Weston Dean Homes Blog

Weston Dean Custom Homes, a premier Boerne custom home builder,   builds some of the most desired homes in the San Antonio and surrounding metro areas. If you are one of our many happy customers moving into their new Weston Dean home this summer,  a housewarming party is the perfect opportunity to show your new home to family, friends and also a great way to meet your new neighbors.  If you have never planned a housewarming party before, here are some tips that may help you through your first this summer!

The first task in tackling your first housewarming party? Make a list of who you want to invite and set a date!  Then send out invitations to everyone on that list, to give them enough notice so they can plan to be there.  If you don’t want to send formal invitations, Facebook is a nice way to invite people and save money and stamps on mailing out invitations. If you don’t know all of your new Weston Dean neighbors yet, a face-to-face invite is the perfect way to meet them.

Next, it’s time to plan your menu.  Don’t wait until the last minute to decide what you will have.  You can make it as simple as finger foods or set up a smorgasbord.  Make it simple so that you don’t spend your entire time in the kitchen and not out socializing. You can even get one of the popular local favorite eating spots to cater your party and do the work for you!

If you invited your friends through social media, it may not be a bad idea to send another call or text reminder about a week before the event and ask if they plan to attend.  This also will give you a better idea of how much food to buy. Don’t forget besides the food, you need to get plates, napkins, cups and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to fine something that says, “the party is here” for the outside of your new Weston Dean home.

Having some type of drink station or mini-bar, is also a great way to allow guests to serve themselves to whatever variety of drinks you plan to have on hand. It may be a fun idea to search unique summer drinks to have prepared so guests can just pour and enjoy! Sangria is a very popular summer drink specialty for the adults at the party.

Lastly, be sure to prepare for your guests in your new home.  You will want to decide how you will set up to serve the food and any snacks that you plan on having.  Also, make sure you have enough places for people to sit and eat.  If it’s nice outside, have that area ready so that people know they can go outdoors.  If you plan on having people on multiple levels of your home, make sure that all the rooms are in order or shut doors to any rooms that are off limits.  You may want to decide if you want to have just one house tour or let people know they can look around as they please.

Just remember to have fun with the process and keep it simple so you can enjoy your family and friends and also meeting all your new Weston Dean neighbors.

Weston Dean Homes is a custom home builder.  For additional information about Weston Dean building your San Antonio new home, please call (210) 408-9107.

Weston Dean Homes, a premier New Braunfels custom builder, knows that your home mortgage is one of the most important payments you’ll make in your life. We also know that some of the lingo can be a little confusing, so we’ve shed some light on terms and general aspects of mortgages, below. Whether your are searching for a new home this spring or just moved into your beautiful new Weston Dean Home, it is good to have a full grasp on what makes up your mortgage.

First, let’s review some of the most commonly used terms associated with mortgages.

A mortgage, a home mortgage, or a lien refers to an “agreement between a bank and a lender to pay to lend money in exchange for a piece of property,” according this article about mortgages. An appraisal will give you an idea of the estimated worth of the property, and that amount will help dictate your mortgage.

Collateral is the property promised to a debt; that is, if you fall behind on your mortgage payments and have promised collateral, the bank may take back the possessions promised in order to recoup the money they haven’t been paid. Foreclosure is the legal process for the bank taking back the home and the property on which it sits; however, don’t get too worried about this bit. As long as you are able to make the minimum payments on your house, you should not worry about being foreclosed.

Principal is the amount left to pay back on the loan. This debt amount does not include interest, so principal isn’t a 100% accurate way of estimating your mortgage bills; interest, closing costs, and escrow will alter that number.

Homeowners insurance will cover damages due to theft, most natural disasters, and personal liability and varies depending on the insurance plan you select. This cost is another important factor in deciding to purchase a home; in addition to mortgage repayments, homeowners insurance is another significant bill to consider.

Your statement will have a lot of important information listed throughout it. At the top, a customer service phone number, address, and email will be listed; this contact info will help you get in touch with your loan provider, should you have any questions or choose to refinance. The top of the statement will usually also include your loan number and due date of your coming payment.

A section titled “summary” will usually include your current monthly payment, overdue total, unpaid late charges, and the total payment due as of the current statement. Generally, this total will include escrow, principal, taxes, and interest, and is the amount you will pay to your loan provider. Your interest rate, expressed as a percentage, is the amount charged for use of the borrowed money used to pay for your mortgage.

Your payment activity will usually be listed towards the lower portion of the page and reviews payments you’ve submitted and itemizes the escrow, interest, and other charges corresponding to each payment.

If you encounter any confusion when studying your mortgage bills, give your lender a call and they will be able to help sort things out.

Weston Dean Homes is a San Antonio area custom home builder. For additional information about Weston Dean building your San Antonio new home, please call (210) 408-9107.