Island Lake, IL - (February 15, 2008) - There are a lot of reasons why Chris and Aimee Marx moved to Walnut Glen, a Residential Homes of America, Inc. (RHA) luxury single-family community located in northwest suburban Island Lake. And because Aimee and her husband purchased a home at this community, Aimee’s parents, Geoff and Sue Austin, had yet another reason to move to the community as well. Both generations of this family have been enjoying their new homes at this wonderful neighborhood since last fall and love the convenience of living so close to one another. Walnut Glen is a showpiece among new construction single-family communities in the northwest suburbs and directly borders the immense beauty of the Black Crown Forest Preserve. Walnut Glen has been planned for 222 homes on spacious one-quarter acre and larger home sites, with prices starting at just $296,990. There are five amazing designer decorated and fully furnished models open for tours everyday.
“We first stopped by Walnut Glen right when they opened for sales and decided to move to the community after looking at numerous other neighborhoods that just didn’t
have any floor plans that appealed to us. When Aimee walked into the models at Walnut Glen, she was immediately drawn to the Elm floor plan. After seeing hundreds of other models, Aimee realized the Elm was the plan she wanted and knew it would be perfect for us,” Chris said.
Both Chris and Aimee also felt that Walnut Glen’s location in Island Lake would work well for her job in Lake Bluff and Chris’ commute to school in Deerfield. They purchased an Elm model and moved into the community last November.
Meanwhile, since Aimee was so enthralled with the layout of her new home, her parents became interested in Walnut Glen as well. Geoff and Sue had been looking for several years to purchase a new home and wanted to stay in the northwest suburbs. Like daughter, like mother, Sue also fell in love with the Elm and the Austins decided to move to Walnut Glen, in part, to be close to Aimee, her husband and their grandchild.
“We had originally thought a ranch home would suit us, but when Geoff and I toured the Elm, we were so impressed with the overall layout, the great build quality and the details of the floor plan that we decided to buy this home instead,” Sue said.
Both couples selected home sites that back up to the Black Crown Forest Preserve, which runs along the entire north and west border of the community.
As a family-friendly community, Walnut Glen features gently winding streets with several quiet cul-de-sacs that harmonize with the majesty of the Black Crown Forest Preserve, which is combined with the Moraine Hills State Park, to create a total of over 3,000 acres of forest preserve land adjacent to the neighborhood.
The community also includes pocket parks, several ponds and walking/biking trails that will connect to the nearby Millennium Trail for complete recreational freedom.
RHA has nine extremely well designed floor plans at Walnut Glen, sized from 1,909 to 3,483 square feet. There are eight two-story plans, each with three to five bedrooms, 2-1/2 baths, full basements, central air conditioning and attached two or three-car garages. The 1,909 square foot ranch plan features two to three bedrooms, two full baths, full basement, central air conditioning and a two-car garage. Prices start at only $296,990.
The Elm that both couples selected features a classic layout that measures a comfortable 2,901 square feet. This two-story home has four bedrooms, formal living and dining rooms that flank the two-story entry foyer, a large family room open to the kitchen and breakfast area, a full basement and a two-car garage with a built-in storage area.
The Elm, along with every home at Walnut Glen, includes luxury items such as 9’ first floor ceilings, hardwood or ceramic tile in the foyer and powder room, kitchens with 42” cabinets and center islands or peninsulas (per plan), a luxury master bedroom suite with one or more walk-in closets and a private ceramic tile bath, full basements, central air conditioning and many more deluxe included features.
For Chris and Aimee, they chose a gourmet kitchen with double wall oven and separate cooktop along with an alternate configuration that RHA offers for the family room, with a wall that divides the two rooms. It was this option that Aimee really liked about the Elm.
They were also impressed with the walk-in closets in two of the secondary bedrooms and the luxury master suite that features a volume ceiling in both the bedroom and private bath.
“This layout works perfectly for our needs. Our three-year-old son Ethan has his own room and we are using one of the extra bedrooms for an office and the other as a guest room,” Chris said.
Sue and Geoff have outfitted their Elm a bit differently, with a lookout basement complete with an oversized rear deck that gazes out onto the forest preserve, where Sue regularly sees a wide variety of wildlife, including deer. Their home has a fireplace in the living room and a three-car garage for Geoff’s three motorcycles.
“We loved the option of putting a fireplace in the living room. We also love the flexibility of the bedrooms. I have one bedroom set up as a fitness center with my weights and exercise equipment, while another room has bunk beds for when any of our six grandchildren come to visit. There’s so much room in this home. We’ve comfortably had 14 to 17 people over for various functions and everyone had a great time,” Sue said.
Both Chris and Aimee and Geoff and Sue have nothing but praise for RHA and the quality of home they build. Both couples had a good experience during the purchase and construction of their homes. Sue says RHA was very patient with her as she changed her mind on several items, while Chris says everything regarding their home was always on schedule and their home was delivered on time.
Since they live so close to each other, the families get together at least once a week and Sue remarks that living in the same neighborhood makes it easy for her to babysit for young Ethan.
For Aimee and Chris, their new home at Walnut Glen represents the exact kind of home they were hoping to find, in a beautiful community that is well thought out with lots of attention to detail. “I really think RHA does a better job in building a home than other companies we looked at. The size of our home, the value we received and the outstanding layout makes living easier for us.”
Sue and Geoff also appreciate the smart layout of their home, as Sue says she feels like she’s on a ‘honeymoon’ with her home everyday. “The spectacular views of nature out the back of our home and the closeness to our daughter and grandchild make Walnut Glen perfect for us,” she said.
Residential Homes of America, Inc. has been recognized for the highest standards of quality and integrity with the Diamond Builder Designation from the Home Buyers
Warranty Corporation for its superior workmanship and spotless claims record. RHA
is the only homebuilder in Illinois to receive the coveted award, which is a one-time only, lifetime award given only to those builders who have demonstrated at least a five-
year track record of offering the highest standards of construction, design and customer service in their markets based on strict criteria.
Walnut Glen is located in northwest suburban Island Lake. To visit, take Route 176 to Darrell Road, north 1-1/2 miles to Neville Road, west on Neville Road to Dowell Road, south on Dowell to the Walnut Glen Information Center on the west side of the
street. Or, take Route 120 west to Darrell Road, south 1-1/2 miles to Dowell Road, south
one mile to the Walnut Glen Information Center and models. The information center and models are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and Sunday from Noon to 5 p.m. Call
1-815-344-3030 for more information or visit rhahomes.com.
