HPG-30002-1 - The Stonewood Lane

In part 1 of this 3 part series, we’ll talk about two very important aspects of popular home designs – Livability and Floorplan Flexibility…

We’d love to hear your feedback on what features you’d like to see in your new house plans, so be sure to give us a call at 601-264-5028 or send us an email….

One of the most popular questions that people ask when searching for that “perfect” house plan is “What are (currently) the most requested floorplan / home features that people are looking for”"

This particular question is one that is quite difficult to answer, in absolute terms, since each person/family can be in a completely different stage of life (senior vs. younger, families vs. individuals, etc), can have different livability needs, and can have incredibly diverse tastes in home style, building materials, etc.

As such, I”ll try to provide you with several general trends, as they are, for today’s current crop of stock home plans.

#1: Livability – The first key feature is that of Livability. Today’s home buyer/builder wants a home plans that fits the way that they conduct their daily lives. For many younger families, that can mean a re-purposing of a formal dining room into a children’s play area or much-needed home office.

Another livability enhancement might be that of incorporating an open floorplan layout that better facilitates the interaction and close relative proximity of the family unit. Large amounts of storage space and large walk-in closets are also a feature that most home buyers are looking for in their next home design.

#2: Floorplan Flexibility – Many of the more progressive stock house plan design firms, like House Plan Gallery, have realized the inherent need of house floor plans flexibility, and have met those needs by including a number of multi-use type spaces in their floorplans, including flex-spaces and bonus rooms.

Generally speaking, a “flex-space” is exactly as its name implies. A flexible-space which can be used for a purpose most needed by the individual / family living in the house at the current time. The room’s function might change over time, due to the family’s current needs, but typical uses include an children’s playroom, home study, extra storage, and/or an extra bathroom.

Conversely, a “bonus room” is usually created (by designer’s intent) due to an inherent feature of the particular house design style. For example, a house with a traditional style might utilize a relatively high-pitched gable over the garage area of the home. The “unused” space created by the gable and the relative location of the “bonus space” in the overall floorplan, can create a usable space that, if appropriately accessible via stairs in the house floor plan layout, can create a extremely useful livable space, which would ordinarily have been included as part of the attic.

This type of space represents a extremely good value in a price per square foot regard, as its relatively inexpensive to additionally build since the core structure of the space has already been built (the floor via the roof of the garage, and the ceiling via the vaulted interior roof of the house).

If you’re looking for a specific example of an Award-winning flexible floorplan design, you can check out one of our most popular home designs – HPG-20002-1 – The Forrest Wood.

This traditional country style home has become very popular with our customers and has a tremendous amount of usable space, not to mention including many of the most requested floorplan features.

Again, you can view this plan online at http://www.houseplangallery.com/HPG-20002-1

Thanks for listening to this week’s podcast.  Join us for next week’s episode, where we’ll continue into part 2 of our series on the most popular home design features in stock house plans.

Finally, we’re always here to help you find a house plan for your family, and you can always feel free to visit us online at http://www.HousePlanGallery.com or give us a call at 601-264-5028 if we can help you with your new house plans.

Thanks again, and let us know if we can help!

Popularity: 4% [?]

Award-Winning Traditional House Plan - HPG-1752-1 - The Remington

How many people have dealt with contractors without getting a signed contract only to say later on, “I wish I’d got that in writing”?

Far too many to count, and you may be among them if you are having work done on your property or having a new home built – without proper contracts in place.  

A contract is your “ace in the hole” when it comes to dealing with shady contractors or those that try to tell you one thing and then do another!

Even for the most simple home improvement projects, when you hire a general contractor to make the project go along more smoothly, you still need a written agreement with the contractor.  

Let’s look at some tips to keep your project from turning into a money-pit and what you should do before you hire a general contractor.

Signing on the “Dotted” Line

When hiring your general contractor to build your new 4 bedroom house plans, find out if he or she have their own contracts, or if you need to draw one up – either way is fine as long as both of you agree to and understand the terms of the contract.  

If the contractor has his own contract, make certain that you read through the entire contract and that everything in the contract is something that you are willing to say “yes” to; if not, make sure that you go back to the drawing board and have the contract revised before you sign it.  The contract between you and your general contractor should cover all of these very important points:

- Spell it out.  No matter how minute or unimportant something may seem, you want to make sure that you have spelled everything out for the contractor, including your name and address, the contractor’s name and address, the exact specification of what work is to be completed and so forth.  

Everyone involved needs to be able to look at the contract and determine that everything is completed at the end of the project so that neither you nor the contractor is surprised at the end of the process building your small house plans.  

It is completely legal for the contractor to demand more money for work completed that is not within the scope of the original contract, so make sure to spell it out before the work is started so that you don’t end up paying extra.

- Itemize all materials.  Your contract should include an itemized list of everything that the contractor plans to use for the project.  Do not use phrases that are non-specific of a particular cost or item, such as the phrase ‘of equal value’.  

This gives your contractor more room to pocket the difference between an item that you plan to pay for and something that may cost less but is considered to be of an equal value.  Your contract should state that any substitutions require your prior approval.

- Arrange for milestones.  You should outline the milestones for the project, and the date that certain parts of the project should be completed by, along with a payment plan of a certain percentage of the project’s total cost to be paid at the time the milestone is reached.

The reason that milestones are so important is very obvious; many contractors will ask for a percentage of money upfront, and you may not hear from them for long periods of time.  For this reason, make sure that the contractor understands that work must be completed in a timely fashion to qualify for payments under the milestone plan.

- Penalty section.  While not legal in all states, a penalty section is a good idea to protect you against problems that may arise if the work completed is not up to code or to your specifications.  

You can also include a penalty for late work that is not completed according to the milestone payments plan – but you will need to make some considerations for inclement weather or circumstances beyond the control of the contractor.

- Always triple check your contract before signing it.  If possible, have an attorney review contracts for especially large projects, and to make sure that the contract is legally binding in your location.

CLICK HERE to Shop Online for your family’s next 4 Bedroom House Plans…

Popularity: 7% [?]

Award-Winning Home Design - HPG-2510B-1 - The Windsor House

You may have always heard the old adage that “first impressions” are the ones that count most – and this is all too true when it comes to curb appeal and your home.  

If you are having new home floor plans designed, or revamping your existing home (perhaps to put it on the market), then you must add some curb appeal in order to make your home a stand out in the neighborhood. Landscaping choices can go a long way towards adding curb appeal – which means that lawn maintenance and lawn care has taken on a whole new importance.

Curb Appeal Tip: Go For a Healthy Lawn

Just like a bright smile is a sign of health, a beautiful, healthy, green lawn that is lush and full, yet manicured, is a sign of a well-kept home.  Whip your lawn into shape by using fertilizer, weed eliminator, and good techniques with edging to add maximum curb appeal.

Curb Appeal Tip:  Choose Contrasting Plants

The plants around your lawn can make or break the appearance of your Country style house plans, and give it an inviting look.  Choose plants that contrast with the mulch you are using for maximum visual impact; as an example, if your plants are dark and rich, then choose light mulch and dark mulch for light colored plants.

Curb Appeal Tip: Choose Plants by Foliage, Not Flowers

While flowers are beautiful and can add some nice curb appeal, they don’t last very long. To get the most for your money, choose plants and landscaping that have beautiful, dark foliage instead.

Curb Appeal Tip: Keep it Manicured

When we want to make a good impression, we make sure our appearances are manicured.  The same is true for your lawn.  Mow it, trim it, edge it, and clip it – including your lawn, trees and plants – to get the most curb appeal.

Curb Appeal: Don’t Go Over the Top

Keep your landscaping simple and clean, don’t overdo it.  One of the obvious disadvantages to “too much” landscaping is that it is harder to maintain properly.  Likewise, it creates visual clutter that may detract from your home.  You want your home and your property to be inviting, but too much landscaping can actually be intimidating – especially if you’re trying to sell your house.  Who wants to trim two acres of hedge? That might be an exaggeration, but never do more landscaping than you are comfortable with maintaining regularly.

Curb Appeal: Other Exterior Concerns

Besides your landscaping, there are other concerns for the outside of your traditional home design that you should take into consideration when it comes to adding curb appeal.  Obviously, you want a great walk way to the front exterior.  Make sure the walk way is uncluttered and laid out well.  The driveway to the home should be in excellent shape (no “pot” holes or cracks).  The exterior lighting should be clean and in good working order as well.

When you take these considerations and put them into action, you’ll find that enhancing your home’s curb appeal is easier than ever.

CLICK HERE to shop online for your family’s new house plans!

Popularity: 8% [?]

Hiring a reputable contractor can be accomplished if the research is done before making a decision. New home construction, like any other industry, has both good and not so good people involved in it. Taking the time to assess the situation (and the contractor) before hand can save time and money throughout the project.

Bids for the Project

The best practice for securing bids from contractors is to provide each contractor that will bid on the project with a copy of the small house plan designs, and prepare a form for the contractor to submit the bid on. Each contractor should have the same exact information and the same exact forms to submit the bid on. Providing each contractor with identical information will insure that there is no miscommunication in getting what is needed.

Once the bids have been submitted review them diligently, keeping in mind that the lowest bid is not always the best. Any possible candidate for the job should be fully licensed, bonded and insured to work on your property without liability to you; if someone falls off the roof, whose insurance covers that? You need to find these things out in advance. A reputable contractor will also have his own insurance.

About Low Bids

Value for your dollar is more important than lower and higher when reviewing bids. When reviewing the bids keep in mind that value is what the goal is – finding a contractor that will provide the best value for the dollar. Best value can be determined by, best service, experience, best materials, and length of time that the contractor takes to complete the project once he gets started. Essentially if something seems too good to be true with a contractor it probably is.

Accepting the lowest bid could compromise the quality of the  project. Unfortunately many times the lowest bid is submitted by a contractor that does not have the staff to commit to a larger project hence the lower bid, or the contractor may use subpar materials on the project which is another money saver for the contractor but not something anyone would like for their project. In extreme cases the contractor provides the lowest bid to get the job takes fifty percent up front than never does the job.

Take a Couple of Additional Steps

Before making a decision, take a few additional steps. Contact the Better Business Bureau in your area and make and inquiry about the contractor. Look out for a few flags from the contractor. If the contractor gives only a PO Box as an address, if the contractor asks for more than half the money up front, if the contractor asks that you file for permits -these are all signs of bad business practices.

There are also a few other indicators that should be noted; if there are complaints on record with the Better Business Bureau take heed, don’t ignore the complaints. Don’t be pressured into quick decisions, do the research and keep in mind the lowest bid is most likely not the best bid.

Shop online for the top customer-rated 4 bedroom house plans at HousePlanGallery.com!

Popularity: 11% [?]

Over the last year, the HPG-2200C-1 – The Avondale Court house plan has become one of our most popular home designs, and our customers have told us that there are several reasons for that..

Here are a few reasons why:

- Front exterior design is very attractive and unique

- Extremely large two car garage which is situated at the rear right of the home

- Optional and large bonus room that can be built out initially or later on as their family’s need arises

- Large front AND rear covered porches with great views out the breakfast area windows

- Highly-flexible floorplan layout that can evolve to better fit needs over time

- Walk in pantry

- Large laundry room with half bath

- Large master suite with oversized his and her walk in closets

And here is a happy customer testimonial from Ann in Cleveland, Mississippi:

“We were so happy to have found the HPG-2200C-1 house plan. It met all of our needs and has absolutely no wasted space. We have already started the building process and its coming along great. The team at House Plan Gallery was a pleasure to work with, and we can’t wait to move in!”

And remember, if you like this plan but would like several modifications made to the design, give us a call at 601-264-5028, and we’ll be glad to give you a 100% Free, No-Obligation modification quote…

Have a blessed day, and let us know how we can help,

Mark

Popularity: 14% [?]