Meritage Homes promotes Souza sales director; Boyce land development coordinator

ORLANDO, Fla. – Meritage Homes has promoted Tatiana Souza to director of sales and Janet Boyce to land development coordinator. Brian Kittle, vice president of sales for Meritage Homes said Souza is a graduate of the University of Central Florida with four years of sales experience. She has been with Meritage Homes for seven years as a sales associate. Boyce has been with Meritage Homes for two years.

Hendricks & Partners Negotiates Sale of Cypress Gardens Apartments in Hoover for $5,000,000

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- Hendricks & Partners, one of the nation’s largest and most active multifamily investment banking and research companies, recently negotiated the sale of Cypress Gardens Apartments, a 150-unit apartment community located in Hoover, Ala. for $5.0 million. David Oakley, senior investment advisor of Hendricks & Partners Alabama office negotiated the sale representing the seller, Georgetown Investments, LLC, an Alabama limited liability company, based in Birmingham. Cypress Gardens, built in 1972 and renovated in 2011-2012, has a total of 148,228 square feet of rentable living space with one, two and three bedroom apartments. The buyer was Cypress United LLC, based out of Florida.

Hendricks & Partners Negotiates Sale of Cypress Gardens Apartments in Hoover for $5,000,000

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- Hendricks & Partners, one of the nation’s largest and most active multifamily investment banking and research companies, recently negotiated the sale of Cypress Gardens Apartments, a 150-unit apartment community located in Hoover, Ala. for $5.0 million. David Oakley, senior investment advisor of Hendricks & Partners Alabama office negotiated the sale representing the seller, Georgetown Investments, LLC, an Alabama limited liability company, based in Birmingham. Cypress Gardens, built in 1972 and renovated in 2011-2012, has a total of 148,228 square feet of rentable living space with one, two and three bedroom apartments. The buyer was Cypress United LLC, based out of Florida.

M/I HOMES OFFERS HOME BUYERS RECORD LOW 2.875 PERCENT MORTGAGE INTEREST RATE

ORLANDO, Fla. --- M/I Homes is now offering home buyers a record low interest rate--2,875 percent. David G. Byrnes, Orlando division president for M/I Homes, said the housing market is starting to show signs of a rebound and M/I Homes’ M/I Financial Corp wants to speed up the recovery with its 30-year, fixed-rate APR conventional mortgage. “We’re in the middle of our ‘Smart Move Event,’ where customers can already get some amazing values,” Byrnes said. “With this once-in-a-lifetime interest rate, buying now is even smarter,” Byrnes added. Home buyers need to pay 20 percent down and close on the sale of their new home by Nov. 30 to qualify for the 2.875 percent interest rate and APR. M/I Financial Corp also offers a 2.875 interest rate on FHA mortgages with just a three percent down payment and a 3.689 percent APR. M/I Homes, Inc. is one of the nation’s leading builders of single-family homes, having delivered more than 81,500 homes. The Company’s homes are marketed and sold under the trade names M/I Homes, Showcase Homes, TriStone Homes and Triumph Homes. The Company has homebuilding operations in Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio; Chicago, Illinois; Indianapolis, Indiana; Tampa and Orlando, Florida; Austin, Houston and San Antonio, Texas; Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina; and the Virginia and Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C.

Park Square Homes raises $14,000 for Compassionate Hands and Hearts Breast Cancer Outreach

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Park Square Homes has raised more than $14,000 to benefit Compassionate Hands and Hearts, a breast cancer outreach program. Anthony Rouhana, marketing coordinator at Park Square Homes, said the home builder held multiple events in September including a charity golf classic and a chili cook-off to raise the funds. In addition, Park Square Homes made a $250 donation for every home sold in every one of its communities in September. Park Square Homes is participating in outreaches with Compassionate Hands and Hearts throughout October as part of Breast Cancer Awareness month, Rouhana added.

More Than 100 Golfers at Orange County National Take “Croc Back Nine” Challenge

Winter Garden, Fla. --- More than 100 golfers took the “Croc Back Nine” challenge recently at Orange County National Golf Center and Lodge in Winter Garden and Michael J. Neumann, retail and marketing manager at Orange County National, said the lightweight, durable Crocs for Golfers are flying off the shelves in the golf club’s pro shop. “When Crocs decided to launch its new golf footwear line we got in line right from the start,” Neumann said. The Crocs Back 9 challenge debuted at Orange County National with tremendous success, Neumann said. “More than 100 golfers took part in the challenge over the two day event,” Neumann said. Rick Fitzgerald, local sales representative for Crocs Golf, said he‘s never seen such enthusiasm for a footwear product. “The golfers were ecstatic,” Fitzgerald said. “Crocs golf shoes are the lightest weight and most comfortable shoes in their class and Orange County National golfers really appreciate that,” he said. Orange County National features a full selection of Crocs Golf footwear in its pro shop.

Reliable Systems Solutions Teams Up With Hobbs Engineering to Offer Halt/Hass Course for Reliability Engineers Oct. 29-30

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Reliable Systems Solutions, a leading U.S. provider of Reliability Engineering Services to the aerospace, aviation, commercial and defense industries, has teamed up with Hobbs Engineering to offer the HALT/HASS course for reliability engineers on Oct. 29-30. Richard Coronado, reliability engineering manager at Reliable Systems Solutions, said Hobbs Engineering---through its founder, the late Dr. Gregg K. Hobbs---promoted the use of Highly Accelerated Life Testing (HALT) since 1978. “Reliability engineering is one of the most important aspects of modern industrial productivity,” Coronado said. “Reliability engineers develop the tools and procedures to test the durability and reliability of critical mechanical components and whole systems before they are manufactured. Good reliability engineering is the key to success for complex technological and mechanical devices,” he said. Coronado said he took the HALT/HASS course from Dr. Hobbs in 2002. Now Reliable Systems Solutions has entered a strategic teaming agreement with Virginia Hobbs, Dr. Hobbs’ lifetime partner and co-worker. Coronado said the joint HALT/HASS course offered by Reliability Systems Solutions and Hobbs Engineering on Oct. 29-30 will cover the entire steps in executing HALT and HASS. Cost is $1,195 per person with additional people from same company for only $896 each for the two-day course. To register or to request further information, contact Richard Coronado at 407-910-1146 ext. 102 or visit www.reliablesystemsolution.com. Reliable Systems Solutions is a client company of the University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program, located in the Central Florida Research Park in east Orange County.

HENIN HOMES HAS NEW MODEL UNDERWAY AT RIVIERA BELLA IN DEBARY

DeBary, Fla. – Henin Homes, based at Riviera Bella on the St. Johns River in DeBary, has a new model – the Turino with Bonus – under construction and nearing completion along with three move-in ready homes. Matt Boltz, director of sales and operations for Henin Homes, Inc. said the Turino offers an oversized bonus room, five bedrooms and three-and-a-half-baths in 3,469 square feet of living space and is priced from $329,900. The new model will be completed, decorated and ready for viewing by the end of November, Boltz said. The three ready-to-move-in homes that are underway range from 2,000 square feet of living area to 3,200 square feet, priced from $225,000. One will be completed and ready for move-in by the end of this month and the other two in early December. All three homes offer four or five bedrooms, tile roofs and covered porches.

VillageWalk at Lake Nona’s Town Center Opens Gas Station

ORLANDO, Fla. -- It might not draw the front page attention of a new convenience store chain or supermarket, but word that the new gas station at VillageWalk at Lake Nona’s Town Center opened in September has already spread throughout the community. Sean Strickler, vice president of sales in north Florida for Pulte Homes, which builds new single-family homes priced from the $200s to the low $400s at VillageWalk at Lake Nona, said a small crowd was on hand for the official opening. “There was a lot of excitement,” Strickler said. “It’s like a small town out here and everybody gets their news from their neighbors,” he said. The gas station---pumps, really, that are operated by the VillageWalk Homeowners Association --- is the latest addition to the growing Town Center at VillageWalk at Lake Nona, a 500-acre master planned community located off Narcoossee Road in southeast Orlando. “The Home Owner’s Association is responsible for the pumps and they’ve announced that pricing is competitive with gas stations outside the community,” Strickler said. “It’s just one more feature that makes VillageWalk at Lake Nona unique and provides some of the conveniences of small town life,” he explained. The Town Center---located just inside the security gates at VillageWalk at Lake Nona---features a deli, hair styling salon, massage spa, and pet grooming. “The Deli offers lunch and dinner options and a pizza parlor with beer and wine,” Strickler said. “Community amenities include a resort style pool and spa, a lap pool, clay tennis courts, a state-of-the-art fitness center, ballroom, library, and activities planned for all ages by a full time on-site lifestyle director,” he said. Strickler said VillageWalk at Lake Nona benefits from its proximity to Medical City, the complex that includes a children’s hospital, medical research facility and the UCF medical college, all just one mile away. Pulte Homes currently has five ready-to-move-in homes available at VillageWalk at Lake Nona priced from the mid-$200s to the low $400s.

Lennar Homes Announces Plans to Build Manor Homes and Estate Homes at Bridgewater at Lakewood Ranch

FORT MYERS, Fla. --- Lennar Homes recently announced it plans to build as many as 281 estate and manor homes, priced from the $200s to the $500s, at Lakewood Ranch, the award-winning 17,500 acre master-planned community located on University Blvd., just east of I-75 between Bradenton and Sarasota. Matt Devereaux, vice president of sales for Lennar Homes in Southwest Florida, said Lennar will start construction of the first new homes in early 2013. “Lakewood Ranch is an exciting new opportunity for us and it’s a perfect match for Lennar Homes,” Devereaux said. New three, four, five and six-bedroom Lennar built homes in Bridgewater at Lakewood Ranch will range in size from 1,861 square feet of living space to 3,800 square feet with two- and three-car garages. “Lennar is one of America’s premier home builders, and with more than 20,000 homes built in the southwest Florida region, we have a long and enviable track record here,” Devereaux explained. Lakewood Ranch is one of the preeminent communities in Florida, and it is certainly the focus of community life in the Bradenton-Sarasota area, “We are proud and delighted to be here among some of the best local builders,” he said. Named the ninth best-selling master planned community in the U.S. by a national real estate consulting firm, Lakewood Ranch has led the way in real estate recovery, continuing to buck sales trends with its residential and commercial projects. As of Sept. 30, there were 439 new homes sold in Lakewood Ranch, an increase of 48 percent over last year at this time, and more than 2011’s entire total of 391. There are currently 304 homes under various stages of construction. Demand continues to grow; resale inventory is less than 100 in a community of more than 8,000 homes, and more than 20,000 people came through Lakewood Ranch’s information centers and models so far this year “Given these numbers, one would have to assume we are the market leaders,” said Jimmy Stewart, vice president of sales for LWR Communities, LLC. Devereaux added that he thinks Lennar’s home building experience will prove worthy of the Lakewood Ranch heritage. “Every home we build at Lakewood Ranch will come with Lennar’s “Everything’s Included” pledge,” Devereaux said. “And that means everything.” Lennar’s Everything’s Included pledge – that everything is included in one price from granite kitchen countertops, wood cabinets, stainless steel appliances, crown molding and tile in living areas to brick paver driveways and tile roofs – is one reason why the home builder will be selling close to 10,000 new homes throughout the nation this year. About Lakewood Ranch Lakewood Ranch is the 17,500-acre award-winning master-planned community in Sarasota and Manatee counties on the West Coast of Florida. Just minutes from the Gulf Coast beaches and cultural assets in Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch is already home to more 15,000 residents and features A-rated schools, a hospital, the Sarasota Polo Club, a 75-acre sports complex, its own Main Street with theaters, shopping and dining, and four million square feet of commercial property. For more information visit www.lakewoodranch.com.