Mark Johnson Custom Homes Blog

Wilmington, NC custom home builder Mark Johnson Custom Homes would like to share an informative article from GreenHomeGuide.com that explains things to look for when selecting Green paint. A new coat of paint can make a room feel fresh again, but it often has the opposite effect on the air quality in your home. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), paints, stains, and other architectural coatings produce about 9 percent of the volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from consumer and commercial products, making them the second-largest source of VOC emissions after after automobiles. For the complete article, click here! 

Courtesy of: GreenHomeGuide.com

As both a proud member of the National Association of Home Builder and a Green home builder, Wilmington, NC luxury home builder Mark Johnson Custom Homes would like to share with our readers a recent press release from the NAHB. Below is the complete press release on “Project ReEnergize”, a program that was addressed at the NAHB’s International Builders’ Show aimed to generate Green jobs and weatherize homes.

“January 21, 2010 – A weatherization program that created jobs while it made homes more energy-efficient worked in Minnesota – and can be one model for successful programs in other states.

A remodeler, a window manufacturer and the executive officer for the Builders Association of Minnesota explained how ‘Project ReEnergize’ worked during a press conference on Wednesday at the National Association of Home Builders’ International Builders’ Show.

As part of its economic stimulus package, the Obama Administration made money available to state agencies for the purpose of weatherizing homes and generating jobs.

When some Minnesota agencies could not disburse the funding quickly enough, the state turned to the home builders association, which quickly trained and certified contractors and insulation installers to make improvements to 1,400 homes, said Pam Perri Weaver, BAMN’s executive officer.

Consumers were eligible for rebates when they hired certified contractors to replace windows, but they received even more money if their home’s insulation was upgraded as well. That was an important incentive because it’s hard to convince home owners to make improvements that in the end, they can’t see, said Minnesota remodeler Shawn Nelson, a Project ReEnergize participant. ‘Air sealing is not a visual upgrade,’ he said.

About 90 percent of the windows in today’s homes are older, single-pane glass styles – much less efficient than modern double-pane, triple-pane and argon-filled products, noted Maureen McDonough of Andersen Windows. A new federal energy-efficiency tax credit and supplying windows for Project ReEnergize contractors were important factors in enabling the manufacturer to call back 600 employees who had been laid off, she added.

Participating home owners had no income limits, but the homes could be no larger than 3,000 square feet and had to be built before the year 2000, when more stringent state energy codes were mandated. The average size of each home was 1,800 square feet and the average age was about 45 years old, Weaver said.

The home builders association stands ready to funnel more money to consumers to make upgrades should additional federal funding become available. ‘We have a list of people who are waiting,’ because most consumers are unwilling to make the upgrades without the financial incentives, Nelson said.”

Courtesy of: www.nahb.org

Wilmington, NC builder Mark Johnson Custom Homes is a proud supporter of our local businesses and encourages our readers to become a Facebook Fan of “Do It Downtown”, a site built to promote historic downtown Wilmington, NC’s events and attractions. Below is more information on Do It Downtown and click here to join their Facebook Fan Page!

Overview: DO IT DOWNTOWN’s Facebook page was started and is hosted by a group of volunteers who are passionate about the huge amount of fun and interesting things there are to DO Downtown: You can DO IT DOWNTOWN at 5 Live Theatres, 5 Cool Museums and 20 Galleries. You can DO IT DOWNTOWN on the Riverwalk, a Cruise or on Fun Tours. And you can DO IT DOWNTOWN at over 100 Unique Shops, 50 Restaurants and 20 Nightclubs. But you can’t DO IT DOWNTOWN at any Chain Stores because there aren’t any!

If you are interested in becoming a Friend of Downtown and helping us get the message out about all the cool things there are to DO Downtown we would love to have you join our efforts! Direct any questions or inquiries on this project to: Perspective Internet Marketing, Lori Lorusso, 
lori@perspectiveim.com.

Mission: To invite you to see downtown Wilmington, NC! Park First Hour FREE in the City Decks!

Products: The place to go for:

• Free Parking 1st hour in City Decks!
• 5 live theaters.
• 5 cool museums.
• 20 galleries
• 100 unique shops.
• Segway tours.
• Riverboat tours.
• 50 restaurants.
• 20 Nightclubs, etc
• ZERO chain stores

Wilmington, NC new home builder Mark Johnson Custom Homes is excited to share the latest technological developments in MLS listings! The Wilmington Regional Association of REALTORS will soon be introducing Realty Connect, a system that makes it easier to access information on homes for sale in our area. It will allow a passerby to send a text message code from the available homes to a national access number and receive key information and photos back to you in seconds. Below is an excerpt from the recent Cape Fear Business News article and to read more, click here!

“’We continually seek out the best technology tools and providers for local real estate consumers and our members. We are pleased to offer Goomzee’s industry-leading SMS marketing platform. More home buyers are relying on technology for information when buying a home, and WRAR recognizes the need to empower the real estate sales professional with useful technology to reach today’s buyer, especially on their mobile phones,’ explains Brian Bell, WRAR Chief Technology Officer (CTO).

An increasing number of Americans look to their cellular phones for instant access to information. According to the International Association of Wireless Telecommunications, also known as CTIA®, there are 276.6 million US mobile phone subscribers representing 89% of Americans.”

Wilmington, NC custom home builder Mark Johnson Custom Homes is excited to share that our local airport, Wilmington International Airport, now offers a real-time Flight Tracker on their website! We understand that international travel is important to many people that may consider moving to the Cape Fear area, and the Flight Tracker is just another exciting attribute to our local airport. Visit their website to see how the Flight Tracker can make your traveling experience that much easier!

Wilmington Star News Business Editor Wayne Faulkner featured custom home builder Mark Johnson Custom Homes’s Green Home in Landfall in August 13th’s edition. Below is an excerpt and to read the complete article click here. 

Wilmington, NC builder Mark Johnson Custom Homes, Inc was among the winners of the 2009 Communicator Awards that were announced by the International Academy of the Visual Arts in May of 2009.  With thousands of entries received from across the US and around the world, the Communicator Awards is the largest and most competitive awards program honoring the creative excellence for communications professionals. Among the winners are Wilmington, NC custom home builder Mark Johnson Custom Homes, Inc with the Award of Excellence for their website. Visit www.communicatorawards.com to view the complete list of winners which includes Nike, Skittles, Johnson & Johnson, Warner Brothers, IBM and John Deere.

The Award of Excellence is the highest honor given to a home builder website. Mark Johnson Custom Homes, Inc.’s website has previously been awarded the national W3 Award, the North Carolina HBA’s STARS Award and the local Wilmington-Cape Fear HBA’s MAX Award.

The Communicator Awards are judged and overseen by the International Academy of the Visual Arts (IAVA), a 450+ member organization of leading professionals from various disciplines of the visual arts dedicated to embracing progress and the evolving nature of traditional and interactive media.  Current IAVA membership represents a “Who’s Who” of acclaimed media, advertising, and marketing firms including:  Condè Nast, Coach, Disney, The Ellen Degeneres Show, Estee Lauder, HBO, Keller Crescent, Monster.com, MTV, Polo Ralph Lauren, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, Tribal DDB, Victoria’s Secret, Wired, Yahoo!, and many others.  See www.iavisarts.org for more information or view the Winner’s Gallery.

“The quality, creativity and execution of this year’s work is a true testament to the talents and abilities of communications professionals from around the world.  The entries received reflect an increasingly diversified industry and the work once again sets the bar extremely high,” noted Linda Day, director of the IAVA.  She added, “On behalf of the entire Academy, we are honored to have once again judged the 15th Annual Communicator Awards and we are proud to honor the outstanding communications professionals who continue to push a high standard of excellence.”

Mark Johnson Custom Homes’ website was designed by Provis Media, a full service interactive agency based in Wilmington, NC.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Mark Johnson Custom Homes Web Site Wins International W3 Award

Wilmington, NC – October 8th, 2008 –  Wilmington custom builder,  Mark Johnson Custom Homes has won a prestigious Silver W3 Award for their web site www.markjohnsoncustomhomes.com.  W3 Awards honor creativity and excellence on the web.  There were over 3,000 entries to this year’s competition.

“It is an honor to be recognized by our peers for our website,” stated Mark Johnson, Founder and President of MJCH. “We believe that the website’s innovation and creativity will set the experience of building a new home with our company apart from other Wilmington, NC custom builders. We rely on the efficiencies of technology to keep our customers and trade partners up to speed and ‘in the know.’ In our dynamic industry, change is constant and updates need to be communicated to the homeowners.”

The company’s advanced Internet-based tool, the Client Progress Portal, allows homeowners to log on to the company’s web site to receive full access to the progress of the building of their home 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This client-focused website, developed in collaboration with Provis Media Group, LLC, serves as an electronic concierge to homeowners and prospective clients.

At the start of the building process, MJCH clients will receive a unique user ID and password to access the Client Progress Portal, allowing them to be involved in every step of their new home or renovation project. The Client Progress Portal provides information to the homeowner, including construction schedules, current photos of the client’s home, change orders, site plans, plan design and a customer care request form.  This open access to each step of the construction process distinguishes Mark Johnson Custom Homes from other Wilmington, NC custom builders.

Mark Johnson Custom Homes’ Silver W3 Award is just one of the many awards this Wilmington, NC custom builder has received.  Other notable recognitions of excellence include the North Carolina Home Builder’s Association’s 2008 STARS Award for the Magnolia model at Magnolia Trace in Wilmington which won in the category of attached homes in the price range of $100,000-350,000.  MJCH is honored to have received two awards for the 2008 Parade of Homes. The Wilmington new homes builder model home Magnolia at Magnolia Trace won Gold and The View at Eagles Watch received a Bronze.  In addition to their recognition as a superior Wilmington new homes builder, MJCH has received the National Association of Home Builders 2007 Safety Award For Excellence (SAFE).  This award recognizes the achievements of home builders and trade contractors who have developed and implemented high quality construction safety programs.

For more information on Wilmington, NC custom builder, Mark Johnson Custom Homes please visit their award winning web site www.markjohnsoncustomhomes.com or give them a call (910) 443-5422.