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Jandel Homes...Now in Trochu!!!

Cara — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:17:00 GMT

We are thrilled to announce our newest development, in partnership with the Town of Trochu. Located in the heart of the Central Alberta prairies, Trochu Meadows is an 18 lot subdivision suitable for manufactured homes up to 22’ wide. With home ownership opportunities starting from $156,000, including the house, the lot and a full turnkey package, these lots won’t last long.

The Town of Trochu is located in the heart of East Central Alberta, approximately 45 minutes southeast of Red Deer. This quaint town is surrounded by rolling farmlands and rural charm can be found throughout. Functioning primarily as an agricultural service centre, Trochu has a trading area population of close to 5,000.

Some of the available amenities include: an arena, curling rink, culturally diverse restaurants, extended care facility, health centre, outdoor swimming pool, spray park, campground, ball diamonds, local museum and a year round Golf and Country Club. The residents of Trochu enjoy relaxed and peaceful living while having numerous activities to choose from.

For more information on these homes, please call our Edmonton West office toll free at 855.463.0084. Check out the Town of Trochu website - www.town.trochu.ab.ca - for all this great town has to offer.

Our new show home has just arrived. Watch for the grand opening to be announced on our website soon!

The Home Buyers’ Plan for First Time Buyers

Cara — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 16:47:00 GMT

The Home Buyers’ Plan for Canadians allows first time home buyers to withdraw funds from their Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) in order to buy or build a home. Up to $25,000 can be withdrawn for your primary residence or for a related person with a disability. Your contributions must have been in your RRSP for a period of no less than 90 days to qualify. Generally, you will have to repay the amount withdrawn within 15 years.

The Economic Action Plan also introduced the First Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit to assist you in realizing your dream of home ownership. The costs associated with purchasing a home (such as legal fees, disbursements and land transfer taxes) can be a particular burden for first time home buyers who must not only pay these costs but save for a down payment as well. To assist with these costs, the Government of Canada introduced a FTHB Tax Credit in 2009 - a $5,000 non-refundable income tax credit amount on a qualifying home. For an eligible individual, the credit will provide up to $750 in federal tax relief.

For more information on either of these programs, visit the Canada Revenue Agency website at http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/ or the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation website at http://www.cmhc.ca/.

Building Modular Streamlines Construction Processes

Cara — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 14:57:00 GMT

One of the primary benefits of modular construction is the streamlined construction process. The Modular Building Institute estimates that occupancy of a modularly constructed building occurs 50 percent faster than with conventional construction methods.

How does this happen?

• Site permits can be pulled and site preparation work can be occurring at the same time as the modules are being constructed in the factory. This allows for much earlier building occupancies, much shorter overall construction time lines and some financial savings in labor and supervision costs.
• Unique to modular construction is the factory’s ability to construct a building’s floors, ceilings, walls – all simultaneously. On site construction forces the builder to construct the home one phase at a time.
• Traditional building sequences require designers, engineers and contractors. These individuals are often working for different firms, and sometimes without much collaboration. Modular building eliminates this productivity issue.
• Also unique to the modular construction industry, modules are being built indoors, no matter the weather conditions. This is vastly superior to on site building, which is subject to weather delays.

Dependability and few deviations from scheduling – knowing exactly when a project will be completed – is a major benefit of modular construction methods.

The More You Know, The Better We Look!

Giving Back to Our Communities

Cara — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 17:29:00 GMT

Please come out and join us March 24 from 11 am - 4 pm for a special barbeque in support of two well deserving local charities.

The two Edmonton Sales Centres are supporting the “5 days for the homeless” campaign, while the Grande Prairie Sales Centre’s barbeque is in support of the “Young Persons & Families with Cancer Society” of Northern Alberta.

Jandel Homes is providing the food and beverages for sale on Saturday and will match dollar for dollar the amount raised during the barbeque.

Hope to see you there!

Modular Buildings Are Highly Adaptable

Cara — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 21:45:00 GMT

Modular building processes are certainly not new to the construction industry. They are, however, becoming more mainstream than ever. Current construction trends such as the growing demand for green construction practices, increased use of technology and the need to create more financially feasible projects are just some of the driving forces behind putting modular housing into the mainstream.

Buildings architecturally designed to be built in modules are highly adaptable in both form and function. The design can be as simple or as elaborate as a client requires - from single family homes and cottages to high rise apartment buildings and hospitals. For example, in 2011, the US Army Corp of Engineers decided to use modular construction methods to build the Fort Sam Houston Medical Education and Training Complex Barracks in San Antonio, Texas. The project consisted of 1705 modules – or 1.6 million square feet. There were five buildings in total, 4 storey’s high, each comprised of 341 modules and each building was completed in about eight weeks. (source: McGraw Hill’s 2011 Report on Prefabrication and Modularization)

Many commercial builders are choosing modular construction simply because the speed of the building process ensures a faster return on their investment. McDonalds Restaurants, for instance, uses prefabricated structures for their buildings and set a record of constructing a building and opening for business within 13 hours (on prepared ground works). (source: Department of Construction Industry Report 2001, Scotland) Petro-Canada chooses modular building processes for its new stores because of the speed to market, reduced site disruption and reduced project management requirements. It is also much more financially feasible and environmentally sensitive to disassemble and transport a decommissioned store to a new site than to demolish it. (source: Modular Building Institute Case Study Winter 2011)

According to a study done by McGraw Hill Construction in 2011, while reported uses of prefabrication/modularization are already quite high, by 2013 – it is expected that 98% of current construction industry players will be users of prefabrication/modularization.

The More You Know, The Better We Look

Innovations in the Barn and on the Field

Cara — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 19:18:00 GMT

Please come out and join us at the Peace Country’s largest agricultural show. The latest innovations in the barn and on the field will be displayed at this weekend’s 27th Annual Peace Country Classic Agri Show at Evergreen Park in Grande Prairie.

This show continues to grow and event planners have adjusted the layout to make best use of the new facility and accommodate exhibitors. Look for the new exhibit area “Elevator Row” located in the Grand Hallway, featuring all the leading grain and crop input companies from the area. The event planners are hoping this will create a one stop destination for all crop marketing needs for the new season. Also new to the show this year is “Peace Country Classic Artcetera”, a showcase of paintings, photography, jewelry, crafted articles of leather and wood sculptures with a western or country theme.

Show hours are Thursday and Friday 10 am to 5 pm and Saturday 10 am to 4 pm. Hope to see you there!

Vermilion

Cara — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Big City Advantages…Small Town Feeling\

We are thrilled to announce our new partnership with the Town of Vermilion!

A booming economy creates tremendous opportunities. A few years ago, the Town of Vermilion recognized that the region would soon enter into a housing boom. They were proactive and as a result of that foresight, now have fully serviced sites developed specifically for single section modular homes. With lot prices starting around $50,000, they are extremely affordable.

Vermilion is a small town with big opportunities. With a town population of 4,472 people and a trading population of close to 12,000, life there really is about the balance between work and play. Vermilion Provincial Park is virtually on your doorstep and the annual Ag Show and Summer Fair draws a huge crowd from all over the province - the 5th largest attendance in the province!

The Town of Vermilion is just a two hour drive west to Edmonton and Lloydminster is a short half hour east. If you’re considering choosing to live in Vermilion, you can contact the Town at 780.853.5358 or check out their website - www.vermilion.ca.

Money Matters

Cara — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:39:00 GMT

It is a common misconception that modular homes are harder to finance than site built. Whether you’re buying your first home or using your hard earned equity to move into your next one, there are several mortgage and financing products available for the modern home buyer.

While each person’s situation is unique, most banks, appraisers and insurance companies will treat modular homes the same way they do a site built home. Generally, if a home buyer would qualify for financing on a site built home, that same home buyer should also qualify for financing on a modular home.

The lender might choose to use a draw mortgage. Draw mortgages release money in phases as the project is completed. This is probably the most common financing option our lenders use. Often the bank (or lawyer) will pay out 85% of funds when the home arrives on site and the remaining 15% is released upon completion.

There are more financing options available today than ever. If you’re considering a new home purchase, your bank can best advise you on which option would be best for your situation. Some of the possibilities are:

• Traditional mortgage
• Draw mortgage as mentioned above
• Mortgage insured through CMHC’s “Chattel Loan Insurance Program” for homes being placed into land lease communities
• Mortgages insured through CMHC’s “On Reserve” programs for Aboriginal Housing
• Home equity loans
• Lines of credit
• Personal loans

If you’re considering a new home purchase but just aren’t sure where to start, CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation) has some excellent home buyer resources available on their website - www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca .

The more you know, the better we look.

Today’s Modular Home Building Codes

Cara — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Today’s Modular Home Building Codes

Today’s building codes for modular homes are nothing like the mobile homes of the past.
Back in the 1970s, a mobile home was built to a less stringent code than is used today.
The norm back then was 2’x4’ exterior walls. That gets chilly in a Canadian winter!
Today, that home wouldn’t be allowed to leave the factory floor.

Whether the home is factory built, or site built, or using a combination of both methods - in
Alberta, the building code is the same for all building styles, no matter the method of
construction. Today’s modular homes, however, are almost always built to a higher quality
than more traditional building practices simply because modular home builders have to
meet more stringent standards.

First - our homes are inspected on the factory floor at every stage of production.
Then - independent third party inspectors spot check homes as they are being built, for code
compliance. When our home leaves the factory, it will bear a sticker on the electrical panel
that certifies it is code compliant. When the home is ready to leave the factory, the modules of
that building (whether it is one piece or more) need to be built strong enough to survive travel
down the highway to the final location. Once the home arrives on site, we then begin to go through
all the same building inspections that a traditional site builder goes through, except that our
homes have already been inspected many times by that point!

If you are comparing site built vs. modular…drive around and look at some homes being built, and
ask the builder if that home would survive travel down the highway. Of course it wouldn’t. Our homes
are simply built stronger. Strong enough that our manufacturer has now introduced a 20 year
structural warranty, the most comprehensive in the business today.

The more you know, the better we look!

Building Modular Give Homeowners Quality With Style

Cara — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Building Modular Gives Homeowners Quality With Style

We are often asked what styles of houses we can build. What many people don’t understand is
that modular housing is simply a method of construction – not a STYLE of house. Two stories;
bi-levels; duplexes; or commercial buildings…most modular home builders can build anything
‘on-site’ builders can do. Often we can build it with a price advantage, but always with increased
efficiencies & certainly with more environmentally friendly building practices. Whatever style of
home best suits your needs – we can build it. Here’s a great example:

How can we do this? Modular home builders continue to lead the way in housing innovations & green
building practice by building our homes in a factory and shipping the modules to site. Factory built
modules are monitored with ISO certified quality processes in a production facility where
employees don’t need to worry how rain or windstorms might affect the quality of the final job. It often
results in a 30% reduction in materials used. In simple styles these often lead to some significant
cost savings. Other more complicated housing styles may reduce some of the cost advantages
factory built may offer – but not all. Factory building practices are always more efficient.

In fact, most site builders have adopted our building practices, with many components arriving onsite
as ‘pre-built’. Other home builders, wanting to disassociate themselves from the poor quality of cheap
mobile homes from the past are promoting themselves as “systems built”. It’s the same principle.
Build components in a factory and assemble on site.

So regardless of the home style you would like, consider choosing modular construction for your next
home. The more you know, the better we look!