Who needs a tax credit when you can have $8,000 to use as you like PLUS free Quartz Countertops!!*

Use the $8,000 to load your house with options, pay some of your closing costs…it’s up to you.

*This offer is available in Del Sol and Tallow Creek for a limited time only. Click on the neighborhood links to start shopping for your new home.

Thanks,
David and Anabel Hundt
Tallow Creek Homeowners

Let’s start shopping for your new home.

*Here are the details you need to know.

• The Federal Homebuyer Tax Credit is available to buyers who have not owned a principal residence in the last three years (“New Buyers”) and to buyers who have owned and lived in their principal residence for 5 consecutive years out of the last 8 years (“Repeat Buyers”).
• The maximum credit amount is $8,000 for New Buyers and $6,500 for Repeat Buyers.
• The tax credit is available for homes closed after November 6, 2009, and before May 1, 2010. However, home purchases subject to a binding sales contract signed by April 30, 2010, will qualify for the credit provided the closing occurs prior to July 1, 2010.
• Homes with a purchase price of up to $800,000 qualify. The home must be used as a principal residence.
• Single taxpayers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with incomes up to $225,000 qualify for the full tax credit.
• The tax credit does not have to be repaid, unless the owner sells or stops using the home as their principal residence within three years after the purchase.

For complete details on the Federal Tax Credit, please go to www.FederalHousingTaxCredit.com or the IRS Website.

An interview with David Spicuzza, Architect for the Town of Abita Springs

I have been living and working as an architect in Abita Springs for 12 years.  For the last 5 years I have happily donated my time as an architect performing work and serving on the Abita Springs Historic District Commission.  One of the projects has included participating in the master planning efforts for the town park.  Our Mayor, Louis Fitzmorrris, has been the visionary of this effort, and particularly, renovating the historic Pavilion, a 140 year-old, World’s Fair remnant that the town acquired some lifetimes ago.  Our mission was to add handicap accessibility to this iconic structure so that all members of our community and visitor’s could enjoy this piece of history.

The two most important concerns regarding this project were cost and appearance.  The town had no money to waste and it was important that any construction appear complimentary to the design and style of the pavilion.  We needed a contractor that understood our town’s character, could give us the best bid, and could deliver the aesthetic quality we needed.  Southern Homes proved to be an excellent choice.  The Historic District Commission had been familiar with their reputation from their many projects in and around the area.

Both Former Mayor Bryan Gowland, the Construction Coordinator on this project, and myself had a great experience with Southern Homes.  They were first class professionals all around.  We had an excellent field superintendent named Steve Jennings.  He was always on top of things and was proactive in making suggestions to improve the project.  I was also impressed with how flexible he was to make adjustments throughout the project.  That type of attitude reflects well of the overall customer-focused position of Southern Homes.

The completed project was a beautiful Handicap Access Tower with an elevator, built adjacent to the Pavilion and connected by a walkway.  The work was done with excellence and was a really satisfying achievement for the whole town.  And not only that, it has been well received as an addition to the community and has been the focus of many compliments.  Without a doubt, we would consider working with Southern Homes for future town projects. In fact, I look forward to it!

Southern Homes would like to extend the warmest holiday wishes to all of our customers – past and future. Our New Construction staff, our Renovation team, our Restoration team, and our Build on your Own Lot team all wish you the best holiday ever and the brightest possible 2010.

We hope to be a part of it.

Professor Claudette Reichel provides the explanation. She and a team of researchers are trying to change the face of Louisiana, one home at a time. As Extension Housing Specialists, Claudette and her team are making strides toward sustainable housing. Their mission is to put research into action, that is to say, developing educational tools to illustrate strategies for building high performance homes. For the last 10 years Claudette and her team have been integrating strategies based on five core criteria for sustainable housing: Resource Efficiency (Green Initiatives), Durability (Wind/Hurricane Resistance), Health (Healthy Homes Strategies like Air Quality), Convenience and Practicality.

Claudette’s department received grants from the Department of Energy’s Build America Program and the Department of Natural Resources to develop outreach initiatives to make these high performance housing strategies accessible to consumers and producers. But they needed to find reputable builders to collaborate with that had the vision to see the importance of this effort.

One of Claudette’s colleagues immediately thought of a professional builder she enjoyed working with in the past, Southern Homes. Claudette invited Southern Homes’ construction managers and supervisors to a seminar about the initiative and the high performance strategies they wanted to demonstrate in a model home. As an industry leader in Green Building, Southern Homes was eager to acquire the newest research to take their quality homes to new heights of energy performance.

Claudette’s team was excited to work with Southern Homes because of their reputation as a professional company and the fact that they are a large builder in the community. Because of their pervasive influence in the community Claudette was confident Southern Homes would be able to lead the way in making these strategies the new industry standard for future homes.

Southern Home’s first collaboration model currently being built under this initiative will be wind/hurricane resistant, a Bronze level Certified Green Home, energy efficient and feature a moisture-controlled air tight design with mechanical fresh air supply to create well balanced healthy air quality. Not only that, the model is being built as an average middle American starter house, demonstrating that a builder can achieve high performance levels at a price point comparable to the area. Claudette explained, “this proves you can raise the bar on home building without raising the price. We are really pleased with how conscientious Southern Homes has been with this effort. They have been a pleasure to work with every step of the way”.

Claudette went on to say, “This type of collaboration will help stimulate the demand for high performance homes by educating consumers, and demonstrating to them that this type of home is possible, valuable and worth buying. It is our hope that high performance homes will one day be like granite countertops. 10 years ago it was unheard of for an average consumer to ask for this feature in a home and less likely for a builder to have it in a model. But now it is the norm, expected by both consumers and producers. Hopefully, in the near future, everyone will feel the same about high performance homes.”

The next collaboration with Southern Homes will be in Covington, LA. This time Southern Homes and the LSU Agricultural Center will be building a home with even higher performance features in a metropolitan area of Greater New Orleans. Claudette is excited about the new endeavor and shared, “Our team has a motto we operate by to remind us why we do what we do: As we shape our homes, we shape a new future for our community. By putting these building practices in place we can avoid the damage and effects of catastrophes that have devastated our region’s communities in the past ”.

Southern Homes is ready to make a difference. They are taking a stand for the future today and leading the way for a healthier, safer tomorrow for their communities.

Learn more about this initiative at www.louisianahouse.org