Part 2 of a 2-part series

Atlanta is in the midst of a buyers market and home builders are upping the ante when it comes to offering buyer incentives.

Some are allowing buyers to choose whether they want all closing costs paid, price reductions or rate buy downs, while others are getting creative to offer golf memberships and more. Listed below are several subdivisions with creative incentives for buyers instead of the normal cash/closing cost offerings:

SilverOak – Priced from the $650s to $700s in Cobb County

SilverOak, a new custom-home community in Acworth, is currently offering one year of free lawn maintenance and five years of homeowner association dues paid when homebuyers close on a home before August 31.

SilverOak features an abundance of luxury features and large, private homesites. Homebuyers can expect formal studies, spacious dining rooms with seating for 10 or more, two-story foyer and great rooms, and chef’s kitchens with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, solid wood cabinets and tile backsplashes. In fact, the community is one of the only communities in the nation with multiple builders who construct both 100 percent EarthCraft and Energy Star homes. SilverOak also now features a decorated model home, where anyone can come by and view the latest in luxury home trends.

Call Jackie Allred at 770.505.9094 or through the call center or visit www.metrobrokers.com/silver.oak.

Westin Park - Priced from the $280s to $320s in Henry County

The builder at Westin Park, a 60-home community in Locust Grove, is not only paying $5,000 in closing costs but is also including one free year of lawn maintenance on all completed homes.

Westin Park offers four and five bedroom floorplans with basements, two-car side entry garages, bonus rooms, lofts, formal living and dining rooms, great rooms with gas fireplaces, kitchens with granite countertops and tile backsplashes, and master suites with sitting rooms, jetted tubs, and his/her vanities and walk-in closets.

Exteriors are fashioned of four sides brick with low maintenance shake, stucco, and board-and-batten siding accents. Homes are situated on half an acre with sprinkler systems, sidewalks and streetlights.

Call Stephanie Deep at 678.432.9790 or through the call center or visit www.metrobrokers.com/westin.park.

Bramlett Meadows – Priced from the $150s to $190s in Paulding County

At Bramlett Meadows, a 153-home community on Ridge Road in Douglasville, the builder pays $3,500 towards closing costs with the preferred lender and is currently offering six months of no payments.

In addition, Bramlett Meadows is offering an exclusive “home of the month” program, good on one home per builder in the community. The chosen homes include a full appliance package with a stove, dishwasher, refrigerator and washer and dryer.

Homes in Bramlett Meadows include formal living and dining rooms, bonus rooms, great rooms with gas fireplaces and master suites with sitting rooms, double vanities and separate garden tubs. Exteriors are fashioned of low maintenance board-and-batten siding, cedar shake, vinyl siding and brick. The historical colors, castle turrets, decorative fan vent gables and multiple roof pitches give the homes a unique style, unlike many other new home subdivisions where every home has the same “cookie-cutter look.”

Other visually interesting details include carriage style garage doors, walking soldier brick detail around the entrance, and transom, radius and bay windows.

Call Karen Hughes at 770.947.9056 or through the call center or visit www.metrobrokers.com/bramlett.meadows.

Hampton Mill - Priced from the $250s to $350s in Douglas County

Hampton Mill, a new 277-home community off of Chapel Hill Road in Douglasville, offers homebuyers three interesting options with the purchase of any completed inventory through Aug. 31.

Homebuyers can choose to have 6 month of no house payments, a $10,000 Rooms to Go gift card, or $8,000 which can be used towards closing costs or a price reduction. By providing a variety of options, the builder hopes to have something for everyone.

Hampton Mill offers three to five bedroom floorplans with basements, two and three car garages, master suites, and formal living and dining rooms. Gourmet kitchens include stainless steel sinks, granite countertops, custom cabinets, decorator hardware, and a $1,200 Sears appliance allowance. Luxurious master suites feature sitting rooms, oversized walk-in closets, jetted tubs, large separate showers, and double vanities with cultured marble counters.

Interiors at Hampton Mill have an abundance of luxury features that are considered upgrades in most communities, such as two story great rooms, trey ceilings, wrought iron spindles in staircase, marble fireplaces, chair rails, crown molding, hardwood floors, and custom paint colors.

Call Connie Koldenhoven or Kari Daniell at 770.577.0331 or through the call center or visit www.metrobrokers.com/hampton.mill.

Gosdin Park & Drew’s Ridge – Located in Coweta County

The builders for Gosdin Park, an 84-home community in Palmetto priced from the high $300s to $600s, and Drew’s Ridge, an intimate 27-home community in Newnan priced from the $360s, have just announced that they will be including a full golf course package with each home purchase.

The package, through Canongate Golf Course, gives homeowners access to 18 golf club locations with 22 championship courses for one full year. All of the golf clubs included in the package have state-of-the-art facilities. For example, Canongate I has eight pool facilities, two tennis courts available for night play, a clubhouse with restaurant and pro shop, and a double-sided driving range with both mat and grass hitting areas in addition to the 36 hole golf course on their grounds. And that is only one of the 18 clubs that are part of this exclusive package.

In addition to the free golf package, the builders at Gosdin Park and Drew’s Ridge pay $3,000 in closing costs with preferred lender Metro Brokers Financial.

Gosdin Park also offers timeless features such as classic architecture, board and batten siding, brick, stone and cedar shake accents with fiber cement siding as well as decorative driveway entrances. Homebuyers will enjoy the clubhouse, lagoon shaped pool with children’s mushroom water feature, and wooded homesites from three to eight acres.

Drew’s Ridge features unique homes customized with loads of extras on large, wooded homesites averaging 2.6 acres in size, some of which are located alongside a creek. Homes include built-in bookcases, coffered ceilings, mud rooms, security systems, and baths with furniture vanities, tile showers with body sprays, and pedestal tubs with champagne spray along the bottom. Homes will have European, country and craftsman style exteriors with carriage style doors, landscape lighting, and outdoor sitting areas.

For information about Gosdin Park, call Joe Powell or Doug Todd at 770-463-4266 or through the call center, or visit www.metrobrokers.com/gosdin.park. For information about Drew’s Ridge, call Kathleen Barlow at 770.251.3759 or through the call center, or visit www.metrobrokers.com/drews.ridge.

Metro Brokers/GMAC Real Estate, established in 1979, was recently named the largest real estate service provider in Georgia for the fourth consecutive year by Real Trends. Metro Brokers has 23 metro Atlanta and north Georgia offices and offers a wide range of real estate services including residential and commercial sales; pre- and post-license training; corporate relocation; new home sales and marketing; and insurance, mortgage and title/closing services.

The company is the largest GMAC Real Estate franchise in the world and has more than tripled in size over the last five years with more than 3,400 licensees, making the company the largest license holder in the state of Georgia. Metro Brokers is also the number one selling broker in metro Atlanta and north Georgia.

To contact Metro Brokers, call 404.843.2500 or visit metrobrokers.com.