New Jersey couple buys Pardee home

Due to the high taxes and chilly winters in New Jersey, Robert and Kay Behn started searching for a home in the West and found it at Pardee Homes' Ashwood in Nevada Trails.

"Bob wanted to move to Hawaii but I rationalized that our friends and family wouldn't travel from the East Coast all the way to Hawaii to visit us, but, they would surely travel to see us in Las Vegas, where our oldest son had already been living," Kay Behn said.

The couple, married for 37 years, discovered Ashwood through an Internet search.

"I entered in all of our criteria for a new home and up popped Ashwood," Robert Behn said.

"By coincidence, I received a brochure for another Pardee neighborhood around the same time and made a trip West to tour Ashwood."

That trip lead to a nearly complete Plan Four at Ashwood which measures 3,880 square feet with six bedrooms and room to build a swimming pool.

"Not only did the house have the features we wanted, Pardee had priced it to sell and we were able to get a brand-new home for the first time in our lives and it included lots of designer upgrades," Robert Behn said.

Kay Behn has been an independent sales director for Mary Kay for 33 years and Robert Behn is retired. He is landscaping their backyard and decorating their new home.

"We love the house and the neighborhood and the fact that it's close to new shopping, the Strip and close to the airport, which is convenient for visits from our other two sons and their families," Robert Behn said.

Homes at Ashwood range from 2,307 to 3,880 square feet with up to six bedrooms and four baths.

Floor plans are offered in Spanish Colonial, Andalusian and Italian designs and feature such options as a retreat, bonus room, media room and exercise room. Prices currently start from $294,000.

Ashwood is within walking distance to Nevada Trails Park, a 10-acre park developed by Pardee in cooperation with the Clark County Parks and Recreation Department. Nevada Trails Park includes basketball and tennis courts, tot lot, playing fields, exercise track and picnic pavilion and is part of an extensive park and trail system in Nevada Trails.

The trail system, which is landscaped with native and drought-resistant trees and plants, is part of the Clark County master trail plan.

All of Pardee's newly designed homes are part of the builder's LivingSmart brand, a program with standard and optional measures.

To visit Ashwood at Nevada Trails, take Interstate 215, the Las Vegas Beltway, to Rainbow Boulevard, drive one mile south to Robindale Road and turn right into the model park.

Ashwood's sales center is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday. For more information, call 614-8301, or visit pardeehomes.com.