This weekend only an area builder is offering select homes in Hamptonburgh (near Washingtonville) with  either $40,000 or $60,000 off the asking price of the homes. In nearby Florida, NY (near Chester and Warwick) the same builder is offering the following homes at a much, much lower price — up to $65,000 off on some models.

Call Joshua Ferris at 1(888)218-8468 for more details!

The outside of a home can be just as important as the inside in attracting buyers.

Maureen Gilmer with the DIY Network offers the following five cheap and easy ways to improve curb appeal:

1. Edge it. Make the distinction crisp between lawn and flowerbed or sidewalk. Replace old edging materials with tumbled concrete payers — the heavier they are the better they stay in place.

2. Mulch it. Cover bare ground with two inches of attractive mulch.

3. Stain it. Old concrete walks, steps, and planters crack, stain, and discolor. Cover them with new colored concrete stains. The result unifies paving and mimics more expensive stone.

4. Color it. Worn out fences can give the property a black eye. Stain them with muted colors like warm gray, soft green, antique gold, or subtle blue.

5. Plant it. Buy whole flats of six packs of single color annuals.

Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Maureen Gilmer (04/07/07)

First and foremost I want to discuss the home buying invitational that was originally scheduled for May. The location and builder for the event has changed. As soon as I have more details in place I will update the site but the new builder looks more promising so I hope to have details for you soon. As for the home buying seminars that I mentioned about a week ago I am making great progress and will be announcing the first home buying seminar soon.

What’s the difference between an invitational and a seminar?

The home buying invitational will showcase a model home that is either for sale or an example of what’s for sale within a particular community. This event is intended to provide those of you who may be interested in a specific community or price range that the community fits into but would like exclusive incentives that are not available to those who do not attend the invitational. Seating is limited and each invitee will be permitted to bring a certain number of guests. If you are interested in attending the invitational please inquire here and I will contact you with a date.

The home buying seminar will be a much more casual affair with no specific community or price range focus and will go over general home buying information including first time home buying and financial programs available to home buyers. If you are interested in attending a future home buying seminar please inquire here and I will contact you with the next available date.

As the housing market has cooled, the developer’s mindset has changed. Rather than construct new developments quickly and wait for the buyers to flood in, more developers are relying on preconstruction sales to determine whether or not to break ground.

Here’s some advice for any buyer contemplating a preconstruction purchase:
Negotiate an exit strategy in your sales contract, especially as lead times for construction grow longer in some markets. For example, state that if the builder doesn’t break ground by a certain day, you can get out of the contract.
If you’re deposit money is going to sit there for an extended period, as the developer to pay interest.
Get in writing what changes that can be made to the project once the sales contract is signed. Finishes and appliances might not be set in stone at the time you sign the deal.
Try to find out the current state of the local market and gauge whether the developer is offering incentives to lure new buyers – which, though attractive to buyers in the short term, can put a downward pressure on prices.

Source: The New York Times, Amy Gunderson (04/04/2007)

I have added a $40,000 incentive to the Builder Incentives page. Use the password you received in last week’s Newsflash to access the page or use the “Email Me” to the left if you need the password. The Builder Incentives page is for newsletter subscribers only!