My New Blog

Driving to work today I was listening to the radio and they were talking about today being the first day of hurricane season, and I started remembering what the past few seasons have been like. The last few years have been fairly quiet and we have been lucky.  But are we prepared at my house do we have the supplies we need, are my batteries still good from last year. I know I have enough H2O because we have it delivered and I have 5, five gallon bottles of it. but do I have the food needed, you can find what you should have online and plenty of places I am not posting those I just wanted to remind you, have you thought about what you would need?

Not an expert but one who has left the area for Three named storms and has survived with a little fence and roof damage.

Your Truly

Larry Hoffman, Broker
Whitworth Builders Realty, Inc.

SMOKE DETECTORS:

The smoke detectors in your home are pre-wired, per electrical code requirements, into the mail electrical system if you have purchased a new home; the smoke detector is backed up with a 9-volt battery.

Homeowner’s Maintenance Guidelines;
Test the detectors and clean and vacuum the openings of the smoke detectors every six months. Visually inspect the clear button on the test switch to see that the indicator light is glowing. To test the alarm, press the test button for about ten seconds, or until the horn sounds lightly. Do not use an open flame to test the detector.

The unit will emit a low-frequency beeping noise if a malfunction or power failure occurs or if the battery is low. Change the 9 Volt battery every 6 months to ensure proper operation.

Navarre neighborhood provides living space for people who plan to settle there

By LIESEL SCHMIDT
Daily News Contributing Writer

NAVARRE — “Excellence” and “quality” are words that have become synonymous with the Whitworth Builders’ name.
After 45 years of working in the Panhandle area, Whitworth Builders exhibits an understanding of what it takes to create and sell for the Northwest Florida market.
That expertise is what led the company to take advantage of the possibilities for a ready market in Navarre, building their Meadows subdivision near the crook of U.S. Highway 98 that curves just past the new Walmart Supercenter.
While Navarre may not be a booming metropolis, it is ideally located at the halfway point between Pensacola and Fort Walton Beach, it has enjoyed a longer period of slow and steady growth that has lent it a small town, community feel opposed to the fast-paced, traffic-choked tourist mecca that could have evolved from the shores of its sandy white beaches.
Those sandy white beaches, mixed with the quaintness of untapped nature, continue to be a large draw for people looking to establish roots along the Emerald Coast. Whitworth Builders took their experience in creating housing communities and parlayed it into a “best-selling subdivision that is not only holding, but increasing in value,” according to Whitworth marketing director Larry Hoffman.
The homes of The Meadows have a certain “bodacious factor,” as Hoffman likes to put it. “When people walk through them, they love them.”
Curb appeal is certainly not overlooked when the homes are designed. Houses in The Meadows are all-brick, landscaped with sod in the front yard, and equipped with either a concrete patio or a covered porch.
Standard features include underground utilities, steel insulated doors, and reinforced garage doors.
The homes are also outfitted with energy-saving appliances, hardwood cabinets, stainless steel double-bowl kitchen sinks, stain-resistant carpeting, and other features that make the homes both cutting edge and affordable at the same time.
Varying in price from $250,000 to $350,000, the floor plans range from 2,100 to 3,200 square feet and generally include four bedrooms and anywhere from two to 3½ baths.
“We try to be as green as possible while still being affordable,” says Scarlett Godfrey, a real estate agent at Whitworth.
“There are features in the homes that you would expect to find in the higher-end, designer homes, like granite countertops and specialty cabinetry. We try to design the homes with resale in mind.”
As part of a military community, the resale value of homes in The Meadows is an important consideration. The construction and features are intended to negate the need for upgrades before resale, and the builders will even work with buyers to fulfill custom needs.
Construction on a completely handicapped-accessible home for a disabled veteran was just finished, and Whitworth is able to work closely with the VA in cases like this one.
Proximity to the area’s biggest attractions has also lent itself to the popularity of The Meadows. Military personnel enjoy its easy distance to both Eglin Air Force Base and Hurlburt Field.
It is also closer to Pensacola Regional Airport as well as Navarre Beach and Pensacola Beach to the west. To the east, Fort Walton Beach and Mary Esther offer a more immediate solution to all dining, shopping, and entertainment needs; and the beach community of Destin is less than an hour’s drive away. Nearby access to Interstate 10 and 110 give Navarre residents opportunity for day trips to Mobile and Eastern Shore, or points east.
As it continues to grow, Navarre will become more of a draw for buyers, so now is a good time to move to the area.
Homes at The Meadows exemplify the excellence Whitworth Builders has long been known for and testify to the company’s motto —“Florida Living at Its Best.”

WHITWORTH BUILDERS | Special to the Daily News
Homes are outfitted with energy-saving appliances, hardwood cabinets, stainless steel double-bowl kitchen sinks, stain-resistant carpeting, and other features that make the homes both cutting edge and affordable at the same time.

WHITWORTH BUILDERS | Special to the Daily News
Houses in The Meadows are all-brick, landscaped with sod in the front yard, and equipped with either a concrete patio or a covered porch.

  Mortgage Rates Have Fallen Further:  How Low Can They Go!?!

I used to joke that my husband (who loves his pennies, if you know what I mean) wouldn't buy me a new house until the mortgage rates dropped to 3%.  Well guess what, honey!  It's getting close!  I was checking mortgage rates and two of our preferred lenders gave me the following:

Fixed Rates

30 Year Conventional                              30 Year VA

   Rate        30 Day                                 Rate        30 Day

   4.75        0.000                                    4.75        0.000

   4.50        0.500                                    4.50         0.750

  4.25        1.750                                    4.25         2.00

What is going on?  And what does it mean for you (and me)?   Well, it seems that Fed Chief Ben Bernanke unleashed a surprise attack on the housing slump Wednesday by announcing aggressive steps that should make home buying even more attractive. The Fed is hoping that the attractive rates will help push timid buyers to buy up the excess inventory that's been driving down home prices. 

Things are changing in the housing market.  Rates are down and home prices are becoming more stable in this area.  If the rates aren't enough to motivate some of the fence sitters out there (Honey, are you listening?), then the thought that we might soon begin realizing an upswing in the housing market should motivate everyone. 

Like I've always said, "You won't realize when we've reached the bottom of the market, until it starts to swing back to the top."

We are building new homes in Holley by the Sea.  Please contact Bethany Little, Realtor at (850) 939-8018 for more information.

 
They are Beautiful, Sexy and Smart!!

(Your kitchen cabinets, of course)

 They are your kitchen’s furniture, you know!!

I told you they were sexy!

For those of you who are totally into the Green thing, check this out:

The Armstrong Headquarters receives LEED-EB Platinum Certification. This is the highest certification for leadership in energy and environmental design. This corporate headquarters building has received Platinum Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council under its LEED Green Building Rating System for existing buildings. This headquarters, built in 1998, is one of only six existing buildings – and the first outside of California- to achieve the highest certification ever and I will now tell you why:

· Use of clean, renewable energy: 75% of the building’s power supply is by wind energy, the equivalent of planting 149,000 trees or removing 300 automobiles from the road!

· Reduced energy use: This building uses less than 1.5 watts/square foot, half the nationwide average for comparable buildings

· Reduced water use: The building reduced water use from 800,000 gallons to 420,000 gallons, and that’s a lot of water folks.

· Recycling program: 60% of the buildings waste is recycled! Think what the employees are learning from all of this…I just bet that they all recycle at home, what do you think?

· Maintenance: Environmentally responsible, Green Seal-certified cleaning products are used

· Improved Acoustics: Armstrong Acoustic ceilings and sound-absorbing surfaces are used through-out the building.

· Landscaping: Eliminates irrigation and provides erosion control and measured storm-water run-off into adjoining wetlands.

Okay enough about the environment , because not only are they friendly to our eco-system, they have the best guarantee in the industry: Five full years on the 15 step finish and the installation, and a lifetime guarantee on their six way adjustable hinges, the drawer runners and any other hardware! Because your hardware is the jewelry of your cabinets! Don’t you want it to last forever?

And let me tell you, you only offer a guarantee like that if you are sure of your product!!!

The wood that these cabinets are constructed of is more stable than maple which means that there is almost a zero warp-age factor.

Above is an example of a Dado joint in the drawers of our cabinets.

Dado joints are used in our cabinets because they are stronger and create a more professional appearance than the typical butt joints or dove-tailing. Although some are brainwashed by HGTV and other such home improvement sources to think that dove-tailing is the only way to go, really it is just overkill and a waste of about $35-$40 per drawer!! In the three plus years that we have been using this type of cabinet construction we have yet to have a drawer face to come off the front of a drawer!!

In fact, in our custom-look oversized pot and pan drawers the more you put in them the better they roll!! Don’t be shy with them. You can put up to 75 pounds of cookware in them! So let’s Dado and spend that money wiser somewhere else in the construction of your home! The backs and sides of the cabinets, the boxes for lack of a better explanation are engineer board, not a crumbly-type particle board. This is a furniture board, cause after all, didn’t I say it once?….

Your Cabinets are Your Kitchens Furniture!

For Information contact Scarlett Godfrey at
The Meadows Model: Ph: (850) 515-2769
E-Mail: scarlett.godfrey@yahoo.com