Highland Homes has identified a list of environmentally friendly options that you can add to your home. If you choose three or four of these options, you’ll get 5 percent off your upgrade price. If you choose five or six options, you’ll get 7 percent off the upgrade price. And if you choose seven or more of the environmentally friendly options, you’ll get 10 percent off the upgrade price.

The eligible options are: 2” faux wood blinds; radiant barrier; Low-E dual pane windows; foam injected wall block; DuPont Corian® countertops; Cambria Natural Quartz Surfaces™ countertops; upgraded Whirlpool® ENERGY STAR® dishwasher, refrigerator or washer and dryer; Delta® ENERGY STAR® bath faucet (Lahara Series); Mohawk® “Green” carpet; and Taexx® pest tubing.

In some Highland Homes communities, radiant barrier and foam injected wall block are included in every home, so you’re already saving money and won’t need to count those among your options.

Highland Homes is currently building in 22 Central Florida neighborhoods, and you can Go Green, Save Green in any one of them. Start searching for your new home now.

If you choose to go green, your home will be constructed with energy-saving foam injected wall block, a radiant barrier, Low-E dual pane windows, and Level 1 Mohawk® green carpet (environmentally friendly, that is – not the color green!). On an 1,800 square foot home, the upgrades would normally cost about $5,800. With the free upgrade special, you can save on the green items now and on  your energy bills for the lifetime of your home.

If you choose the luxurious route, your home will have Level 1 floor tile in all wet areas, Glacier White Corian countertops in the kitchen and baths, blinds, and your choice of white, bisque or black microwave and refrigerator. For an 1,800 square foot home, the upgrades would normally add about $10,500 to the price of your home.

For more information, visit the Highland Homes website. You can preview home styles and learn more about our company, which has been Central Florida’s Value Leader for more than a decade.

Choose your upgrade package, choose a convenient location, and even choose your floor plan and features. It’s all about you, but you need to act fast!

And there’s more. Shelter Mortgage will be on-site for mortgage qualification. You could end up in a home priced from the $120,000s and financed at a 2.75% interest rate! Of course, this isn’t just any home you’ll buy. It’s a Highland Home, built with name-brand materials, stem wall foundations and concrete block construction.

With more than 30 home plans available in Bristol III at Deer Creek, you are bound to find one that suits your family’s style. We’re building homes with three to five bedrooms, two or three baths and up to 2,677 square feet. The neighborhood is located in historic St. Cloud – close to the excitement of Orlando but surrounded by peace and quiet.

Visit the Highland Homes website for directions, to preview home styles and to learn more about our company, which has been Central Florida’s Value Leader for more than a decade. You can also call the New Home Sales Consultant at Deer Creek, Kristen Hash, at 407-593-2115.

See you Sunday!

“Our consistent ranking among the nation’s Top 100 builders demonstrates our continued growth and success, even in the difficult economy,” said Kathie McDaniel, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Highland Homes.

Highland Homes’ most recent growth is in the Blackwater Creek community, located on Galloway Road just a half mile from Knights-Griffin in the Lakeland area. Highland Homes will build three-, four- and five-bedroom homes of 1,800 square feet and up in the gated community. With homes priced from the low to mid $100,000s, Blackwater Creek is convenient to Lakeland Square Mall and I-4, yet it offers a quiet, secluded atmosphere.

Highland Homes is also building in the nearby Stonewood community, and the Stonewood model will serve as the sales center for Blackwater Creek. The 2,400-square-foot Winston II floorplan, offering four bedrooms and two bathrooms, is representative of the homes available in Blackwater Creek.

Highland Homes is also expanding into its sixth Central Florida county, Manatee County, where they will build homes in South Oak in Ellenton. Located near the Ellenton Prime Outlets, South Oak will extend affordable options and Highland Homes’ signature quality and value to a new group of Florida new home buyers. The three- to five-bedroom homes, with up to almost 2,700 square feet, are priced from the $100,000s.

For more information, visit www.HighlandHomes.org or call 863-619-7103.

“We have often partnered with USDA in the past to get area homebuyers into new Highland homes with no money down,” said Kathie McDaniel, Highland Homes’ Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “This is an opportunity to help even more Central Florida residents who are unable to help themselves right now. We invite everyone in the community to join the effort and make a difference in the lives of your neighbors.”

For a complete list of new home communities and directions, visit the Highland Homes website at www.HighlandHomes.ORG or call 863-619-7103.

A recent article in the Bradenton Herald shows no slow down in home sales with the expiration of the tax credit. A total of 1,068 existing single-family homes changed hands in June, the most since August 2005, the Florida Realtors trade association said. It also was the fourth consecutive month of 1,000-plus sales, something that also hasn’t happened in five years. June’s figure was 3.8 percent higher than May’s 1,029 sales. The June tally was even better than a year ago, when 789 homes changed owners.

Local prices also were up, but not by as much. The median sales price — the point where half sold for more and half for less — was $170,400 last month, up from $166,400 in May and $162,700 in June 2009, according to the trade group. The data reflects closings, which usually occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are signed. While the credit helped spur sales locally, low prices and historically low mortgage interest rates were bigger factors behind the June sales lift. Home prices have fallen as foreclosures, short sales and distressed properties continue to dominate the market. Market analysts agreed, saying that combination is drawing investors, second-home buyers and international buyers in numbers not seen since the 2004-06 housing boom.

In Florida, June home resale’s were up 7.7 percent from May and 15 percent higher than June 2009’s figure. The median price was $143,000 in June, $140,400 in May and $147,700 in June 2009. Florida’s showing outpaced U.S. home sales, which fell 5.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.37 million units in June from 5.66 million in May, the National Association of Realtors said. But it was 9.8 percent higher than the 4.89 million-unit pace in June 2009.

With all this good news, Highland Homes anticipates new sales immediately and hopes to locate other new communities in the surrounding areas. For more information about Highland Homes newest community, visit their website at www.highlandhomes.org.

For more information on home sales in Manatee County, see this recent article by Bradenton.com.

Be sure to arrive in time to watch the pooch parade. Owners and dogs dress alike and strut their stuff down the Kentucky Avenue. Make sure to stop by the Highland Homes booth to find out more about the beautiful, affordable Lakeland new homes we build in Lakeland, Florida.

Other activities include improv from Shorts n Flip Flops, a comedy troupe that puts on a hilarious show with audience involvement. The General Store will customize dog accessories for purchase and Brooke Pottery will showcase their dog-themed jewelry. Paint Along Studios is offering 24 spots in the studio at $35 per person, and all proceeds will be donated to the SPCA.

As you can see, downtown Lakeland is the place to be this Friday. Be sure you don’t miss the action! Click here for more information on the Dog Days of Summer.

Highland Homes is now hiring new home sales professionals for South Oak and offers great pay and benefits.  Sales experience and customer service skills are a must and experience with a national home builder is a plus.  Email your resume to k.mcdaniel@highlandhomes.org.

Highland Homes, based in Lakeland, FL, builds new homes from the low $100s in 6 Florida counties.  They offer homebuyers the ability to move into a new home with only $99 down and offer plans from 1100 to 2800 square feet.  With their reputation as “The Value Leader”, they are continuing to grow and were recently recognized as #73 on the nation in Builder Magazine’s Builder 100 List.

For more information on Highland Homes, visit www.HighlandHomes.ORG.

To help keep everyone safe, we’d like to share some drowning facts (from knowbeforeyougo.com).

How much time does it take to drown?
In the time it takes to…

• Cross a room for a towel (10 sec), a child in a bathtub can be submerged
• Answer the phone (2 min), a child can loose consciousness
• Sign for a package at the front door (4-6 min), a child submerged in a tub or pool can sustain permanent brain damage

How much water does it take to drown?

• Inches of water in a bathtub
• A bucket of water
• Standing water on top of a pool or spa cover
• Any amount of water that covers the mouth & nose

Do people always yell for help?

• Most children do not yell for help
• Non-swimmers or exhausted swimmers are unable to call for help
• Drowning victims may be struggling under the water.

Water Safety Tips (from knowbeforeyougo.com and aap.org):

• Teach children water safety and swimming skills as early as possible.   Classes are recommended for children age 4 and older. Classes may reduce the risk of drowning in younger children as well, but because children develop at different rates, not all children will be ready to swim at the same age.
• Don’t rely on swimming lessons, life preservers, or other equipment to make a child “water safe.”
• Always brief babysitters on water safety, emphasizing the need for constant supervision.
• Never assume someone else is watching a child in a pool area and always maintain constant visual contact with children in a pool or pool area.
• Appoint a “designated watcher” to monitor children during social gatherings at or near pools.
• Don’t use flotation devices as a substitute for supervision.
• Closely supervise children in and around water. With infants, toddlers and weak swimmers, an adult should be within an arm’s length. With older children and better swimmers, an adult should be focused on the child and not distracted by other activities.
• Equip doors and windows that exit to a pool area with alarms.
• Install four-sided isolation fencing, at least five feet high, equipped with self-closing and self-latching gates, that completely surrounds the pool and prevents direct access from the house and yard.
• Never prop the gate to a pool area open.
• Don’t leave objects such as toys that might attract a child in the pool and pool area.
• Don’t leave chairs or other items of furniture where a child could use them to climb into a fenced pool area.
• Install a poolside phone, preferably a cordless model, with emergency numbers programmed into speed-dial.
• Post CPR instructions and learn the procedures. Keep rescue equipment poolside. Don’t wait for the paramedics to arrive because you will lose valuable life-saving seconds. Four to six minutes without oxygen can cause permanent brain damage or death.
• Keep a first aid kit at poolside.
• If a child is missing, check the pool first; seconds count in preventing death or disability.
• If children are in out-of-home child care, ask about exposure to water and the ratio of adults to children.
• All children should wear a life jacket when riding in a boat. Small children and non-swimmers should also wear one at water’s edge, such as on a river bank or pier.
• Parents should know the depth of the water and any underwater hazards before allowing children to jump in. The first time you enter the water, jump feet first; don’t dive.
• When choosing an open body of water for children to swim in, select a site with lifeguards. Swimmers should know what to do in case of rip currents (swim parallel to the shore until out of the current, then swim back to the shore).
• Counsel teenagers about the increased risk of drowning when alcohol is involved.

The model home at Whitemarsh showcases the Winston II design, one of Highland Homes’ most popular plans. The 2,350 square-foot model is finished with real wood cabinets, tiled tubs and showers, landscaping with irrigation, and a screened lanai – all items that are included in the base price of the home.  The four-bedroom home includes an oversized master suite, large storage areas, and walk-in closets in all bedrooms.

Known as Central Florida’s “Value Leader” since 1996, Highland Homes builds homes to the highest standards, with high-quality, name brand materials such as Whirlpool appliances, Mohawk carpet and Delta faucets. The home plans available in Whitemarsh offer from three to five bedrooms and two or three baths. They range in size from 1,121 to more than 2,800 square feet. Buyers can choose among a wide variety of interior and exterior options, such as energy efficient Radiant Barrier or high-end Cambria countertops.

Located next to Dilly Marsh, Whitemarsh offers roomy homesites that average 80’ x 135’. Many of the sites offer breathtaking views of the marsh. Not only beautiful, the community is also convenient to the Florida Turnpike and surrounding counties, with shopping, golfing, fishing, kayaking and hiking just minutes away. While Leesburg is quiet and laid back, the attractions of Orlando are just an hour’s drive.

For more information on Highland Homes and the homes at Whitemarsh, visit the www.HighlandHomes.ORG or call Conroy at 352-326-5405.