A few weeks ago, I shared that shared Village Square in San Jose got a 77.  Pretty great, right? And a good Walk Score is not the only thing Village Square offers. Village Square is really an oasis in the midst of Urban Living.  It reminds me of the row homes in San Francisco, but better because the weather in San Jose is pretty awesome year ro...

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Labor day. Possibly the best holiday for you hard workin’ 8 to 6er’s out there. A day off (a real one!) with no obligation to buy gifts, visit family, or travel for hours on end while playing “I spy with my little eye”… So in honor of this amazing holiday, let’s briefly review the labor of homebuilding and why we ALL dese...

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What is Green Plumbing?

Green Plumbing is a commitment to continued training throughout Marina Plumbing Company in an effort to bring consumer awareness to SummerHill’s communities and other communities throughout the Bay Area. Continuous training programs serve to promote water conservation and to introduce energy efficient ways of saving and utilizing our natural resources, such as...

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As we all try to reduce our carbon footprint, we’re trying to be in our cars less and less, which means we’re looking to get what we need close to home.  At SummerHill, we build infill neighborhoods, a fancy way to say that our neighborhoods are close to everything you need. In a recent article for CNN Money, David Futrelle wrote about putting a pric...

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LOST buying a home?

Have you ever noticed how on the ABC network show LOST, things seem to be going well, when all of a sudden Hurley finds the metal spaceship underground and becomes obsessed, Kate has debilitating flashbacks of her previous life, and Sayid gets caught in a primitive leg trap hanging upside down from a tree; all these things are interesting and captivating, but none of ...

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As Americans, we’ve historically had a love affair with our lawns. Visions of pastoral bliss are conjured up with fantasies of the open plains, the Wild West, and the grand estates of English and French country sides. During the first half of the 20th Century, we were building homes with a majority of the outdoor landscape devoted to lawns. Plus we devoted a l...

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Green is heating up!

Green is HOT! Green is all the rage right now. Most builders are using Energy Star certified appliances and some builders (like yours truly), have Build it Green and USGBC certified communities. One way SummerHill is going green this year is by switching some of our communities from Copper plumbing to PEX. (more…)......

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Yesterday, I tweeted about this cool new memory chip from Apple that allows you to download photos from your camera to your computer wirelessly, yes, wirelessly.  Now I haven't tried it yet, but I would like to as I am inevitably searching for a the connection cable when I want to download photos at work to upload on our Facebook pages or even here for our blog...

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Back yards. Side yards. Patios.  What does your outdoor space look like?  How do you use it? Now and again we have buyers that really want a back yard.  As a homeowner, and an owner of a SummerHill townhome, I understand the allure of a back yard.  It is a place that you can hang out, yet I know that for us (my husband and me), our two l...

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Well, maybe a few days after Thanksgiving, but November 30th is coming up quicker than you might think if you’re in the market for a new home. Debra, our amazing sales rep at Talavera (oh and fantastic brownie baker!), sent me a link to Trulia regarding the $8k Tax Credit from dear ol’ Uncle Sam. (more…)......

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