Coventry, Plantation Homes prepare for busy 2015
Coventry Homes and Plantation Homes are gearing up for a busy 2015, with the opening of four new communities.
Coventry Homes will debut in three developments this year: Somerset Green and the Enclave at Westview in central Houston, and Cane Island in Katy. Coventry Homes will showcase luxury townhome designs in Somerset Green, a gated community located inside the Loop. The gated Enclave at Westview, also being developed by Coventry, will feature traditional home designs priced from $1.2 mil- lion. Located near Memorial, the community is zoned to Valley Oaks Elementary, Spring Branch Middle School and Memorial High School.
Cane Island — a 1,500-acre master-planned community near I-10, the Westpark Tollway and Grand Parkway — will feature designs by Coventry Homes and an array of amenities, including a recreation center, six parks and more.
Plantation Homes soon will open in Grand Mission Estates, which is being developed by McGuyer Homebuilders Inc., (MHI), the parent company of Plantation Homes and Coventry Homes. Residents will enjoy ample amenities, including a junior Olympic-size pool, spray park, basketball court, trails and playgrounds.
The two builders also anticipate opening a combined 24 model homes this year. The models will showcase the builders’ flexible floor plans and numerous custom options. All designs by Coventry and Plantation in Houston are built to stringent Environments for Living guidelines, which deliver a high
level of energy savings, indoor air quality and resource efficiency.
The 2015 expansion follows several new community openings last year. Coventry Homes and Plantation Homes both opened in the Meadows at Imperial Oaks, another MHI development.
The wooded enclave is near prime destinations in The Woodlands and is zoned to Conroe schools. Community amenities include a recreation center overlooking a 17-acre lake. Under construction now, the complex will offer residents a clubhouse, pavilion, a pool, playground and a toddler pool with spray features.
Pricing for these builders ranges from the $200,000s to more than $1 million. Learn more
For details, visit www. coventryhomes.com and www.plantationhomes. com. We had a bad experience a few years ago when we canceled the planned purchase of a home we had wanted because our home inspector found several hidden defects. Although the purchase offer specifically said we could cancel and get our $7,000 deposit back if we didn’t get a satisfactory inspection report, the seller wouldn’t sign the paperwork the escrow company needed to return our money. We eventually had to spend 11 months and $3,000 in attorney’s fees to sue the seller in order to get the deposit back, but the judge refused to make the seller pay our legal fees. How can we keep this from happening again? In most proposed sales, the buyer’s initial deposit is made into the account of an escrow company, a closing attorney or the seller’s real estate agent. The deposit generally can’t be returned if the deal turns sour unless the buyer and seller agree to it in writing.
Still, there’s no law that said your next purchase contract can’t include a clause that specifically states the deposit will be held by your own agent instead.
Though the seller still would need to agree to have the money returned to you if the planned transaction falls apart, the fact your own broker is holding the cash would give you a little more clout.
An alternative would be to include what agents often call a “sue or shut up” clause in your offer. It would require the third party that’s holding the dough return it to you if the deal goes south — unless the seller files a lawsuit to keep it by a specified date.
All but the most obstinate sellers won’t spend the time or money to file such a suit unless they really believe they have a good reason to keep your money.