Landscape Guide Now Available

The Keystone web site now features a fully illustrated Landscape Guide to view and download.

This guide includes photos to help you identify what plants are in your yard along with tips to keep them alive and healthy.

 Seasonal upkeep is explained along with recommendations on watering amounts and times.

 Check out this handy new guide for all of your new home landscaping questions.

The guide can be found at www.buildkeystone.com, then click on the Build your Home tab, and Seasonal Task Checklist page.

Toy Drive for MCG Children’s Hospital

Keystone is assisting with the Red Wagon Society’s 2nd annual Toy Drive for the MCG Children’s Hospital.  The Red Wagon Society is a volunteer organization that serves the Children’s hospital through a variety of special events and promotions.

 The Children’s Hospital has a need for toys to be used as prizes in their monthly bingo games with patients and at the Child Life center where toys are used to help children cope with a hospital stay.

 Each Keystone model home and sales center will feature a collection box created by patients and siblings of patients who are part of MCG’s Kids Art program. 

Toys will be collected throughout the month of March.  Toys are needed for patients ranging from infants to adolescents. For a list of recommended toys please visit:

http://www.mcghealth.org/Childrens_Medical_Center/Giving/special_events/red_wagon.html

Why Buy New?

Buying a home is full of choices….location, style, size, price range, new or used.  Here are some points to consider when shopping for a home that you may not have thought of. 

 Benefits to Buying New:

- Your home will come will a new home warranty, usually a year warranty from the builder and a 10 year structural warranty.  You can learn more about Keystone’s warranty program by visiting our web site.

- Location, location, location!  When purchasing a new home you can choose the home site that works best for you.  Want a corner home site? One in a cul-de-sac? The choice is yours.

- Energy Efficiency.  New homes are built with all the latest materials and techniques that are continually being perfected. With a new home,  you’ll have energy efficient products that help you save money and are good to the environment.

- Latest floor plan options.  New homes are designed with today’s home buyers in mind. You’ll find floor plans drawn that offer the latest in design and style.

- Modern appliances.  Today’s new homes come with modern appliances that are more energy efficient and feature such great options as “ultra quiet” or come in a variety of finishes.

- Low maintenance.  Every home requires some upkeep, but with a new home that maintenance time is dramatically less.  Everything is new! You can move right in and enjoy!

- Design Studio.  If you purchase a new home through Keystone, you can make color and optional luxury features through our in-house Design Studio.  This will allow you to personalize your home before you move in!

For more information on the new homes Keystone has to offer visit www.buildkeystone.com.

Mortgage Rates Hit Historic Lows

With the federal government trying to bolster the home building market and overall economy, now is an amazing time to buy or refinance a home.  Mortgage rates are at historic lows and won’t be getting better than this.  It is possible to qualify for as low as 5% on a 30 year mortgage or 4.6% on a 15 year mortgage.

 If you are considering refinancing, visit our web site and apply online at Keystone Home Mortgage.

 If you are interested in jumping on this opportunity to buy a new home, visit our web site to see all of the many home options available.

 Don’t let this opportunity pass you by. Take advantage of the new rates and build your dream home today!

Keystone Home wins HBA Award!

Keystone entered it’s model home in Sage Creek, The Bentley, in the Home Builders Association of South Carolina’s Pinnacle Award contest.  See the press release below for details on this award.

HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH CAROLINA  ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF 2007 PINNACLE AWARDS 

            The Home Builders Association of South Carolina announces the Sixth Annual Pinnacle Awards for outstanding craftsmanship in the construction of quality homes.

                Awards were presented in seven categories at an awards banquet in Greenville January 17, 2007.  Homes entered must have been completed after October 1, 2006, and the builder of record must be an HBA member. The participants supplied the judges with floor plans, exterior elevations, color photographs and a commentary on each entry. In addition, a list of all sub-contractors and their membership status in the HBA was required. 

                The Pinnacle Awards were created to honor those in our industry who have achieved the highest standard of quality craftsmanship, innovative problem solving and customer satisfaction. This competition is a privilege of membership as well as a means of challenging our members to greater levels of achievement.  Merit Awards are given to the runner up in each category.

     A Merit Award went to Keystone Homes of Augusta for “The Bentley.”

Happy New Year!

Well the holidays are over and it’s back to work as usual…well….not quite.  You see 2008 is a new beginning and one that we at Keystone are excited about. Last year we had our best sales year ever.  Despite concerns from a slowing housing market and changes in the mortgage industry, you felt comfortable choosing Keystone as your home builder.  That is what we are most proud of - the trust you have in us to help you realize your dreams of home ownership.

 Like every other company out there we are made up of people - people who are far from perfect, but trying hard.  The good news is that each day is a new beginning, not just January 1.  Each day brings new opportunities to serve you better and make the best use of our education, training, and experience.

The housing market is returning to normal after years of unbridled growth.  There are sure to be more bumps along the way.  However, 2008 is full of promise and we are excited about what the future holds.

 We hope you feel the same way. 

We look forward to working for you and with you this year.

 - Keystone

Web site changes

You may have noticed already but our web site has been slightly redesigned.

 We’ve made it more user friendly and added some new features that you may find helpful.

 New additions:

Finance pages

Video clips

Testimonials

Better search functions

Email to a friend capability

This is just one of many phases of changes and additions to the web site.  If you have any suggestions or ideas feel free to send an email in through the Contact Us page. We would love your feedback!

Announcing - Keystone Home Mortgage

Keystone is pleased to announce the official opening of Keystone Home Mortgage.  Keystone Home Mortgage offers competitive products and unparalleled customer service to help you with all of your home financing needs.

 Rhonda Hood, an Augusta native with over 12 years of Customer Service and mortgage experience, has come on board as Vice President and Branch Manager.  Rhonda listens to and builds long term relationships with her customers in order to match them with the best product available to meet their needs.

 Keystone Home Mortgage is affiliated with Homebuilders Financial Network (”HFN”).  HFN provides mortgage loans to customers of homebuilders across the United States, amounting to $1.7 billion in mortgage loans for 2007. HFN’s vast experience and network of lenders provide Keystone Home Mortgage witha  wide variety of products and competitive pricing.

Rhonda can be contacted by calling the Keystone Home Mortgage office at (706) 650-6076.  She can also be reached via email at rhood@keystonehomemortgage.com

 Keystone is excited to offer these new financial services to you and looks forward to the opportunity to create a more seamless home buying process.

Builder 20

Last week a group of 16 CEO’s of various home building companies across the country descended on our fair city to observe Keystone’s staff and processes.

 These professionals are part of a group known as “Builder 20″.  Builder 20 groups are organized by the National Home Builders Association with the purpose of serving as a Board of Directors for each organization and striving to learn from the experiences of other home builders in different markets.

 The week consisted of Builder 20 business meetings in the morning, followed by tours of Keystone neighborhoods and meetings with personnel in all areas of the company.  The group of business leaders were full of questions, continually asking “why” and “what if”.  These questions were beneficial for Keystone, causing its employees to explain the reasoning behind thier methods and practices. 

 Over and over again the Builder 20 members commented on the strength of the Aiken/Augusta market and their wish that their home markets were faring as well.  Despite what you hear on national news, our local market is holding strong and offers great opportunities for those looking to purchase a new home.

 By the end of the week we were all exhausted - but grateful for the visit, advice, and compliments.  Keystone continues to work very hard to be on the cutting edge of home design, quality construction, technology, and customer service.  The hard work and dedication is paying off as Keystone continues to have one of its best years ever.

 The rumors are true - it is a buyers market.  Today is a great day to buy a home! Your buying power will never be stronger than it is today.

It’s Still a Great Time to Buy a Home!

If you’ve been watching the news over the last few months you are well aware of the difficulties the housing and financing industries are facing these days.

 

At Keystone, we want to assure you that this is still a great time to buy a home!

 

The housing market is returning to normal.  The last five years have been ones of tremendous growth in some markets.  Most of the Southern states did not experience the highs of the past five years and are fortunately not experiencing the lows now. 

So what does that mean for you?  Where most of the bad housing news is coming from are from markets in California, New York, and Florida.  Georgia and South Carolina are still healthy markets for buying and selling homes.

 

The housing market is a cyclical market. It will have its ups and its downs. However, the economy is doing well, new jobs are being added to the area, and the demand for quality housing is high.  It is a great time to buy a home!

 

Here at Keystone we are adding on new neighborhoods!  Recently we acquired Ashbrooke in Grovetown, GA, we began construction in Bristol Station which is in Aiken, SC, and have two new neighborhoods coming to the Sage Creek Master Planned Community in Graniteville, SC.

Contact Keystone today for more information on finding the right home for you and to answer any questions you may have about buying or financing a home.