How to Save Money and Stress with Your Foundation

One of the not so glamorous things about building a home is spending alot of time talking about the foundation. You don't get to pick from any colors, it doesn't light up and won't have your friends talking about it at dinner parties.

However, your foundation is the single-most important element of the home. This is where you'll probably spend the biggest part of your budget, and it is so important it is warrantied the longest. Let me give you so quick things to think about when planning your foundation for your home.

Make sure it is engineered. We get all of our slabs engineered and stamped so that all things are considered when getting started. The engineering company will not let us pour unless we pass their inspection.

Make sure the lot is prepared properly. This is huge and really separates the good contractors from the bad. There are so many things you can do to help avoid large slabs that have a lot of stairs and slopes for the driveway. We spend more time prepping the land than just about anything.

Make sure you string the lot beforehand. This is a must so that you can get a feel for what trees will be saved, and where you're house will lay in reference to the lot. It can also help you understand where your finish floor is.

Make sure you get a form check survey. Just after you set the forms for your foundation, make sure you have a survey company draw the forms on the site plan. This helps to ensure your home is not encroaching on any setback lines or easements. It will also give you peace of mind.

Tony Hawk Marketing Machine

In difficult economic times, it's best to look to other examples of people who have started businesses in similar environments. There's a man out there who has created a multi-million dollar skateboarding empire during a flat market and waning market interest. His name is Tony Hawk and although it is a different business entirely, he provides interesting tips on how to use tough times to your advantage (courtesy of Success Magazine):

Know it is risky, but do it anyway. "If we could set ourselves up in a position of prominence when skating was at a dead state, then if it took off we could ride the wave."

Recognize the advantages of a flat market. It's more expensive to get in a business when times are good.

Make sure you are passionate about your idea or product. Focus all of your energy and want to make it happen.

Don't just grab deals as they come-scrutinize. Don't hand everyone the keys to all your opportunities, make sure you have the final say or it may cost you.

Align yourself with people who share your work ethic.

Know your market. You have to have your finger on the pulse.

Realize you never jump off the learning curve. There is always something new to learn.

Hard knocks can make your stronger. You have more clout when you go through thick and thin.

Planning for a Driveway and Sidewalks

Planning for driveways and sidewalks is very important when building a home. Think about it, they are the gateway to your home. It's best to get it right the first time because it's pretty permanent after you've poured it. In the custom home building business, people hardly ever ask me about the driveway when we initially plan for the home, but I know that once we first start laying it out- it becomes huge to them. You need to think about traffic flow, the kids playing, water flow around it and options for finishes. I wanted to give you some basic tips for planning:

Know your budget

A basic rule of thumb for 4" thick concrete in Texas today is about $3.50 per square foot. The problem is concrete can get thicker if your surface isn't flat. Therefore you may need a beam, extra fill or curbs. If so, you may creep up higher than that. Steps are also calculated a little differently but that $3.50 mark overall should get you real close.

Know the trends

Driveways have evolved a little bit. We're seeing customers asking for things like SUV pads for guests, back-up pads, 14' wide vs. 12' wide driveways and 16' to 18' approaches. We are also seeing larger sidewalks leading from the driveway to the house, as well as more s-shaped vs. straight pathways.

Know the options for design

There are so many cool things being done today with concrete. As you see from the above photo, staining has become more popular. Typical stain prices today might start in the $3.00 per square foot range. Not bad considering it is the cheapest form of flooring available. We've even done decorative borders on the edge of the driveway, almost like a picture frame and stained that only. It gives you a real elegant look for a fraction of the price of staining an entire driveway. You can also do different textured finishes like broom, pebble or even a salt rock finish which is more of a pitted, old world look.

Know the functionality

Last but not least, you must plan for the future. This means having adequate pvc pipes underneath for drainage, future sprinklers and future landscape lights. Pick areas of the concrete and consult the experts when doing this planning and it will help you immensely when you do decide to put those elements in.

Creating a Pool Budget

Had a good meeting this week with Liquid Assets, a pool company out of Austin. http://www.liquidassets-pools.com/ Normally I steer clear of things from Austin since I am an Aggie; but they are a bunch of good folks and I find them hungry for business, responsive and service oriented.

The main purpose of the meeting was to get a firm grip on what we should be telling our customers when we are discussing pool budgets. Basically for a Parade of Home style pool, with hot tub, water feature, latest technology, etc. we were told to budget around $70,000. If you are to add features such as infinity edge and upgraded finishes you can start creeping up another $10-20,000.

For those who are more budget conscious, they can start off with more entry-level pools in the $40,000 to $50,000 range. The payments for the pools usually work 1/3 up front, 1/3 about midway and then the final 1/3 at the end. The best time varies for installation during the construction process, but to build a pool they said they would like to have 3 months.

2009 Parade of Homes

I'm very excited to announce that Mattern & FitzGerald Custom Builders has been selected to be in the 2009 Parade of Homes. The meeting that we had at the Greater San Antonio Builders Association was very interesting. We basically carved up the lots and put them into a coffee cup, and then had a lot draw. We received the number two slot and it worked out perfect. We will be the first house on the left as you enter through the entrance tent. GSABA was excited because this will be the first Parade in a long time with amazing hilltop views. If you don't know anything about TerraMont, you should really check it out because it has all the ammenities of a first class operation with 24 hour guard gate, 40 acres of parks and recreation, pool area, tennis court, basketball court and jogging trails. All this coupled with the fact that it is conveniently located 3.5 miles north on Babcock from Loop 1604 behind La Cantera and you have a winner of a subdivision. We have already begun the planning process and have a very unique and functional floor plan and elevation in store for you to see. If you add to the fact that we are in the process of building the WOAI Homes of Distinction home in Stone Creek Ranch in Fair Oaks- it should be a very blessed and busy year for our company. If you have any questions about either of these fine neighborhoods or completion dates, contact our offices and we would be glad to assist you in any way. The website for TerraMont is http://terramonttx.com/

How to Build a Courtyard Wall

One thing that looks really cool and finishes-off a house real nicely is a courtyard wall. They can be used to define a space outside the home that serves as a retreat for your family. Courtyard walls can add value if done properly and if they architecturaly fit the design of your home. The above picture is an actual courtyard wall that we built which consisted of two types of stone. I would like to walk you through the process of how we did it.

Step 1

The most important first step that some people forget when doing pillars or courtyard walls is there needs to be a solid foundation and surface below the wall. In the above process, we had our concrete contractor pour a footer of concrete, complete with steel rebar about two feet wide and two feet deep. The forms were set with flexible form boards so we could get that curved look you see above.

Step 2

We then designed our wall to be 36 inches high, and we wanted to have a certain look with two different types of stone. This wall consisted of a smaller Palamino chop stone and the wall cap was a flat Austin limestone. Usually you want your caps to extend off the wall sides by about an inch and a half on either side.

Step 3

We then calculated the surface area of the stone and ordered the appropriate tonnage. Usually you can get about 50 square feet of surface area to every ton of stone purchased. Remember that with a wall you have two sides, so make sure that your calculations reflect that.

Step 4

We had our masons build the wall two sides up with a hollow center. Sometimes it can be good practice to use concrete blocks first so that the stone or stucco can bond to a solid surface, but due to the height of our wall being relatively small, we opted to forgoe the concrete blocks. One important planning step is that courtyards need to have proper drainage so make sure you insert pvc pipe in your concrete footers in the event of a heavy rain so that it has the proper exit path. In this case, we allowed for three drainage paths.

Step 5

The entry point to the courtyard looks really cool when you have an elegant door or gate. We contracted a wrought iron fence contractor to measure our opening and install a gate. The gate opening should be such that the wrought iron can be supported by the masonry. In the above case, we also added taller columns so that the gate could be more of a door heights. You can certainly do a smaller gate if you wish.

Refinishing Cabinets

Recently I got motivated and decided to refinish my oak cabinets. It was much more difficult then I thought it would be- but very rewarding in the end. I wanted to share the steps with you and give you some before and after photos so you can tackle it yourself if you choose.

Before

After

Step 1- Rough up your cabinets with sand paper to allow the primer to have a surface to bond to and remove cabinet doors and drawer fronts from hinges.
Step 2- Spray 2 heavy lacquer primer coats, sanding between each coat to get rid of grains in oak.

Step 3-Spray oil enamel based paint of your choosing. We used Sherwin Williams Divine White.

Step 4- Make sure that doors are dry and free of drip marks, then apply glaze of your choice with a painters rag.

You can also give your cabinets a major boost by removing the old crown and adding new, more substantial crown moulding. I purchased the above crown moulding at Lowes and added new hardware to make them really look custom. One important note is we did not paint the insides of the cabinet. Don't worry, it looks fine. I had my electrician install under cabinet lights which also turned out nice. I think the total cost for the refacing ran about $2000 for materials and labor but you should save on that if you do the majority of the work yourself. Remember, the kitchen is the heart of the home and the main area that helps sell the home if you ever decide to do so. So if you are looking for a place to invest a little bit, this is the place. Happy renovating and let me know if I can lend any advice.

How to search for the perfect lot

Oftentimes, we get folks that come to us with ideas on building their dream home-they just need to find a place to put it. I've tried to put some tips together for you to assist you in finding that perfect lot based on past experience.
Start with a desirable location-you want to start by thinking of things like commute to work, neighborhood ammenities, area schools, access to major thoroughfares and access to activities that you and your family enjoy.
Think about your overall budget-as a rough rule of thumb, you want your lot to be one fifth or less of your total budget for building.
Study your target area-as realtors, we have the ability to search for lots in an amazing amount of ways. We can do it by street, by zip code, by neighborhood, by map grid, by lot size, by schools or by radius. Furthermore, you can set up a ticker that notifies you immediately of any new listings or price changes for existing lots that can show up directly on your email, PDA or mobile phone. The early bird gets the worm, how cool is that?
Study the features of the land-figure out what's important to you. Do you want acerage, low maintenance, a view, trees or running water on your property? Also, look for things like the levelness of the lot. As a rule of thumb, the more level the lot, the more cost effective the home to build.
Become an expert on the comparable sales of lots in the area-a realtor can help run comparables for the past year to make sure that you are getting a good deal. A bank appraiser will ultimately verify this but you should have time to get that done while in the contractual phase of acquiring the land.
Verify that the lot is buildable-sometimes unforseen things like drainage and utility easements can harm what should be a wonderful building experience. Make sure that a proper survey is done and all factors are considered in your evaluation stage.

Tips for Selling Your Home

In today's competive market, it is essential more than ever to make your home stand out among the rest. You can do this in a variety of ways. Here are some tips that I have picked-up over the years that may help you.

Offer financial assistance-many buyers need help on closing costs or down payment assistance. Sometimes the the only thing standing in the way of getting your home sold is the initial cost of the transaction. If you can assist the buyer in that, you will set yourself apart.

Make sure your home shows well- the money you spend per hour to a good designer will pay huge dividends when your home shows better than your competition.

Interview and get references on a good real estate agent- a good way to kill a potential transaction is by hiring a bad agent. You need someone who is a good negotiator, marketer and advisor with good business skills and follow up. Look for local stack rankings to narrow down your list of the successful ones.

Make sure you can be found- most people shop online today for homes initially. They look to see pictures, prices and descriptions of homes in their area of interest. Make sure your home is accessible in the Multiple Listing Service and such popular websites as http://www.realtor.com

WOAI Concept Home

A few weeks ago, we were invited to participate in the WOAI concept home tour scheduled to take place in March of 2009. WOAI is the local NBC news affiliate here in San Antonio and they have created a concept home program that showcases local builders and the latest trends in home design. In years past, they have only showcased one builder, however this year they will showcase five in a new subdivision known as Stone Creek Ranch in Fair Oaks. http://www.stonecreekfairoaks.com There have been numerous conference calls, builder- vendor meetings and groundwork laid out in preparation for this event. My partner Jason has been busy strategizing and coming up with a plan that we are excited to embark upon in the coming weeks. All I can tell you at this point is that this will be an opportunity for you to see what builders can do when challenged to come up with their best product. To me this event will somewhat rival the Parade of Homes that is so popular in San Antonio. We will be putting our best foot forward to show the community what new innovations and technology mean for you in terms of energy efficiency, better layout and better materials. We will stage our home with beautiful ammenities and furnishings to enhance your touring experience as well. Keep your calenders open in the spring of 2009 and stay tuned for this exciting event that you won't want to miss.

Worst Case Scenarios

The media has hammered us with the fact that this is one of the worst housing markets nationally that we have seen in a long time. San Antonio has bucked the trend a little, but there are responses to tough times. I thought it would be interesting for you to know there is a website called http://www.worstcasescenarios.com/ that gives interesting survival tips for all kinds of terrible situations such as what to do if your parachute doesn't open, how to land a plane, how to get free from a sinking car and how to wrestle free from an alligator; just to name a few.

Here are some tips on how to fend off a shark:
1.Hit back- sharks are sensitive to pain in the eyes and gills area
2.Make quick repeated jabs in these areas- don't let the shark feel they have the competitive advantage- contrary to popular opinion, don't hit them in the nose

We are fighting back against our shark attack which is the housing market and it is making us better as an organization- I can see it happening with our improved processes. I hope you enjoy the website posted above.

10 Ways Builders Mess Up Their Business

Courtesy of Building with an Attitude by Al Trellis

1. Poor pricing decisions-price too high and the product sits, price too low and you go broke.
2. Building a ho-hum house.
3. Building in the wrong location-bad neighborhood or bad lot.
4. Overbuilding for the market-putting too much into a home that you can't recoup expenses.
5. Unrealistic expectations-clients need to understand there is no such thing as a perfect house.
6. Poor sub supervision
7. Sloppy cost control-some builders don't know if they've made money until the house is complete.
8. Inaccurate estimating.
9. Selling features, not benefits-people don't care about features, they want to know what it will do for them.
10. Makeshift marketing-good marketing creates awareness and value perception.

Flash Value

Heard an interesting tip about a former builder who experienced much success in the San Antonio region. The builder was Fox & Jacobs who eventually sold to KB Homes. He experienced so much success because of his self-coined term flash value. He would basically strip down his homes to the bare essence in the planning stage. He would include the basics like roof, foundation, electrical, drywall, plumbing, HVAC, etc. Then he would take the remaining finish-out items and work formulas to derive a quotient that he would call flash value and it worked like this. Let's say that crown moulding costs $2.50 per linear foot to install and paint. Now let's say that the general public liked crown molding so much they would pay $4.00 per linear foot for the end product. He would take $4.00, divide by $2.50 and arrive at a flash quotient of 1.6. Let's now say that hollow-core doors cost $135 and solid-core doors cost $175 each. If people generally didn't care and were willing to pay a max of $175 per door but their major concern was the rest of the home; then he would assign a flash quotient of 1.3 to the hollow core and 1 to the solid core. He would continue to do this for all finish-out type items in the house and develop a stack ranking of the best-returns of investment for the money and for the same price would continually modify and improve his products. His success speaks for itself and he was able to deliver a better product than his competition in the field. No matter the business, this is a simple and effective way to not only deliver what your customers want, but do it better than anyone else.

Never Been a Better Time to Buy

The Fed just announced another 3/4% cut to the Central Bank Rate making it now 6 cuts in 6 months. They are doing this to stimulate financial markets but already announcements have been made by commercial banks that their lending rates will fall to just above 5%. This will in-turn mean that you can take advantage of this incredible time as a buyer. Right now, there is oversupply in the housing market which means there are deals to be had. If you couple that with the fact that the lending rate is so low this translates to being able to afford more home for your hard-earned dollar. If you are considering building a home- even better. When you build a home, you should end the process with a certain amount of equity. The economics are simple when you start thinking about leveraging dollars at a reduced amount from the bank, having instant equity and being in a buyer's market. This market should recover and when it does expect rates to go tick back up.

New Housing Trends

I think I have enough information from the builder's conference I attended last week to blog for the next few months. One thing I thought you would find interesting was a session we had from a prominent architect in the Denver area discussing new housing trends. Among some of the things mentioned:
Project rooms-an oversized utility room that serves as an area for more than just the wash to get done. These areas can contain a place to do laundry, lockers for the family, mud sink, desk area and plenty of cabinet space for storage.
Hearth rooms-a smaller room with a fireplace to get away for quiet reading and reflection.
Command centers-a small built-in desk area seperate from the study with space for paying bills, checking emails, dropping-off mail and keys. This space is normally located right next to the kitchen.
Return to main-floor living-having the majority of your home located on the first floor.
No more formal living-considered a wasted space with today's modern families, this trend is continuing and rarely found in new home design anymore.
Wine cabinetry/wine rooms-more and more people are discovering wine and technology has driven the price down on dual temperature controlled wine refrigerators. These refrigerators have caused people to build around them and have cabinetry dedicated to additional bottle-storage. Plus it is a very cool look.
Outdoor living-a growing trend in Texas but nationally as well. This is basically an oversized patio with fireplace, outdoor kitchen, grill, television and sometimes sink. This is a great cost-effective way to extend square footage of living space.

Surviving Tough Times

I just got back from a builder's conference in Las Vegas and the keynote speaker was Al Trellis, noted author and business consultant to homebuilders all across the country. He had so many good tips and advice for us but the overall theme of this conference was surviving tough times.
The first tip he gave to us was to reduce risk. He said you reduce risk by reducing inventory of land and houses, and reduced overhead. Just a tip I had never heard before, but in good times you should carry about 2-1/2 to 3 years of lot inventory, and in tougher times 1-1/2 to 2 years of inventory. The second tip he gave was to increase demand through product improvement and pricing. He stressed doing this by studying the next new trends in product enhancements for the home and making sure that your prices didn't increase even though you were providing a better product. The third tip he gave was to improve effectiveness and productivity in marketing, sales and production. As a company, I know we stress improved production and effectiveness in our weekly strategy meetings. This is key because most importantly we are able to pass this on to our clients in terms of improved pricing. Just today, we were showing a potential client several of our homes and he asked me point blank, how are you guys able to build for these prices? My response to that is I don't know what anyone else is doing, all I know is that the increased efficiency we strive for we pass through so our clients can get the most for their money.

San Antonio Economic Market Conditions

Courtesy of the San Antonio Express News, there was an article posted today discussing the economic conditions of our great city. The news is not all bad. We are slowing a little economically, but we did have 2% job growth quarter over quarter for Q4 of 2007. We are 35% down on new housing starts and still enjoy one of the lowest unemployment rates not only in the country but also the state. If you couple that with the fact that interest rates are extremely low right now, this correction can be a good thing. As excess inventory clears you should see a rise in demand for new and residential housing again.

Subcontractors

In the contracting business, oftentimes we are only as good as our subcontractors. It's hard to find the good ones because they are always in demand. The trick to keeping the good ones around and getting them on your team is to pay them on time, and treat them fairly. I've got a true story that happened to me just today. One of my best contractors is a landscaping company called Maldanado's Scenic Landscaping located in Boerne, TX. These guys are super professional, service-driven and do exactly what they say. Anyways, this is a family-run business and Jesse and Josh Maldanado are brothers who plan, estimate and execute the jobs for the company. Over time, I have seen these guys operate and we have become well-acquainted with each other and developed a friendship. One of the first things I noticed about these brothers is they had the coolest sunglasses. They wear an Oakley brand called Gascans (I know don't laugh) and I told Jesse months ago that I was going to get me a pair. They offer the sunglasses in regular and polarized. The polarized pair is twice as much, so I opted for the cheaper pair since I had a gift card to Bass Pro Shop and the difference wouldn't be so bad. Short story long I had the toughest time buying these things. First, they only had a display pair and wouldn't part with them, the second time I tried months later their gift server was down and they couldn't process my gift card. I told Jesse about my frustrations and didn't think twice about it. Fast forward to today, Jesse and I were sitting back admiring his recently completed job for one of my clients and he said, come over here to my truck I got something for you. So I go over there and he hands me a box with a bow on it. Lo and behold I open it up and they are a polarized pair of Oakley Gascans! I was so fired-up I put them on and gave him a big hug. He told me that he appreciated our business and said all kinds of nice things about our company. There is one quote I want to leave you with that I have said for a long time- leadership without relationship equals rebellion. I use that with my kids, and the business relationships that I have. If you are in the position of influence and you have no relationship with that person, then you can get people to do what you want, but ultimately they won't respect you. Here's hoping that you lead with a respectful hand.

Investors

I was talking to one of our investors today and after we got done getting caught-up we started laughing and cracking one-liners and all kinds of fun stuff. I hung up the phone with him and thought how blessed I am, as well as my company to have investors like that. That's the way it should be. We have a saying around the office and that is we treat investors like our own. What we mean by that is they are like family. They have entrusted us with their money. This is money they depend on to feed their families, plan their lives and fulfill their dreams. Our job is to deliver and provide an excellent return for them. These guys and girls are not just money sources for us, they are our friends, college roommates and even family members. We don't use them all the time but when we do we try to set them up to win. We simply align our goals to theirs, trying to make sure that the investment makes sense and their return is way above average. I think people can get in trouble when the investment goal is slanted heavily to one side or another. The other thing that we do is prepare heavily for the investment. We do weeks of research, and then carefully explain everything that is going into the investment. We then make sure that they fully understand. Warren Buffet once said that he doesn't invest in things he doesn't understand. In fact, if you ever are pitching your product to someone, the last thing you want to see across the table is the deer in the headlights look. Finally, we give regular updates on the investment as much as possible. Part of that is common courtesy, but the other part is they feel they are part of the process. To date, every single investor that has completed a transaction with us has reloaded for another. That's such a great feeling, not only to see their satisfaction but to gain their confidence and trust. If you are looking to gain investment dollars to pursue your dream, keep in mind some of the things mentioned above and remember to treat them as your own.

Faith

In case I haven't told you yet, I am a Christian. Jason is too as are others in our organization. This doesn't mean that we too don't fall short and sin just like others, are judgemental or anything like that. All it means is that we surrender our needs, hopes and desires to God. That's huge you see because it wasn't always that way. Probably up until about 2001 I use to get upset when things didn't go my way. Probably like you, I want to be in control of my life and do things on my timeline. There's nothing wrong with that, in fact it's human nature. The only problem I've found with that theory is that is it leads to a whole lot of worry and stress. When I started going to Church more, and understanding the price that Jesus paid for us and the fact that he wants what's best for us- it hit me that things that happened to me are preordained and part of his perfect plan. There is a story in the Book of Matthew where Jesus talks about worry. To paraphrase he basically commands us not to worry. He says that worrying will not add a single day to your life and that he will take care of you. He goes on to say that He wants what's best for you and knows what you need. Finally, he says that if you seek first His Kingdom and righteousness, all these things will be given to you. The past few months for builders has not been a bowl full of cherries. The headlines are dominated with negative press on the mortgage industry, the declining housing market nationwide and not to mention we along with other builders have had increasing theft on our jobsites. We learn those painful lessons and adjust our strategies daily when encountering them, but we don't worry too much because of our faith. Friend, if your days are met with worries, stress and just the daily pressure of life- please consider reading Matthew6:25-34.

Follow Up

I may have told you already but prior to being in the construction industry, I was in a sales environment for most of my corporate life. I learned some huge lessons along the way but one of the largest was one that I'm getting ready to share with you. One day when I was working in Chicago, I was having a sales meeting with my Regional Vice President. I really respected this guy and had known him for a long time. Not only was he my boss, but I considered him my friend. He was the kind of guy who you would run through a wall for. He would kick my tail to make me better but always left me understanding the lessons he was trying to teach to make me better; but I digress, back to the sales meeting. He was big into details and asked me if I had accomplished certain task items that he wanted me to do. I dutifully went down my list and rapped off all the things that I thought he wanted to hear and was totally expecting a reply of good job back at me. Instead, he got teed-off and told me something that I never forgot. He said Kevin, anyone can delegate anything but it takes a leader to follow-up. Man I was blown away by that comment. From that day forward, I ran out and grabbed a Franklin Planner that I still carry to this day. That was 9 years ago he made that comment to me. Whatever you do in life as your profession, there is so much competition- both internal and external. That one piece of advice has enabled our company to not only survive- but thrive in this downward housing market. The thing we preach around here is to follow-up. We preach it in our meetings, to our people and we live it day to day. We have even invested money in software programs that keep us accountable and ensure that we follow-up. If this is an area that you struggle in, just know that there are things out there and resources that can help you. You can start as simple as getting a good calender/organizer that you like, or use such free services such as Google Calender, Yahoo Calender, Microsoft Outlook, etc. to help you manage your day. Whatever you decide, invest some time in a program such as this to help make your life less stressful, and more manageable.

Writing Your Own Real Estate Contract

I talked to a friend the other day who wanted to buy a house from someone without a realtor. Both her and the seller were hammering-out a price and had felt that they could both save money in realtor fees. This is very true, but if you want to make sure you do it right make sure you get some help first.
There is a website that you can use as a guide to see what kind of language is included in a real estate contract. You can see samples of blank forms here:
http://www.trec.state.tx.us/formslawscontracts/default.asp
There are several important things in the contract that are designed for your protection and the other parties. If you go down this road, do me a favor and make sure you consult an attorney to review your agreement. Please do this because the $500 or so you spend is far less than what a potential lawsuit can cost.
After you have an agreement and both parties are happy, take the paperwork to a title company. A title company is kind of like a referee in the sense that they make sure the title is clean and that it can be insured. You don't want to get a knock on the door one day from someone's long lost son or daughter telling you to get out of their house. Title insurance helps prevent against that.
Next, get your inspections from authorized persons ASAP. Make sure that you hire someone who can tell you about the things you can't see in the home like the plumbing, insulation, structural and mechanical systems. Those things are so important. Most inspectors will generate a very detailed and lengthy report-generally around 9-10 pages or so. Before you hire them, check to see that their reports include photographs of the problems. Some do, and some don't but if you have pictures it is way easier to fix.
Lastly, please make sure that you are qualified to by the home. That means that a bank has preapproved you and all they are waiting on is for you to close on the home. Your offers hold a lot more weight when accompanied by a preapproval letter, and there won't be any last minute scrambling on your part to come up with the money.

Top Business Tech Trends for 2008

Here are the top 5 Tech Trends for 2008 according to CNET:

1. Go Green-Businesses will be utilizing renewable resources more and more that are environment friendly.
2. Microprocessors- Intel is getting ready to unveil a new chip that allows businesses to take more applications outside the office as the business community shifts to a more mobile environment.
3. Search Engines- The Yellow Pages are history as more and more people are searching online to find what they are looking for. Make sure your business can be found.
4. Social Networking- My Space, Facebook and Linked-In are all examples of popular social networking sights where people are collaborating in cyberspace to do business. These sights are growing at an exponential rate.
5. Security- With commerce and sensitive data being stored on line, it is now more than ever important that your business is protected with proper security measures.

Flipping Houses

Back in 2003 I flipped my first house. Flipping a house in my definition means buying a house at a deep discount, renovating it and then selling it for a profit. The above example is one of probably dozens that I did that was abandoned, had fleas, was leaning, had insufficient structural damage, insufficient wiring, no HVAC.....the list goes on and on. I guess in retrospect I was part crazy, but I look at a house like this and something clicks for me.

Unlike a lot of the TV shows you see, my motivation has never been about the final dollar profit, if it was I would do something else because it's too hard of a body of work. I look at houses as an art form and a passion. So that is my first tip for you; if you want to embark on a project like this- by all means love it. You've got to have a passion for anything you want to make a career of and mine just happens to be real estate. If you don't love it, sure you might make a few bucks but ultimately your prospective customers will notice.

The second thing I would recommend is to have help in the evaluation process before you purchase a project. One of the hardest things about renovating an older home is you never know what surprises you may encounter behind walls. I remember one time we had just got done putting a fresh coat of paint in a living room when one of my workers told me they heard a buzzing sound. We soon realized that it was coming from inside the walls. Well let's just say I found out the hard way how difficult it is to remove Africanized bees.

The third thing I would say that ties into the above is buy the house deep. I mean shoot for 50 cents on the dollar or lower. The deep discounts you buy at can help with unforeseen expenses you didn't anticipate. Guess what else, modern building codes today are different from the past. Once you get a City Inspector in to pass an inspection, his or her expectation is going to be that you bring the element of the home you are working on up to current codes. That could mean wiring, framing or plumbing- so be prepared to spend the necessary money to make it right. You want it right anyway because you want to be able to sleep at night knowing that the happy homeowner who purchased the house from you is safe in their new home.

Lastly I would strongly advise you to have more than enough money to finish the project the right way. You will need money for closing costs, holding costs and labor and materials along the way. The biggest detriment to a project can be lack of funding. Make sure you have accurate estimates up front and then anticipate about 25% extra for unforeseen things.

Also remember, the payoff for a project can be way more meaningful than money. If you are considering such an endeavor, use caution and some tips from above to help you in your decision-making process.

Happy New Year!

Well this week was good because we got all the folks back in the office from vacation safe and rejuvenated to take on the new year. I commented to one of the girls in the office that it wouldn't be so bad coming back to work if we could wear pajamas till noon like I was doing at home over the Holidays. You could tell though that after a day we all hit our rhythm and got rocking again on the business front. We started off our weekly meeting going through various things and came to agreement on certain housing goals we wanted to hit for the first quarter. This brings me to the point I'd like to make; planning can be huge if met with a good dose of desire. It defines, clarifies and gives motion to your daily walk. My wife and I spent New Years Eve going to a movie and were actually about an hour early. She grabbed some wine and I ordered a beer and we talked about our New Years Resolutions for our family. We divided them up into personal, financial, family, Spiritual and physical health. We wrote them down on the back of a receipt and folded-it up and put it away with our other resolutions from years past. Some we keep and some we fall short on but the point is we try to give ourselves specific direction for the near future. We do the same thing in the office and I am so glad for that. I wish the same for you.