Jeff Rutt: Improving energy efficiency at home through technology

Jeff Rutt, founder and CEO of Keystone Custom Homes, understands that homeowners just want to enjoy the full value of their homes. They want to amplify the living experience in their houses while still feeling safe and comfortable. According to expert builders and remodelers, property owners can do so by making their homes energy efficient. With effective energy management systems installed in houses, homeowners can save money that they can use for other important living expenses.

Jeff Rutt Photo Credit: Jeff Rutt

With this said, the following are the home technologies that can make houses energy efficient:

• Preset lighting settings. Lighting can easily make up 10 to 20 percent of the total electrical usage of a home. For this reason, Jeff Rutt and other home building experts recommend the use of automated lighting systems. With a preset dimmer, which adjusts lightings to the homeowner’s needs based on the time of the day, electricity bills can be lowered. Using this kind of technology can also increase the life expectancy of light bulbs.

Jeff Rutt Photo Credit: Jeff Rutt

• Automated HVAC systems. With automated systems to manage heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) controls, a home can maintain a more energy-efficient temperature when the owners are not inside the house. Likewise, when the occupants are back, the HVAC settings can automatically revert to a more comfortable temperature. These systems can also be programmed to heat or cool only the areas most used by the occupants. By utilizing this technology, energy consumption can be lessened while still putting comfort as top priority.

Jeff Rutt Photo Credit: wn.com

By carefully studying these home technologies and incorporating them in their properties, homeowners will finally be able to understand the real value of their “home sweet home.”  

For more information about Jeff Rutt and Keystone Custom Homes, visit www.keystonecustomhome.com.

Jeff Rutt: Knowing when to buy or rent a home

Jeff Rutt Photo credit: revnyou.wordpress.com

Home builders like Jeff Rutt believe that a house is one of the most valuable investments a person can have. For most people, home ownership is a great achievement especially for the younger generations. However, financial experts agree that home ownership isn’t for everyone and that renting a home can sometimes be a more practical option.

For people to avoid the mistake of spending all of their savings on an impractical investment, they must first examine their lifestyle and needs to determine whether they should buy or rent a home.

Jeff Rutt Photo credit: eburcat.com

The New York Times has provided a buy-rent calculator for those who want to know which option would be less costly. For Jeff Rutt, buying a home is more practical especially if the homeowners are planning to stay in their home for the long term. As stated in The NY Times, homeowners can save over $1,700 each year when they choose to buy a house that they will live in for at least six years.

However, according to financial expert Suze Orman, buying a house comes with additional expenses such as property tax and homeowners insurance which, if added up, may be more costly than a month’s rent. Also, a new house requires new or additional furniture and appliances. If a person isn’t ready for these additional expenses, then renting may be the better option.

From Jeff Rutt

Aside from the additional expenses, people should look into their credit score before deciding whether to buy or rent a home. Financial experts agree that a high credit score can reduce the interest rate which is part of the mortgage.

By considering these things, people can be guided on when to invest in a home.
More information on Jeff Rutt and Keystone Custom Homes is available at www.keystonecustomhome.com.

Jeff Rutt: The components of home sweet home

What makes a Keystone Custom Home unique?



Home builder and former dairy farmer Jeff Rutt builds upon the principle of customer satisfaction; his company is dedicated to providing customers with options that help construct a home tailored to their specific needs and wants. This key difference is what helped Keystone Custom Homes become among the most recognized builders in the United States.

Jeff Rutt photo credit: hutchcustomehomes.com

Apart from featuring the many customization options that make every Keystone Custom Home unique, the company’s homes are built with certain specifications that aid in creating a sturdier and more aesthetically pleasing home for its inhabitants. Key structural features include triple-hinged doors, a foundation drainage system to prevent water from entering the basement, and corner frame and jack studs to help strengthen the walls around wall corners and doors respectively.

Jeff Rutt photo credit: azhomeinfosource.com

Jeff Rutt is a firm believer in value for the customer. His company offers many customizing options—over 1,500—to help future homeowners decide on the dimensions and appearance that their new home would take.


The homes are fully insulated affairs and have a warranty of up to 20 years and are found in housing developments throughout Central Pennsylvania, located in prime areas with relative access to roads and important commercial centers.

Jeff Rutt photo credit: leslierankow.files.wordpress.com

More information on Jeff Rutt and Keystone Custom Homes, including images of the customizing options in the interiors and exteriors of the homes built, is available at KeystoneCustomHome.com.

Born through HOPE: Jeff Rutt's micro financing program helps Philippine businesses

From Jeff Rutt

In 1997, Jeff Rutt established HOPE International, a Christian-based nonprofit organization committed to alleviating the underprivileged conditions of communities worldwide through discipleship and micro financing.

The Philippines is one of 16 countries that continue to benefit from the micro-financing projects of the foundation. Recognizing the crucial role of the microfinance industry in the country, the Central Bank of the Philippines (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas of BSP) was mandated by the General Banking Law to institutionalize and regulate micro financing within the banking sector in 2000. In the same year, the BSP declared microfinance as its flagship program in accordance to the General Banking Law’s pro-poor mandates.

Jeff Rutt photo credit: infohub.ph

Marcosa Igot, a native of Lapu-Lapu City, is one of the many housewives who sought the assistance of Jeff Rutt and HOPE International. The wife of a humble factory worker and mother of five children, Marcosa was determined to start her own business to supplement her husband’s meager wage. In the early 1990s, she began a handicraft business with a capital of P50,000. In spite of economic challenges, she has managed to grow her business, exporting her hand-woven box frames and baskets abroad.

According the BSP, 202 banks have granted P7.3 billion to over one million micro entrepreneurs in the span of a decade. In its commitment to improve existing laws, the BSP issued Circular No. 744 on December 28, 2011. The mandate decrees that a borrower who shows the capacity to pay can loan a maximum of P300, 000.

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) distinguished the Philippine microfinance industry as the best in terms of regulatory framework. It also ranked second place in terms of overall business environment.

From Jeff Rutt

More information about Jeff Rutt and HOPE International can be found at www.hopeinternational.org.

Jeff Rutt: Building homes and making dreams

From Jeff Rutt

Founder and CEO of a multi awarded home builder company in the United States, Jeff Rutt is building quality homes for Americans and making dreams come true for others across the globe.

Even with the recent housing crisis in the United States, owning a home is still a priority among Americans. According to Les Christie at CNN.Money.com, Americans share a positive view regarding owning their own home, whatever their ethnic background or immigration status. Market giant Fannie Mae states that more than half of all Americans still believe that owning a home is still part of the American Dream. Thus, it can be said that whether the crisis in the market will continue, Americans will still want to acquire their own homes.

Jeff Rutt photo credit: wahaonline.org

American building visionary Jeff Rutt established Keystone Custom Homes in 1992, on the simple philosophy to raise the standard of building homes anchored on his core values of perseverance and efficiency. That philosophy has reaped great rewards for Jeff, with his company closing deals for the sale of 12 homes in its first six months of operations.

But Jeff does not only build homes; he builds dreams as well. He is also the founder of HOPE International, a group that provides microfinance opportunities for the poor to get affordable loans to start small businesses.

From Jeff Rutt

If you want to know more about Jeff Rutt, his work and advocacy, visit the company website: www.keystonecustomhome.com.

Jeff Rutt: Aiding low-income masses adapt to climate change through micro financing

It was in 1997 when Keystone Custom Homes Founder Jeff Rutt decided to establish a non-profit organization called HOPE International. Thousands of individuals and families reached and 16 countries covered later, the foundation has continued on its original thrust to renew hope and bolster socio-economic advancement in underdeveloped communities especially in third world countries.

From Jeff Rutt

Through the foundation’s microfinancing solutions, HOPE proactively engages in community projects geared towards resolving issues that plague the international community as a whole. Included among these is the need to address pressing concerns over the impacts of environmental degradation and climate change.

From Jeff Rutt

HOPE International ministers and founder Jeff Rutt recognize that these effects go beyond the evidences manifesting as extreme weather conditions and other natural disasters, effusing and causing more evident effects in the lives of people. Environmental degradation and climate change threaten the global community in a number of ways including the growing scarcity of food resources and rising occurrence of human displacement. If left unresolved, these can aggravate tensions among nations and can threateningly trigger an international war.

From Jeff Rutt

As HOPE International provides underprivileged individuals the opportunity to overcome financial challenges, it is also paving the way for them to improve their living conditions in the face of these dire environmental anomalies.




Learn more about the humanitarian efforts of Jeff Rutt and HOPE International at www.hopeinternational.org.

Grameen testimony: Jeff Rutt and the benefits of microfinance on small-scale enterprises

According to Jeff Rutt, founder of HOPE International, businessmen are constantly being consumed by the details, logistics, and operations of their corporate paradigm and perhaps are losing sight of the reasons why they are tackling difficult challenges. “Let’s all remember that in every technical and intricate aspect of operating business, we should ultimately always return to focusing on our clients—men, women, and children,” he said.

From JEFF RUTT

Microfinance provides hope to small-scale business owners. Unlike large companies, microenterprises have more potential to have a well-controlled corporate system because their size doesn’t promote many problems, operational challenges, and hectic diversification. Yehu Microfinance Trust, a Grameen Foundation program established in Kenya, is a major provider of micro-financial services to small-scale Kenyan entrepreneurs. Jeff Rutt agrees that this kind of economic aid will yield boons to a lot of African business owners, especially female entrepreneurs who are oftentimes culturally disregarded in the world of business.

From Scrapbook Photos

Grameen Foundation established Yehu Microfinance Trust to make sure that well-run local groups reaching out to the poorest of the poor have access to the money they need to make loans and increase the number of people they serve. A particular success story, one from Charity Kulola, reveals that microfinance can open up a world of opportunity for business aspirants like her. Charity received her first loan of $64 from Yehu and opened a stall that sells coconuts in the coastal village of Chakareli. With her second loan of $128, she started to expand her business and added vegetables on her products list. Charity recently took out a loan of $102 to invest in a retail shop and to diversify her business.

From JEFF RUTT

For more information about Jeff Rutt and his view on microfinance, visit www.hopeinternational.org.