SOURCE: Hanley Wood
April 14, 2008 16:42 ET
Money Recommends ePlans and Dream Home Source for Predrawn Blueprints
WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwire - April 14, 2008) - Money magazine singled out two Hanley Wood
consumer Web sites in a recent article on the custom-built home and the
value of predrawn house plans. Both ePlans.com and DreamHomeSource.com
were cited. These two sites are the only authorized marketers of plans by
renowned and award-winning designers Frank Betz, Donald Gardner, Stephen
Fuller, William Poole, and Dan Sater. Both sites also feature a collection
of house plans by Southern Living.
According to the article, published in the March 2008 issue, the decline in the
current housing market is resulting in lower prices for materials and
building contractors hungry for business. As a result, smart investors are
finding that now is a great time to build a custom home using predrawn
house plans. As North America's leading publisher of house plans, Hanley
Wood's ePlans.com and DreamHomeSource.com offer tens of thousands of design
options from over 300 leading designers. Considering that every house plan
can be customized at the buyer's request, those tens of thousands of plans
translate into a virtually unlimited range of design options. What's more,
a typical plan costs a fraction of a custom design.
"Using predrawn house plans has always been the most cost-smart way to
build a custom home," says David Rook, general manager for home plans
business at Hanley Wood. "But especially savvy homeowners and investors are
finding that building in a down market yields very attractive results. All
of the new home designs and cutting-edge functionality we've recently added
to both online destinations are designed to serve these smart buyers."
This month, ePlans.com broke new ground in the house plan industry when it
began offering free online instructional videos.
The videos cover all of the major aspects of custom home building, such as
plan selection, land buying, financing, budget creation, and working with a
builder. Add in the cost-to-build calculator, which helps budget
the construction cost of a selected plan, and homeowners have all the
resources they need to build a dream home.
"I think Money hit the nail on the head," states Rook. "This really is a
great time to build a custom home."
About Hanley Wood
Hanley Wood, LLC, is the premier media and information company serving
housing and construction. Through four operating divisions, the company
produces award-winning magazines and Web sites, marquee trade shows and
events, rich data and custom marketing solutions. The company also is North
America's leading publisher of home plans. Hanley Wood Business Media
(Washington, D.C.), publishes 36 award-winning residential and commercial
construction titles, including BUILDER, REMODELING, ARCHITECT, CONCRETE
CONSTRUCTION and residential architect. Hanley Wood Business Media also
offers the construction industry's foremost collection of Web sites,
including BUILDER ONLINE, REMODELING ONLINE, and ebuild, the comprehensive
online guide to building products, as well as the largest collection of
house plans online through eplans.com and Dream Home Source.
Founded in 1976, Hanley Wood is a $250 million company owned by affiliates
of JPMorgan Partners, LLC. CCMP Capital Advisors manages the Hanley Wood
investment for JPMorgan Partners.