The following Testimonial was provided by Homeowner Patti Abbondanzio:

"We moved from Massachusetts, about thirty miles West of Boston, where we had lived for many years.  We were fortunate to have the luxury of having our horses on our property.  When we moved there originally, there were many places close by  to ride trails.  But soon after arriving, housing developments started springing up all around us, which cut off all access to the trails and miles of state forests we had moved there to enjoy.  Bridle paths were replaced by jogging and mountain bike trails.  Even the country roadways we had walked along, became congested with heavy construction equipment and made horseback riding to reach those trails still available, dangerous.  We were forced to purchase a trailer to transport our horses, miles from where we lived to be able to enjoy a leisurely trail ride.  We found the drawback to keeping our own horses, was that when we tried to go away on a vacation, to the beach or on a fishing trip, or just south to escape the harsh and 6 month long New England winters, there was no one available to tend to our animals, and further, found ourselves missing them when we were away.

In April, three years ago, leaving snow on the ground in Massachusetts, we drove South to North Carolina to visit relatives who had just the previous year moved down.  After coming from such a highly congested area of every inch of available land being used for commercial property and housing, we immediately fell in love with the area, i.e. the countryside, the climate and the friendly outgoing nature of all of the people we met.  While here, we read through some of the real estate magazines and found that there were many specially designed neighborhoods, for those folks who enjoyed golfing.  We thought we might, purchase some old place with enough acreage to keep our horses.  Then much to our delight and amazement we found that there were actually housing developments designed for people with horses.

Well, after two years, many trips South, several Real Estate Agents later and lots of hours on my own on the Internet, on the computer one evening, I chanced on an advertisement that read, "Come home to McLendon Hills".  Further, I read it was designed for families with and without horses.  People could either have their horses attended to at the state of the art Equestrian Center, or purchase a track of land and have McLendon Hills Construction Company build you a custom home and keep them on your property, as we had always done.  In addition, there is a large lake for small boating, stocked for fishing, a beach for swimming, and best of all 6 1/2 miles of bridle paths that every home keeping horses on their property, abuts and has full access to.  This would not just be coming home, it was better, we would be living our vacation.

As we have a young child, it was important that there be children close by and the school system she'd be attending be comparative to that we had grown accustomed.  My research proved very enlightening.  Not only was the neighborhood diverse with many different age groups of children, but the schools are as good, if not better than that we'd be leaving.

January of 2002, I flew down to meet with the McLendon Hills Development Team.  I toured some of the homes they had built, and was impressed with the overall construction and materials used in addition to the attention to detail.  With so many beautiful lots with magnificent views of the lake and surrounding forest, our most difficult decision was not to move down, but which house design and lot to choose.

I returned to Massachusetts, and as a family, we chose our lot, picked the house plans and proceeded to arrange for our move.  Our house sold faster that we had anticipated, which left us potentially homeless until our new home was scheduled to be complete.  The McLendon Hills Team came to our rescue and helped locate a lovely rental house nearby so we could be close, to watch the final stages of our new home come together.  They even assisted us in locating a local Mortgage Lender.

The McLendon Hills Team, made up of the Developers, Realtors, Construction Manager and Design Consultant all were able to help make our dream come true via e-mail and a few phone calls.  When questions arose they were quick to return phone calls and get us the answers we needed.  They are always courteous and highly professional, yet they always make us feel as though we're all family.  We moved into our new home in just under 7 months from the start.

This was not our first new house we had had built, but our third since marriage, so we had experience dealing with different Developers and Builders.  Without a doubt, this was the easiest and most pleasurable.  But the entire experience didn't stop when we signed the papers of ownership and moved in, as had been our experience in the past.  They have always been quick to act on any minor problem, and been most accommodating.  We're so taken with them, that we contracted for them to custom build our barn.

They even organize gatherings and events for the neighborhood families to get together.  They truly have welcomed us home, made us feel like family, and we're living our vacation.

Our many thanks go out to the "Team", the folks who made it all possible,  Gail, Cristy, Gary, Craig and Tom. "

Sincerely,