Alterra's convenient yards spur purchase

The maintenance-free lifestyle of courtyard designs prompted Keith and Pam Baillis to purchase the first home at Richmond American Homes' Alterra neighborhood.

"Pam and I were actually planning to buy a resale home here in Las Vegas. But while we were driving around the area where we knew we wanted to live, we came across Alterra. There were no model homes yet, but we could see from the plans at the sales trailer that this was something different," Keith Baillis said.

His wife agreed.

"We were intrigued enough by seeing the plans to visit the models at Sterling Court, which feature the same designs. And that was when everything just started coming together for us at Alterra," she said.

They said the homes' designs and front-yard landscaping, which is handled by the homeowners association, were appealing to them, as was the price.

"We were able to include several options that we wanted, such as installing tile on the entire first level and adding a patio in the back yard. Sam and Geoffery (our cats) are going to love spending the mornings on the patio and then cooling off on the tile," she said.

A comment by her brother, who works in the home-building industry in Ohio, helped confirm their decision.

"Naturally, when he came to visit he wanted to see our home under construction. It was great to hear that, in his opinion, it was a superior home, both in construction quality and the materials that were used," Pam Baillis said.

"We fell in love with the Spring floor plan because of the great room and the breakfast bar, and it's such a comfortable, spacious design."

It has three bedrooms and an upstairs laundry room.

Also available is the 1,418-square-foot Summer plan, which has an optional loft and high ceilings.

The 1,485-square-foot Winter design incorporates a dining area adjacent to the great room, as well as a nook next to the U-shaped kitchen.

At 1,645 square feet, the largest design is the Fall. It has formal living and dining rooms, a family room and nook. A bonus room on the second level is optional.

Homes are priced from the low $140,000s to the $160,000s.

To visit, take U.S. Highway 95 to Durango Drive, go east to El Capitan Way and turn north. Proceed to Racel Street and turn west.

The sales office and models are open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily except Monday and Friday, when they open at noon.

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