Builders gear up for busy summer moving season

Michelle Lopez and her fiancé, Peter Truschke, and their four sons are anxiously awaiting the completion of their new home at Pulte’s The Meadows of Winchester Glen subdivision in Carpentersville. They expect to move into it in early August, ahead of the start of school.

The boys, ages 17, 14, 11 and 6, will stay in the same school district, but some will be changing schools while still remaining close to longtime friends.

“We looked at a lot of older homes and short sales, but we just decided that it made sense to buy new construction so we wouldn’t have to put so much work into a house,” Truschke said.

Similarly, Paige and Jim Fitton are counting the days until they can move from their home in Arlington Heights to a new home at West Point Gardens in Elgin. Their two young sons have been attending DaVinci Academy in Elgin and Paige is a preschool teacher at Otter Creek Elementary School, also in Elgin. The commute was killing them, so they chose to build a new house closer to the two schools and move in over the summer.

“In March, right before spring break, my building’s principal told us we would be shifting to one of the early start times in the district, meaning that I would have to have both of our boys and myself out of bed, dressed, fed and in the car — ideally all in good spirits — long before 7 a.m., which seemed impossible,” Paige said. “So, while our home in Arlington Heights had been for sale, my husband and I had to kick the process into high gear. I had West Point Gardens on my shortlist, and we decided to build a house with them, knowing that if we decided on a home in April, we could be in by early August.”

Pushpendu and Vidhi Patel are hoping to move from their Des Plaines apartment to a home in D.R. Horton Inc.’s Symphony Meadows subdivision in Volo in early September. While their young son is only in preschool, the high ratings of the schools in Volo were an important factor in their choice of home and now their son will have a year to adjust before he starts kindergarten.

“We wanted to get out of Cook County because of the taxes and we wanted a new house, not an older one,” Pushpendu said. “So I looked online at the subdivisions and schools and chose Symphony Meadows in Volo. We liked the houses and the schools got four and a half stars from all the websites I searched.”

All of these buyers thought well in advance, shopped for their homes and planned in enough time for the homes to be ready over the summer so their children could be in their new schools at the same time as all of the other students.

But some builders, anticipating the fact that many parents prefer a summer move, have some immediate occupancy and quick move-in homes available for those who were unable to plan so far in advance.

K. Hovnanian Homes, for instance, has two homes in Oswego that are available for delivery in late June. At Churchill Club they have a “Springfield” plan with four bedrooms, a large second-floor bonus room and a first-floor den. The home also features wood floors, granite countertops, upgraded cabinets, an ultra bath and numerous other upgrades. It is one of their most popular homes and is on a large homesite in the community’s final phase. After incentives, the cost is only $277,990.

At nearby Hunt Club, the builder has a Springcrest-design house available for late June delivery. It offers three large bedrooms and a huge second-floor bonus room. The interior upgrades are numerous, including wood flooring, granite countertops and upgraded cabinets. This design has been popular with many different types of families, thanks to its versatility. It is ideal for homeowners who are looking for a spacious, beautiful home and, after incentives, is selling for $206,365.

Visit www.khov.com for more information.

Right Residential, which purchases distressed homes, rehabs them and sells them in like-new condition, currently has two homes available for immediate occupancy. One is located in Mundelein and the other is in Bartlett.

The Mundelein home is located in the Cambridge Country subdivision and is listed for $275,000. Within walking distance to Mundelein High School, it features an in-ground pool, a finished basement with second kitchen, four large bedrooms and 2½ baths. The master bedroom suite sports vaulted ceilings and a huge bathroom with a double vanity, whirlpool tub and separate shower. The kitchen has all stainless steel appliances. The home has a new roof, new furnace and new water heater.

The Right Residential home in Bartlett is located on a cul-de-sac lot and offers its residents wonderful open space views from the deck. This full-brick home has three bedrooms and two baths, as well as a beautiful kitchen featuring stainless appliances, granite countertops and wood floors. The family room has a wood-burning, full-brick fireplace and the basement is fully-finished with a recreation room and wet bar that are ideal for entertaining. The master suite has cathedral ceilings and a master bath with a skylight, soaking tub, separate shower and lots of storage. This home is also available for $275,000.

For more information, log onto www.myrightresidential.com.

Lexington Homes has two quick delivery homes available at their Lexington Park 2 rowhouse community in Des Plaines, which is within walking distance of the Metra and downtown Des Plaines.

The first is a two-bedroom Bristol plan featuring two bedrooms and two and a half baths, as well as a two-car garage. The home boasts an open floor plan with a kitchen, living room, dining room and eating area with a breakfast bar on the main level. The kitchen has granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. There are oak rails with iron balusters on the stairs, volume ceilings in the bedroom suites, upgraded hardwood floors on the main level and ceramic tile in the foyer, garage entry and bathrooms. This row house lists for $245,220.

The second available Lexington Park 2 home is a three-bedroom Warrington with an expanded kitchen. There are upgraded hardwood floors and ceramic tile throughout, granite countertops in kitchen with stainless steel appliances, an open floor plan with an abundance of windows to let the sun shine in, vaulted ceilings in all bedrooms and a finished lower level. This home is priced at $250,760.

Visit www.lexingtonchicago.com for more information.

D.R. Horton considers itself the king of immediate occupancy homes, always having a vast inventory of them ready for transferees and others who want a new construction home in a hurry. In fact, the builder now has ten pages of them on tits website, www.drhorton.com/Where-We-Build/Illinois/Chicago/Metro-Map. aspx?qmi=show.

Homes available this summer and through December include townhouses, duplexes and single-family homes at 12 different Chicago area D.R. Horton communities. Prices on the homes range from $139,990 for a townhouse at Cambridge Lakes in Pingree Grove to as much as $649,990 for a single-family house at Walnut Grove in Downers Grove.

For instance, five summer delivery single-family homes are available at Covington Lakes in Huntley. They range in size from 2,475 to 3,100 square feet and in price from $254,990 to $289,990. All five feature four bedrooms, 2½ baths and two-car garages.

And at Patriot Square in Plainfield, three townhouses are available for summer delivery, ranging in price from $144,000 to $162,000. All feature two or three bedrooms, two or 2½ baths and two-car garages and range from 1,483 to 1,757 square feet.

Pulte Homes has two single-family homes at The Meadows of Winchester Glen in Carpentersville available for July deliveries. One is a Carrington 3 plan, which features three bedrooms and 2½ baths. This 1,972-square-foot home is priced at $235,500. It has a brick front as well as a master suite with vaulted ceilings and a deluxe master bath; island kitchen with wood floors, upgraded cabinets, stainless steel dishwasher, stove and microwave, and planning desk; and iron railings.

The other home is a Birmingham model priced at $350,000. This home features a brick exterior, four bedrooms, 2½ baths, three-car garage, full basement and more than 3,000 square feet. It features volume ceilings in the foyer, family room and master bedrooms and 9-foot ceilings throughout the first floor. The kitchen boasts stainless steel appliances, a large pantry, granite countertops and maple cabinets.

Call (815) 236-1543 or visi www.pulte.com for more information.