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What’s Your Dream Home List?

Sheila Byers - VP of Marketing — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:50:02 +0000

As you approach retirement and look with excitement toward all that is to come, for many, that includes a new home. Some of us have moved many times in our lives, and others of us have stuck to two or three – or maybe even one – home for most of our adult lives. But during that time, you have no doubt thought of things that you “wish” you could have in a home someday. So what’s yours? Whether it’s a mental list or an actual written list that you hope to soon check off – for many their wishes are ALL granted with Villa – really!

Hardwood Floors – got ‘em

Designer Ceramic Tile – check

Gas Fireplace – absolutely

Stainless Steel Appliances – you betcha

Granite Countertops – oh yea

And that is just the beginning. You see, among the many reasons why our residents choose Villa, achieving your wish list with INCLUDED features is definitely tops. Yep, you read right – included features. We know there are others out there who want to intrigue you with a base-model price and then charge you to get the things you really want. Villa is NOT that. We want to fill your home with everything you’ve always wanted so we have a full list of included features that we are happy to share with you any time – and the price we give you reflects the features on that list.

I guess you could say we put our money where our mouth is – and if you’re like me, I think it’s about time someone did!

Please call or come by the Villas at Five Forks or the Villas at Yorktown for a full features listing you really do have to see to believe.

It’s your wish list – and at Villa we want you to get it all!

What’s In A (Brand) Name?

Sheila Byers - VP of Marketing — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:43:16 +0000

In a post written just before Christmas, I talked about the top-quality name brands we use in all of our Villa homes and ever since then, I’ve been asked “What brands?” a lot! So I’m gladly sharing those with you here. Villa proudly uses the best brands available in each of our homes all at a tremendous value. How? It’s all due to the national buying power that comes with being part of the Epcon Communities family. Since Epcon is in 30 states with more than 130 communities and counting, their national scale means big-time local savings that we eagerly pass on to you!

So if you’ve ever wondered, “What’s in a name?” just tour one of our Villa model homes and you’re sure to find your answer!

Villa offers the best well-known brands at exceptionally competitive prices including:

Mohawk
Kenmore
Sherwin Williams
Thomas Lighting
Merilatt
Moen
Just to name a few!

We hope to see you at a Villa model home soon!

Merry Christmas!

Sheila Byers - VP of Marketing — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 13:32:35 +0000

From all of us at Villa Development I want to extend to you and yours a very warm wish for a Merry Christmas and happy holiday season! We hope this finds you with the ones you love, surrounded by happiness and blessings and savoring every memory in the making.

May the joy of this season remain with us all throughout 2012!

Honest-to-Goodness Value

Sheila Byers - VP of Marketing — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:04:38 +0000

It’s that time of year when you are asked the same question countless times, “Are you done with your Christmas shopping yet?” But I have a different question to ask, “Who are you shopping for?” You see, I recently saw a news report that showed on Black Friday, 44% of purchases made were not intended as gifts but for the buyers to keep themselves AND that of those purchases the majority tended to be high-end items. That says to me that through the ups and downs of the country’s recent economic challenges, we’ve all learned to appreciate real value a little more and would rather buy something we know is going to last than sacrifice quality.

The same holds true when it comes to buying your new home for retirement living. The deals, savings and offers seem to be everywhere but what you really want is an honest-to-goodness value on a high-end, top quality home. We at Villa know what you mean! Our vision is not only to create the very best retirement lifestyle you can imagine, but to also fill your new Villa home with top quality, name-brand materials top to bottom, inside and out. While others are quick to offer sub-par imitations, we at Villa know there is no substitution for genuine quality and value. Our homes are built to provide years of enjoyment for this exciting new phase of your life. With Villa you get everything you’ve always wanted in a home – and more – all at a tremendous value.

So while you’re pricing those flat-screen TVs for yourself this season, we hope you’ll also consider a new Villa home to put it in! Happy shopping everyone!

“To-Don’t” List

Sheila Byers - VP of Marketing — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 20:29:39 +0000

Are you nearing retirement? Then you are likely still keeping a running “to-do” list, whether mentally or literally, of work items and home upkeep items. If you’re like most, then you do your “to-do” list almost automatically, as if it’s become a reflex from doing it so often. I must confess, it was while writing my own to-do list this weekend that I started thinking about the residents at Villa and how their “to-do” lists have actually become “to-don’t” lists for lack of a more grammatically correct way of putting it! So I thought I would jot down a list of those “don’t” items here for all of you who are on the cusp of retirement and considering a Villa Community. Thanks to retirement and the maintenance-free living of Villa, you’re not only saying goodbye to 9-to-5 workdays but to-do lists, too!

Villa’s To-Don’t List

- Don’t rake the leaves

- Don’t shovel the snow

- Don’t mow the grass

- Don’t trim the hedge

- Don’t change that light post bulb

- Don’t clean the pool

- Don’t buy new exercise equipment

- Don’t worry about leaving home when you travel

- Don’t worry about having something in common with your neighbors

Well, as you can see, the list goes on and on! The maintenance-free living that Villa provides, along with the Community Clubhouse with its pool, fitness center and so much more and, perhaps best of all, the closeness that comes from living among peers – means you can consider your to-do list DONE! Now that sounds like retirement living at its best!

What do you look forward to “not” doing in retirement? Let us hear about it and you could be the feature of our next blog post! Thanks for reading…

Simple Joys

Sheila Byers - VP of Marketing — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:12:23 +0000

Have you ever noticed how life has a way of making us appreciate the “normal” times in our lives? It has happened to me many – many times – and in the end I’m always grateful for the reminder. Whether it’s returning home after the excitement of travel or visiting family or even the recovery period after I’ve been under the weather, when it’s all said and done and the dust has settled, I find that I take newfound pleasure in life’s simple joys – joys that I too often take for granted. Like waking up in the morning and sipping my cup of coffee with absolutely no sense of urgency! Taking advantage of a beautiful day and just going for a leisurely walk with friends. Making the most of my good health and getting in the exercise that I know I should do more often. As I thought of this blog and of Villa it occurred to me that while we usually refer to many of the community’s features as “amenities” they are truly “life’s simple joys” – ways big and small that folks here can live their lives to the fullest and make the most of the gift that each day affords us. I may not have anything urgent on my to-do today and that suits me just fine. I have an extra cup of coffee in the pot anyway that’s calling my name – how about you?

Unified in Hope

Sheila Byers - VP of Marketing — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 12:30:19 +0000

As I write this, it is a mere two days since the 10-year anniversary of September 11. If you are reading this, you are likely part of a generation who has seen and experienced, either first hand or through the accounts of your parents, any number of events that will “live in infamy.” The ceremonies of the 10-year commemoration were both heart wrenching and inspiring but I’d like to focus on the more inspiring points. Remembering how, for the first time in a long time, we felt like a unified country that fateful day, where strangers were gladly helping strangers so that in the wake of our sorrow, hope emerged with newfound purpose. Do you remember that feeling? I do. It’s the same bond we experienced after Hurricane Irene not too long ago. You know what? That unified feeling is alive and well every single day at our Villa communities. Living among peers, sharing similar life experiences and embarking upon new ones that only retirement can provide, Villa residents look after one another, care for one another and do for one another without ever asking or expecting anything in return. Though I am deeply inspired by the resilience of the human spirit in the wake of challenging times, I am even more encouraged by the daily sense of community I witness without pause at Villa day in and day out. To our residents, I thank you for your example and for the hope you have renewed within me. To those who are considering moving to Villa, I can honestly say it will be the best decision you will ever make as you surround yourself with support and positivity that make each day a reason to celebrate.

Hope Floats

Sheila Byers - VP of Marketing — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 19:52:00 +0000

Though the title of this blog also belongs to a popular movie, I just felt it was too appropriate not to use here as well. In the wake of Hurricane Irene and its deluge of just a few short weeks ago, I find myself inspired. It may sound odd since I, too had three inches of standing water in my own home, but have you ever noticed how in the midst of a widespread natural event like Irene, we all somehow manage to pull together with newfound purpose? This is especially true of the residents at Villa who chose to raise -what I consider an already high level of community spirit – even further. It’s common at Villa for neighbors to look after neighbors – watering plants, keeping an eye on things while they’re gone – but this was a new ‘adventure’ if you will and if it was meant to test the resilience of all those who live at Villa, everyone passed with flying colors! Admittedly, and with some reluctance, I realize the saying is true, ‘misery loves company’ but I believe there is a sliver lining to that phrase as well, which is that you do have company! And together, we can get through anything – even Hurricane Irene. Thank you to all of our residents for banning together and proving what we at Villa have known all along – you are truly one-of-a-kind and we are blessed to know you.

I wish you all a speedy recovery and leave you with this thought: though the waters may rise, our hope will always float higher!

Happy Days Are Here Again

Sheila Byers - VP of Marketing — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 21:24:25 +0000

Are you singing along? I am! The nostalgia and happiness of that song will always bring joy to my heart and I hope it does to you, too. My name is Shelia Byers and I’m the Vice President of Marketing here at Villa Development in Virginia. Among many things, it is my passion to show retirees, just like you, the happy days of retirement life here at our Villa Communities. You have waited for this day to arrive for quite some time and above all, retirement should usher in some of the happiest days of your life. Are you the first generation to retire? Of course not, but you are part of a generation who is the first to want a retirement that is better than that of your parents. Retirement used to signal that it was time to slow down but let me assure you, just one day at a Villa community and you will see that is far from the reality of today. You are entering a brand new beginning where anything is possible. How? Because your time is entirely yours to spend however you see fit! How does this sound:

Travel whenever and wherever you want knowing your Villa home is safe and secure among friends and neighbors

Experience the shopping, dining, golf, university courses and so much more in the community just outside your door

Spark new friendships and reignite existing ones in a community of your peers where shared life experiences form lasting bonds

Sip iced tea in the summer and hot coffee in the fall while watching someone else mow your lawn and rake your leaves

Mix and mingle at the community clubhouse, play bridge or flex some muscle at the fitness center at your leisure

Sound like your parent’s retirement? Far from it – and that only scratches the surface! So if you’re ready to make the most of the happy days of retirement, I invite you to see all that Villa has to offer you. Just ask our residents and they will agree, the happy days are back and better than ever at Villa!

Thanks for stopping by our blog today – please check back often for new stories, insights, updates and more!

One Last Look

Sheila Byers - VP of Marketing — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 13:07:52 +0000

As I drove down the Colonial Parkway recently, I noticed the fringy green of new spring leaves accented by the almost iridescent light purple of occasional red bud. The inner sanctum of the wooded land that flanks the road is almost hidden now. I reminded myself to look one last time to see the fallen log squirrel havens, leafy beds that will ferment into rich dirt without sun, and wild Virginia land that will submit to shade and secrecy until fall. I feel privileged to get this peek and last look and reach for a parallel in my own life.

Before the allure of warm weather takes me outside and away from inward priorities, I want one last look inside my thoughts and daily life to make sure I am ready to leave for a season the things I soon will either throw out or put aside for the moment to greet that fresh start that spring always brings. While the wild woods along the Parkway need no raking or clearing, my life just might! And this week I will make sure I tend to the piles of the unwanted or the undone that would be too easily covered up as spring leafs out with new goals and adventures. It takes a moment of reflection, pen and paper, and maybe some mental and physical elbow grease to make sure I’m squeaky clean. And if there is more to tackle than I can now, at the very least, I’ll be aware of what will await the more subdued life of late summer when I’ll no doubt be renewed and ready to tackle my list.

It’s worth one last look.