Selecting the right builder for a new home construction process can mean the difference between "being sane" at the end of your home building adventure or feeling like you've embarked on a scary roller coaster ride. In Grand Rapids, Michigan, there are a number of different issues to consider when selecting the builder who is right for you.

There are also several different types of home builders/contractors. In this post, we will explore a few options and discuss the benefits and challenges which may be associated with different options. It is also a good idea to contact your local home builders association. They will often be able to provide a list of builders who subscribe to certain standards and codes of conduct as a term of their membership.

Developers

If you are looking for a new home in a development in Grand Rapids, Michigan, there is a high likelihood that you will be working with a Developer or builder who builds homes (often called spec homes) for sale within a particular community. Often these types of neighborhoods will have a model home which you can tour to preview different options and styles within a particular budget range.

Some of the advantages of working with a Developer include: being able to select samples at the site, being able to easily preview previous construction and sometimes the developer will provide construction financing or will carry all the costs of financing so all you have to qualify for is the end loan. This can help you with out of pocket expenses during the construction process.

The downside may be: limited choice options; cookie cutter houses (where your home is pretty much like everyone else) and stricter perameters regarding what is allowed per the recorded deeds and restrictions for the subdivision. It is important to ask for a list of contacts from the builder so you can verify the experience of homeowners who have been past customers. Questions you may want to ask can include, but should not necessarily be limited to the following:

• 1. Are you satisfied with the quality of the construction, labor and finishing of your home?
• 2. Was the developer/builder responsive to correct issues which needed to be addressed?
• 3. Was your home completed on schedule? If not, who was responsible for any additional costs associated with the delay?
• 4. How would you rate your overall experience?

Small/Independent Builder

You are very likely to be introduced to an Independent builder through a referral or by dropping by an Open House for a home they have built. Many Independent Builders will build several homes a year. They may sometimes live in a spec home for a few years before re-selling it. Some Independent Builders build homes as a full-time job and for others it is supplemental income. Some Independent Builders are skilled craftsmen who take great pride in their trade and in the quality of their craftsmanship.

One of the challenges that you may encounter is related to the fact that an Independent Builder may not have the same type of leverage with sub-contractors that a developer does. As a result, a project may be more susceptible to delays. It is important to discuss this issue with your builder and understand how this will be addressed particularly if you are carrying the financing costs. It is also important to preview more than one home that the builder has built and to ask the questions listed above of their previous clients.

The advantages of working with an Independent builder include being able to more easily customize your home as you will not be constrained by a template and having a more intimate association with the home building process. On the other hand, some disadvantages may include the following: a builder who builds just a few homes a year may not have access to resources such as financing or discounts that a builder who does more volume would.

At Audu Real Estate, we have developed a detailed questionnaire that can assist you in evaluating the home building process and selecting the builder who is best for you. We provide our clients with a FREE Consultation to assess your needs and are also available to accompany you in interviewing home builders and previewing spec and custom homes. Your New Home is a Valuable Investment. If you'd like to explore the excellent options available in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area, please give us a call at 616-791-0511 or e-mail us at info@auduhomes.com.

This blog is a part of a Series. Read Part 1: How to Take the Hassle Out of Building a New Home~Select the Right Lot!

Copyright 2007 Audu Real Estate All Rights Reserved

Click Here to Read More about Grand Rapids, Michigan

This article in the Christian Science Monitor brings back memories.  The sight of a baby perched peacefully on its' mother's back is something you see ALL over Africa.  In West Africa, the term used for this makeshift type snuggly is a Lapa...in South Africa, the term is a Kanga.

Just about every baby on the Continent has had it's share of "Back Time."  I'm referring to a period which can encompass as little as 3-6 months or as long as 3 years.  A time when mother and baby connect because they are together almost all the time.  Safely snuggled against mom's back, the African baby observes the world shielded by the comfort of knowing that everything and everyone must come through Mom first! 

Consequently, people have noted, African babies rarely cry.  Why should they?  Mom is never far away. They experience all sorts of exciting things from a "rare air" view...looking at life from a perspective which is usually unavailable to little people.  African babies are lulled to sleep by the rhythmic movements of their mother's gait and learn to attune to her voice while listening to the music of her beating heart next to theirs. 

This is one reason why being a young orphan in Africa is such a loss. Who will carry you next to their heart?  Where is the wrapper to shield you from  the harsh physical realities of life? Who will embrace your developing form within the warm confines of mom's cloth wrapped cocoon?

When it's time for a baby to be fed, the wrapper is simply untied  and a sling is formed which allows mother and baby to nurse comfortably.  For an orphan, the emotional loss of this type of security is enormous. You see on the African continent, it's one of life's meaningful dignities to be carried in the warmth of a Lapa, a rite of passage which provides a dimension of safety through the passage way of life.

It is this sort of dignity that Rocky Turner refers to in her mutahood blog post entitled Underwear for Africa ~How You Can Help. The story by Monstersandcritics.com tells about the sale of second hand underwear in Kenya where Rocky is going to help with the orphanage. It's a story about the loss of a basic dimension of human dignity because of poverty.  A dignity which seems held at gunpoint by the cruel ravages of desperation fueled by the scarcity of life's most basic necessities. Something that most in western culture can not fully understood because the experience is so foreign and in some ways unthinkable.   

It is in this pause, within this space suspended between disbelief and empathy that the decision is made. The choice to support the dignity of life or to deny it.  It is what we do with the least of these that defines ultimately the fate we have chosen for ourselves...because like it or not, we are all connected. 

So as the image of the African mother carrying her child continues to run through the slide-frames of my mind, I am reminded that we've all been carried at some time.  At sometime, we have all needed care, a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen, a hand up, or even hand me down.  In other words, in one way or another, we've all  ridden for FREE on someone's back and perhaps, now is a good time to return the favor.

Rocky is leaving for Kenya in a few days.  We can't go with her physically, but we can support her efforts financially and through our prayers.  Rocky is collecting funds for her trip and clean underwear.  You can send donations to her here and visit her blog:

Mothers Fighting For Others INC

Underwear For Africa
27943 Seco Canyon RD # 533
Santa Clarita CA 91350

Donate Here Flyer: Donate Here Flyer

Got Underwear? Flyer: Got Underwear Flyer

Email Message: Underwear For Africa Email 2

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*Photo is courtesy of Ferdinand Reus on Flickr.com

Sometimes you need a smack "upside" the head to jolt you into reality.  Well, it was two smacks for me today to be precise. Delivered via virtual space long hand in a couple of blog posts.  Mark Eibner, the Real Estate Zealot, writes a blog post  entitled "Are You Gearing Up for Gen Y Business?" in which he links to a recent  CNN article about the 17 year old kid who unlocked the I Phone's tether to AT & T; making it possible to use the phone with other carriers.  This was big news on August 24, 2007.   Although I did hear about it on the national media, I didn't fully grasp the implications of what had happened. 

Reading the CNN article clarified things for me.  The code that tethered the iPhone to the At & T network was one of the most closely guarded secrets on the face of the earth. The system was programed to be be unbreachable by some of the most brilliant computer experts on the planet.  It also represented potentially billions of dollars of proprietary business; blocking out other would be competitors. 

The fact that the code and process could be unraveled so quickly was astounding...but by a 17 year old kid!  After accomplishing this monumental feat, the kid posted all his "how to instructions" on-line for other would be hackers;  apologizing that it was such a cumbersome process. He also gave "assistance credits" to two individuals from Russia whom he didn't know apart from their on-line monikers.  Thus heralding, a new concept in collaboration...networking to create solutions across the globe by collaborating anonymously with others on-line towards the accomplishment of a shared goal. Talk about kicking the concept of Free Shareware up another gigantic notch. 

This is how Gen Y thinks.  And this is why they won't do real estate the way their parents did.  They have this insatiable desire to share...everything.  On-line music, blogs, games, movies, shopping....The fact that we can obtain real estate information anywhere for Free is baseline for them.  That's par for the course. 

They also have a radically distinct view of "ownership."  The kid (of iPhone hacker fame) felt that his solution to the "problem" faced by many who were held "prisoners" to a proprietary system was ultimately the property of the world.  This is the generation which created major headaches for the recording industry with pirated music from Napstar and thought it was cool to allow everyone to listen to music for Free. Will this approach to ownership and proprietary information make the current process of broker aided real estate transactions seem archaic if not downright draconian?

Perhaps we are about to witness a radical transformation of the meaning of the word transaction...how it's executed, how it's paid for and what it is.  The Real Estate Transaction of the near future will embody elements that cannot be imagined today. It is certain that there will be a re-definition of the meaning and value of professional expertise.  We can also anticipate that the relationship with the "expert" will be much more collaborative and interactive than it is today. Real Estate Blogging represents the primary swing into the first portion of the arched curve around this track. 

This also underscores why 111 Million Gen Y's (1982 - 2000) connecting to the real estate market within the next decade will make the real estate transaction of today feel like viewing the relics of a dinosaur.  I quote from the Mike Eibner, the Real Estate Zealot..."All media is moving to the palm of your hand and this includes real estate."  Are you ready for a revolution that's aims with the precision of a pinpoint to transform the world with the gentle side swipe of a finger?

Stay tuned for the next installment of My Second Slap Upside the head!

photo by Personeelsnet's on flickr.com

Copyright 2007 Audu Real Estate  All Rights Reserved

 Click Here to Read More about Grand Rapids, Michigan

The latest edition of Business Week (August 20th) , the topic is The Future of Work.  The special edition is  devoted to a fascinating and far ranging discussion about the future of work.  It's a topic that has true relevance for real estate and mortgage professionals.  What is the future of our work in the real estate industry?  And perhaps a more troubling question...Is there a future for our work? 

New models and new methods are transforming the real estate industry.  In addition, a bewildering and complex entanglement of exterior scenarios such as the lending crisis and declining real estate values are impacting the very underpinnings of what defines a real estate transaction. 

Lending professionals are re-defining the criteria for loan approvals. Consumers have access to a variety of service plans for real estate services.  And the Internet is changing the way in which consumers meet and interact with the real estate industry. 

No, longer gate keepers of information nor even necessarily the primary providers of information about the real estate process, real estate practitioners are faced with a potentially life altering question. Is There A future for the job of of a Real Estate Agent? Many are choosing to ignore it.  Others cannot contemplate a future beyond the promise of the paycheck from the next transaction. But it's a New Frontier we must explore if we intend to survive.

In his book, A Whole New Mind, Daniel Pink talks about the 3 A's which will dramatically transform the face of industry in the next decade.  He lists them as Automation, Asian and Abundance.  It's a book well worth putting on your reading list for this year.  His insights about the re-definition of what will be important about work in general are echoed in the article from Business Week  which references research being done at MIT & Harvard.  Economist at these institutions are  studying changes in the economy within the past decade which are making some workers indispensable and others totally irrelevant.  Take a moment to contemplate this question.  Think about how this issues impacts the real estate industry. 

1.  Can your job be boiled down to a routine?

This is a serious question for the real estate industry.  Most MLS systems have standardized forms.  And there are agents who think that selling real estate is about being able to complete the blanks in a template form, turn in a standard ad, stick a manufactured sign in the yard, make a brochure from a template, fill out routine paperwork, and sit through a closing.  If this sounds like your job...this study indicates you are very replaceable!  ( I have emphasized certain words to draw attention to the fact that these functions are easily replicated by a machine, program or with the assistance of an individual who is marginally compensated.

Customer service within the United States is changing.  How often do you interact with a machine prior to talking with a human being?  How often does the machine answer your question without any human interaction? We are being trained to bypass "humans" unless absolutely necessary.  And, for many of us,  the necessity of human interaction for many tasks is becoming less and less. Even a trip to the grocery store has us checking ourselves out and bagging our own groceries.

Furthermore,  many jobs that do require human interaction can often be outsourced to other countries for much less than the average American worker expects to be paid.  Did you know that many banks are now outsourcing their inquiries to overseas call centers to handle the deluge of the foreclosure crisis?  While Americans are loosing their homes... Customer Service agents from India are now handling some of the basic inquires which may be required when negotiating a short sale.

Real Estate Professionals will need to gain a clear understanding of the elements which make their jobs unique.  There are several services, some still in their infancy which are seeking to bridge the gap of professional expertise regarding property values.  This should not be regarded as a threat but rather as a challenge to re-define our role.  Zillow and Redfin and other on-line service providers are renegotiating the contract the consumer has with the source of their information.  This process will accelerate in the future.  Do NOT expect it to go away!

Real Estate professionals have the most hands-on real life experience of local real estate markets. However if consumers are not convinced about the superior value we can provide, they will understandably feel it prudent to pay much less, if at all,for services they can find elsewhere at a better value.

Many industry's have faced this challenge and are successfully re-inventing themselves.  I can remember the days in which secretaries typed, took notes and answered phones.  Today, I can hire a service to do that for much less than the wages I would pay to a secretary.  Today's Administrative Assistants operate in a fashion far more sophisticated than early practitioners of the craft.  Today, an Administrative Assistant  may be involved in book keeping, scheduling and coordinating meetings and researching...a far cry from answering phones all day. 

We need to wake up to the fact that real estate practitioners who are not re-defining their roles are being constricted by the narrow instincts of the market.  This instinct, like a herd mentality will drive hard towards the lowest common denominator until and unless it is convinced that to do so is not in it's best interest.  This question must be addressed if we expect to have a Future for Work as Real Estate Professionals! 

11 Quirky Questions to Ask Your Realtor ® Before You Hire Them for the Job!

Hiring a real estate agent to sell your home is an important task.  Most of us are far more skilled at answering questions when searching for employment than thinking of creative ways to interview a real estate agent to help us to sell our home.  Since standard questions are often anticipated, they will provide limited insight into how a person thinks and functions. Because the sale or purchase of a home is the largest investment that most Americans will make, it might be prudent to go beyond the "standard" when evaluating who you select to provide service in this area.

Many home owners have limited experience with hiring real estate agents.  The average home owner will only interview one or two agents within a 3-5 year period. The questions they are often advised to ask are fairly simplistic & usually flow along these lines: 

While these questions listed above may address the nuts and bolts of the transaction, they will do little to give you insight into the nature of the individual you are hiring.  Statistics can be manipulated and may not tell the whole story.  For instance, a well trained newer agent with enthusiasm and passion may actually do a better job in marketing and selling a home than a cynical, jaded long time real estate agent who has collected a slew of accolades.  Since you will be working with a real estate agent for a few months or considerably longer, it might be important to understand more about an individual than their statistics.

Sometimes, going off-track in your questions will yield an entirely different perspective of the real estate process and give a new dimension to your understanding of the service level you can anticipate during the duration of your contract.  It may be helpful to intersperse quirky questions with commonly asked questions to truly enhance the experience of getting to know and rate any real estate professionals that you are considering.  So, here are some "quirky questions" to spice up your next real estate interview and add a little more fun into the process too!

 1.  What aspect of your job makes it Fun to get out of Bed in the morning?

2.   Describe Your Oddest Experience on the job to date.

3.  What Would you like to be doing 5 years from now?

4.  What's your source of Inspiration?

5.  Define your idea of the "Perfect Real Estate Transaction."

6.  Describe your idea of the "Perfect Client."

7.  If you had the commission from the Sale of My house in your hand right now...what would you do with it?

8.  What's the most important thing you've learned, heard or read about in the last month?

9.  What aspect of your career has challnged you the most?

10.  How has your real estate career impacted your life?

11.  What are you doing to do to make sure that I don't have to ask anyone else these questions with regards to selling my home?

Before you ask these questions...think about the responses you anticipate and what is important to you in selecting a real estate agent. Remember that a good agent will be evaluating you as well.  This can be a fun and unusual way to conduct an interview. Be courteous and polite.  Not every single question will be appropriate for every agent, but every question is sure to add a different dimension to the interview process!

Copyright 2007 Audu Real Estate  All Rights Reserved

 Click Here to Read More about Grand Rapids, Michigan