If you’re looking for a new home in Savannah, be sure to check out Morgan Pines, a new custom home community by Konter Homes.

Located in Pooler, Morgan Pines offers six different floor plan collections, ranging from modest town homes to custom Signature Homes. Their Carriage Square town homes are among some of the most unique available in Savannah, and are limited to two families per town home.

This neighborhood offers two pools, a fitness center, playground, tennis and basketball courts, and many other amenities to help you take advantage of all the great outdoors has to offer. Kids living in Morgan Pines will attend West Chatham Elementary and Middle and Groves High School.

To get to Morgan Pines from I-16 heading west, take exit 115 for Pooler Parkway. Turn right and exit on to Pooler Parkway and follow for almost a mile. Turn left on to Pine Barren Road  for about 1/2 of a mile and the entrance to Morgan Pines will be on your right.

Four types of single family homes are offered in Morgan Pines which range from the low $140,000 to upper $250,000 price range.

Konter Quality Homes, established in 1977, has built more than 2,000 homes and 17 communities. They have twice been recognized as Savannah’s builder of the year and have been recognized as a Guildmaster three times for outstanding customer satisfaction. If you’re looking for a quality custom home in Savannah, let Konter Homes build for you in Morgan Pines.

If you’re on the hunt for that perfect new place, be sure to take a look at Ivy Ridge, a great new neighborhood in Harrisburg by Keystone Custom Homes.

This community features inviting single-family homes with 3 to 4 bedrooms and 2 to 3 baths. Homes showcase the classic colonial style and give the neighborhood a classic yet comfortable look. Prices start in the $190,000 range.

Nearby residents will find the PA Turnpike, Harrisburg Mall, shopping, employment, dining, and more. Children living in this community will attend Central Dauphin Schools in Dauphin County, including Central Dauphin High School, home to the PIAA-4A State Football Champs of 2011!

To get to this area, take I-83 S to the Paxton Street exit and take a left. Make a right onto Friendship Drive, followed by a left on to Harrisburg Street. Turn right on to Orchard Drive and Ivy Ridge will be on your right.

Builder Keystone Custom Homes has been ranked by the industry’s leading trade journal, Builder Magazine, as one of the top 100 home builders in the nation. They are also proud to be the first builder to be named America’s Best Builder three times by Builder Magazine of more than 200,000 home builder companies. With a reputation for outstanding quality, let Keystone Custom Homes build your new home at Ivy Ridge.

If you’re searching for a new home in Plano, Texas, don’t miss your chance to live at Avignon, a great new community by Shaddock Homes.

Avignon is a luxury single-family community built with European charm and American practicality in mind. Each home site is spacious and residents enjoy convenient access to Plano, located just blocks from the Tollway.

A walking trail, walk-through garden, spa-like pool, pavilion, and private gatehouse give residents a sense of ease and help to foster a relaxing environment. Children living here will attend the Plano Independent School District.

To get to this neighborhood from the Dallas North Tollway, exit for Windhaven and head East. Avignon will be approximately one mile down the road on your left.

Homes in this community start in the $550,000 price range.

Shaddock Homes has been constructing custom homes in the Dallas Fort Worth area for over 40 years. Their team works diligently to ensure each homes is built to perfection, meaning you’ll move in to a home built not only to your standards but also built to last. You can make Avignon your home today.

It’s no secret that, as far as social media goes, Facebook is one of the kings of the industry. With other big players like Twitter, FourSquare, and Pinterest, Facebook can be an excellent marketing tool—if it’s used correctly. Paired with home builder software, social networks can bolster business. Companies around the world have learned how to put Facebook to work for them, but so many others seem to have trouble figuring out how to put the site to work for them. How do you use Facebook as a custom home builder?

Now that Facebook has introduced an entirely new format, that of the timeline, companies have to re-learn everything they knew about using Facebook as a marketing tool. The good news is, however, that it turns out timeline is an excellent format for custom home builders on Facebook.

Timeline transforms Facebook pages from personal profiles to miniature websites. This means that businesses are able to craft appealing, well-designed pages within the social network of Facebook. From selecting bold, brand-defining cover photos and having the ability to highlight particular material, companies who stay in tune with Facebook will soon discover how much timeline has to offer.

Here are some other perks in the timeline design that you will find very beneficial to your marketing model:

1. The tool that allows you to pin to the top of your Facebook pages makes it so that you are no longer at the mercy of chronology. Now, instead of having to load down your page with the same update time and time again to keep your viewers in the loop, you can choose which information appears at the top of your page. Important content will no longer fall by the wayside. Builder can choose which posts and information is seen first, instead of relying on the unshakeable structures that were in place before.
2. The timeline designs allows builders easy access to apps and custom button images, which help to wrap everything up in a more simple way.
3. Milestone posts have been introduced, which allow builders to mark important dates in company history. This helps to give viewers a more comprehensive idea of the company as an entity, building that ever-important personal touch that is necessary for effective outreach.

The whole reason that timeline even exists is that Facebook sensed a need for users to be more easily able to relate their histories and stories to the world. Now, instead of a cold and formal-looking profile, businesses are able to create pages that showcase the personality and appeal of their companies.

Leads that have been garnered through home builder software can now peruse these entire new pages of material that is engaging both visually and emotionally. To purchase your home builder software today and start building your network, visit Lasso.

With America struggling through the recession blues, the real estate industry has taken some pretty hard hits of late. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel for home builders, and it begins with Lasso. Lasso has developed new home builder software that is specifically designed to bolster customer relationship management and help home builder keep track of old leads while garnering new ones. If you are interested in restoring your business to the level at which it stood before this recession sunk its teeth into our economy, customer relationship management (CRM) software is the perfect solution.

This new software, designed for home builders, addresses the specifics needs of homebuilders who are looking to accrue new needs and loyally serve the needs of their existing contacts. Although times may be tough, with the proper software, your company can get to work building new, stronger connections with potential custom home buyers and even real estate brokers and agents who can help you bring in more revenue and advance your standing among home builders.

Among other features, the proper software will help you to supercharge your earnings through two primary functions:

• One of the most important features that this software offers is the ability to follow up with leads and maintain valuable relationships.

How? This process of following up has been simplified through instant notifications and even personalized notes and greetings to valued customers, enabling you to get into a comfortable and personal conversation with your clients.

Why? By doing so, you can connect with them on a personal level, helping you to stand out above the competition. This personal connection will help you move forward into the advanced stages of your relationship with the customer, leading them to peruse your website, take a look at your past projects, and even visit home sites.

• With CRM software, the management of existing and new leads is made simple.

How? With this technology, you will be able to track the ever-changing needs of client with ease and worry-free interfacing.

Why? Tracking down leads can take a great amount of time and losing leads due to lack of organization or communication can be incredibly costly.  With this element of your business thus simplified, think of how much time you will be able to spend on other aspects of your business!

With so many agencies scrambling to get their standing back in this faltering economy, it’s in every custom home builder’s best interest to stack the cards in their favor. If you’re looking to give yourself the best shot of staying afloat in these uncertain times, Lasso is a great place to start.

If you are interested in learning more about how Lasso’s CRM software can help you capture and distribute information to leads by way of new and emerging technologies, be sure to visit their website. It cannot be overstated how important lead intelligence is to the shifting world of real estate. Any tool that gives you additional insight into the hearts and minds of your leads and clients should be welcomed with open arms, and this home builder software is just that tool!

Lasso CRM software can help custom home builders and real estate agencies stay on top in today’s economy.

 When it comes to the business of selling homes, having a competitive edge has always been an advantage.  With Lasso’s new home builder software, that edge is easier than ever to achieve.  Standing out from competitors will increase sales, profits, and agency reputation. And Lasso has created a software system that helps custom home builders and real estate agencies do exactly that.

With the market beginning to return to pre-recession standards, leads are more important than ever.  Lasso’s innovative CRM software helps those in the industry of selling custom homes make tracking and recording leads an organized, simplified process, so that home builders need never lose track of a lead again.  Each visit to the home builder’s website or page is recorded, and return visits are immediately logged and responded to with a customized and personal ‘thank-you’ email to the prospective buyer.

In addition, Lasso’s software can help each company stay in full communicative connection with each of their agents, as well as those who are externally located. Forming these connections can be crucial to business specializing in real estate, as they can stay up-to-date on the latest open houses, events and upcoming residential projects and communities.  Staying in contact with external brokers and realtors can assist companies who have buyers looking for custom homes outside of their available area, enabling them to help more buyers in more ways than ever before.

Lasso’s unique realtor database will help a company to both manage and track their brokers, enabling them to pinpoint and reward excellence and superior performance. Staying in touch with the brokers and realtors in their own firms and those who operate externally can lead to decidedly positive advantages for any real estate agency, and give them the competitive edge that they’re seeking in order to stay on top of today’s changing market in the uncertain economy.

Lasso’s CRM software systems were created with real estate developers and sellers in mind. It’s designed to help you, the custom builder, with your specific needs in mind. Lasso’s innovative approach to customer relationship management is a step in the right direction for any home builder or agency.

Interested? For more information, visit their website. You can also follow Lasso on Twitter, check out their Facebook page, or  visit their YouTube Channel. For media inquiries, please contact Dave Clements.

The 2012 Best in American Living Awards are here! Get in by the application deadline of September 4th in order to have your custom homes on show.

The NAHB Design Committee sponsors this award program once a year. BALA is all about excellence in the real estate industry, putting spotlights on the most creative and innovative projects from across the nation. The awards are open to builders, designers, architects, remodelers, interior designers, land planners, and developers. We definitely wouldn’t want any of our custom builders to miss out on this opportunity. Your work deserves it. Do you have your thumb on the pulse of up-and-coming trends? Do your custom homes reflect the latest fashions or serious artistry of the home building industry? Then don’t miss out on this real opportunity.

Applications are due Sept 4th, but there is a late fee deadline extending through September 18th if you need. Judging takes place in October and entrants are notified by or before December 1st. Winners will be announced at the 2013 International Builder’s Show in Las Vegas.

Along with their announcement, winners are offered all sorts of special features. Be showcased in Builder Magazine, featured throughout the year in publications from around the country, including NAHB’s publications and social media outlets, and be posted to Builder Online and the NAHB site for the next year. You can check out past winners at the BALA Awards site.

For eligibility requirements check out the NAHB page. There are several categories in which to apply from, with seven primary categories further divided into a total of 39 awards. One winner in each of the nine geographic regions will also receive their Best in Region award, which you’re automatically entered into after applying. These primary categories include Single-Family, Multifamily, Remodeling, Community, Community Facility, Specialty, and Interior Design. Do you think single family or specialty custom homes best reflect your work? Keep in mind that there is also the Community of the Year, Room of the Year, and House of the Year – definitely important for you.

Any member of the project team can enter. The competition is open nationwide. Let us know if you decide to enter, and we’ll feature you on the blog! And the best of luck to all our custom builders.

As a custom builder you have special requirements in home builder software. We’ve talked previously about an excellent CRM, but what if you need scheduling software or construction project management? Is it difficult to keep all the correspondence, new purchases, photos, and weather issues organized? Imagine if it wasn’t, if you had all that information in one place (even on your mobile phone). If that sounds incredibly useful then you’re going to benefit from Co-constuct’s software for custom home builders.

Co-construct helps builders of custom homes save time, stop mistakes, delight clients, and sell more jobs – or they give them their money back. Which is a big claim, but their builder software lives up to it. Their program offers the flexibility to organize projects the way you need as a custom home builder: It organizes all communication, photos, budget, and information in one area and schedule everything easily. Plus, automatically promote your work with Facebook integration and professional looking emails.

Co-construct’s builder software guarantees that you will save an average of 30 minutes or more a day, eliminate 95% of selection mistakes and disagreements, and that your custom home buyers will cite the builder software program as improving their building experience. And look to new clients stating that your use of Co-construct was a strong factor in the decision to choose you as a custom home builder.

Daniel Devol, owner of Daniel DeVol Custom Builder, wrote about their builder software: “I’m now completing my homes 60 – 90 days faster using Co-construct than I was with my old online system. It’s helping my clients make their decisions faster and the scheduling is easier for both my subs and I to use. Like anything, you have to commit to using Co-construct. But for builders who do, it will completely transform their businesses.”

If you could benefit from builder software as a custom home builder, take a look at Co-construct. Many custom home builders are finding the program to be extremely useful – and after all, they’re confident enough to offer a money back gurantee if it isn’t. What do you have to lose?

As social media becomes more and more important for internet marketing, we need to start looking beyond the traditional Facebook and Twitter gateposts. Not to say they’re not still important (they are) but because they’re no longer the be all and end all of home builder social media. We’ve talked about Pinterest and Instagram; have you thought about Houzz?

Houzz is a collaborative platform for home remodeling design, created for both home owners and home builders. It brings them together “in a uniquely visual community”, as they say. There are more than 500,000 photos up and hundreds of users, tons of articles, and an active discussion platform. And important to you, there’s a listing of home builders by area. Think about how great this is for you: people already looking to remodel or buy a home, searching for ideas, can find your profile and site right there. Along with a listing on a site like Custom Builders, a Houzz profile could really benefit you. Although it does lean more toward design and remodeling, they also take home design blogs – yours could be a great addition.

Not only should you post a profile, but be involved! The site is created for idea-sharing, mainly through the venue of photography. So those photos you’re taking of your interior designs and special features? Post them! (You’re already taking them and sharing them on your site, Pinterest, Twitter, et al, right?) It’s a fantastic way to share your work with the world, prove what’s possible, and attract lots of interested attention. Posting a beautiful kitchen on Facebook is good, right, and is going to attract some eyeballs. But most people checking on Facebook aren’t there to buy a home that day. Now Houzz? Houzz is for people interested in the home market. So you’ve already targeted who you need to reach, and the quick proliferation of photos mean that hundreds of people will see your work – on Houzz and as it gets passed on from the site. (A lot of Houzz shots end up on Pinterest, for instance.)

Remember, too, that while beneficial to sales, Houzz – and other social media sites – aren’t really about marketing. They’re about sharing, a conversation that takes place between home buyer and home builder. Put some nice photographs and ideas out there, and see what you hear back. Expect to hear more from us on home builder social media in the coming days. We know it’s important now, but the next phase of social media and internet marketing we’re reaching? It’s going to change all that’s come before.

Most custom builders run a lean operation. That’s one of your best qualities, after all, working individually with your home builder through their entire process. Lasso CRM understands that, and their home builder software is designed with the custom home builder in mind. The role of  their team, they say, is to help you put CRM into practice to maximize the value and ROI of your investments. To do so they provide personal, knowledgeable service and help every step of the way.

Marketing and selling in the custom home building industry has a lot of moving parts. You’re finding and attracting leads, offering tours, creating relationships that lead from interest to closing. All in a highly competitive market, too. New home communities and lead follow-up mean there are plenty of priorities: are you always multitasking? Deadlines looming over you? Lasso home builder software supports your team from implementation to training, with constant support and innovation based on your needs.

Real people with real answers that care about your success and understand the real estate industry: every custom home builder is assigned an experienced Client Manager. They have extensive practical knowledge in real estate CRM, as well as IT and project management, to provide you with personal assistance, mentoring, and problem solving. When starting out you have the option of instructor-led online or onsite training; both are complemented by their built-in audio/visual e-Learning modules so you can learn or refresh your skills, at your own pace and on your own schedule.

Then once you’re up and running, you’ll get any question answered quickly by their knowledgeable team of Client Support Representatives via email or toll-free call. You’re also automatically enrolled in their unique Customer Success program, which keeps you updated on new features and maximizes your skill set with the program. Home builders have been collaboration partners in the design and functionality from day one. So if you have an idea for a new feature, or change to make it better? In their quest to make their home builder software “work the way you do”, they’ll incorporate your suggestions into future software updates. These updates are free and automatic.

If your marketing and sales team ever think they could benefit from home builder software, check out Lasso CRM for them. Their core purpose is to equip you to sell more real estate: “Faster. Easier. Profitably.” As a custom home builder, you shouldn’t miss out.