New England Cedar Homes - Chalet II

Waterways Golf and Spa Resort

GOLF, SKI & SPA Resort - BELFAST, NY

Luxury 2 & 3 Bedroom Custom Built Homes with 5 Star Amenities

Priced from $215,000-$400,000

This 5 Star Lifestyle Resort is in the heart of Western New York's stunning mountain surroundings. Come see what the best has to offer.. Whether purchasing as a new primary residence, or for an investment property, this private exclusive resort offers an upscale lifestyle product second to none!

Each home sold comes with a Membership to use all of the luxurious facilities on site as well as the service of the Resort's private coaches. Offering a 2 year Rental Guarantee, as well as Foreign Investor and US Financing, this is much more than an ordinary property development. Waterways Resort is a year round, SKI and GOLF resort that is currently making headlines in Up State New York for its exceptional use of area amenities.

While New York residents are flocking to this gorgeous new development as a primary residence, investors too can avail of a superior product that will not only provide capitol appreciation but also an opportunity to take advantage of all the winter and summer playtime activities included FREE with their membership in the resort, including both East and West separate 18 Hole golf courses, 2 mountain ski resorts, equestrian, fishing and spa facilities to name but just a few.

Each property will come with a Membership for either the owner or their tenant to use all of the luxurious facilities on site. During the Spring, Summer and Autumn months, the membership will include both golf courses on the site, fishing from the many lakes, ponds and river, horse riding & lessons, discount flying lessons, use of the luxury Spa Centre, tennis courts, as well as night time entertainment including a wonderful bar and all festivities at the convention centre. There will also be free transport for nights out to the nearby casino, coach tours to Niagara Falls, Toronto, Buffalo and surrounding wine country, and to many of the other cultural and historical tourist attractions dotting the area., and of course free pick up service to and from the airport.
During the Winter months, switch gear and you and your tenants can enjoy cross country skiing on the golf courses, the luxurious Spa Centre with indoor heated pool, more nighttime entertainment at the resort, and again pick up service to and from the airport.

In addition, there is also free transportation and ski passes to the downhill skiing area at Swain (20 minutes away) and Ellicottville, home to the Holiday Valley ski resort, which is only 30 minutes away. Winter or Summer, this is a full service, year round resort which offers fun and activities for all ages and entertainment desires!

In keeping with the Full Service Resort Style Living, full management of your property is included. Maintenance of the property is also included which will extend to the upkeep of the outside of your property, including grass and hedge cutting, street lighting, refuse collection, and internet services to name a few.

All common areas will be maintained and serviced as well.

The scenery - breathtaking.

The location - year round fun and enjoyment.

The investment - Top Class.

Property features and membership amenities at a glance.

*2 - 18-hole golf courses

* Free transport to Casino- 30 mins away

* Two ski resorts, 20 & 30 minutes away

* Free pick up service to and from airport

* All homes built along the golf courses

* Free drop off/pick up to ski resorts

* All homes custom built

* Free Spa Facility on site

* Free Pool - On site

* Site available for weddings/conventions & golf tournaments

* Free Tennis Court - On site

* Exterior property maintenance provided

* Bars - On site (Sorry, drinks not free!)

* Rental Management Company - In Place

* Free Fitness/Leisure Centre - On site

* Rental Guarantee for 2 years - In Place

* Water Sports - Close by

* Financing for US & Foreign Citizens (All the above is on site and is included in the membership) Prices and Sizes

Priced from $215,000 - $395,000, these gorgeous 2 and 3 bedroom custom built homes are from 945 - 1860 square feet.

Payment Stages for Purchase Signing of Contract 15% of price of house Start of Build 15% of price of house When house is ready 70% of price of house*

* Financing for this amount is available. Included with Maintenance of Unit: Upkeep around your property grass and hedge cutting Street lighting Refuge collection Free cable TV All common areas maintained and serviced. Investment: Guaranteed Rental Income For the first 2 years, with a minimum of 6 weeks per year.

The developer has teamed up with leisure and travel companies and can offer the owners a guaranteed rental of a minimum of $24,000 over two years for 12 weeks per year. Each additional week the unit is rented will provide an additional $1,000.00. The contract is for 6 weeks in winter months and 6 weeks all other times.

The ski resort of Swain is only 20 minutes from the Waterways Resort and has very little accommodations. With the free shuttle service provided to Members, this makes Waterways Resort very attractive for rentals.

Payment Plan: Ease of entry into your new investment Waterways Resort had devised a very straight forward and sensible payment plan for investors and owner occupants buying into the resort. A Pre-Build and booking deposit of 15% of the sales price is required up front. At the start of building your home a further 15% is put down and finally, upon completion, the final 70% is owed. This final amount may be financed, and we have also teamed up with a mortgage lender whose speciality is lending to foreign nationals looking to purchase into the US. Mortgages: Waterways Resort is proud to offer mortgages through Smart Money Overseas Ltd who will arrange 70% mortgages on behalf of their customers.

A high guaranteed rental return, combined with a 70% LTV financed at a very good interest rate, makes this gorgeous new project a wise choice for any investor or owner occupant.

About the Developer:

The Sawyers Group is made up of various companies that trade individually. The directors of Sawyers have been in business for over 30 years and whose main business is property developments in various countries including Ireland, Bulgaria and the United States. Over the past two years, the focus has been on building developments that include a leisure complex and which offer a high quality home combined with an exclusive lifestyle.

Free Seminar on Green Homes

Join us for a Free Seminar on Green Homes!

Saturday, January 31, 2009

1:00 PM – 5:00 PM

 

Holiday Inn Rutland / Killington

476 US Rt. 7 South
Rutland, Vermont

 

                Do you want to know more about building a green home?  Do you have questions about costs and options?  Get advice from industry professionals at a Free Seminar on Building a Green Home, where you can learn about topics such as:

 

·         Energy Efficient Home Design

·         Building a home with Structural Insulated Panels

·         Timber Framing and Post and Beam Homes

·         Geothermal and Solar Energy Systems

 

We have assembled a group of industry experts to present short seminar topics on energy efficient home design, materials, and construction.  You’ll walk away with specific details on how to get started designing a custom green home, energy efficient Structural Insulated Panels, timber framing, geothermal and solar energy systems, and more!

To see the proposed Itinerary and to register for the seminar, contact Bonin Architects & Associates at 603-504-6009 or visit www.boninarchitects.com.

 

 

Can I use Solar energy with my Log Home?

There are many places in the USA where the use of solar energy makes perfect sense for your log home, and you may be surprised where they are. Before you rush out and buy all those PV panels have a look at this calculator.

An Eco-Log Home that makes Sense

The Sundance Eco-home is a fully featured log home with two levels each of 1615 square feet. The practical design has added green benefits that will significantly reduce home operating costs, while still incorporating a touch of luxury.

The home is built using our patented Phoenix laminated Western Red Cedar eco-log. What are the benefits of this? Firstly, you start with the moisture and insect resistance of western red cedar, add the strength and stability of using kiln dried laminations and you get an exceptional log for building.

Standard features in this home is a fully finished insulated basement configured in your choice of recreation or bedrooms, the latest in energy efficient heating and cooling, plenty of decking, and the MODI Green Roof System. Doing your bit for the environment also saves you money on heating and cooling.

And best of all you get all 3,230 square feet, plus deck, with Viking appliances, granite bench tops and all the rest for just $239,900 on your land, ready to move into. Just add septic, well, and site works.

 

 

Sundance Eco-Home Just a few extra reasons to consider the Sundance Eco-Home. Eco-Home Brochure

FEATURES:

• Bonneville Low E with Argon Windows
• MODI Green Roof System
• Granite Bench Tops
• Viking Appliances
• Acadia Heating and Cooling
• Eternal Hybrid Tankless hot water

This offer is only available for orders placed before December 31, 2008.

Call Toll Free: 800 998 6132
New England Cedar Homes

Preaching to the Choir: Why Wood Homes make sense.

Natural resources fuel the building industry, and many of the materials used deplete those resources at an accelerating rate. The world is becoming more conscious of how human actions can impact the planet. The best emerging choice is wood, a sustainable resource. With proper management, wood can supply our needs for generations while new young forests absorb more carbon dioxide and release more oxygen than old forest reserves.

New England Cedar Homes draws from these reserves and also with the implementation of new Timber Frame Building systems, many of our products are engineered to utilize smaller pieces of wood applied together to make a stronger, more efficient building member. Drastically reducing wood waste.

Why Wood?....
We build with a variety of materials, from traditional products such as steel, wood, concrete and masonry to more modern alternatives such as plastics and composites. Assessing the environmental impact of each of these materials requires a look at the full life of the product, from its extraction to manufacturing through its use in service to disposal. At every step, each of these products can impact our environment. Out of all of these materials, wood emerges as the most environmentally responsible choice available today. Wood's natural attributes make it uniquely suited to both the performance and environmental demands for modern building materials.

Wood is the only naturally renewable building material produced today and its existence alone generates many good things for the environment. For example, a young forest produces 1.1 tons of oxygen and absorbs 1.47 tons of carbon dioxide for every ton of wood fiber, which stores the carbon. A typical 2,400 square foot wood house represents 28.5 tons of stored carbon dioxide, or the rough equivalent of seven years' of emissions from a small automobile.

As a natural material, wood is safe to handle and use, is biodegradable and can be recycled easily. Wood is converted into thousands of products, from lumber, panels and paper to shoe polish, liquid soaps and cologne.

Forest harvesting and renewability....
There is a popular misconception that America's forests are disappearing and that we are running out of trees. The facts, however, show just the opposite.
Forest growth in the U.S. has exceeded harvest continually since the 1940s. According to the Forest Service , the U.S. forest inventory has actually increased by 39 percent since 1952.

The U.S. is the leader in reforesting, planting some 2 billion new trees a year. The forest products industry is responsible for 41 percent of all replanted forest acreage. Thanks to these efforts, there are 10 million more acres of forestland in the U.S. today that there were 15 years ago.

The forest products industry does more than just plant and harvest trees. As foresters, wood products companies follow rigorous standards and forest practices to protect the trees, soil, air, water and wildlife.

Responsible choices....
It all comes back to choices. If we are to join the growing number of responsible people who advocate the sustainable and wise use of our natural resources, we must measure our choices between one building material and another. We must look at all aspects of each material, from extracting to manufacturing to final use, and consider the variety of impacts such actions can have on our planet.

By nearly any measure, wood offers the best choice among building materials for most uses. It is strong, light, durable and safe to handle. It uses less energy over its lifetime, generates little pollution and is biodegradable for disposal. It is naturally renewable and there are ways to assure that the wood we use is being produced sustainably and responsibly.

We have the ability to take anything we want from this earth. But we also have the responsibility to take it wisely and give back what we can.
We all have choices. In building materials, there is only one clear choice: wood.

Finance your Log Home - Reality Check

Log Home Mortgage Reality Check

1. First, I think it is important to know that FUNDING IS AVAILABLE. We’ve surveyed several national bank managers throughout the US and they have indicated that many banks are finding that their local lenders have shifted away from construction lending. Therefore, there is a feeling that banks are not lending on new construction currently. While it is true that many banks are reducing risk in their portfolios by eliminating construction programs, there are certainly many banks that are still offering fair and competitive construction options. More than ever before, you may need to more aggressively look for those lenders that still support new construction lending.

2. It is very important that you understand that borrowers WILL NOT be able to get approved for as large of loans as they could in the past. One of the most important factors that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have altered is the maximum debt to income allowance. Moving forward, the maximum total debt allowance will be 45%, based on verifiable taxable income. In the past, the debt ratio could go as high as 60% in some cases, if the credit scores were high and the loan to value was lower than 80% - these compensating factors allowed investors to allow for higher debt to income approvals. Now, as a result of the millions of people that cannot currently afford their payments, the investors have established a more conservative and firm line. How does this impact someone planning to build? For example, a couple with gross earnings of $8,000 per month and current debt obligations of $2,000 a month, would qualify for roughly $50-$80,000 less of a loan amount. Clearly, this will make a HUGE impact on the budgets that you can afford. For this reason, more than ever before, you will want to be sure you pre-qualify for financing as early as possible. Don’t risk your time and effort to find out that you cannot fund the home you are planning.

3. Build up – not down. I have stressed this in the past, but it can never be covered too many times. Finished space (including bedrooms and baths) that are planned for the basement area, regardless of whether it is a walk out, WILL NOT be counted by the appraiser when they look for comps. From my experience, especially in the current housing market, I would recommend that you do not consider home plans with less than three bedrooms and two baths that are all above grade (for those folks needing construction loans). If you are using cash or an equity line to build, they can do anything you desire. However, you will be at risk should you need to sell the property later. For customers needing conventional financing, if a customer needs additional finished space, it is always better to build a second story than finish rooms in a basement.

4. I wanted to again review the current credit score requirements and maximum loan to value allowances. For borrowers with credit scores of 700 or higher, we can currently offer up to 95% financing in most cases (based on the lower of the appraisal or the acquisition cost of the land plus the turnkey build costs) for a new primary residence. For borrowers with credit scores ranging from 660 to 699, the maximum financing is 80%. For second homes, the maximum lending currently allows for 80% (based on the lower of the appraisal or the acquisition cost of the land plus the turnkey build costs).

5. As we are all aware, home values in many areas have been decreasing. As a result, mortgage insurance providers have restricted their issuance for coverage in many areas to mitigate risk. These new “restricted” market lists essentially limit the maximum loan to value to 80% in certain parts of the U.S. To find out if the areas where you sell are affected, go to the website of major mortgage insurer MGIC at http://mgic.com/guides/restrictedmarkets.html. Or, after you meet a customer, plug in their property zip code. The site will let you know whether the market qualifies for standard or restricted mortgage insurance guidelines. These guidelines will change quarterly based on housing sales data. If your area is restricted, you can be mentally prepared that your customers will need 20% down payment from their lot equity or from available cash.

6. A fast moving trend that has occurred over the past 12-18 months is the addition of builder approval requirements to obtain construction lending. As banks consider risk management, especially for new construction, it is not only the borrower that can make a loan go south. While the bank does not have a direct relationship to the chosen GC for the build, indirectly they will want to know that the builder is on relatively solid financial footing. They will also want to see that the GC has a reputation of paying sub-contractors and/or materials providers. As a result, they will be asked to provide financials or tax returns, as well as agree to a credit check as part of the borrowers overall loan approval processing.

7. Finally, one of the biggest changes that will impact our industry is the elimination of Owner Builder or Owner General Contractor loans. One only needs to look to the failure of IndyMac Bank to understand why lenders no longer offer these construction loan options. While the concept of Owner Builder and/or Owner GC seems solid on paper, the statistics for failure to meet original budget or finish within the allowed construction term for these loans are simply overwhelming. Based on our experience, there is roughly a 33% failure rate. As a result, and as stated in the past, American Home Bank has completely discontinued any options for Owner Builder or Owner GC projects. In our current program, the borrower will be allowed to submit a maximum of three separate contracts to establish their turnkey budget and they must have a general contractor of record. As stated above, the GC must meet the banks builder approval requirements.