What a beautiful day. The tunes are playing and I am driving through a neighborhood that I had not been through in a while. As I came around the corner my eyes began to focus on what appeared to be a new Town-home development. Now don’t get ahead of me. I don’t dislike town-homes or row-houses. In fact as a Real Estate Broker working in the Portland Oregon metro area I know their value. They can be the perfect answer for the first time Buyer looking to get into something they can afford or a great alternative for those who may not want to chase a lawnmower around any longer.
But here is my Beef. Over the years I have made an effort to affiliate myself with people who have high quality building standards. Most of my clients are Rehabbers and Builders. For those not in the know a rehabber is someone who buys homes, usually fixers, to Remodel, Renovate, or Rehab. In the early days of my career when their seemed to be an unending supply of cheap fixers and rehab buyers were around every corner. I decided tomake some choices about who I would work with. The following guidelines have served me and my clients well. I chose to work with people who create beauty and value. By doing so they create the future Comps that they will need to support future sales. If they were to do poorer quality work they would be working against themselves by creating a group of Comps of lower sales prices .
This brings us back to the topic at hand and my beef. Town-homes of questionable taste. You can spot them even from a distance. The poorer quality really shows up though once your’e inside. It truly is a shame. Working with builders and rehabbers I know what the bottom line costs are on these projects. I also know the costs associated with doing enough to get by or going the extra mile. It is just not that much difference in money.
So why not go the extra mile ? Well it might be the builder or rehabber just doesn’t have the skills to create better quality. Or it might be that they don’t really believe in themselves or the market. I believe however that it might be something else. Two of the builders I work with, Peter and Richard although competitors, they both share a common philosiphy. They both want to be proud of their legacy . The other day Richard shared with me his vision and hope for his future. Well into his retirement years and sitting in front of a Cozy Fireplace he envisions his grandson rushing into the room full of excitement. His grandson bursting with enthusiasm had seen an older but beautifull home that day. After enjoying this future conversation with his grandson Richard would lean back in his Rocker in front of the fireplace and say ” Yep I built that one in 07 “.
It is all of our responsibilities to create and insist on homes of lasting value and greater standards of quality construction. Homes that can stand up as a testament to who we are as a people.
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