Construction is nearly halfway completed on the first of three LEED,
Energy Star-rated houses being built by
Tanner Custom Homes along the 6600 block of Corbly Road in Mount Washington.
Priced for between $200,000 and $225,000, the houses will all be situated on wooded, hillside lots, perfect for their three-level, vertical construction
Balconies and backyard decks will bring homeowners closer to their natural surroundings.
"We call them 'tree houses'," says Norma Brown, realtor with
Coldwell Banker West Shell. "This is not a house I could take and put up in just a normal subdivision. When you have a hillside lot with all of the trees there, and you don't want to ruin the whole site, then go up. You're removing less soil, less trees, less everything."
When completed in August, the first house will act as a show house for two similar houses that will be built across the street.
Each is a fully-customizable "box", allowing for buyer choice in layout and in interior and exterior finishes.
"We offer the plan because people have to have something to pretty much guide them," Brown says. "But most people seem to like the layout of the great room, or the layout of the three bedrooms on the third floor.
Each homeowner will be provided with a manual on how to care for their home at closing.
"A really important thing about building green is giving the homeowner a manual to continue to make sure that they're maintaining it to green build standards," Brown says.
Brown says that their next step is the "universal house", which will allow for homeowners to stay in one place throughout all stages of their lives.
"That's a home that you build that, whether you're 25 and buying your first house or you end up living there 50 years and you're 80, you don't have to move," she says. "The house is already set up for walkers, wheelchairs. So adjustments can be made very inexpensively."
Writer:
Kevin LeMasterSource: Norma Brown, Coldwell Banker West Shell
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