In our Previous Post: Remodel – What We Have To Work With we showed you pictures of the home as we found it before our team tackled the remodel project.
Before
Unnecessary walls and hallways made the home feel closed in and smaller than it’s actual size. Our plan was to push back the dining room, move the kitchen to where the Family Room is currently, remove the wall separating the dining room from the kitchen as well as eliminate the hallway. The ceiling in the now open Great Room will be vaulted to create even more sense of space.
Bedroom 4 in the old plan is too close to the Master Bedroom and ruins any chance of privacy for the owner. We are turning it into a master closet to complete an true Master Suite, allowing us to enlarge the master bath. We will also add a gradual tray ceiling to the master bedroom to enhance the feel of elegance in the room.
The previous one car garage was truly not capable of parking a car, with the steps from the house in the way, so we are converting it to Bedroom 4 and adding a bath, perfect for a true guest suite.
To enhance the front of the home we will be adding a large entry porch.
After
Be sure to check back for pictures of our progress and let us know your thoughts!
Posted 11 months, 3 weeks ago at 4:36 pm. Add a comment
Recently we received a call from Lisa Sledzik, a broker with Intracoastal Realty and the Vance Young Team. Lisa had sold a home in a much desired neighborhood to one of her clients in April. The client then hired someone to help her remodel the much dated home. Unfortunately, the remodel did not live up to her expectations and Lisa was recommending that we take over the job.
This is what we found when we began:
In our next post we’ll share Phase I of the remodel – The Redesign
Posted 11 months, 3 weeks ago at 2:49 pm. 1 comment
I hadn’t thought very much about this question until recently when I purchased an iPhone from Best Buy.
Being a sales and marketing techie, I was like a kid in a candy store. Normally I would have gone to my local AT&T store to make the purchase, but a friend had given me a gift certificate to use towards the purchase and it was an offer I couldn’t refuse. The Best Buy sales associate did a great job at upselling me – sure, I’ll need the warranty plan that ONLY Best Buy can offer, sure I’ll need a case to cover my precious commodity, and yes, I’ll probably need the car charger as well.
When it came time to “test” the phone we noticed a slight flaw so my helpful Best Buy representative hurried to the in-store Apple rep to get his opinion. They were going to try to download 3.0 to see if that would fix the issue (as a techie and former phone rep, I knew it wasn’t going to work – but I was certainly going to let them do their job!)
While I was waiting for the download I hung around the Apple display. If you’ve visited our local Best Buy (and I would imagine it’s the same in every Best Buy location) you are sure to spot the Apple Display. This would be the first similarity to Hagood Homes. Apple, like Hagood Homes, knows that most consumers like pretty, yet simple. The backdrop for the Apple display was a simple, clean black board with the Apple logo lit up (which even enticed my four year old. I had to pick her up to touch it) with a display of a computer screen.
Hagood Homes is known locally as a builder who does an excellent job “staging” their models. We put a lot of team effort, time, not to mention money into our model homes. In my opinion, they aren’t over done. I don’t think our buyers feel intimidated by them, as if they wouldn’t be able to decorate the same way – but they whisper – “home”. (Nod your head if you agree). Just like my four year old having to “touch” the lit up Apple logo, our visitors seem to stand and admire our plans.
While I waited for my upgrade I spotted a family shopping. Eventually they made their way to the Apple display (doesn’t everybody) and began asking the Apple representative a few questions. Five minutes later they were on their way to the check out line with a $1500 computer. When he was through with them, I asked the Apple rep if all his sales were like that. Five minutes, no fuss. He looked me in the eye and said, “This is the easiest sales job I’ve ever had.”
At first I was taken aback. Really? The easiest? When you’re up against products with a good name (Dell, HP) who are charging $300 for a laptop? As the words were coming out of my mouth I was discovering another similarity.
So often buyers or their agents get caught up in the cost per square foot of a home. What they aren’t calculating seems to be the value in a home or what the home does for you. For instance, the floorplan itself. If a floorplan doesn’t work for the way you live – what would you pay per square foot for it? What about the yard? The non-heated space is not calculated in the cost per square foot, but you could have a backdrop of nature or a backdrop of someone else’s yard. What value to do you put on that space? And then there’s the old analogy of not paying your car based on cost per ton. A mercedes may weigh the same as a hyundai, but clearly there will be features in the mercedes that are not going to be in the hyundai.
By the way, I am enjoying both my new iPhone and my Hagood Home, and now I can’t imagine living without either one!
Hagood Homes was the first builder to be featured in Focus on the Coast in their August issue centered around “Home”. We had a blast shooting interior photos with the, local favorite Jack Davis. Pick up your copy today or view it on-line here
Live better in 643 Belhaven Drive. This home, a recent award winner for Hagood Homes, is nicely situated against the backdrop of a 16 acre nature conserve. The open floorplan makes it easy for those who enjoy entertaining. Located in Wilmington’s most popular uptown address, Marsh Oaks, neighbors enjoy the many amenities: a competition sized swimming pool, recently renovated clubhouse, playground, and newly resurfaced tennis courts. Neighbors also relish the receipt of their monthly newsletter, keeping them up to date on all the activities for both young and young at heart. Call today for your appointment to see 643 Belhaven Drive!
Looking at the price range $374,900 up to $500,000, new construction, Hagood Homes has sold 3 times as many homes in the last 12 months than any other builder in New Hanover County, according to our local MLS data.
Here’s some other interesting facts:
Looking at the same price range, the average days on market for new construction homes was 281 (many times days on market includes the construction period) and the homes sold on an average of 93% of their asking price.
Hagood Homes average days on market was 151 and sold for 98% of asking price. (stay tuned for a post on fighting the cost per square foot battle)
Be sure to view our current available homes to see why Hagood Homes is Wilmington’s most well received builder in this price range!
Posted 1 year, 1 month ago at 10:36 am. Add a comment
Chapelwood, Chapel Hill’s first and only age restricted neighborhood, celebrated it’s grand opening this past Sunday. The Hagood Homes team worked tirelessly throughout the week putting the finishing details on the decorated model available to view.
Sunday, over 200 attendees came out to the neighborhood to enjoy the pig pickin’, Italian Ice, and to tour beautifully decorated Cameron floor plan.
Chapelwood (www.ChapelwoodInfo.com) is located off Barbee Chapel Road and just minutes to golf, the campus of the University of Carolina at Chapel Hill, and state of the art medical facilities. The homes of Chapelwood are all brick, one-story living ranging in size from 1800 square feet to just under 2600 square feet. Homeowners will live better in their “green” rated homes and enjoy the reduced energy bills that come along with the green building techniques.
Call today (919)960.6321 to find out how you can be part of the Chapelwood experience!
Posted 1 year, 1 month ago at 2:13 pm. Add a comment
If you are a broker in the Wilmington area, you were probably at the luncheon we hosted at the Courtyards at Regency in Landfall. Area brokers flocked to the decorated model to visit with Diane Thomas (neighborhood specialist), view the fabulous furnishings and enjoy the wonderful food and good friends. If you haven’t had the opportunity to tour these homes call Diane Thomas to set your appointment 910.520.0617
Posted 1 year, 2 months ago at 10:47 am. Add a comment
We are very proud of our office manager Leah who recently returned from running a half marathon in San Diego’s Rock N Roll Marathon.
One of about 5,000 participants from all over the world, Leah traveled with a group called Team IN Training, raising money and training for several months in advance. The Wilmington Chapter raised over $100,000 which will help find cures for the blood cancers that so many people suffer from.
“I never realized how important this organization was until Saturday night when I attended an Inspiration Dinner for Team in Training. As we walked into the San Diego convention center all I could hear was chanting and couldn’t figure out what was going on until I looked around and realized there were HUNDREDS of people in the Team in Training colors (purple and green) cheering for us! I couldn’t believe what I was seeing nor was I expecting any of it. It was definitely one of the most humbling experiences I have ever had, and couldn’t help but start crying tears of happiness!” says Leah
“We heard many inspiring stories that night and those stories stay with you the whole time you are running and they are what push you to finish no matter how much pain you are in.”
Leah was inspired during her run by all the people lined on either side of the course cheering on the runners and walkers on. The first 8 miles were easy going until she came upon a slight incline from miles 8-10 and after the incline a pretty steep decline on the 10-11 mile.
“After pushing myself so hard on the incline and trying not to roll down the hill on the decline I felt my leg start to tighten up and found myself on the side of the road in PAIN. Luckily a man (who was also a part of Team in Training) stopped to make sure I was ok and helped me stretch to get the knot out of my leg”
Pushing to finish in a goal of two hours, Leah and co-runner Becky came in at just 2 hours and 11 minutes, finding out later that out of all the roughtly 600 ½ marathoners they finished #47 and #48!
Congratulations Leah – We love you!
Posted 1 year, 2 months ago at 4:07 pm. Add a comment
Starting June 1, 2009 until December 31, 2009 Hagood Homes is pleased to bring you our Connect.LiveBetter contest.Anyone over 18 is eligble to play and you do NOT have to purchase a home to win (although, we sincerely hope you do).To sign up, simply join our mailing listand do your best to earn points, as seen below.Contestants can sign up at any time during the contest.
Every so often a word or phrase comes along that grabs the public’s attention. I bet when we look back, “Stimulus” , along with “Bail-Out” will be the hot button words of this era. Already we are seeing pizza companys such as this Dominos ad and others add the new lingo to their marketing.
Not to be outdone, Hagood Homes is offering a few stimulus’ of their own.
Stimulus #1 – 647 Belhaven Drive in SaltGrass at Marsh Oaks offers $15,000 to be used by the buyer’s discretion at closing. Some popular choices? A rate buy-down. In conjunction with the already low interest rates using the $15,000 to further buy down the rate can save you around $1200 a year!
Stimulus #2 – also in SaltGrass at Marsh Oaks – 643 Belhaven Drive (a recent Parade of Homes winner, by the way) is offering a $12,500 stimulus incentive. Idea? Use it to purchase new furniture! This home is perfect for couples “right sizing”. Whether you are scaling back in living space, or moving up from your first purchase – who wouldn’t love new furniture for a new home???
Stimulus #3 – Parkside at Mayfaire – 6522 Chalfont Circle is offering a $25,000 stimulus. Our suggestion? Add a swimming pool to the already sweeeetttt entertaining area in the backyard.
Here in Wilmington we know it’s summer when the concert series at Airlie Gardens starts. Tonight from 6pm until 8pm is the second in what is shaping up to be an awesome Summer Series.
“The Imitations” will be inspiring dancers of all ages under the massive oak trees in the garden. Bring a blanket and a cooler, come with the family, a group of friends or by yourself – you won’t be disappointed.
For those of you already living better in The Village at Summerset or Southern Oaks click the Map Link below to see how convenient it is for you to enjoy the concert series! View Larger Map
Posted 1 year, 3 months ago at 4:08 pm. Add a comment
Are you on Facebook? If so, you are amongst the 200 million active users. And now you can become a part of an elite group known as “Fans of Hagood Homes”.
It’s easy to do, simply follow the link and click on “Become a Fan”. From time to time we will send updates to our fans detailing specials on our available homes, events we will be hosting and “Facebook Challenges”.
Currently, we are running a challenge through the end of May in which the winner will win a $100 gift card. Now who couldn’t use $100 free money???
Hurry, you’ll want to become a fan today – once we reach 50 fans we will be announcing “Facebook Challenge #2″!!!
Posted 1 year, 3 months ago at 8:00 pm. Add a comment
We were thrilled when we received the phone call from the Cape Fear Homebuilders Association asking if we would allow the local tv station access to one of our beautifully decorated homes.
They wanted to shoot footage for a Parade of Homes commercial. We choose our available home in Parkside at Mayfaire – The Dram Tree. It was easy to shoot, because it offers plenty of natural light and has an open floorplan.
It isn’t the first time we’ve been asked access to our model homes. A few years ago a commercial for an international flooring company was shot using one of our model homes in Marsh Oaks. They also did a photo shoot for their print advertising which runs in major magazines such as Better Homes & Gardens.
Hagood Homes is looking forward to this years Parade of Homes, and we hope we will see you on the tour!
Posted 1 year, 4 months ago at 12:34 pm. Add a comment
The pot keeps getting sweeter for first time homebuyers!
As of April 20th the income restrictions for qualified buyers in the USDA Guaranteed Rural Housing Program will change. Briefly, the USDA program offers 100% financing to buyers that are buying in a “rural” area, that meet certain income limits. Couple this program with the $8,000 Stimulus Incentive and you could be pocketing cash while owning your very own home!
But what if you aren’t a first time homebuyer? Hagood Homes will offer you the same “refund” when purchasing a townhome in Three Oaks at Magnolia Greens. Incidentially, the townhomes at Three Oaks meet the qualifications of the USDA Housing Program!
But hurry, this opportunity will expire soon.
Allow us to provide you with more information – call us today 800.677.7524
Posted 1 year, 4 months ago at 9:37 am. Add a comment
Most Southern towns can boast a festival or two, but I don’t think there is one that compares with the Azalea Festival in Wilmington, North Carolina.
This year marks the 62nd anniversary of our Azalea Festival. The 5 day festival comes to it’s culmination this weekend. What started on Wednesday with the crowning of the Azalea Queen will continue with varied events, the parade, various concerts, garden tours, home tours and the street festival to mention a few.
Locals and patrons of the Azalea Festival will be donning thier best southern garden attire and attending the popular Garden Party this afternoon at Airlie Gardens, while tourist will be checking into the various hotels and condos around town.
We would love to hear how you celebrated Azalea Festival this year! What activities did you enjoy the most? Whether you are a full time homeowner, enjoying our area as a visitor, or have been coming to Wilmington as a second home – let us know you’re favorites!
Posted 1 year, 5 months ago at 9:06 am. Add a comment
… even if they aren’t yours. Our homes are built with your family in mind. We understand that you might be a couple with kids that are grown, but you want your guests to be comfortable when they visit. Or you might be a couple just starting a family, the room size is not all that important when you bring home your first child, but as they grow, you’ll definitely need the space. Or perhaps you are a single person, as many of our homeowners are, with family and friends that like to come and stay with you at the beach – your guests will certainly be impressed by the space you are offering them!
One of the many great features in every Hagood Home is the guest bedrooms. The guest bedrooms are not the standard 10×10 or 10×12 room. Our designer, Troy Kenny, appreciates the fact that a person will be using that room. She designs the room to fit the person, not the other way around. In fact, Troy designs all our Hagood Homes with the homeowner in mind.
We always love to hear feedback from our homeowners and prospective homeowners. What size guest bedroom do you think is ideal and why?
Posted 1 year, 5 months ago at 12:25 pm. Add a comment
