Lenox Park is probably one of my favorite new subdivisions in Bartow County. The entrance is located just off the South Bridge on South Erwin Street. You should be able to see it dead center here.

Although the subdivision could use a little more in the way of landscaping, it does has a nice Williamsburg/Jamestown look to it. The subdivision is arranged in a large rectangle with large two story houses + 2-car garages lining the longer sides and smaller 2 story houses with carports lining the ends (only one end for now, they haven’t started on all the houses).

Most, if not all, have built-in cabinetry/bookcases in the living room with multiple coaxial cable outlets around the room for your TV(s). The bedrooms are a fair size, unless you get one of the smaller houses, then they are going to be noticably smaller (especially the master bedroom).

You won’t find any laminated countertops in these houses either. I don’t know what they actually used, but in one of them that I walked into, the kitchen looked to have a granite appearance(it’s not). The bathrooms had some type of molded white acrylic/polyethylene, while better than a laminated countertop, it doesn’t match up with the kitchen.

Fees! Oh God! The Fees!

I know, just when the subdivision seemed too good to be true. I hate HOA fees just as much as the next person. What really got too me though was the “Initiation Fee.” This isn’t a Frat is it?

• Home Owner’s Association Dues: $450/Yr
• Initiation Fee: $800 (A one time only ‘BS’ fee)

One Last Note

The houses are really more like townhomes, as you can’t walk between them to get from the front to the back. The garages on the larger houses are all built together. On the smaller homes, the laundry rooms in the back are built as one. The overall appearance is that they are all separate, but they aren’t.

Website

http://www.lenox-park.com

There are a number of programs out there that select individuals can take advantage of for massive savings on their home purchase. Two such programs available through HUD that I’ve discovered recently are:

• The Good Neighbor Next Door: This program provides a 50% discount on the listing price of the house, provided that you live in the house for 3 years. In order to purchase one of these homes, you have to take out a second mortgage for the discounted amount. If you live up to your end of the deal, you don’t have to make any payments on the second mortgage.Who’s eligible?
  • Law Enforcement Officers
  • Firefighters
  • Emergency Medical Technicians
  • Pre-K through 12th grade teachers
• American Dream Downpayment Initiative: This program provides assistance based on the greater of $10,000 dollars or 6% of the purchased homes value.Who is eligible?
  • First time homebuyers (person(s) who have not owned a home in the past 3 years).
  • Income must not exceed 80% of the local area median income.

One of the things I’ve needed to do for a while was open a savings account. But, I’ve held off simply because:

1. The majority of interest rates/APYs are pathetic. My local bank has an APY of 1.16% on a regular savings account. Sure, it’s passive income, but it gives the same feeling you get when you spot a penny on the ground.
2. The perceived time to set one up seemed to outweigh the benefits gained from opening the account.

However, after spending a brief ten minutes opening an account with HSBC Direct, I can say neither of those should stop anybody. There are several companies out there now that will give you a 4-5 times higher APY than what you would get at many local banks.

• HSBC Direct - 5.05% APY*
• Emigrant Direct - 5.05% APY*
• ING Direct - 4.00% APY*
• …just to name a few.

*Correct as of 6/13/07 6:00pm.

Plus, as far as HSBC Direct goes, the sign-up process is extremely easy and quick. Allowing for them to verify your account with a couple of micro-payments to your existing checking account, you’ll be up and going in about 3 days.

So, I’m extremely happy to finally be able to mark that off my list. Once that is setup, I’m going to look further into opening an account with Vanguard and investing in the Vanguard 500 (YTD 11.67% return). But, that’s for a later post.

In the meantime, hone your financial smarts at The Simple Dollar. It’s one of my favorite finance sites for a common sense approach to investing your money.

Located just off exit 296 on I75, Cassville Commons is an upcoming subdivision in….Cassville. The first thing I noticed when going to see these houses was the power lines just outside the exit. Right now, they are an eye-sore on an otherwise ok entrance. Perhaps they will do something to lessen their appearance later on down the line.

The subdivision itself is kinda divided into two parts. Upon entering, the first houses down the road on the left are The Cottages at Cassville Commons. These are priced in the 120s, which translates to $129k. But, with the developing buyer’s market, perhaps you can get a better deal.

The Cottages

These houses would be fine if it weren’t for one thing that bothered me. When walking into one of them, the area that should have been a garage had french doors instead. I’m not certain what the developers were thinking, but I believe the houses would have been much more appealing with a garage than an extra room.

All other things considered though, the rooms in the house I toured were fairly large for the price and had the master on the main. I especially liked the family area being located near the back of house, it kinda gives a better sense of privacy. (But, that’s not a huge concern of mine, I’d just as easily pick a house that had the family room in the front).

The Houses

Outside of the Cottages, the rest of the Commons give a greater sense of craftsmanship. This was helped in part by the greater amount of space between houses, better color selections, and the sodded yards. (The Cottages may be sodded eventually, but weren’t when I was going through.) However, I couldn’t help but dislike how all the wood fences seemed to mesh into one another.

Developer’s Website

For more details and floorplans, visit the developer’s website Here.

Directions

Going northbound on I75, take a left off of exit 296. You’ll go past the red-lights for the on-ramp and take the first left before the gas stations (Peeples Valley Road). Then you’ll take the first right after that onto Old Cass-White Road. The entrance to the subdivision will be about 1-1.5 miles ahead on your right.