Builder pins its hopes on open spaces - Omaha.com

Builder pins its hopes on open spaces - Omaha.com

Controlling Energy Costs in Your New Home

Want to control the energy costs in your new home? Celebrity Homes knows the cost of energy can make your new house a great experience or a nightmare. We want you to save as much money as possible on your energy costs so you can spend money on more important things: like furnishing your new home.

What is the E2 Smart Program?

Results from a National Pollution Prevention Roundtable study showed that between 2001 and 2003, 29 pollution prevention programs in the United States prevented a whopping 6 billion pounds of pollution, reduced energy usage by 1.2 billion kilowatt hours and conserved more than 44 billion gallons of water. These measures resulted in more than $500 million in cost savings. This shows that sustainable environmental performance is not simply a nice afterthought of doing business – it’s a necessity.

Even if you aren’t environmentally conscious, this program just makes sense because it can save you a significant amount of money. Whatever your priorities are, we think you will learn to really appreciate this program.

This E2 Program is Available in Celebrity Homes New Homes?

This unique program is exclusive to Celebrity Homes in the Omaha area. We build our homes with energy efficiency in mind. In fact, it can save you up to 22% on your utility bills because each step of the building process we look at how we can make each aspect of your home more energy efficient.

Celebrity Homes focuses on two key areas to reduce energy loss in your home:

• Your furnace
• The insulation in your home (both in the walls and ceilings)

We take energy efficiency very seriously when we build our new homes. It’s our way of helping the environment and keeping our promise to save you money as our number one goal.

Visit Model Homes to See it Yourself!

Want to see this program in action? Stop by one of our model homes and ask one of our agents about this incredible program. They will be happy to show you the energy efficient furnace and discuss the home’s superior insulation. We would love to demonstrate our commitment to the environment and your pocketbook!

What Types of Floor Plans are Available Today?

There are so many options when it comes to choosing a floor plan through Celebrity Homes. What style of home do you prefer? Is cost or space more important? Do you want one floor or multiple floors? All of these questions can easily be answered with the floor plan that is right for you and your life’s needs.

Celebrity Homes offers the following floor plans:

Multi-Level Homes cover a variety of home styles. The most common multi-level homes plans are custom homes that are designed specifically to deal with things such as highly sloping lots. Most of these floor plans are hybrid combinations of ranches and two story plans, suited to fit the unique needs of the home occupant.

Split Entries: This style of home can be great for first time home buyers. This type of home plan rose to popularity during the 1950s as a multi-story modification of the commonplace one-story ranch house plans that were typical leading up to that point. This newer type of home plan puts a bit of a twist on the more traditional ranch style homes.

Split-level house plans keep the horizontal lines, low-pitched roofs and overhanging eaves of popular ranch home plans, but add a two-story unit divided at mid-height to a one-story wing to create three floor levels of interior space. Three levels make it possible to locate and accommodate three types of living spaces: quiet living spaces, noisy living and service spaces, and sleeping spaces. Each of these areas has its own separate level. This style of home plan is also known as a “split level house plan.”

Two Story Homes typically offer a more traditional floor plan that features all of the bedrooms on the top floor. Today, however, this is not always the case. Many two story home plans now feature one bedroom or more on the ground floor.

For the cost per square foot, a two-story house plan is less expensive to build than a one-story home because it's generally cheaper to build up than out. The floor plan in a two-story home design usually places the gathering rooms on the main floor. The master bedroom can be located on either floor. When the master bedroom is on the lower level, the upper floor becomes the “children's domain.”

Ranch Style Homes are nice for families. They also make great starter homes. Ranch style homes are typically a one-story floor plan where all the bedrooms are placed in one wing or side of the home. The master bedroom is normally well separated from the others, at opposite ends of the home.

Villas and Townhomes are both ranch style and split entries with Celebrity Homes floor plans. The townhomes and villas at Celebrity Homes are typically a multiple family home unit where each family occupies a separate living residence. These homes make great less expensive homes or a great investment in rental condos.

Does one of these floor plans peak your interest? We would to chat with you about the home plan that is right for you. Call Celebrity Homes at (402) 896-3100 today to set up an appointment!

Choosing Where to Live: An Important Factor When Buying a New Home

Choosing the best location to build your new home can make all the difference. There are a number of things to consider when finding the right location and building your new home.

What Factors Are Important in a New Home’s Location?

Most buyers have a general idea of where they want their new home to be located. There are a number of factors that go into this equation and each one is unique for each buyer and their family as a whole.
Here are a few things buyers base the location of their new home on:

• Proximity of schools: If you have a child in your home, you know just how important being close to school can be. Whether you are taking your child on a snowy day or your child walks home after school, you will want to choose a home that is close to where they will spend a majority of their week. If your family is still in the future, this is still an important consideration.

• Location of employment: Do you want a short commute to work? Is going home for lunch to save some money important to you? Whatever reasons you may have, living close to work can be an important factor in home location.

• Available extracurricular activities: How important is community involvement to you? Do you want to live in a neighborhood with access to tennis courts or a pool? Do you like active neighborhood associations? You can find a neighborhood that fits your distinctive lifestyle with a price that fits your pocketbook.

• Locality of family and friends: Do you want to be close to loved ones? Are social gatherings with friends at the top of your “To Do” list in your new home? Whatever lifestyle you choose to lead, we know you probably want those most dear to you close by. Consider where they live and buy in a similar area.

• Neighborhood: A home’s neighborhood is extremely important. This will be determined by your lifestyle and will vary greatly from person to person. Do you want to be close the center of town? Are school districts important? Do you like jog in the park? Questions like this will help you discover which neighborhood is right for you.

Choosing a great location for your new home can dramatically impact your life. Choose a location which meets both your needs and desires. Your home should not only provide security, but should also give you the level of comfort you want.

Should You Buy a New or Used Home?

Whether or not you should buy a new home or a pre-owned home is a question many home buyers have today. While there are advantages to both, determining your overall needs in a new home is important to help you determine which type of home is best for you.

Advantages of Buying a New Home

When purchasing a brand new home, you get to determine many of the fine details of the home, such as colors, style, woods types, etc. The home is also certain to be clean, instead of moving into a home with stained carpet, damaged appliances, or anything else that is possible with a used home. You can also expect little to no maintenance on a new home in the first few years.

A new home also has warranties that come with it. At Celebrity Homes, we have a 10 year structural warranty on all of our homes. This leaves you stress free about any structural issues as you settle into your new home. There are also warranties on other items like your furnace, AC unit, appliances, and other items, as well. This can save you money and worries in the first few years in a new home.

In a new home, you also get to select the floor plan that best meets your unique needs. Modern homes tend to emphasize flexible space and usage. This allows the homeowner to tailor the living area to their evolving needs over time. In addition, modern homes often have large kitchens with state-of-the-art equipment. These factors are in contrast to many older homes which often had different objectives when they were built.

Homes built today are frequently built with an eye towards being more environmentally friendly too. This is not the case with many homes built in years past. In fact, sometimes the opposite is true. Older homes often have a detrimental effect on the environment. In many cases, this can also create a negative effect on your pocketbook, as well.

Advantages of Buying a Pre-Owned Home

The biggest advantage to buying a new home is price. Not only is the overall price a little cheaper, there are generally not as many add-ons as there are with a new home. There is a bit of a “what you see is what you get” factor with a used home. Of course, this can be a disadvantage, as well!

If you like a home a little broken in, a pre-owned home might be just what you are looking for. Any kinks with electrical issues, appliance snafus, or other problems you might encounter in a new home are already worked out in a used home.

Flexibility is certainly the main advantage with a new home. A slightly lower cost is a benefit of an older home. By determining exactly what your priorities are when you buy a new home and weighing the overall advantages and disadvantages with each type of home, you can determine if a new home or a used home best meets your home buying needs.

Location! Location! Location!

Where do you want your new home to be? While this might seem like an obvious question when looking for a new home, some do not realize just how critical it is. In fact, this one factor should be at the forefront of your mind when you begin to look for a new home.

We are continuing our series of “100 Things You Need to Know When Purchasing a Home.” Today’s discussion of the location of your new home is crucial for most people. If you do not like where your home is, you will not be happy with your new home. Before you begin to look at any home, you should consider where the home is first, and see if it will fit into your needs and wants for a new home.

What Should I Consider?

It is important to select a home that works with your family’s unique lifestyle. This will be different for each person and each stage of their life. For example, young parents might want to select a home close to their child’s daycare center. A young professional might find a home that is close to their work is important to them. A single person might want to consider their social needs when looking for a new home. Whatever your current stage of life is, the location of your home is important to meet your needs.

Where your new home should be is a question only you can answer. A thorough examination of your professional and community responsibilities should be done early in the home hunting process. You should also take into consideration the things you want and need to do for recreation. Make sure you pick a home that fits into your unique lifestyle.

Location Is About More Than You

While your happiness should be paramount when selecting a home in an ideal location for your lifestyle, if you don’t plan to live there for a few decades there are other things to consider, as well. For example, where you buy a home can greatly impact if you will be able to sell that home later. In reality, the average home owner only lives in a home for three years. If you think you might fall into this category, consider the ability to resell your home in a few years when picking the location of your next home.

Where your new next home is located is an important consideration as you home shop today. Make sure the location of your new home meets your current lifestyle needs. You may also want to determine if a location you are considering buying a home in will also have a good resale value in a few years.

Should I Make a Wish List for a New Home?

People often make wish lists for Christmas or birthdays. But when was the last time that you made a wish list for somewhere you spend at least half of your day? A home is a very personal purchase and it should not be taken lightly. Making a list of what your “dream home” would contain will help you clarify what you and want and need out of a new home.

What should you include on your wish list? The ultimate answer to that is anything that is important to you and your family. What are things you can’t live without? What are the types of things you would love to have in your next home?

A few other considerations might be:
• Where do you want to live?
• What style of home do you want? (Single family home, condo, town house, etc)
• What type of neighborhood is important to you?
• How large of a backyard do you need? Do you want fencing?
• What school system do you want to be located in?
• Do you need to be near shopping centers or do you prefer a more country style home?
• Do you want a multi-level home or a ranch style?
• Do you want a deck or patio?
• How many bedrooms do you need?
• How many cars do you need your garage to hold?
• What type of landscaping do you want?
• What type of view would you like your home to have?
• What size and style of kitchen do you prefer?
• How large do you want the closets to be?
• What type of floors do you prefer? Hardwood, parquet, or carpeting?
• Do you need or want unique appliances in the home?

Celebrity Homes can most likely meet all of your needs. We have several floor plans and other benefits we can provide. Stop by one of our model homes and speak with a sales representative to see what we have that you have on your “new home wish list.” We’re betting you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for as you view our home plans. We specialize in building homes with the buyer in mind.