After a long hiatus of offering build jobs in our communities, we couldn't be happier to announce.. we're back, and better than ever! If you're ready to start the process of building from the ground up - choosing your lot, floor plan, upgrades, and the design selections to create your dream home - today's episode is for you! Whitney and Chelsi give our listeners an update on where we have available lots to build on, what these communities have to offer, and what you can expect through our new and improved building process.

Intro: [00:00:03] Welcome Home, a podcast brought to you by John Houston Home. Join hosts, Chelsi Frazier and Whitney Pryor, as they walk you through the exciting adventure of your home buying and building journey.

Whitney Pryor: [00:00:19] Thank you for joining us on today's episode of the Welcome Home Podcast. I'm Whitney and we have Chelsi here with us.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:00:28] As always, hello!

Whitney Pryor: [00:00:29] Today, we're going to go over some exciting things. For a while there, we were only selling inventory homes and we didn't have communities we could build in, but we now offer building your home on your lot in one of our communities again.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:00:49] Yes, it's like we've lived in another universe for a while where we didn't have build jobs, is what we call them. When you get to build from the ground up, from a floor plan that we offer in that community. Now they're back and we're so excited!

Whitney Pryor: [00:01:07] I know, it's been a whirlwind.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:01:09] Yes, anybody who's been following us on the show or even the market, which is everybody, whether you're in the in the market or not, everybody knows what's happening. They know that it's just been a weird time. We kind of had to pull back on that for a little bit because there was so much unknown with supply chain, labor and all the things we've talked about in previous episodes.

Whitney Pryor: [00:01:33] Yea, we're excited to get back to it though. I think it was definitely a tough call for us to take that away, but we want to set the right expectation with people and it was too unknown. We had no idea what our prices were going to look like on certain materials for the home in the next 90 days that it took to get that material in. It was just too unknown for us and we definitely didn't want to have to go back and say, "well, we know you contracted at this price, but we can't really honor that because we can't afford it," you know? I think it was a tough call for us, but as far as setting people's expectations, it was definitely the right call.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:02:18] As hard as it was.

Whitney Pryor: [00:02:19] Yeah, as hard as it was, yeah.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:02:21] Now that we have now opened back up to building in several communities, we want to just talk about those communities and give you guys some more details on where we're building, what that area looks like, what you can expect from Hulen Trails, for example. We'll just kind of talk about each community, what the plans are like, what you can expect and just kind of answer some questions that you may have on that.

Whitney Pryor: [00:02:49] Yeah, definitely, so with Hulen Trails..

Chelsi Frazier: [00:02:51] Yeah, great place to start!

Whitney Pryor: [00:02:52] Great place to start!

Chelsi Frazier: [00:02:53] It's our first Fort Worth community, I believe.

Whitney Pryor: [00:02:55] It is Since I've been here and you've been here.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:02:58] Yes, but we've been in Crowley ISD before. It's Crowley ISD, right?

Whitney Pryor: [00:03:03] Yeah, it's technically Fort Worth City, but it is Crowley ISD and the Crowley area, which are starting to merge. It's so weird because I think ten years ago when I lived over in the South Fort Worth area, Hulen area, I never thought that those two areas would merge, but they just keep getting closer and closer together with their houses. That one's a great area if you like the Burleson area, which is still kind of what it's considered. It's Fort Worth City, it's Crowley Schools, but if you're doing your shopping, dining and all of that, that would probably happen in Burleson.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:03:44] Oh, okay, that's your closest?

Whitney Pryor: [00:03:46] Closest bigger area to shop.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:03:49] Well, I didn't realize that, so you taught me something today.

Whitney Pryor: [00:03:51] Nice! You were today years old?

Chelsi Frazier: [00:03:53] Yeah, I was today years old when I learned. That's my new favorite thing

Whitney Pryor: [00:03:58] Yeah, mine too!

Chelsi Frazier: [00:03:59] We've got several plans in the lineup for that. I'm scrolling through our website and there are eight or so plans to choose from.

Whitney Pryor: [00:04:06] Okay. I think those are on the lower end as far as price point goes for us, which is really nice.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:04:15] Yeah, so you can go from 1,500 square feet on up from there, starting in the low 400k's, so 399K. You've got lots that range in size from 50 to 65 foot wide by 120 foot deep, so that's Hulen Trails.

Whitney Pryor: [00:04:38] We also have communities in Mansfield too. We have in M3 Ranch and Somerset, but Somerset's not necessarily new, right?

Chelsi Frazier: [00:04:47] Right, yep, this is phase three that we're building in of Somerset. We've got, I don't even remember when we start started in Somerset, maybe five years ago or so?

Whitney Pryor: [00:04:57] Yea, it's been awhile. It was there, yeah, about five years ago.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:05:01] It is right off 360 and 287. You can see it. If you've driven past it, you know exactly where we're talking about.

Whitney Pryor: [00:05:08] It has this huge tower that my daughter always asks about. She's like, "why do they have that?" I'm like, "it's just for looks!" She's like, "what?!"

Chelsi Frazier: [00:05:15] She wants to go to the top.

Whitney Pryor: [00:05:17] Yeah, she wants to know why it's there and what its function is, but there is no function, and that bothers her. She's nine. I don't know why she's worried about these things.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:05:27] She's analytical.

Whitney Pryor: [00:05:29] Yeah, so that is a phase three, so it's the tail end of Somerset. I think they might have one more phase, I'm not sure.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:05:38] It's Master Planned.

Whitney Pryor: [00:05:39] It's Master Planned. The cool thing about it being phase three, is your amenities are already there, so you've got your trails and also the pools already built. Day one moving in, you can go to the pool.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:05:50] That sounds amazing.

Whitney Pryor: [00:05:52] Right now, it definitely sounds amazing. I can't even imagine moving right now in this heat.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:05:56] No, somebody move for me. I'll just be at the pool, let me know when it's done.

Whitney Pryor: [00:06:01] Yeah, exactly! Then in M3 Ranch, done by the same developer, correct?

Chelsi Frazier: [00:06:09] Yes, uh huh.

Whitney Pryor: [00:06:09] If you've been through Somerset or you've checked that out recently, it's going to have a lot of the same look and feel, as far as it being a Master Planned development. Beautiful communities, this developer does an amazing job with the community layout.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:06:27] Yeah, the entrances are very eye pealing. They've got great signage, little ponds, features and rock walls.

Whitney Pryor: [00:06:37] Yea, and M3 Ranch has more of that Texas ranch feel. I think that its' history too.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:06:43] I thought it was a family?

Whitney Pryor: [00:06:44] A family ranch decided to honor that ranch feel and named it M3 Ranch. It has giant rocks and manmade creek bends almost, it looks like, that run through the front. It's really beautiful.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:07:02] It's very pretty.

Whitney Pryor: [00:07:03] Yeah.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:07:04] Yeah, and that's not far from Somerset either. It's also just kind of right there off 287.

Whitney Pryor: [00:07:10] Heritage Parkway, I think?

Chelsi Frazier: [00:07:12] Yep.

Whitney Pryor: [00:07:13] Yeah, so that one's really close and convenient.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:07:16] Yes. That one's also Master Planned, so you're going to have an amenity center, pool, future onsite school and trail system. Not all that stuff is built out yet either, it's a newer community, but that's stuff you can look forward to.

Whitney Pryor: [00:07:29] Yep, coming in the future. We also have a community in Burleson that's Master Planned called the Parks at Panchasarp Farms. I know that's a tongue twister.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:07:41] It is!

Whitney Pryor: [00:07:42] Not one person, whenever they call in to Online Sales, they never get it right. We should play Panchasarp bingo.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:07:50] I can only imagine the ways you've heard that community said!

Whitney Pryor: [00:07:55] It's totally butchered every single time. If someone calls and gets it right, I'm going to give them $500.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:08:01] Okay, if Jason ever listens to this episode, he's going to kill us, but we always laugh at how he says it. He says Panchasarp funny.

Whitney Pryor: [00:08:10] Yeah!

Chelsi Frazier: [00:08:11] What is it?

Whitney Pryor: [00:08:12] We work with a guy named Jason.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:08:15] Yall have heard him, he's been on the show.

Whitney Pryor: [00:08:16] Yes, he's been on the show and he says it "Pantasarp".

Chelsi Frazier: [00:08:22] Okay, say it again slowly.

Whitney Pryor:[00:08:23] I can't with not laughing!"Panasarp."

Chelsi Frazier: [00:08:25] "Panasarp."

Whitney Pryor: [00:08:27] Yeah,"Panasarp."

Chelsi Frazier: [00:08:28] "Panasarp," okay so just kind of skips right through some of those letters.

Whitney Pryor: [00:08:36] There is no "ch".

Chelsi Frazier: [00:08:36] I love it. I feel like I have heard that so many times from him, but I can never remember how he says it. It's a tongue twister.

Whitney Pryor: [00:08:42] It sure has, so don't feel bad if you call in and you don't get it right, because you and every single other person that called before you has never gotten it right. The guy that does this, does a great job and I think it's a family last name?

Chelsi Frazier: [00:08:57] Yes.

Whitney Pryor: [00:08:58] Okay, that's why we have this tongue twister of a name in there. It's The Parks at Panchasarp Farms and it is technically Joshua ISD, but located in Burleson City Limits and has some really awesome amenities.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:09:19] Yeah, the pool's already done. You see it right when you drive into the community.

Whitney Pryor: [00:09:22] Yes! It's a really, really cool looking pool. They had that done really early, so it's just in phase two right now in development. We are currently building. We have lots of available to build on in phase two, but they went ahead and finished that pool and phase one, which doesn't always happen.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:09:43] I was going to say that doesn't usually happen and isn't likely. They have some parks, playgrounds and greenbelt areas with walking trails. The Elementary School, is that in yet, have you heard?

Whitney Pryor: [00:09:56] It's not in yet.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:09:57] Future on site Elementary.

Whitney Pryor: [00:09:58] Mhhm.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:09:59] It's just minutes from Chisholm Trail Parkway and 35, so great commuting community.

Whitney Pryor: [00:10:05] Yes and I believe that's one of the only Master Planned communities in that area, that I'm aware of. There might be others I'm not aware of, so caveat, but I have not heard of any recently in that area. If you're looking for those kind of resort style amenities in your community and more of that community feel with walking trails and things like that, definitely check out The Parks at Panchasarp Farms.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:10:32] Yep.

Whitney Pryor: [00:10:33] All right, next, we move on to Waxahachie.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:10:37] Yes, there's always a lot going on in Waxahachie.

Whitney Pryor: [00:10:40] Yeah, definitely.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:10:42] Where do we start? We've got several communities in Waxahachie, but two that have opened up to build jobs. The Oasis, which is part of North Grove, North Grove being the first Master Planned community in Waxahachie. First and only, do we have another one yet?

Whitney Pryor: [00:10:59] There was one built a long time ago, but no, we don't have one. We don't have another Master Planned of that scale that has been built since then.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:11:10] North Grove is off of 77 and North of Target and all that North side stuff. Just drive on past that, go to the light and then there's North Grove.

Whitney Pryor: [00:11:26] Yeah, right by Academy.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:11:27] Yes, exactly, yeah.

Whitney Pryor: [00:11:29] Everyone knows where Academy is, it's Texas.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:11:32] Yeah, that or Canes.

Whitney Pryor: [00:11:34] Oh, yeah. I guess it depends on the person. I'm like, "right by Crumble Cookie."

Chelsi Frazier: [00:11:40] Oh, yeah, I know exactly where you're talking about.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:11:43] The Oasis is great. It's again, it's a new community in North Grove and they've already got their pool. I think that opened last Summer. There are lots of walking trails, playground and the Elementary School is already complete and open. It's been open.

Whitney Pryor: [00:12:00] Yeah, it's beautiful Elementary , there in the middle of the community. It's really cool.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:12:05] It's like picture perfect.

Whitney Pryor: [00:12:07] It really is. It's a beautiful community. I always drive down North Grove Boulevard to connect to my community and always see people out walking their pets. I'm like, "this is so perfect." It's very ideal and picturesque.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:12:23] Then not too far, is The Sunrise at Garden Valley, which is also in Waxahachie.

Whitney Pryor: [00:12:28] Yeah, that one's actually going to be really neat. If you're familiar with the Waxahachie area and if you've ever been on Garden Valley Parkway, it's behind Garden Valley Farms and that area. It's a community that connects behind there, off of Sagebrush Road. That community, they went a little bit different route. With your typical Master Planned Community, you get a pool, playground and walking trails. With Sunrise at Garden Valley, their focus is really on the sunrise. Obviously it's in the name, but they have created this kind of lookout area where you can view the sunrise or sunset, but mainly the sunrise. You get a good view of it. It's like this, I don't even know how to describe it. It's like a sidewalk trail, like a jogging trail that curves up. It spirals up to a high point on a hill in the middle of the community, and you get the perfect unobstructed view of the sunrise. It's a continuous trail. I don't know how many miles they said it was, but it's really interesting. They have plans to to plant upgraded trees. I think fruit trees maybe or some different trees along the walking trails, as well. Over time, you'll see that walking trail is going to be really awesome. It's good for people that like to be outdoors, for sure.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:14:11] Yes, and those are larger lots, right?

Whitney Pryor: [00:14:13] They are. They have a variety of lot sizes there. They've got some that are, I believe, in the 80 foot wide area, which is pretty wide, so there's options there. You'll have to check lot availability if you are interested in that community. There were lots available where you could have a side entry garage, a three car garage or a third car bay. There's definitely options there to extend that size because of the lot size.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:14:48] Yeah, if you're looking for a larger house with more square footage, you can do those larger plane. We have the Sacramento, Providence and Jackson, which is super popular. That's a good option if you need more space.

Whitney Pryor: [00:15:01] Yes, and it's already kind of a developed area of Waxahachie, which is nice, too. It's already kind of all built out back there.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:15:11] Tell me if I'm if I'm remembering this correctly, the developers, is it the same ones from Garden Valley Farms, Estates and all that?

Whitney Pryor: [00:15:20] Yes, correct. If you've seen those communities and how nicely they're done, then you'll know that Sunrise at Garden Valley is going to look similar and have some really neat features.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:15:30] Another new area, Ferris, that's somewhere we've never been. We've got Woodstone there and that's just off 45.

Whitney Pryor: [00:15:40] Yes, that one's just off 45.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:15:44] It's a smaller little town.

Whitney Pryor: [00:15:46] It is. We've not built in Ferris before, so it's a new market area for us. The development is really neat. It's a huge development and I believe they bought a whole ranch over there.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:16:04] Yeah, they've got big plans for that area. This is very, very early stage, this is phase one. You're not going to see it yet, but if you if you look on the website and look at their kind of Master Site Plan, you'll see the the vastness of it.

Whitney Pryor: [00:16:22] Mm hmm. They did build it on a ranch. It's land that includes South Creek Ranch, so it's an old ranch that was there. The family bought the ranch back in, like, the 1970's.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:16:39] I'd love to know that back story.

Whitney Pryor: [00:16:41] I know it's neat to know that a family, you know, is kind of like passing on that legacy to other families. They get to live and enjoy the land that they grew up on, which is nice. But yes, it was originally a family ranch. They have plans to keep it with the look and feel of a of a ranch, so a lot of outdoor, nature type features in that community. We'll definitely have some ponds, trails and some outdoor kind of features. People that enjoy outdoors should should definitely look at that one.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:17:27] Yeah, absolutely. Again, also not far for commuting. You can just hop right there on the interstate.

Whitney Pryor: [00:17:33] Yes, I think that's the biggest part of Ferris, is that the location of this one is right off of 45. I think it takes about 20 minutes to get into downtown Dallas from there. There aren't other communities in Ferris, so you're not dealing with commute traffic. It's a straight shot.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:17:52] That's a great point.

Whitney Pryor: [00:17:53] Yeah, you're not fighting traffic with anyone else on 45 going into Dallas, so that one's kind of nice, and you get more affordability. You can choose to live North of Dallas, way out there in Salina, take the toll road, have to pay to come in and you're fighting traffic with everyone else that has decided to move there or you can move South to a place like Woodstone, 20 minutes in. You're not fighting traffic, you don't have to deal with the toll road and you get more home for your money, so definitely something to consider with Woodstone.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:18:32] Yeah, great option. We've got a lot coming in Midlothian, so we'll probably have a whole other episode on the 287 Walnut Grove corridor that's exploding. For right now, we have opened up building in the Arbors. I's been highly anticipated because of the acre lots. I know we are very close also to building in Oak Creek Ranch, so we can probably talk about that one too as we're announcing this, even though it's not official as of the date we are recording open for building, but we know it's coming. We have two 1-acre lot communities coming up in Midlothian or available in Midlothian.

Whitney Pryor: [00:19:16] Yes, I think people have been waiting for those for a while. I think whenever we had this huge home sell surge earlier in the year and part of last year, the 1-acre lots were the first thing to sell out. We had so many people buying those. It takes us anywhere from 9 months to 4 years to develop raw land into lots. We sold out last year, a year to a year and a half ago, out of our one acre lots. We've been working hard to get more lots that are 1-acre in size because that's what people are wanting, and now we've got them finally.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:20:01] Yep, come and get it.

Whitney Pryor: [00:20:02] Yeah, so we do have options to build on those lots. You can come and pick your lot. The cool thing about The Arbors, is that it's close to everything. It's right on Walnut Grove Road, which is really nice, super convenient there. Then, with Oak Creek Ranch, you've got more variation in size, so those are 1-acre+. We've got some that range in size there. Most of them are around one acre, but there are a few lots that go a little bit higher than one acre, as well. It won't be built up as fast, so if you're looking for something that's more tranquil and you want it to stay country for a while.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:20:43] Yes, I was trying to think of the right word to explain it. It's not secluded because it's definitely accessible and not hard to find, but it's it's more peaceful.

Whitney Pryor: [00:20:56] If you've got some redneck blood in you, you might choose Oak Creek Ranch instead.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:21:03] It's beautiful. It's off 875 and Skinner Road. It's right there on that corner and it's being developed. It's been under development for a while. I know a lot of people have seen dirt moving and wondering, what is it?

Whitney Pryor: [00:21:21] Yeah, I think streets are in and it's almost ready to go. That one is going to be a really nice one. That one's Waxahachie ISD. It's county taxes for Oak Creek Ranch and Midlothian E.T.J., whatever that means, we're still trying to figure that one out. But, the nice draw there is county taxes, which I believe puts it out at like 1.7 something tax percentage, which is nice.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:21:50] Yeah, so the money you save on your taxes, you can fill up that three car garage you can build out there in Oak Creek Ranch, with all your toys and boats.

Whitney Pryor: [00:22:01] Yes, a new pool.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:22:02] So let's move on down south to Hewitt and Waco. We've got two communities that we're building in there.

Whitney Pryor: [00:22:09] Yes.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:22:09] Stone Ridge in Hewitt and nd Renaissance in Waco.

Whitney Pryor: [00:22:15] Yes, now Stone Ridge, the immediate thing I think of for that one is side entry garages.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:22:23] Oh, okay.

Whitney Pryor: [00:22:24] Yeah, so that one has a lot of appeal with that and you get that a lot in Waco. In Waco, there's a lot of communities that have those larger lots, which is nice, but Stone Ridge is definitely one of the prettier ones.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:22:41] Yes and Midway ISD, which is a really great school district. It's conveniently located enough for shopping, dining, recreation, entertainment and all those great things.

Whitney Pryor: [00:22:52] Yeah, definitely. Those lot sizes are 90' by 130', typically, in size, so 90" wide is a very large lot. Then 130' deep is what that means and 130' deep gives you plenty of room to have your whole backyard oasis.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:23:12] The other community we have is in Waco and it's Renaissance. That is phase six, correct?

Whitney Pryor: [00:23:19] Yes, that is phase six in. The neat thing about those, it's 60' wide lots, which is a little bit smaller for Waco size, but what you get with that is more affordability. Renaissance is definitely one of our more affordable communities that still puts you in that highly desired Hewitt area.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:23:38] Yea, like walking distance to the elementary school.

Whitney Pryor: [00:23:41] Yes, walking distance, which is really nice.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:23:44] Yeah, so that kind of rounds up our communities that we're building in currently. Of course that changes, so check with the Sales Manager or call our Online Sales Team. Whitney's got a great team that you can call. They're very knowledgeable in all our communities and our plans. They can answer all your questions or schedule an appointment for you to come in and talk to a sales manager. Of course, you can walk into any model home or sales office that we have, but hopefully that kind of gives you some general information to know where to start or something that you weren't aware of and maybe you've been looking for.

Whitney Pryor: [00:24:20] Yes. Like Chelsi said, our Online Sales Team is happy to help with any questions you have. Feel free to give us a call at 866.298.1416. We'll link to our website jhoustonhomes.com in the show notes. Feel free to check out our website and find out more information about those floor plans that we are offering in these communities available to build in.

Chelsi Frazier and Whitney Pryor: [00:24:46] Welcome Home.