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Ask Our Broker Continued from Page 14

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University BlvdUniversity Blvd

UTT

Old Omen Rd.

Paluxy Drive

Arbor Oak Dr

Roy RdRidge Creek Dr.

Cambridge

CumberlandW. Cumberland

Rhones Quarter

Shiloh Rd.

Loop 49

Lake Placid RdLake Placid Rd

Grande Blvd.

Cascades Blvd

110

64

155

9

58

1

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4

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1817

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1. Charleston Park2. Del Coronado3. Chapel Woods4. The Woods5. Stonegate6. Graemont7. Copeland Woods8. Stonegate West9. Vineyard10. The Cascades11. Ridgecreek12. Cambridge Bend13. Hollytree

14. Ashmore

15. Hollytree West

16. Oak Hollow

17. The Crossing Lisha Holcomb Remax 903-571-279318. Oak Hills 19. Guinn Farms

20. Cumberland Estates

21. Greenwood Village Pyramid Homes 903-530-6464

22. The Brooks

23. Cook’s Ranch24. Meadowview Estates25. Colony West

26. Oasis South Pyramid Homes 903-530-6464

27. The Ranch

28. Star Canyon

29. Westhaven

30. Spruce Hill Estates Cathy Shipp & Assoc. Realty 903-561-9366 31. Wilscott Estates

32. Ridgeview Estates

33. Cumberland Hills

34. Running Meadows

35. Pecan Valley Ranch36. Katima Estates

37. Gatewood Estates

38. Fox Wood Wilson Homes 903-894-8209

39. Forest View Reese Stokes Remax 903-372-346240. Shahan Ranch 41. Rosebrook

42. Waterton

43. Kingswood Place

44. Bullard Creek Ranch Trinity III

903-245-2312

45. Windsor Estates

46. Cumberland Gap

47. Oak Grove Estates 48. Oak Hurst

49. Saddlebrook

50. Vanderbilt Estate

51. Tall Timbers

52. Petty Estates

53. Normandy Heights

54. Cross Creek Estates Maddox Homes 903-539-0900

SUB-DIVISIONMAPKEY Wanttobeincludedinthislisting?CallConnieConaway•903-596-6294 Q: I recently tried to put my condo

on the market and found that it was 150 square feet smaller than originally advertised. How did my home shrink?A: Protocol Z765-2003 of the American National Standards Institute provides a standardized way to calculate square footage – but no one has to use it. “The square-footage standard is offered for voluntary application,” says the NAHB Research Center. “It must be applied as a whole, and is not meant to replace or supersede any legal or otherwise required existing area measurement method. It may be used in proposed, new or existing single-family homes of any style or construction, but is not applicable to apartment/multifamily buildings, and does not cover room dimensions.” Since we have a voluntary “standard” which no one has to use, it’s entirely possible that the ad marketing the property was “correct” – and that your current measurement was equally accurate.If you speak with appraisers and assessors you will find that they have measurement standards that they employ consistently in their work, however, there is no rule that says another form of measurement cannot be used for marketing purposes. As an example, do you measure wall-to-wall for a room, or from halfway into a wall and then to halfway into an opposing wall? Do you count garages and basements or only areas that are finished? Do you count all finished areas or only those that are heated and air-conditioned?The bottom line is this: When someone tells you that a property has so many square feet, ask how they measured. And then see if the couch fits ...

© CTW FeaturesNeed real estate advice? Peter G. Miller, author of “The Common-Sense Mortgage,” would like to hear from you. Send your questions to peter@ctwfeatures.com. Due to the volume received, not all letters may be answered.

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(ARA) - The redecorating bug has bitten you hard, and you want to join the “green” society by making your home stylish but healthy and environmentally friendly. You can start from the floor up, and environmentally-friendly decorative flooring is just what you need. Something that allows you to choose from many colors, have simple installation and follow up with easy maintenance. Materials like sustainably harvested

hardwoods and ceramic tile aren’t your only eco-friendly choices. A better option might be Marmoleum Click, an all-natural flooring made from linseed oil, wood flour, rosins and limestone. With a visit to www.themarmoleumstore.com, you can match colors, look at decorative designs already created or plan out your own. “Previously, linoleum was available only in large sheets and generally required professional

installation,” says Scott Day of Forbo

Flooring, manufacturers of Marmoleum and Marmoleum Click products. “But Marmoleum Click makes installing a simple linoleum floor -- or even a complex design -- very easy.” The product is available in 12-inch by 36-inch panels or 12-inch by 12-inch squares. The panels click together, much like most other floating

floors, to create a durable, attractive surface.

Here are some considerations to keep in mind when creating fashionable designs for the floor in a room:

* Room size and shape. A dark color or busy pattern may not suit a small or long, narrow room, because it may make the room look smaller. Stripes or diagonal patterns, however, can create optical effects that completely transform a room.

* Function. A living room or bedroom often lends itself to darker, warmer colors, whereas a clean, crisp environment may

be more appropriate for a kitchen.

*Furniture. The more furniture there is in a room, the smaller the floor area that is visible, so a simpler pattern is often the best choice. Amazing effects can be achieved by a well chosen pattern.

After the floor is finished,

you can move onto furniture. Some green ideas are to reuse your current pieces that are solid in construction. A new color of paint, slipcovers, reupholstering or adding decorative furnishings can give the room an entirely new look without thowing anything away. If your furniture can’t be saved, look into garage sales for used pieces that have simple, traditional lines which won’t look dated in a short period of time. Also, look for furniture built from natural products and using stains or paints with limited environmental hazard. When it’s time to tackle the walls, look for paints that contain little or no volatile organic compounds. Latex- and water-based paints with a flat finish typically fit into this category. These paints provide little to no chemical leakage from the walls to the air as the paint is applied and dries, keeping the air inside your home cleaner. If you have a redecorating project planned, it’s not hard to keep the project green and environmentally friendly.Courtesy of ARAcontent

“...a $50,000 discount to the buyer, according to Mike Blake, company president.”

Grace Custom Homes is highlighting a French Country style custom home by offering a

$50,000 discount to the buyer, according to Mike Blake, company president. “This home is located in a park-like setting on a private lake offers distinct European style nestled among mature trees and 252 feet of water front that offers a panoramic view of the private lake and is ideal for anyone seeking a quality built home within a picturesque setting,” he says. This Grace Homes design offers a wraparound porch with views of the greenbelt and private lake. The metal roofed wraparound porch is supported by seven distinct architectural columns. Authentic craftsmanship continues inside and includes eight foot beaded doors and oil rubbed hardware and lighting. Additional features include slate tile entry fl ooring, wood and slate dining room fl oors, crown molding, custom hand laid and scraped hardwood fl oors in the kitchen, breakfast and family room; bell tower staircase with wrought iron staircase balusters. The kitchen offers a combination of painted and glazed cabinets, stained island cabinets. It has a walk-in pantry, stainless steel appliances, and granite

countertops, butcher block island, sink overlooks the family room and offers a panoramic view of the lake outside. The downstairs area also offers a dining/sunroom, master

bedroom and bath. The master suite features eight foot doors, French doors to the outside and views of the lake. The master bath offers tile fl oors, eight foot doors, free standing furniture

cabinet vanities, cultured marble tub and cultured marble shower. Upstairs are 2 bedrooms with a jack-n-jill bath, private third bedroom with full bath and a media room. One of the bedrooms has a walkout balcony with a view of the lake.The home with a 10 year third party structural warranty and was built using Grace Homes EEE Program that creates low energy high performance homes. Mr. Blake says, “Collectively, the Engineered Energy Effi ciency (EEE) program benefi ts the homeowners with cost savings on utility bills, a higher resale value and a greater comfort level than many homes.” The home has been reduced to from $349,900 to $299,900 and has 3,000 square air conditioned space, 500 square feet of outdoor living space and a 3 car garage. The design features four bedrooms, two living areas, two dining areas and three and a half bathrooms. To visit the home, take Hwy 69 to Mineola, go 1 mile north on Hwy 37, turn left on CR 6307. The model is the fi rst home on right 325 CR 6307. For additional information

on this home, contact Mike Blake with Grace Custom Homes at 903.567.2600x101. A video of the home is provided at www.grace-homes.com.

Older Homeowners Have Option to Stay in Their Homes(ARA) - Homeowners who want to make their house their home for a lifetime, regardless of their age or functional abilities, have a friend in the Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) program devel-oped by the National As-sociation of Homebuilders Remodelers (NAHBR) in collaboration with other NAHB entities and AARP. It addresses the needs of the growing number of hom-eowners choosing to make specialized modifications to their existing homes for long-term living rather than moving. CAPS professionals, most of whom are remod-elers like Bill Owens, presi-dent of Owens Construc-tion in Columbus, Ohio, are trained to build aestheti-cally pleasing, barrier-free living environments. “The market is there as NAHB es-timates that aging-in-place remodeling will capture at least 10 percent of the $200 billion-plus annual home improvement industry,” Owens says. Owens also points out that as the average age of our nation’s housing stock increases each year, more attention will be paid to remodeling existing homes to accommodate the baby boomers looking to remain in their homes. Adding living quarters to a lower level, along with bathroom and kitchen modifications are among the most popular upgrades when seniors modify their homes for the long term. As a part of those projects, old-er adults often pay particu-lar attention to providing more natural light in those much-used rooms. According to the Center of Design For An Aging So-ciety in Portland, Ore., older people need about three to five times more light than younger people for both vision and for maintaining health. One source of both natural light and ventilation often chosen when upgrad-

ing is skylights. Joe Patrick, senior product manager with VELUX America, cites studies conducted in Den-mark that show skylights admit 30 percent more light than vertical windows in dormers. “Skylights also of-fer much more privacy than vertical windows without taking up valuable wall space that can be used for decorating or storage,” Pat-rick says. “It’s a real benefit as seniors modify their liv-ing spaces.” For many older home-owners, cataracts make the need for more light a neces-sity, not a luxury. And those with glaucoma are particu-larly sensitive to glare. Bal-anced natural lighting from above through skylights and from the sides through windows, combined with artificial lighting when needed, can add to both comfort and safety. And better lighting isn’t the only advantage. “From an economic standpoint, ENERGY STAR-qualified venting skylights admit natural light from above and reduce energy costs while transforming living areas into bright, safer spaces,” says Patrick. “And they provide a dose of the medicine that daylight and fresh air offer. It’s also a way to stretch fixed-income dollars with a one-time pur-chase that pays benefits over time by reducing the need for artificial lighting and cutting energy costs.” For free information on the benefits of natural light and skylight selection, or for free house plans incorpo-rating skylights, call (800) 283-2831 or visit veluxusa.com. For government in-formation on window and skylight energy efficiency visit energystar.gov, and for independent agency infor-mation visit nfrc.org or ef-ficientwindows.org.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

RedecoratingandKeepingitGreen