Realty veteran designs Bellacere home

As a 14-year veteran in real estate sales, Tom Love is familiar with neighborhoods in the Las Vegas Valley. When the Las Vegas native recently decided to move to a larger home, he considered several neighborhoods before deciding upon Christopher Homes' Bellacere in Summerlin.

"I wanted to build a home that could accommodate my present and future needs and have the best possible potential for appreciation," Love said.

"Bellacere was the perfect choice for me, as the location is excellent, the guard-gated entry is very impressive, and the homes are all high-end custom. It's a great golf course location, and it has an intimate feel, with only 60 home sites in the entire neighborhood."

Located along the fairways of the TPC at The Canyons golf course, the neighborhood is designed for custom homes valued from about $650,000 to more than $3 million. Home sites measure about one-half acre and may be combined to create 1 acre lots. Most are adjacent to the golf course or a private linear park.

The neighborhood is highlighted by entry monuments, a guard house, park, tennis court, children's play area and landscaped open spaces.

Love said the builder's in-house architectural department helped him incorporate design concepts from its Picasso floor plan into his home.

"I made a number of major modifications such as adding a downstairs master, a guest house and a porte cochere. Working with the Christopher Homes design experts was a pleasure, as they are highly familiar with both the custom-home building process and the most sought-after features in the industry," Love said.

"Ultimately, I expanded the Picasso plan from 5,300 square feet to approximately 7,000 feet. It's going to be a spectacular home that is perfect for entertaining with a very open floor plan; a fabulous kitchen and family room; great indoor/outdoor relationships; and a home site that offers privacy and great views of the nearby mountains."

The builder's custom-home division can create floor plans based on clients' ideas and with concepts from other designs. Some home buyers have included basements, elevators, casitas, wine cellars, and courtyards with fireplaces in their homes.

Several methods of financing are available, including a program with a single loan application process for the purchase of both the home site and home. Custom-home buyers may also opt to purchase their home site, procure a construction loan, and then convert to a permanent regular mortgage upon the home's completion.

To visit, take Summerlin Parkway to Town Center Drive, go south to Alta Drive, then go east. The sales center is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

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