GAIL ELAM IS NEW ASSISTANT COMMUNITY

SALES MANAGER FOR PAYNE FAMILY HOMES

Payne Family Homes has announced that effective January 14, 2010 Gail Elam will be the new Assistant Community Sales Manager at The Townes at Belleau Creek, the builder’s popular community in St. Charles County. Elam, a native of Maryland who now resides in O’Fallon, Mo., has been in new-home sales since 1986.

“I’m very excited to be a part of Payne Family Homes,” Elam said. “We work together like a family with a sense of commitment to each other and to our customers, offering them the best models, best prices and best service. One of the things I love about Payne Family Homes is that it the designs are so innovative. The exteriors are refreshing and not typical. The homes at Belleau Creek are family friendly and make the best use of every square foot.”

The Townes at Belleau Creek is a charming multi-village new-home community consisting of two-story and 1-1/2-story detached cottage homes priced from the $140,000s. Conveniently located in St. Peters, Missouri, The Townes at Belleau Creek is only minutes from I-70 and Highway 40, centered between the dining, shopping and entertainment of both Highway K and Mid Rivers Mall Drive.

Ed Lott, Vice President of sales and Marketing for Payne Family Homes, notes that Elam’s generous experience with two of the area’s best-known builders makes her a tremendous asset to Payne and to homebuyers. “Gail knows what buyers are looking for and how they want to be treated, because she has been a homebuyer herself. We’re delighted that she has joined our sales team.”

Payne Family Homes is a St. Charles-based homebuilder with six well-located communities in St. Charles, St. Peters and Cottleville. Other communities include Bordeaux Condominiums, The Crossing at Heritage Pointe, The Meadows at Ohmes Farm, The Enclave at Heritage and Tuscany. All Payne Family Homes neighborhoods are served by a AAA-rated school district and are located in one of Money Magazine’s “100 Best Places to Live in America.” For information call 636-916-1164, or visit www.paynefamilyhomes.com.

Holiday Wishes

We wish for you a holiday
That’s better than your dreams,
Filled with peace, good will and hope
And firelight that gleams,

Overflowing with holiday spirit
Good food and holiday laughter;
And when it’s done, We hope that you
Live happily ever after!      By Joanna Fuchs

Payne Family Homes will be closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Years Day.We will be open on New Years Eve until 3:00 p.m., when our offices will promptly close so that our valued Sales Team can celebrate the end of a fantastic 2009 and bring in the new 2010 year in high style!Thank you to all of our home owners and stake holders for the blessings that they’ve brought to our company. We appreciate the opportunity to serve you and look forward to celebrating the new year with you! Have a safe and happy holiday season!

Payne Family Homes is one of a small handful of local St. Louis Home Builders that have increased sales and closings in 2009 versus 2008 with the same exact communities in place year over year…come see why today.

Things are looking good on a national level as well. See story below:

November housing construction up 8.9 percent

Housing construction rebounds in November with all areas of country showing strength

By Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer , On Wednesday December 16, 2009, 9:05 am EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Construction of new homes, helped by better weather, rebounded in November following a setback in the previous month.

The gain is a hopeful sign that the housing recovery is continuing, a development viewed as critical to lifting the overall economy out of recession.

The Commerce Department says construction of new homes and apartments rose 8.9 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 574,000 units. The gain represented strength in all areas of the country although the increase was slightly lower than economists had expected.

Applications for new building permits were also up, rising 6 percent to an annual rate of 584,000 units, a stronger showing than economists predicted.

BBB Reliability Report for

Payne Family Homes

BBB Rating A

December 15, 2009

PAYNE FAMILY HOMES BEATS ITS OWN RECORD FOR HBA SALES AWARDS

Company Has Area’s Top New-Home Sales Managers for 6 Consecutive Months

Payne Family Homes has set the Home Builders Association of St. Louis & Eastern Missouri record for top community sales managers in both number of homes sold and dollar volume. For the sixth consecutive month, a member of the Payne Family Homes team has received the premier new-home sales achievement awards by the HBA’s Sales & Marketing Council.

With this accomplishment, Payne Family Homes broke its own record for successive months with winners in both categories of the prestigious awards.

Current honorees include Sharon Griffiths, community sales manager at The Meadows at Ohmes Farm, for dollar volume, and Julei Jones, community sales manager at The Pointe at Heritage Crossing, for number of homes sold. Additional Payne Family Homes recipients over the past six months include Brooke Bailey, Jessica Smith and Lauren Johnson.

According to Ed Lott, Payne Family Homes Vice President of Sales and Marketing, “We are excited that we have defied all odds in this economy to achieve such outstanding sales figures. Setting the HBA record is a testament to our dedicated sales team, who constantly works to make every new home sale a wonderful experience for buyers. Payne Family Homes is proud to have these exceptional people on our team.”

Payne Family Homes is a St. Charles-based homebuilder with six well-located communities in St. Charles, St. Peters and Cottleville. The company’s communities include The Meadows at Ohmes Farm, The Townes at Belleau Creek, Bordeaux Condominiums, The Pointe at Heritage Landing, The Enclave at Heritage and Tuscany Estates. All Payne Family Homes neighborhoods are served by an AAA-rated school district and are located in one of Money Magazine’s “100 Best Places to Live in America.” For information, call 636-916-1164, or visit www.paynefamilyhomes.com.

Click for larger print

Payne Family Homes is honored to announce that Julie Jones has been recognized by the St. Louis Association of Homebuilders Sales and Marketing Council for having the highest number of unit sales for the month of November. Edward Lott, Sales and Marketing Manager for Payne Family Homes states: “We’ve got a lot to be thankful for at our company and having Julie Jones on our team is a pleasure! Her natural enthusiasm for this industry is contagious and time after time we get great comments on how fun she makes the home building process for our customers due to her positive energy”. Julie manages our sales efforts at The Pointe at Heritage Crossing.

Sharon Griffiths, Community Sales Manager at The Meadows at Ohmes Farm, received honors for the highest dollar volume production for the  month of November. Edward Lott comments “Sharon continues to make a big difference in the lives of our customers; this is the third time in the last six months that Sharon has received this award from the St Louis Association of Home Builders. Sharon is a true professional that knows how to listen to – and hear – what her customers are seeking to accomplish. Her input is highly valued at our company and we consult with her often on what our customers are really wanting in today’s marketplace; she’s got great instincts and we implement her suggestions quite often. Her customers love her and our team does to!”

From Kelli Gould, our Online Sales Consultant

My mom always made us Magic Cookie Bars around the holiday season and I now I make them every year.  She would tell us there is magic in the air – Santa is coming!

Here is the recipe:

Magic Cookie Bars

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 (14 ounce) can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels
• 1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F (325 degrees for glass dish). Coat 13×9-inch baking pan with no-stick cooking spray.

2. Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter. Press into bottom of prepared pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with chocolate chips, coconut and nuts. Press down firmly with a fork.

3. Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Cut into bars or diamonds. Store covered at room temperature.