Low-maintenance homes becoming way of life for Springfield home builders

Mow the lawn or go fishing? Paint the house or watch baseball? Those are becoming increasingly easy decisions for homeowners because of maintenance-free homes and full-service subdivisions.

"They want more leisure time," said Jim Hutcheson, real estate broker for Cooper Estates. "They want more time to travel. This way, they don't have to make arrangements for lawn care while they're gone. People are working more hours. They want to capitalize on their leisure time."

Cooper Estates, a gated community near the corner of U.S. Highway 65 and East Division Street, caters to low-maintenance living by providing lawn service, trash pickup, use of the clubhouse and other amenities for $150 a month.

Rick Richardson, Realtor with Re/Max House of Brokers, agrees that lawn service is a growing trend.

"Everybody in the family is working," he said. "People have more money than they do leisure time. They don't want to spend that time taking care of their lawn."

Richardson is the Realtor for phase I and phase II of Chesterfield Courts. The condominiums in the 2300 block of West Chesterfield are developed by Cowherd Construction. Some of the 10 units in phase I have already been sold. Phase II, with 16 units, should be complete by the end of June.

Residents pay a monthly fee of $115 that includes lawn service and the use of Chesterfield Village's clubhouse, pool and tennis courts.

Materials

Low-maintenance living begins with the type of materials used.

"Number one is quality materials: all brick, wood or stone and any type of siding," said Alex Warner, who has been building homes in Springfield for 20 years. "Number two is quality installation. The better quality materials and craftsmanship you have, the lower the maintenance."

Janell Manley, who has been building and developing homes in Greene County for 10 years, only builds maintenance-free homes.

"Within the last 20 to 25 years, people have been looking for maintenance-free homes," she said. "It's because there's been a growth of people living longer and wanting to do things other than paint."

Manley said that in today's real estate market, most subdivisions require that homes be maintenance free.

"Part of the reason for that is that as the price of a house goes up, people want to make sure the subdivision is maintained nicely," she said. "In my subdivisions, an all-brick home is required. We have covenants and restrictions as recourse for people in the subdivision. They have to use a certain quality of roofing because some types of roofing last longer than others."

When the homes are built, clad or vinyl windows are used because they don't require exterior paint. Aluminum or metal soffits, fascia guttering and seamless aluminum are used, as well, because they don't have to be painted.

Senior living

Maranatha Village, 233 E. Norton, offers three different types of independent living for people 55 years old and older: apartments, two-bedroom duplexes and three-bedroom homes. While Maranatha Village is owned and operated by the Assemblies of God, people of different denominations live in the housing.

The homes and duplexes are brick and have aluminum soffits.

"Everything on the outside is maintenance free to keep the appearance looking neat and clean, and because it requires less maintenance from our people," said Doug Blauvelt, assistant administrator.

Blauvelt said the landscaping is designed for ease of mowing and trimming.

"The shrubs don't drop needles so the appearance stays neat," he said.

Blauvelt said the residents have sold their former homes and moved to Maranatha Village because they want "a lifestyle of carefree living. They don't want to have to do the maintenance of a home."

Maranatha Village's goal is to take care of everything on the inside of the home as well.

"We try to put in the best appliances so they don't have to be replaced or fixed constantly," Blauvelt said. "The shelving pulls out on rollers so people don't have to bend over to look for something."

The showers are made of cultured marble so there's no grout, no tile breaking and because the marble is in one big slab, no water can get behind it.