THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC
F R I D AY , S E P T E M B E R 2 , 2 016
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A S P E C I A L P U B L I C A T I O N C R E AT E D B Y R E P U B L I C M E D I A C U S T O M P U B L I S H I N G
WHAT’S INSIDE
September 2016
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DESIGN CHOICES
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DOWN-PAYMENT DECISIONS
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WAYS TO TITLE YOUR HOME
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RANGES & COOKTOPS
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I N F O R M AT I O N
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Location, location, location
Get smart!
Experts offer tips on selecting the right home-site )` ,SPZL 9PSL`
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ou’ve toured all the floorplans, laid out furniture in your head and imagined what Thanksgiving dinner would look like in your new kitchen. Now you need to select the home-site, often referred to as the “lot”. “Your home-site selection is one of your most important things to get started with because you can’t change it,” said Hal Looney, Arizona president of Shea Homes. “It’s not a paint color, it’s not a cabinet style. You can add on to your home some day, but there’s that old thing: location, location, location. It holds true when you’re selecting your home-site.” North, south, east or west “The first thing I’d want to know is how they [the homeowners] are going to use the home,” Looney said. “For example, are you going to be there three months out of the year or full-time? That’s particularly the case in Arizona. There are different orientations and you have to pick your home-site depending on how you want to live.” Ask your sales associate to take you on a tour of the community you’re considering purchasing your new home in so you can see in-person the homesites you’re considering. “Depending on the consumer, a westfacing yard with the sun setting on the yard might not be important, but to a winter visitor it is,” said Brad Schoenberg, Taylor Morrison Homes president. “It really comes down to understanding what the buyer is looking for. We always try to get the customer out to the lot [they’re considering building their new home on] to physically stand on the lot. It allows them to see what the view will look like, what the wall will look like and see how the footprint of the home will lay out.”
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The great outdoors Often, how you intend to live outdoors will determine the type of home-site you want. If you intend to build a pool, a yard facing west or south will get more sunshine. If you’re a gardener, think about the type of sunlight your plants need. “In Arizona we find that people use their backyard as another living area because of our beautiful weather,” Looney said. “You really have to think about all the things you’re going to do in your yard [especially] from early October to May.” Homeowners also have to consider the physical layout of their preferred (LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION, continued on page NH7)
Smart-home technology continues to expand )Pa 4LKPH :[\KPV
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mart” home technology changes and improves so rapidly that there are more options available this year than there were even just last year. For example, now you can enhance your property’s security with an intercom/door camera solution and the opportunity to record activity on the property as it happens, said Marty Hayse, director of purchasing at Phoenix-based Dennis Sage Home Entertainment (DSHE). DSHE provides home automation services for dozens of local homebuilders including Maracay Homes, Lennar and Rosewood Homes. Another example: Teaming up with a company called SkyBell, Alarm.com has introduced a doorbell/camera interface that will populate on a smart device when the home’s resident is not able to answer the door. “It provides twoway communication, including audio, so you can give the impression that you’re home even if you’re not,” Hayse said. “A trend we’ve seen start to take off this year is voiceactivated smart-home technology,” said Frank Esquibel, vice president and chief security officer of Fountain Hills-based WiredUp Installation, a company that provides automation for homes and businesses. “Companies like Apple, Google and Samsung are all developing and marketing products that allow homeowners to speak to their home in order to control their home’s smart devices.” Numerous functions Aterra Designs, iWired and Safeguard are three companies that work with Toll Brothers’ homeowners to design home automation systems, said Kevin E. Rosinski, vice president of the Arizona Division for Toll Brothers, Inc. “Proper design, functionality and budgeting are critical to create the right space (SHYT JVT for each homeowner’s needs and lifestyle,” he said, adding that available options for home automation for Toll Brothers homebuyers include wireless security, lighting, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, audio/video, doorlatching devices, water sensor devices, driveway sensors, motion sensors and motorized window shades. Though some functions like audio/video, shade control and pool management are offered only through more advanced processors, Hayse said lighting control and automated front door locks are typically available in all levels of smart-home products.
Advances in technology Forgot to close your garage door when you left for work? It will automatically close when the app on your smartphone controlling your home’s automation recognizes that you are beyond the perimeter you’ve set. Or if you’ve forgotten to arm the security system before you leave, a geo-fence ensures arming the instant you get beyond an identified perimeter. “As we add more devices to our homes, coupled with the ability to control them from our phones and computers, we are seeing unprecedented growth,” said Dennis Sage, who established DSHE 21 years ago. “Safety leads the charge, with energy savings and convenience close behind.” Sometimes, Sage said, customers are confused by the “wired” vs. “wireless” option. “The value of hard-wiring your home is of utmost importance now more than ever before,” he said, “mainly because of the need for bandwidth for all of our devices.” Flexibility with pricing If you’re looking for the most economical option for creating a smart-home, $400 can buy a basic security system that can be upgraded later. At that price-point, you can expect a security panel, contacts for three doors, a motion detector and a key fob to arm and disarm the system, Sage said. A multi-functional system that includes security, lighting control, thermostat control, geo-fencing, pet tracking, garage door control and front door locks starts around the $2,500 range “for a system that gives good basic control and can be used as a building block for future additions,” Sage said. (GET SMART!, continued on page NH7)
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