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Parade of Homes good way to get feel for the area

Photos: Fall Parade of Homes

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By Marty Coates Jr. Updated 4:21 PM Friday, October 16, 2009

I know the Bengals are red hot right now, and the chance to take advantage of the first-time home buyer tax credit is quickly heating up, too.

The Home Builders Association of Dayton has something you may find just as exciting and well worth your time, without the stress of the exciting Bengal’s last-minute finishes.

And you need to take advantage of the first-time home buyer tax credit before it becomes cool as ice on Nov. 30.

Simply taking a drive in your car today may be more relaxing than that Bengals game-winning drive against the Texans; you can tour 32 outstanding new homes in the Home Builders Association’s annual Fall Parade of Homes that started today. The tour will also be open Oct. 25.

This year’s Parade of Homes, which is absolutely free to the public, features 32 new single-family homes and condominiums of every type, from Indian Lake to Springboro — ranch, two-story, walk-out, empty-nester — priced from under $200,000 to more than $1 million. If you didn’t make it to Questival at the Trails of SaddleCreek or Soyraya Farm this summer, the Fall Parade of Homes will give you another chance to see these lifestyle homes in beautiful settings.

Many of the houses are furnished, most are decorated and almost all are ready for move-in the day after you sign on the bottom line.

The Parade information was included in your Oct. 17 Home Building Plus section of the Dayton Daily News, along with a Parade home locator map found in today’s Real Estate Plus that you can use to plan your tour (See pages 10 and 11). Information is also available online at DaytonDailyNews.com/realestate.

The Fall Parade is a great way to get a good feel for the types of new homes available throughout the Dayton region.

There are, however, some things you can do to maximize the value of your participation.

Be realistic about your budget. While you can get good ideas from the Parade Homes, it makes sense to focus on those that are within your price range. Use the mortgage calculator in Real Estate Plus to figure out just how much house you can afford.

Better yet, consult with a member of the Dayton Mortgage Bankers Association. He or she can advise you on down-payment requirements and mortgage- financing options.

Think about your future. Whatever your age, give some thought to what you expect your circumstances and lifestyle to be in the next five to 10 years. If you are in your 50s and plan to make you next home purchase your last, will trudging up a long flight of stairs seven or eight times a day make sense once you get into your 60s and 70s? If not, perhaps you should consider a single-story, lifestyle home.

If you have elderly parents, is there a chance one or more of them will be living with you in the near future? If the answer is “yes,” this obviously should have an impact on the kind of home you purchase.

Ask questions. Parade home builders or their representatives will be staffing their houses during Parade hours, so don’t be afraid to approach them with any and all of your questions — about costs, other locations they are building in, the cost of upgrades, financing options, etc.

They will be more than glad to help you make the most out of this year’s Fall Parade of Homes.

Marty Coates Jr. is 2009 president of the  Home Builders Association of Dayton.

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