By Emma Castleberry, At Home, Photos courtesy of Oakwood Homes
LOVELAND — Oakwood Homes Company builds more than just homes, says Regional Sales Manager Levi Rose.
“We focus on building community, not just coming in and building thirty homes and then jumping ship,” says Rose. “We are in there for years and years, building multiple collections of homes.”
In addition to building collections of homes like the new Thompson River Ranch in Loveland, Oakwood Homes takes responsibility for building other conveniences that enrich a community. This includes resources like shopping centers, recreation centers, and schools. At Thompson River Ranch, they’ve built a large swimming pool for use by the community members and there are plans for a recreation center and school. The community is also located just south of the Promenade Shops at Centerra in Loveland, putting shopping and entertainment within a convenient distance.
“The proximity to the highway makes us a good buy for a lot of people,” says Rose.
Rose says this community could be a good fit for buyers who are currently seeking homes in the Fort Collins and Denver areas. Both cities are easily reachable via I-25. Visual aesthetics and green space add to the community’s appeal.
“We have concrete tile roofs throughout the community,” says Rose. “It gives it a different feel from some of the traditional neighborhoods. We have walking trails and a couple of parks in the community, as well.”
The site of Thompson River Ranch is zoned for 1600 homes, about half of which are currently built and ready for move-in. Oakwood Homes has a selection of nine different floor plans for buyers to choose from, allowing them to customize their home from the ground up. There are also 19 homes currently under construction that would provide a faster move-in than customization.
The floor plans offered range from 1600 to 2700 square feet, above ground. These ranch-style plans include one of Oakwood’s special features, called “smart space.”
“Smart space is something kind of unique to Oakwood,” says Rose. “They have changed the peak of the roof just slightly and, instead of having dead space in your attic, they use that space so it feels like another level of your house. But it’s still a true, ranch-style home with finished square footage built between the roof trusses.”
Rose says this feature will be particularly appealing to multigenerational families with older children returned home or aging parents, each of whom might need their own space within the home. Even if the “smart space” is only used for storage, it adds more resale value to the home than a finished basement.
“It’s going to be a benefit in added space,” says Rose. “You’re always going to get more value having above-ground square footage than you would with a ranch with a finished basement. You’re going to get $100+ per square foot for above-ground square footage. If you had below ground, finished square footage, you would get about $30 per square foot on the resale market. It’s a no-brainer. It’s free and it comes included in the house.”
Another lauded feature of the homes in Thompson River Ranch is the window placement and natural light.
“Most of the backs of our houses have windows all the way across,” says Rose. “That is one thing that we have a lot of people notice: how many windows we put in our houses and all the natural light that we get.”
Oakwood Homes prides itself on combining style with efficiency. Every home receives a blower door test from an independent third party. This entails compressing air into the house to find any leaks—bad window seals or loose door jambs, for example—which the company then fixes to ensure the highest energy efficiency.
“We build some of the most energy efficient homes on the market right now,” says Rose. “We make sure that our houses are built at least 30 to 40 percent better than the average new home.”
Furthermore, Oakwood Homes offers a two-year energy efficiency guarantee on all homes.
Oakwood recognizes that purchasing a home is a financial and logistical challenge for many people. To remedy this, the company provides counseling through its Homebuyers Club.
“It’s intended for anyone who might need a little extra help trying to purchase a home,” says Rose. “They can help raise credit scores so you get the best interest rate. They can help with bankruptcy or foreclosure. They put someone financially in a position to purchase.”
This service is provided for free with no commitment to purchase with Oakwood. The Homebuyers Club is just one example of Oakwood’s commitment to service above all else.
“We really pride ourselves on giving you the best service and making the process easy,” says Rose. “Our goal, with sales counselors and builders, is to make the process as easy and enjoyable as possible.”
