homework now, and don’t worry about it again until Election Day when it’s time to make your vote count. Remember that politics is a soap opera that will always involve drama. Waiting for election cycles to be over just delays the enjoyment you could be having in your new home! 

There are some great deals to be had right now in the housing market. Prices are affordable, mortgage rates are at record lows, and the new homes that are built today are much more energy efficient than those built 5-10 years ago. That means you’ll be able to save a good deal of money on utility bills.  Plus, a new home comes with a full builder’s warranty, so you don’t have to worry about making repairs.

At Landon Homes, we keep you in the loop all through the construction phase, so you know how your home is progressing. We offer a pre-construction meeting, a pre-drywall inspection, and a final inspection to ensure your satisfaction during all points of the building process.

With a repertoire of more than 40,000 homes built over the last 20 years, the Landon team offers an unmatched wealth of talent, expertise and enthusiasm. Call us today at  866-898-3603 to schedule a tour of one of our model homes in the Dallas-Forth Worth area.

U.S. News and World Report recently pointed out 9 reasons to buy a new home over a resale.  One of the benefits the article cited is the ability to design your home the way you want it, inside and out.  With new construction, you can choose your floor plan, select cabinets and countertops, paint colors and finishes, and landscaping. With an existing home, you have to live with the previous owner’s style, or spend money to change things you don’t like, such as wall colors and appliances. 

Another major advantage to buying a new home is that it will be more energy efficient than a resale home. Energy conservation codes get updated every 3 years, so a new home features the latest requirements like higher-efficiency insulation, doors and windows. Landon Homes takes these requirements a step further by doing 2”x 6” exterior walls that hold up to 50% more insulation than industry standard, tankless water heaters and highly rated appliances and water-saving faucets and shower heads that minimize utility bills.  A resale home usually has to be retrofitted with these features, at an additional cost. 

Home repairs and maintenance costs also play a role in the home buying process. An existing home or a foreclosure may need major repairs if the owner didn’t take care of it properly. That could put a big dent in your wallet.  A new home is covered by a builder’s warranty for at least a year, while other major components are usually warrantied for extended periods. 

Home builders may also be able to offer more financing options due to their relationships with lenders. As a result, you could get a deal on closing costs, a buy down of your interest rate, or even special upgrade financing. Fewer individual sellers have room to negotiate on these terms, so a new home might be your best option if financing is important to you.

If you’re looking for a new home in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, visit Landon Homes to learn about our better built by design, energy-efficient homes that respect both the environment and your budget.

Landon has come a long way in just two short years.  The company has built and sold more than 250 new energy efficient homes throughout Little Elm, Frisco, McKinney and North Dallas, TX. It’s a significant achievement in two short years, considering that John Landon started this company in the midst of an economic downturn. However, the president of Landon Homes saw the economy as an opportunity, rather than an obstacle.   

Landon realized that lumber, land, and labor prices had fallen considerably, making it more affordable to build homes. And he knew that if people were in a position to buy now, they would have an exciting opportunity to get a lot of high quality at a very good price. Landon says, “If we build the right product, at the right price, in the right location, we’ll do OK, even in this environment.” “We call it our Value Equation.” 

Landon has the experience to back up his beliefs. He created Legacy Homes in 1987, when the economy was in the midst of another recession. “We were profitable in five months,” says Landon. And Legacy Homes eventually grew from a single community in Dallas to become the 12^th largest builder in the nation. 

The Landon team brings an unmatched wealth of talent, expertise and enthusiasm to every home they build. Our energy experts work hand-in-hand with our architects to create a home that is both beautiful and eco-friendly. Our goal is to build homes with lasting value and quality – creating the very best home for you in exceptional neighborhoods with highly acclaimed school systems. 

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

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.