C. Alan Arthur Appointed President of Fieldstone

Posted by FieldStone Homes on August 11, 2011

Veteran Real Estate Executive Assumes Overall Operational Responsibilities For Fieldstone in California, Utah and Texas

IRVINE, Calif. – Aug. 10, 2011 – C. Alan Arthur has been appointed President of FNE
Holdings, LLC (FNE), the parent company of the Fieldstone Group of Companies
(Fieldstone). The announcement was made by William H. McFarland, Chief Executive
Officer of FNE.

“Alan has served in a variety of senior management roles during his 20-year career with
Fieldstone, and has managed almost every area of residential development during both
strong and challenging market conditions,” said McFarland. “We are fortunate to have
Alan’s kind of business experience and expertise, as well as his high personal values and
other positive individual qualities, and I am looking forward to him taking charge of the
overall operational responsibilities for Fieldstone.”

Since 2007, Arthur has been executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and
during the past two years has assumed additional roles at Fieldstone, including the
management of both the Utah and Texas operations. In his new role as President, Arthur
will have direct responsibility for the operations of Fieldstone in California, Utah and
Texas. He also retains many of his responsibilities as Chief Financial Officer.

“I know I speak for the entire board in sharing that we believe Alan’s broad base of

experience in both financial and operational management roles, his negotiating and deal
structuring skills and his other experience and talents are a perfect fit for the needs of
Fieldstone today,” said Peter Ochs, co-founder and chairman of the board of FNE.

“I am very honored and excited to be appointed to the position of President of Fieldstone.
As I have assumed additional roles and responsibilities in recent years, during which both
Fieldstone and the home building industry have faced many challenges, it has become my
passion to successfully manage Fieldstone through these difficult economic times and
into a prosperous future,” said Arthur.

“I am highly energized by this new role and look forward to continuing to work with Bill
McFarland, Peter Ochs, and the Fieldstone Board as well as the other managers and staff
at Fieldstone.”

Prior to joining Fieldstone, Arthur was an audit manager and consultant with Price
Waterhouse and Kenneth Leventhal & Co. Alan has also served on the boards for
various non-profit organizations.

About The Fieldstone Group of Companies
The Fieldstone Group of Companies (Fieldstone) traces its history back to 1981. Since
that time, companies within Fieldstone have acquired, managed and developed numerous
communities in Southern California, Texas and Utah ranging in size from small
subdivisions to large master planned communities. Since inception, Fieldstone has
completed the construction and sale of more than 26,000 attached and detached homes
with revenues totaling approximately $6.7 billion. In addition, Fieldstone provides fee
building, property management and consulting services to financial institutions, investors
and other land owners. Companies within Fieldstone are privately-held with offices in
Irvine, California and Salt Lake City, Utah For more information,

www.fieldstone-homes.com

Fieldstone Named to Builder Magazine’s Top 100 List

Posted by FieldStone Homes on May 20, 2011

IRVINE, CALIF. – May 18, 2011 – The Fieldstone Group of Companies (“Fieldstone” or the “Company”), one of the oldest and most respected private home builders based in Southern California, announced today that it has been named to the BUILDER 100, an annual list of the 100 largest home building companies nationwide for the sixth consecutive year.

“We take great pride in being named one of the top 100 builders of new homes in the United States. It’s a validation of our commitment to our values – integrity, teamwork, and excellence – which is evident in the homes we build and the communities we create,” said Fieldstone CEO William McFarland. “It is an honorto be included in such a distinguished list.”

Fieldstone and its affiliates have been building new homes of exceptional quality – more than 26,000 to date – since 1981. In 2010 Fieldstone closed 401 single family detached homes in Southern California, Utah and Texas. The company has been one of the top five homebuilders in Utah since 2004. Builder, a leading trade publication for the homebuilding industry, announced its annual rankings in the May 2011 issue of its Building magazine. The BUILDER 100 is compiled from data collected via direct survey of the nation’s top public and private builders and identifies the top home builders in America by annual closings, gross revenue and rate of change year over year.

About The Fieldstone Group of Companies
The Fieldstone Group of Companies (Fieldstone) traces its history back to 1981. Since then, companies within Fieldstone have acquired, managed and developed communities throughout Southern California, Texas and Utah ranging in size from small subdivisions to large master planned communities. Fieldstone has completed the construction and sale of more than 26,000 attached and detached homes with revenues totaling approximately $6.7 billion. Companies within Fieldstone are privately-held with offices in Irvine, California, and Salt Lake City, Utah.

Buying A New Home Is A Great Move!

Posted by FieldStone Homes on September 17, 2010

Have you seen the recent cover of Time Magazine on rethinking home ownership? This cover has generated a lot of chatter among current homeowners, families thinking about buying a new home and home builders themselves. An article was published on the Wall Street Journal by Brett Arends recently on “10 Reasons To Buy a Home” and covered a lot of great reasons why buying and owning a new home still makes good common sense.

Here is a break down of his reasons to buy a new home:

You can get a good deal…It’s a buyer’s market out after prices have fallen more than 30% on average, even after the expiration of tax credits.
Mortgages are cheap…Interest rates are at record lows and may never be seen again. Home buyers can save almost a fifth on payments.
You’ll save on taxes…Since you can deduct your mortgage interest and portions of your real estate taxes, that means owning a home cost less, maybe even less than renting.
It’ll be yours…There is something to be said about it being yours. You can move walls, paint whatever color you like on the walls, or landscape your yard.
You’ll get a better home…It might be difficult to find a “nice” rental for you family, but buying a new home will give the “nicest” home.
It offers some inflation protection…As inflation increases over the years for a young family, typically the value of a new home also increases.
It’s risk capital…When the real estate market does rebound, the price appreciation in your new home will provide some equity for your family.
It’s forced savings…For most renters, the little extra that is saved is usually spent somewhere else. With home ownership, that principal payment is actually building equity and providing a future savings.
There is a lot to choose from…There remains to be many choices when looking for a new home. You don’t have to settle on just anything.
The market will clear…History will continue to repeat itself and the current inventory levels will work themselves out.

To view the entire article, visit wsj.com.

In addition to reasons to buy a home would be the reasons to buy a new home vs. a previously lived-in one. If you would like more information about buying a new home, FieldStone Homes builds new homes to fit your lifestyle. We build new homes in Southern California, Utah, and San Antonio, Texas.

Home Mortgage Rates Decline

Posted by FieldStone Homes on May 26, 2010

Source: Wall Street Journal

Historic Low Rates are “Better” than any Tax Credit. I took the time to research historical interest rates and I am thoroughly convinced that it is our obligation to educate our home buyers on why it is the best time to buy. Looking back at this same point in time in the year 2000, a person closing on a home would be entering into a mortgage with an 8.62% interest rate. In 2007 the interest rate would have been 6.37%, while it would have been 5.98% in 2008. If I remember correctly we closed 600 homes in 2007 and another 500 in 2008 despite these higher rates. With the current rates at or around 4.84% there has truly never been a better time to buy a home. I would not quote rate to buyers but I would not be afraid to tell them that their interest rate today would be approximately 1.5% less than 2007 and 1% less than 2008. Based on a $130,000 mortgage a person’s payment for Principal and Interest on a home closed today would be approximately $130 per month less than 2007 or $46,800 over the life of the loan. Picture how great it would be to own a home and have this money plus accumulated interest to add to one’s retirement. I’M SOLD. It is now time to convince our homebuyers and nation of the same thing.

This is positive news for our San Antonio, Utah and California new home buyers. Falling mortgage rates can give a powerful lift to the housing market. Now would be a great time to look into building a new home or moving into a ready to move in home. FieldStone Homes builds homes to fit your lifestyle.

Wall Street Journal Artice:

The The financial turmoil in Europe is providing an unexpected windfall for American home buyers, as international money seeking a safe haven is flowing into the U.S., pushing domestic mortgage rates to the lowest levels of the year and back near 50-year lows.

Getty Images

A real estate agent leaves an open house for a home for sale in San Francisco. Falling mortgage rates could lift the U.S. housing market.

Tax Credit End Not Deterring US Homebuyers

Posted by FieldStone Homes on April 29, 2010

Source: Reuters.com

Among consumers shopping for homes, 65 percent said the end of the tax credits will have little or no effect on their interest in purchasing a home. (Read More)

San Antonio home builder, FieldStone Homes has had many people inquire about the tax credit that will expire in a few days.

Time Ripe To Buy US Homes Before Prices Rise -Poll

Posted by FieldStone Homes on April 22, 2010

Source: Reuters.com

Most consumers think U.S. homes are affordable and the time is ripe to buy as many expect prices to rise in the next year, a new survey showed on Wednesday.

Home prices, the tax credit and low interest rates were the top three reasons first time buyers decided to enter the market.

San Antonio home builder, FieldStone Homes has seen the rise in traffic due to the urgency of the first time home buyer tax credit and low interest rates. Right now, you can still get into a ready-to-move-in home as long as you have your paperwork started by April 30, 2010 to qualify for the tax credit. A lot of shoppers know that this is the time to buy if you have been considering getting a new home.

FieldStone Homes builds homes with individual lifestyles in mind. With this, you can be sure you have a home price in your range built the way that fits you. We have had a lot of interested folks looking to purchase their first new home. FieldStone Homes has many programs targeted towards helping budding new home buyers realize the dream of home ownership.

Not sure if you are ready for a new home? We have developed a program to see what it would take to get you into a new home. Whether it be questions about your credit, too much debt or what the homebuying process is, FieldStone homes can help you find out the steps you need to take in order to get into a new home! Look into our FieldStone’s Homebuyer Club, a free service by FieldStone Homes.

10 Million Visit Tax Credit Webite As Deadline Draws Near!

Posted by FieldStone Homes on April 13, 2010

Source: National Association of Home Builders

Spurred by a sense of urgency as the credit’s April 30 expiration date approached, the federalhousingtaxcredit.com website logged about a million visits each month in January, February and March. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) created the site in July 2008.

The $8,000 first-time home buyer credit and the $6,500 repeat buyer credit will expire on April 30. However, if buyers sign a sales contract by April 30, the IRS gives them an additional two months—until June 30, 2010—to close the sale of the home.

In lieu of the urgency of many homebuyers looking to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit, FieldStone Homes San Antonio is having a one day sale! Its the FieldStone Fiesta Frenzy sale this weekend, April 17th. We will be open late and will have ready-to-move-in homes with up to $25,000 off! FieldStone homes in San Antonio can get you into the home of your dreams in order to make it by the April 30th deadline. See ready-to-move-in homes that will have big Fiesta Frenzy pricing now!

Government Issues Rebates for Energy Efficient Appliances

Posted by FieldStone Homes on April 1, 2010

Source: mysa.com

I loved reading this article regarding the government giving rebates to people who purchase energy-efficient appliances. For the goverment to get involved to stress the importance of energy-efficiency is a HUGE thing! To qualify for the rebate, the appliance must carry the ENERGY STAR rating attesting to energy efficiency. This reminds me of the importance of the ENERGY STAR RATING, which makes me feel good about FieldStone Homes, being an ENERGY STAR home builder ourselves.

As a new home builder for San Antonio and Utah, FieldStone Homes has always focused on providing our home owners with energy-efficient lifestyle plans. We take into consideration you, your family’s health and comfort, along with finding a way to save you money from rising energy prices. As a San Antonio home builder and Utah home builder, we construct every new FieldStone Home to government sponsored ENERGY STAR standards that cut energy use and costs. Learn more about how FieldStone Homes builds our new homes to be energy efficient, features and why its important to you.

So if you already, have a FieldStone home, feel good that you are not only helping your pocket book by having an ENERGY STAR built home, you are helping the environment as well. If you are looking for a new home, consider FieldStone Homes, were we build homes to fit your lifestyle. See our ENERGY STAR page here.

View Ready to Move In homes.

By the way, Earth Day is April 22nd.

Buying New vs. Used Home

Posted by FieldStone Homes on March 31, 2010

Once your family makes the decision to move the next question becomes should we buy a new home or an existing home. There are probably pros and cons to both choices, but which one best fits your family needs. Below are some key factors that you should consider before making this decision.

The first factor you should consider is location. This has been the key factor for years. Most newly-built homes are a little further removed from the major downtown areas. This allows your family to be removed from the hustle and stress of downtown, but with a short drive allows you all those amenities. Also, these areas are probably supported by newer schools, parks, and other recreation. The make-up of the neighborhood is more likely to match your likes because you are all there for the same reasons.

The second factor when deciding to buy a new home is choice. The chances of finding an existing home with everything the way you like and need for your family is very small. Buying a new home allows you to customize many of the interiors and exteriors of your home. Kitchen layouts, appliances, carpet colors, and bathroom fixtures are what make the house “YOUR HOME”. You might end up paying a lot more to replace items in an existing home to make it fit your lifestyle. List of major items that might need to be replaced in an existing home and their potential cost.

Another factor to consider when researching homes is how much you gain with “newness”. The new home is so much more energy efficient than existing homes. New homes provide everything from energy efficient windows, HVAC/AC, and appliances to better sealed doors and roofing systems. List of Benefits and features of energy efficient new homes. This equals less monthly cost for you. Also, the building codes have been raised. This forces new home builders to build quality homes like never before. Most home builders must pass numerous inspections along the way to ensure the new home is built to the latest standards. Don’t forget about the safety new homes provide.

There are lots of factors to consider when deciding to buy a home. Make sure you do your homework about the benefits of buying a new home vs. an existing home. That new home purchase today will not only be in the best neighborhood, but also give your choice for your family and provide cost savings in the future.

Salt Lake City, Utah Job Growth

Posted by FieldStone Homes on March 26, 2010

Source: Examiner.com

Goldman Sachs will be moving to 222 Main in downtown Salt Lake City. The global investment banking and securities firm has announced that early next year they plan to occupy seven floors at the exclusive, environmentally intelligent office building

The Downtown Alliance and other business leaders have worked diligently to stimulate economic growth in the downtown area. “The State of Utah has worked hard with the business community to make job creation a priority. (Read More)

Proof again on Utah’s great economy. More jobs means that more new homes in Utah will need to be built for families. FieldStone Homes Utah can help.