Update on Shaun's story!!

Time for an update on the partnership between Dan Ryan Builders and Interfaith Housing Alliance! Within the past week, foundation and framing has gone up, making Shaun's dream home more of a reality!

Shaun at the future site of his home!

Keep checking back to see the progress on Shaun's home! We will keep you updated every step of the way!

Community Profile: Bridlewood Farms

Today, I am trying something new and focusing my attention on Bridlewood Farms! This Convenient Country Community has .25+ acre home sites, just 15 mins from historic Summerville.

There’s a lot I can say about Bridlewood Farms, District II Schools to include our elementary Beech Hill, winner of Palmetto’s finest award, one of only 4 schools in the entire state of South Carolina!  But I’d like to share with you something one of our residents had to say when asked why she chose Bridlewood Farms:

 "Loved the setting, but the prices and 100% USDA financing were the main draw for me. Since moving in though what I have enjoyed most is seeing the children outside playing and riding their bicycles- reminds me of the way it was when I was growing up and it’s the first place I have seen this happening in years. Obviously residents have formed a sense of community and feel that our neighborhood is safe enough for their children to act like children."

 Visit Bridlewood Farms today to see why Dan Ryan Builders and Bridlewood Farms delivers not only a solid and affordable investment but a lifestyle of unforgettable memories!

 

Partners in Homeownership - Flooring Selections

"Nothing ever sounds so sweet- As the pitter patter of Little Feet". 

Last week Shaun met at CTI with his IHA Homeownership Manager to choose his flooring for throughout his new Dan Ryan Builder's home, which is being built in partnership with Interfaith Housing Alliance. 

For Shaun, this decision is just one more step to bringing his dream of home ownership to reality!

For more information on the program IHA offers or how you can get involved visit www.interfaithhousing.org

Decorate your child's room with style!

All of these rooms are in Dan Ryan homes!

I was looking at the Dan Ryan pinterest page today, and I was inspired by our "For the Kids!" board. It showcases some of our favorite decorating ideas for kid's rooms as well as adorable products to buy for your little one! Anyways, I got to thinking about how much time and effort people put into their kid's room when they move to a new home. Usually, the child's room is the first to get painted and decorated (kids are not the most patient creatures, after all). So why not make it a fun place your kids will want to go to?

HGTV gives us 10 tips to make your child's room beautiful and functional. Here are some of my favorites:

1.) Most craft and hobby stores sell an additive to paint that allows it to glow in the dark. Try painting stars and a moon on your child's ceiling or a cityscape around the edge of the room. This will get them excited about turning out the lights at night.

2.) If you are painting a dresser or other furniture you know the child will grow out of be sure to let them help. The child could also put their signature on it with personal hand prints or fingerprints for a polka-dot design.

3.)  Kids are collectors, so make collecting easy. Pictures and postcards don't always have to be stuck to a cork board. Try hanging them from strings in front of a window or clipping them to a string along the wall to create an interactive border in a room.

4.)  To help your kids stay organized, keep things at their height. Closet storage, benches and coat racks will all be used more often if kids can get to them easily.
{Read the whole article here}

 These tips and ideas will make your child's room their favorite in the house. Now, you have to think about a different place to send them for punishment!

Website Redesign!

Go to the Dan Ryan Builders website. Take a good long look at it, because by the time the first leaves fall from the trees, the website we all know and love will be completely different. The IT department at Dan Ryan Builders is hard at work updating the website. Spear-headed by our resident graphic design guru, Sarah, the new website will have a cleaner, more fresh look.

The new redesign will also feature a brand new gallery of homes so users can get an up close view of every aspect of the home. Everyone over here at Dan Ryan is excited about the new website overhaul. One staff member said, "the new website will be amazing. It will look so much more elegant than the old one."

Keep checking the Dan Ryan Builders page for the new website! You won't be disappointed.

Visit the "old" Dan Ryan site [here]

Save water this summer

Water is the most important substance on earth. And with a limited amount of fresh water on the planet, it is important that we conserve where we can. If we save money in the process, that's just a perk!

Here are some water-saving tips to make your home energy and cost-efficient!

Bathroom

•  Install a low-flow shower head. Water saved: about 2 gallons per minute.
•  heck regularly for any leaks in your toilet, faucets and water hose bibs and fix them. Water saved: up to 200 gallons per day. 

Kitchen

• Don't rinse dishes before loading dishwasher. Water saved: 20 gallons per load. 
•  Wash only full loads in the dishwasher. An efficient dishwasher usually uses much less water than washing dishes by hand.

Around the house 

•  Insulate hot water pipes where possible to avoid long delays (and wasted water) while waiting for the water to "run hot." When building a new home, keep the distance short between the hot water heater and showers and other places that hot water is used.
• Wash only full loads in the clothes washer. Washing small loads uses over twice as much water per pound of laundry.

 [Read the article]

Adding these tips to your daily schedule will save you hundreds of dollars on your next water bill-and Mother nature will thank you too. 


To see how Dan Ryan Builders is doing their part to help save water, visit  here

Building with women in mind

There's an old American proverb that says "Men build houses; women build homes".  It seems that home builders across the country are taking women's needs and opinions into account when building their homes.

Open floor plan in a Dan Ryan home

Home construction is preformed mainly by men, so it's no surprise that homes are often built without features that women prefer. Here is a list of some features that women have spoken up about (from Sutton.com):

• Formal dining rooms are elegant but rarely used in today's more casual social atmosphere. Who wants to be stuck in the kitchen making wonderful dishes while the guests are off in another room? Open concept designs allow the chef to cook and talk with guests at the same time.

•  Having a quiet, soundproof room where it is possible to get a good night's sleep is essential, especially for busy parents  

• Solid plastic shower stalls are easier to clean and manufacturers have created a wide range of styles to suit almost any decor. 

•  A laundry shoot in a multi-level home is a great convenience. Rather than hauling clothes and bed sheets down stairs, simply drop them in a shoot that ends up at the laundry room. 

•  Hardwood and tile in high traffic areas are preferable to carpeting. They don't show dirt as quickly as carpet and it is faster to thoroughly clean hardwood and tile.  

[Read the article] 

These kinds of features add ambiance, convenience, and resale value to any home-traits that men AND women can appreciate.

Summer Lawn Care tips!

As the temperatures rise and rainfall becomes a distant memory, our lawns bear the brunt of the summer heat. We want to make your Dan Ryan home look as beautiful as possible, and we know that starts with an immaculate lawn.

Here are some tips on how to make sure your lawn stays green all summer:

• Water deeply and less frequently to encourage drought-tolerant roots
• Raise your mower blade-taller grass is more drought-tolerant, grows deeper roots, and helps shade the earth to prevent weed seeds from germinating
• Consider installing stepping stones in high-traffic areas. This will significantly improve the look of your lawn so you don't have brown, bald patches
• Stop applying fertilizer 30 days before your area's summer temperatures arrive. The manure can actually burn your lawn!

With these easy tips, you can ensure that your lawn is the most beautiful on the block!

{Read the article here]

Partners in Homeownership - Foundation Poured!

Ground has been broken for Shaun's new home at Nottingham Meadows in Franklin County, PA! The DRB Project Mangers, Matt and Bill, have been hard at work continuing the Dan Ryan Builder's legacy of service and high-quality construction in starting Shaun's home in partnership with Interfaith Housing Alliance.

Steps that have occurred thus far for Shaun’s dream home for him and his six-year old daughter...

Dan Ryan Process of prepping pouring Foundation

•  Lot was cleared and staked out for excavation
  
• Excavation for basement and foundation!
  
• Layout and dug the footers.
  
• Concrete forms prepped to pour foundation
  
• Concrete poured into the forms
  
• Forms were striped to reveal foundation Walls
  
• Project Managers are ready to prep for Framing after a pre construction meeting with Shaun!
  
  
  Dan Ryan Builders along with IHA is looking forward to a Late Summer 2012 move in Day! More progress to come!

For more information on the program IHA offers or how you can get involved visit www.interfaithhousing.org

Villages at West Run are almost here!!

Scheduled to be ready by August 2012, the town homes in Villages at West Run are almost ready! These beautiful town homes are springing up in Morgantown, WV.

Perfect for first time home buyers, the York model town home comes equipped with all new GE appliances, hardwood floors, and an upgraded kitchen! Along with these amazing features, each unit comes with a 10 year quality Builders warranty and access to community pool and fitness center. As a bonus, Dan Ryan builders is also offering 3,500 towards closing costs with preferred lender!*

 Hurry and save your place, these homes are going up fast! Call a Dan Ryan Builders sales associate today to find out more.

 *Ask a sales manager for details

Habitat for Humanity goes Green!

Dan Ryan Builders has been a proud supporter of Habitat for Humanity for years. We are happy to hear that they are joining the green movement this year.

Habitat for Humanity is known for building affordable homes for those in need, but on their more recent builds in Nashville, they have utilized environmentally-friendly practices. Some of these new features include Energy Star appliances, thick foam insulation in the walls, and low flow fixtures to restrict water use.

Mother nature is not the only one benefiting from Habitat's green efforts. "Habitat Homeowner, Casey Greer, said her energy-efficient Habitat home saves her hundreds of dollars a month on electricity.

She used to pay $350 a month for electricity and now only pays around $56."

The Nashville team hopes their green initiative will spread around the country. That would mean great things for the environment- Habitat for Humanity is the sixth largest home builder in the country and still growing.

[Read the article]

Tips to keep your home cool this summer -and save money doing it!

It seems that when the temperatures rise, so does your energy bill. While the AC is the number one way to cool your Dan Ryan home this summer, there are also more cost effective ways to beat the heat. Here are some tips on how to keep your home cool this summer while saving money (and some of them may surprise you). 

1.) Install white window shades, drapes, or blinds to reflect heat away from the house. Close blinds, shades and draperies facing the sun (east-facing windows in the morning and west-facing windows in the afternoon) to keep the sun’s heat out and help fans or air conditioners cool more efficiently. Always remember that the best way to keep your home cool is to keep the heat out.

2.) Avoid landscaping with lots of unshaded rock, cement, or asphalt on the south or west sides because it increases the temperature around the house and radiates heat to the house after the sun has set.

3.) Don’t put lamps, televisions or other heat-generating appliances next to your air-conditioning thermostat, because the heat from these appliances will cause the air conditioner to run longer. The heat they produce will make it think your house is warmer than it really is, and your system will run harder than it needs to.

4.) Humidity makes room air feel warmer, so reduce indoor humidity. Minimize mid-day washing and drying clothes, showering, and cooking. And when you must do these things, turn on ventilating fans to help extract warm, moist air.

 [Read the article]

  

 As a bonus, these tips are also a more energy efficient alternative to keeping your home cool! Most of the tips discussed do not use much energy. To learn more about how Dan Ryan Builders is embracing greener building practices, click here.

What can YOU afford to spend?

What’s keeping you from buying your dream home? If it’s the money, you aren’t alone. Dan Ryan Builders understands that you work hard for your money and want to help you spend it wisely. So, we have created a formula to help you figure out what you can afford to spend on your new home:

  

To get a general idea of your spending power, simply multiply your annual gross income by 3.5.

For example:

47,000 (annual income) x 3.5= $164,500 (cost of home)*

Now, you have an idea of how much you can spend on your new Dan Ryan home! The next step is to call a sales associate with Dan Ryan Builders to see what we have in your price range. Take the step to home ownership today!

*Remember, this calculation is just an estimate and does not mean you can afford the monthly payment associated with this mortgage.