THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 5, 1994 TAG: 9411030291
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
Ford's Colony near Williamsburg is featured in a newly released book, The 50 Best Retirement Communities in America by Alice and Fred Lee (St. Martin's Press, $14.95). The authors describe the subdivision as ``a buzzing community, filled with young retirees and high energy levels.''
The neighborhood features a 250-acre nature preserve, two 18-hole golf courses, two restaurants, a pool, all-weather tennis courts and six miles of fitness trails.
Thomas Duckett, an associate broker with William E. Wood and Associates, has been elected to a two-year term on the board of directors of the Tidewater Association of Realtors.
Pyle Realty Inc. announces that Grace Moran is the top sales associate for September. Phillip Wade is the top listing associate for that month.
The People's Choice Awards - gold, silver and bronze - are in for this year's Homearama display in Virginia Beach. The Favorite House was Flexible Living by Residential Concepts Ltd., which also copped most of the official awards.
Runner-up with the Silver Award was The Jamie Leigh, built by Area Builders Inc. The Bronze was given to The Arlington, by L.R. Hill Custom Home Builders Inc.
In the Favorite Decorator/Furniture Company category, Flexible Living won the Gold, with decorating and furniture by Goodwin Interiors. The Silver was awarded to The Jamie Leigh, with decorating by Danielson & Associates and furniture by Ethan Allen. The Bronze was grabbed by The Arlington, with decorating by Leslie Watson-Leake of the Decorating Den and furniture by Esprit Decor.
The Peabody, built by Joe Robinson Custom Construction Co., won the Favorite Landscaping Gold Award with grounds by The Groundskeeper Co. Flexible Living, with landscaping by Winn Nursery of Virginia, was runner-up, and the Golfer's Dream Home, built by Viola Building Corp. and landscaping by Tidewater Landworks Inc., was awarded the Bronze.
Edward Jennings will head up the new Hospitality Division of Divaris Real Estate Inc. The new division will be headquartered in Richmond and concentrate on hotel, motel and resort property. Divaris is also expanding its retail operation and has hired Brett H. Womack, formerly with Virginia Realty & Development Co., to manage it.
High tech continues to invade the home buying industry. Long & Foster's 11 Hampton Roads offices are using a new service, Floppy Shots, which places digitized photos of houses for sale on computers.
Prospective buyers can check out numerous homes without driving around.
Meanwhile, Rose & Krueth Realty is subscribing to the new Real Estate Television Network, which uses satellite signals to send motivation and training programs to local realty companies.
RE/MAX Central Realty will demonstrate the RE/MAX satellite training network at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 15 in the ballroom of the Norfolk Marriott. The telecast is open to the public as well as those in the real estate field.
Coldwell Banker Relocation Services will form an alliance with IBM Corp. to offer expanded services for companies sending employees overseas. The Coldwell Banker operation helps relocating workers dispose of an existing home; find a residence near a new workplace; move possessions to the new city; and process expenses and paperwork related to the move.
An IBM subsidiary, Integrated Systems Solutions Corp., will provide the alliance with information technology.
Around the nation: More manufactured dwellings were shipped in August than in any month in the last 10 years, according to the Manufactured Housing Institute. The total units were 28,931. Shipments for the year through August were up 21 percent over the first eight months of 1993 . . . Sales of existing homes rose across the nation in September despite rising interest rates. The National Association of Realtors predicts 3.97 million houses will be sold this year - runner up to the 3.98 million sold in 1978. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Thomas Duckett
by CNB