By Shelly A. Schneider

Now is the perfect time to purchase a new villa, and Tom Huneke, president of Huneke Homes, is making it easier than ever to experience the pride of ownership. Heritage Pointe is located in Wentzville, just off the Wentzville Parkway. The subdivision features 68 villas, and there are currently seven inventory homes for sale and 38 lots remaining. The villas range in size from 1230 to 1612 square feet.

“Most of the villas for sale anywhere in this area are typically 1100 to 1200 square feet,” Huneke said. “It’s rare to find a villa that is 1600 square feet.”

Standard villa features include 2 x 12 stairs, architectural grade shingles, a full eight-foot pour in the basement, vaulted ceilings and hardwood floors in the entryway.

“Most importantly, full brick and stone fronts are standard,” Huneke said. “We give our buyers very steep gables on the front…over the front door, not over the garage.”

Heritage Pointe villas are reminiscent of the 100+ year-old homes found in St. Louis Hills, Hampton and Devonshire.

“We do a great job on the exterior and then you go inside and discover that we don’t hold anything back,” Huneke said. “I’ve got a wonderful finish carpenter – he’s like a furniture maker. And everyone raves about our drywall installer.”

The seven inventory homes are discounted as much as $33,000, and all three sizes are available.

“We’re offering a lease-to-buy option right now,” Huneke said. “The buyer leases the villa and $230 per month is applied toward the purchase. We started that because of the prime mortgage lending situation. This way, our buyers build equity, and we let them convert that lease to purchase any day.”

Heritage Pointe is located off Wentzville Pkwy. Travel I-70 west to north on Hwy. 40/61 and the Wentzville Pkwy. exit. The entrance to the subdivision is one-half mile away on the right.

Huneke Homes also offers single family homes at Wilderness Ridge in Wildwood. The homes start at $695,000 and are situated on one to three-acre lots. These are single family carefree homes.

“The outside is nearly carefree, and there is a service that takes care of the lawn and snow removal,” Huneke said. “It’s like villa living, but you’re on a nice large piece of property that you own. These homes are geared for folks who grew up in West County. They want privacy, but also want someone else to care for their home. The view is stunning – you look at 80 acres of trees, but pay taxes for only one acre. The Rockwood Reservation is all around us, and the subdivision is located behind the Villages of Cherry Hill, so you’re close to everything.”

Huneke said the first person to purchase a home in Wilderness Ridge will receive $50,000 in free options. For more information about Wilderness Ridge or Heritage Pointe villas, please call Huneke Homes at 636.447.7797, or visit the web site at www.HunekeHomes.com.