Traton Homes Opens Model Home at Great Oaks Estates

Traton Homes recently opened the new model home at their Great Oaks Estates community in Acworth. Featuring the popular Glenstone floor plan, the full-furnished model home provides buyers with firsthand look into life at Great Oaks Estates.

The Orchards Group Maintains Customer Service for Atlanta Active Adult Homes

The Orchards Group, an active adult homebuilder in Atlanta, prides themselves on maintaining top-notch customer service and high quality. One of the primary ways that they have continued to achieve a 99.4 percent satisfaction score is through continually using many of the same key subcontractors, including the framing crew, foundation and concrete team, drywall team, and paint and trim teams, that have been working with the company since its founding in 1998.

The loyalty both to and from the subcontractors that The Orchards Group works with has enabled them to maintain a level of quality and service that cannot be matched in the market. This has also meant that even though they are sometimes light on inventory, they will not hire any more contractors just to build more homes.

"We may have lost a few possible sales due to our sometimes not having quite enough inventory, but we are willing to take that chance, as it has taken us many years to build up our brand name; we have no intention of letting a few extra sales potentially degrade our reputation," said Mitch Block, Director of Sales & Marketing for the company.

The Orchards Group is currently building two active adult communities with wonderful homes that you will enjoy for years to come, The Orchards of Brannon Oak Farm in Cumming and The Orchards of East Cherokee in Woodstock.

The Orchards of Brannon Oak Farm features zero-to-low maintenance single-family detached homes with ranch or master on the main plans, master on the main villas and ranch condominiums. All of these plans are priced from the mid $200,000s, and include ample living space, entertaining space and multiple amenities. The community showcases two large swimming pools, fire pit, barbecue grilling area and a grand clubhouse. Brannon Oak Farm also has regular community activities planned by the Activities Director, as well as neighbor-friendly streetscapes.

Homeowners at Brannon Oak Farm will also benefit from a location that is central to Lake Lanier, shops, restaurants, recreation, entertainment, healthcare facilities, and more.

The second community, The Orchards of East Cherokee, features two villages with either ranch condominiums plans or single-family homes. All of the homes in East Cherokee are zero-to-low maintenance, and have large covered porches and beautiful master suites. Community amenities include a large swimming pool; waterfall with sitting plaza; barbeque grilling area; planned resident activities and  a grand clubhouse with fitness center, game and card rooms, gourmet kitchen and a fireplace.

East Cherokee is located in historic Hickory Flat, provides convenient access to Roswell, Canton and Woodstock. It is also offers plenty of retail, entertainment, recreation and healthcare options nearby.

For more information on both communities, please visit www.OrchardsGroup.com.  

Noteworthy Changes in Mortgage Standards

Poorly documented mortgages were key players in the housing crash of 2006 and 2007. Many of those mortgages should not have been approved and led to four million foreclosures, devastating families and lowering value by over 50 percent in some communities. Since then, the loaning protocols have seen drastically increasing standards for credit, abilities to repay and better documentation. The Equifax Finance Blog explores how this can affect you in the new article, "Buying a Home? Mortgage Standards You’ll Need to Consider."

These changes threw the market for a loop - many who could once qualify for a mortgage could no longer do so. Approximately 40 percent of residential loans went to homebuyers with credit scores over 740. According to Economists at the National Association of Realtors, 500,000 to 700,000 home sales could be made if credit conditions would return to the prior levels. These statistics serve as reason for many who believe the new standards have been set too high.

Popular Hidden Creek Community Offers New Homes in Augusta from Wilson Parker

Those seeking new homes in Augusta in one of Columbia County's premier planned communities will be delighted to know that Wilson Parker Homes is building their final phase of traditional and Craftsman style homes in the Grovetown community of Hidden Creek.

Homebuyers can select any of their 25-plus floor plans priced from the $180,000s. Whether you are looking for one, two or three-story living, there is a home designed just for you. You'll enjoy spacious floor plans with 2,200 to more than 6,000 square feet with sun rooms, in-law suites, additional bedrooms, bonus rooms, basements and three-car garages.

Outside your home, the fun continues at the community's wealth of amenities including a two-story clubhouse, walking loop, playground and junior Olympic pool with water feature.

At Hidden Creek, you'll never be far from work, school or play. The community is centrally located just minutes from Fort Gordon, I-20, Patriot's Park, the new Steiner Branch YMCA and more.

Children attend top schools all located on the same street as the community including the state-of-the-art Grovetown High, new Middle School to open for the 2013 school year and one-year-old Bakers Place Elementary.

The final phase of homes from Wilson Parker is now underway in this community of homes near Fort Gordon, so stop by today for a tour. The sales office and model homes are open daily. For more information, call 706-863-8438.

Cobb County Home Builder Announces New Community Coming Soon

Traton Homes is excited to announce that they will soon offer luxury townhomes at Village Walk in Smyrna. A Cobb County home builder for more than 40 years, Traton Homes is known for building beautiful homes in the best locations. Homes at Village Walk will be priced from the mid-$200,000s.