Ted Mason Signature Homes, Inc.

Thank you for your continued partnership with ENERGY STAR. By building ENERGY STAR qualified homes, your company is doing its part to help protect the environment while offering consumers new homes that are more comfortable and save money on utility bills.

Our records indicate that your company built a total of thirty three (33) ENERGY STAR Qualified Homes in 2010.

This is equivalent to:

- Eliminating the emissions from 16.17 vehicles
- Saving 97,812 lbs of coal
- Planting 26.73 acres of trees
- Saving homeowners $14,751 on their utility bills

We thank you for the important contribution that your organization has made to energy-efficient construction and environmental protection.

Nice letter, especially since it quantifies the impact of our decision to be a 100% Energy Star builder.

In the same vein, at the 2011 Parade of Homes awards banquet, we received the award for Energy Efficient Design and Construction. This year we moved toward creating a home that is completely energy self-sufficient, sometimes known as “net-zero” in the industry. Our Parade Home this year featured a solar energy component, in addition to being Energy Star certified. In brief, the system has three components: low-profile photo-voltaic panels on the roof, a DC to AC converter, and an Idaho Power meter that provides for the sale of electricity back to the grid. Exciting stuff!

The Cape Cod Collection in beautiful Hazelwood Village illustrates why Ted Mason Signature Homes has been building in the Treasure Valley for 20 Years. Bring your friends and your camera! See all the amenities you can enjoy in a custom home built by a professional homebuilder. Touch and feel the New England inspired decor and private courtyard design. Imagine having no power bill. Come see solar power in action!

The number of decisions a person needs to make when building his or her dream home can be daunting. From choosing a floor plan to picking the knobs on the kitchen cabinets, there are a lot of decisions to be made.

That’s where Ted Mason wants to make the process easier for you.
“We wanted a place where prospective buyers could come and get a feeling of what’s available throughout the valley,” Mason said. “We thought we’d offer people a place to come to one location and just explore — and dream.”

So Mason took one of his model homes in the Hightower subdivision just east of Meridian Road on Chinden Boulevard and created Home Central. The location is easy to find, and the location is very accessible.

And this idea is a great resource for those thinking about building their own dream home.
The main focus of Home Central is a simple worksheet. Sit down at the kitchen table or one of the sofas, relax and think about the house you want to live in. By the time you walk out of the house, you’ll have a clear idea of what your dream home will be like.
No one has tried to hard-sell you anything.

Sure, you’re sitting in a Ted Mason Signature Home, and he does make fine homes — you’ll realize that as you enjoy the relaxed atmosphere with arches and columns and high ceiling — but the goal is to help you chart a path to your dream home, wherever that path takes you.

Sorting through it
At the kitchen table, you’ll ponder large charts on the wall comparing the amenities of a variety of subdivisions. After all, the first thing you’ll want to do is decide just which part of the valley you want to live in. Do you want a community with a pool and clubhouse? Are you looking for certain school districts? What about maintained landscaping and snowplowing?
The master bedroom has been set up with an entire wall of various interior finishes and flooring ideas. The idea is not to force you into one of those finishes, but to inspire you with all the different possibilities out there.

But it’s the worksheet that will help clear a lot of the clouds away and bring your dream home down to earth.

There are six sections to ponder.
The first section helps you focus on where you want to live in the valley. Do you want to live near work? Near friends or family? Near the gym? Near your doctor?
The next section zeroes in on what amenities you’d like in the community you choose. Is a swimming pool important to you? Or fitness facilities? What about walking paths? Or pressurized irrigation?

The next part helps you come to terms with a floor plan. There are so many elements involved with designing your home. Do you want a breakfast nook, shop area, walk-in pantry, Jack and Jill bathroom, a three-car garage, an alley-loaded garage, split bedrooms or a courtyard? Do you want a one-story home or two? Your dream home starts to take shape.

Next you’ll want to ponder your lot. Do you want a backyard that’s oriented toward the south? Or maybe the west, toward the setting sun? Do you want a small yard or a large one? Do you need space for a garden, or do you want a community that offers yard maintenance? See — things that haven’t even occurred to you yet.

Finally, you get to the fun stuff. What style of home do you want? What sort of exterior finish do you like? Stucco? Anything but stucco? And what about those interior finishes? Marble? Hardwood? Tile? What about a fireplace? The list is long, and you’re going to hash this out with your spouse at some point, so why not figure it out before you even get started?
The last section will help you sort through the ever-changing financial aspect to help you figure out how to make your dream possible. Someone will be on hand to help you wade through it all to see if your dream fits your finances. Again, no one is trying to sell you anything, they’re just there to help, if you have questions.

Ted Mason
Sometimes Ted Mason will even be there himself. He’s not one of those builders who is happier in his truck than with curious home shoppers.
He’s been building homes in the valley since 1991 and is a busy guy. He’s got 30 contracts this year and has 10 homes under construction right now. In these economic times that speaks volumes.

Mason is busy enough that he doesn’t need to stop by Home Central. But he’s a people person and enjoys the interaction.

“There’s a real need for homebuyers to have a comfort level and to meet the builder,” he said. “I will personally spend time here meeting people and answering questions — talking about their hopes and design ideas.”
Many of his buyers have had special needs, so time spent answering questions can be valuable for everyone.

If you don’t have questions, it’s still a nice, relaxed setting to sort through all the details you’re going to need answers for at some point. Just settle down and make yourself at home with this self-guided tour and worksheet.

“It’s not hard-sell Ted Mason,” he said. “You’re on your own to start dreaming.”

Bring your friends!

We gave away t-shirts, cash, and a 3 day trip to McCall all expenses paid. There were even a few boxes of ‘Lucky Charms’ cereal and ‘Irish Spring’ soap given to some really lucky folks.

Congratulations to all the realtors who have ‘survived’ this market. We look forward to a bright road ahead with normalcy and positive growth in this great valley.