CULTURE OF DISABILITY

BY:

Scott Rains, D. Min

srains@oco.net

Disability culture or disability cultures offer a second window of inquiry into the meaning and maturation of Universal Design as a global phenomenon.

Some have theorized that while definitions of disability have been imposed by non-disabled persons cultures of disability have risen up to protect the interests, identities, and political voice of those gathered into these categories. Current understandings emphasizing the multiplicity of social categories any individual is involved in and the multifaceted interactive nature of resistance to social movements’ demands for change provide a fluid definition of culture and energize artistic production with a disability “voice.” Colin Barnes and Geoff Mercer provide an overview of the topic in Chapter 21 of the Handbook of Disability Studies entitled “Disability Culture.”[4]

Defining, distinguishing, and uniting disability cultures remains problematic. One can list examples of distinctiveness: deaf culture maintains its own languages, blind culture it own institutions, and mobility impaired culture its own politics.

Conflicts arise when specific design solutions are confused with Universal Design itself.

The usefulness of curbs at corners for orienting blind pedestrians and the necessity of curb cuts for wheelchairs lead some to question the “universality” of some solutions commonly associated with Universal Design. It is important to recall that Universal Design is a design approach not a catalog of solutions or any specific construct such as a ramp or a flashing fire alarm. Universal Design understood as design and not a canon of prescribed solutions is capable of generating outcomes that address the unique needs disability groups with differing functional abilities.

The questions arise for professionals, “Who is responsible for maintaining that clarity of definition at the academic level? At the level of professional discourse? When working with stakeholders and clients?”

Language is a knowledge management system. Careful use of language is called for to both adequately communicate the process of Universal Design and to facilitate competing cultural values existing even within the disability community.

The “Culture” of Construction

The phrase “construction of culture” is commonplace in post-modernist discussions of the nature of culture. Similarly the “construction of disability” is a phrase indicating the social, and thus changeable, nature of the concept and social system known as disability. In such dialogue “avoiding the (re)construction of disability” is a responsibility of those who claim to be working in the interest of social inclusion such as practitioners of Universal Design. Part of that responsibility is to avoid design that stigmatizes.

There are also professional mandates upon those who work with designers in the fabrication phase of products and spaces. We might designate these as part of a “culture of construction” that seeks to resolve all discussion to specifications and measurements that are actionable within their domain of responsibility. The influence of this approach can also manifest from within the disability community.

Examples include accessibility auditor trainings that do not include an introduction to Universal Design principles or to the process and place of design in project development. The results are then evident in accessibility auditing survey tools that proscribe rather than describe. Mandated minimum accessibility standards from building codes are fashioned into check sheets or other proscriptive heuristics for gathering data. This data is then published in directories of building accessibility. The tools are thus unable to capture innovative (universally designed) solutions and the auditors unprepared to recognize them as good design. This self-defeating approach rewards businesses for mere minimum compliance and penalizes those who solve design problems in novel ways.

One museum designer reported a usability study of one of her projects conducted by persons with disabilities[5]. They immediately flagged the lack of the typical (stigmatizing) artifacts of “accessibility”: grab bars and tactile navigation in colors, materials, and textures that broke the integrity of the design of the space, Braille captioning that was easily located visually, etc. After an orientation with the designer they agreed that the design’s non-traditional integration of handholds, navigation aids, and placement of Braille were superior as well as non-stigmatizing.

The auditors working from an internalized list of “accessibility features” had themselves failed to realize that the designer had achieved both accessibility and avoided reconstructing disability through stigmatized solutions. It must be remembered that even stakeholders with disabilities may need training in the tools such as Universal Design that are available to designers.

LIFE AND A CAN OF BEER

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar........and the beer.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things--your family, your children, your health, your friends, your favorite passions--things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else--the small stuff."
"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house, and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented. The professor smiled.

"I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of beers."

BEAUMONT, TEXAS THINKS MODULAR IS A DIRTY WORD

COME ON FOLKS IN BEAUMONT, TEXAS...WAKE UP!

Chicken Little is running through your town yelling"the modulars are coming, the modulars are coming"!  You've put a 60 day moratorium on modular housing.  You must have also put your common sense there too.

It is unbelievable what is happening in town after town in the US because someone wants to build a modular home in their town.  It is embarrassing when ignorant, uninformed people refuse to allow homes into their communities that not only are built with the same materials as the "stick built" homes use, but are built in a controlled environment with skilled labor and inspections and fully engineered and stamped plans.

Drive around your neighborhoods and IF there are any homes being "stick Built" at the job site, look at the workers!  If it rains, they don't work, but the house gets wet and when the workers return and put up the drywall and insulation, all that moisture is now trapped in the walls.

If it's Friday afternoon, most homes under construction don't have anyone working on them.  They got their paychecks and went somewhere!  Now drive to the nearest watering hole and count the pick up trucks.  Yup, it's them.

If the INS car drives through the neighborhood, work stops and people disappear until it leaves. 

And don't expect the same quality level of materials in a site built home as you will find in the modular because that's not going to happen.  Your local stick builder is always at the lumber yard going through the 3D piles (damaged, dirty and discontinued).  I ran lumber yards for years and contractors would buy all my bent and return materials as fast as I could bundle it for sale.  I remember one contractor that bragged that he built an entire house from the scrap pile at my store!

Here are some pictures of things you see at a "stick built" home jobsite but WILL NOT see at a modular factory.  Pictures are worth a thousand words!!!!

WOOD EXPOSED TO THE ELEMENTS AND RIPE FOR THEFT!

JOB SITE DEBRIS STREWN EVERYWHERE AND NOT PICKED UP UNTIL THE JOB IS FINISHED.  You're paying for this junk material.

LIQUID REFRESHMENT AT THE JOBSITE!  JUST HOW ACCURATE ARE THOSE MEASURMENTS?

AND DID I MENTION RAIN?

To all you Chicken Little's out there....defend these pictures! 

To all local governing boards and councils:  get proper and accurate information about modular homes!  NOW!

JACKSON CITY, MISSISSIPPI COUNCIL WORRIED ABOUT MODULAR HOUSING & SAFEWAY HOMES

About a month ago I wrote an article about Safeway Homes and how impressed  I was with the quality of their construction.  I emailed Dan Hobbs, CEO of Safeway Homes, telling him that I have had more "hits" about the story I did on his company that just about any story I've written.

Here is a link to the story: Safeway Homes

Now the Jackson City, Miss city council is deciding if they are going to let any modular houses manufactured by Safeway Homes into the Presidential Hills subdivision.

The President of the Presidential Hills-Natchez Trace Homeowners Association, an apparently uninformed drone, is concerned that modular homes will bring down the neighborhood.

"I am concerned about the shortcuts; I am concerned about the quality; I am concerned about the safety," said Council President Leslie Burl McLemore.  Uninformed drones must run in Jackson City.

Dan Hobbs, CEO of Safeway Homes, said developers already have bought the 10 vacant lots in Presidential Hills.

He said the plan is to place homes there that are manufactured at the company's Lexington plant and then assembled on site. They would be 1,440-square-foot homes with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a garage. He said the homes are designed to withstand 150-mph wind.

Hobbs said the company's homes typically are appraised at $110,000 to $150,000. He said the garage can add another $10,000 to $15,000 to home value.

"Each one can be made to look different because they use different materials," Hobbs said.

The Association's President  said after the meeting that he was not convinced that the homes would fit in with the rest of the neighborhood.  I can believe this because the rest of the neighborhood consists of older homes that recently were selling for well under $100,000.  Safeway would have to reduce most of their standard features and quality to meet what the other homes have in them. 

But Louis Armstrong, deputy director of the city's Department of Planning and Economic Development said his department will not approve any more modular or factory-built housing requests until the City Council decides how it wants to regulate them even though there are no laws or ordinances prohibiting modular housing.  In fact, Armstrong can issue building permits without council approval.  Another drone in Jackson City!

Here are examples of the types of homes in the subdivision.

  Joe Ellis/The Clarion-Ledger

Now I'd like to print some of the comments written to the local newspaper about this situation.

LivinLife wrote:

With all the damn abandoned houses, it's time for a change. Modular homes provide that change. They can be high quality, and sustainable because they produce little to no construction debris. It's a fast and efficient way to begin turning around our dilapidated neighborhoods in Jackson. These councilpersons seem to be exhibiting a large amount of ignorance when it comes down to this issue.

I couldn't have said it any better!

IrvinPhD wrote:

Modular construction offers higher quality construction and lower cost of maintenance. The materials are hand-selected, meaning that inferior wood can be rejected immediately and replaced with high quality wood. This is not possible with conventional construction. To use the time of construction as a barometer for quality construction is also misguided. Time lost due to scheduling too few employees on too many projects, and the weather add interest cost of construction financing, and employee wages. Modular is not a trailer. It is the same process and materials as conventional, site built construction, superior in terms of materials, workmanship, and household amenities. Because of the cost savings of the interest cost of money and lower labor costs, builders are able to include upscale appliance, and built-in drawers, shelves, etc. that help to lower the cost of living for the homeowner. Poor maintenance has lowered home values in Pres Hills. Modular would be an improvement.

I would like to clone this guy.  He's right on the money.  Too bad he's not on the council!

I've saved the best ones for last:

several people wrote in with the following comments:

I just did a search for homes for sell in the area and the most expensive house is listed at 69k. So how the heck is a modular home going to bring down the value of the area?
Jackson City Council do you really have time for this?????????

Stole my thunder. I toured a factory in Alabama a few years ago, and was amazed at the quality. I soon changed my mind about modular. I also agree with the rest of these posts. How on earth could this bring down the value of surrounding properties? Average price 69K ...Crazy!

No that's not the average. 69k are the highend homes. There are plenty of 10k and 20k homes for sale.

These guys are idiots and somehow forget what a dumpy neighborhood they live in. Jackson is a total crime infested $#!+ hole and I wouldn't live there if they gave me one of these modular homes

You get the idea.  The real problem here is that the people that currently live in the subdivision don't want the modulars coming in because they will RAISE PROPERTY TAXES for everyone else.

Are You Easy?

Do your clients consider you easy? No, not the type of “easy” that wasn’t such a good thing to be in high school, I’m asking if you are easy to work with. The key components to having a good long-term relationship with those you sell to are being someone who is flexible, responsive, and available. Let’s take a closer look at the concept of being easy.

Flexibility
Do you take a one size fits all approach with clients or do you design your product offerings and services to benefit their specific needs? Flexibility is a must if you have competition. When you are rigid with what you offer, you are giving your competition an edge, and they will most certainly accommodate your clients’ needs. Don’t give your competition the opportunity. Keep in mind that flexibility doesn’t just stop with what you are offering; it also applies to how you conduct business. Find out what your clients’ preferred method of communication is and use it. While you may like email, Joe Customer might prefer a phone call. It’s your job to find out preferences to keep your clients happy and to maintain an ongoing image of being flexible and “easy.”

Responsiveness
Don’t underestimate how your success is affected by your ability to respond to a phone call or email. Let’s put it another way – being slow to respond is a surefire way to lose a client. Even if you don’t necessarily have an answer to what your client is asking, returning their call or email promptly is paramount. It’s always better to respond with an “I don’t know” than not to respond at all. Develop a timeframe in which you return all calls and emails and stick with it.

Availability
Availability goes hand-in-hand with responsiveness and is vital to keeping relationships strong and functioning properly. The goal should always be to make it as easy as possible for your clients to reach you. If you have a receptionist, make sure that the person is professional, friendly, polite, and knowledgeable. Your clients should feel welcomed each time they call. If you have an auto attendant, make it user-friendly. Don’t drag your clients through a lengthy and unwieldy menu. If you are unreachable, have a default person or solution that can help your client.

HOW TO BEAT A SALES SLUMP

By Adrian Miller, contributing editor and President of Adrian Miller Sales Training

Have you ever experienced the dreaded downward curve or slump in your sales? Most of us certainly have. If you’ve been through it, you probably have a clear recollection of that lump in your throat, adrenaline-pumping moment when you realize that you need to scramble if you’re going to make your sales goal or quota. The feeling can be overwhelming and can set even the most seasoned salesperson into panic mode.

Of course, the best advice that I can give is to not let your sales dip in the first place. But, I’m not here to lecture. Instead, I have some good news about digging yourself out of a sales slump. Yes, it can be done, and usually faster than you think. You need an action plan, a positive attitude, and the drive to get things done. Maybe the following tips are only a refresher of what you already know, or perhaps they’ll give you a few new ideas. Regardless, these ideas work, and if you’re heading down the path of a slump, you’ll want to start here:

Go After the Low Hanging Fruit

Make a list of prospects who are attainable in the short-term. This isn’t the time to throw the “Hail Mary” for a long shot sale. Set your sights on those who can generate you some real sales now and work your charm on them sooner, rather than later.

Get Critiqued

When you’re in a sales slump, you need an honest evaluation of your abilities from someone who is objective. No, don’t ask your lunch buddy in the next cubicle. Ask your manager or someone you respect within the organization to evaluate your sales performance and presentation. Then, pick his or her brain for ways to improve.

Read Up

A sales slump should inspire your desire to hone your skills. Obviously, once you pull yourself out of this funk, you’ll never want to go back. Read sales books, articles, newsletters, and websites. Attend a seminar or a webinar. Explore new techniques, pick up innovative tips, and uncover fresh ways to sell to your prospects.

Stop the Blame Game

It’s natural to start looking for answers as to why you’re experiencing a slump. However, this isn’t the time to start blaming others or yourself. It doesn’t matter who or what is to blame. Your time and energy is better focused on developing strategies to improve your situation.

Try Something New

The truth is that you’ll always achieve the same outcome if you’re always doing things the same way. Branch out. Explore new techniques, strategies, methods. Who knows – you might just uncover a better, more successful way that will lead to better results.

Adrian Miller is the President of Adrian Miller Sales Training, a training and business consulting firm that she founded in 1989. Adrian Miller Sales Training designs and delivers sales-level performance training and executive-level business development consulting for your unique business. 

FOR MODULAR HOME MANUFACTURERS ONLY

A while back there was an obscure book written by a second fiddle; It Takes a Village by Hillary Clinton.  And just like her book, it takes the entire staff and workers of a modular factory to make a great company.

But does this ever really happen?  Maybe in that alternate universe where Dorothy went to meet the Wizard!

It has been my experience that there are usually just a few people in any company that keeps the ship going in the right direction. It would be wonderful if a customer called into a factory and everyone did their job right, the first time and on time.

The reason I bring this up is to let you know that when a sales rep leaves your company, in most instances they take some and in many cases a lot of your customers.  For almost all builders and dealers, the sales rep is "the factory".  So what can be done if your rep changes companies, retires or dies?

Here are some do's and don'ts for retaining customers.  (This is just my opinion, so don't shoot the messenger!)

CEO, President, CFO.

For the most part, every one of these people are attuned to the bottom line of the business and realize that without customers the company would cease to exist.  I've seen the President of one factory actually helping on a set!  A CEO of another regularly communicates with every builder letting them know who he is and that they can contact him if they have a serious problem.  These officers should never be above jumping into a situation if it calls for the BIG decision.

Vice Presidents, General Plant Managers.

This group usually interacts with the builder on a slightly more regular basis than the Corporate Officers above and really should.  But sometimes this group is more concerned about what they are doing than what the company is trying to do.  I worked for a General Manager that hid in his office, smoked unfiltered cigarettes and was the most unpleasant person in the whole building.  Another one I knew would come into work at 10 AM, go to lunch at 2 PM and not return.  If you hold one of these positions, you are one of the real pivotal people in the organization and you need to keep in touch with not only the builders but with the rest of the staff and workers in the trenches.

Sales Managers, Service Managers and Head Engineers.

Here is the second line of defense for the company.  Without them, things can go haywire rather quickly!  Here again I've experienced both the cream of the crop and the pond scum.  Sales Managers must constantly be talking to the sales reps and their builders.  They can't just be numbers people reviewing and scrutinizing their Excel spreadsheets and reworking numbers.  Service Managers in most companies don't really earn their pay.  The underlings catch the flak from the builders and handle the service problems.  Service Managers NEED to contact all the builders on a regular basis and catch problems before they get out of hand.  I've known Service Managers that were scared to answer their phone!  And then there are the Head Engineers.  For most companies, letting this person talk "one on one" with a builder is a recipe for disaster!  If the Head Engineer reports to you, then you must know what they are telling the builder.  You will be amazed how many times as a sales rep I had to get the builder and the engineer to smoke the peace pipe.  This is just wrong.

Support Staff, Factory Workers.

In almost every factory I've worked for and every factory I've visited, the the Support Staff and the Factory Workers make all the difference when it comes to keeping the builder happy and their questions answered.  I've taken builders on factory tours and have had line workers stop and explain to the builder what they are doing.  There was a big burly guy with a full beard, flowing long hair and a look like a convicted murderer working at a factory in PA when I was there.  He was scary!  At the morning break, he pulled out his guitar and played the greatest Rock and Roll I ever heard.  He was also the greatest champion for modular housing I ever met.  Except for his unorthodox appearance, he would have made a great Sales Rep.

The bottom line to all of this is that if a builder that knows the people in the office and on the line and in the corporate suite they will probably never leave.  A builder is yours to lose and unfortunately a lot of factories lose more than their fair share!

Don't let your builder think that the Sales Rep is "the factory".

DEAR DAD

A father passing by his son's bedroom was astonished to see that his bed was nicely made and everything was picked up.
Then he saw an envelope, propped up prominently on the pillow that was addressed to 'Dad.'

With the worst premonition he opened the envelope with trembling hands and read the letter.

Dear Dad:
It is with great regret and sorrow that I'm writing you.
I had to elope with my new girlfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with Mom and you.  I have been finding real passion with Stacy and she is so nice.
But I knew you would not approve of her because of all her piercings, tattoos, tight motorcycle clothes and the fact that she is much older than I am. But it' s not only the passion...Dad she's pregnant.
Stacy said that we will be very happy.
She owns a trailer in the woods and has a stack of firewood for the whole winter.
We share a dream of having many more children.
Stacy has opened my eyes to the fact that marijuana doesn't really hurt anyone.
We'll be growing it for ourselves and trading it with the other people that live nearby for cocaine and ecstasy.
In the meantime we will pray that science will find a cure for AIDS so Stacy can get better. She deserves it.
Don't worry Dad. I'm 15 and I know how to take care of myself.
Someday I'm sure that we will be back to visit so that you can get to know your grandchildren.

Love,

Your Son John

 
PS. Dad, none of the above is true. I'm over at Tommy's house.  I Just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than the report card that's in my center desk drawer.

I love you.  Call me when it's safe to come home.

IT'S PRICELESS!

Being a modular home builder involves many skills and hard work.  You have to be a marketer, an advertising expert, a sales person, a general contractor and the owner.  Here is a list of things that might help you either save some money or keep you from spending extra money that you don't need to spend.

Marketing:

Do your own research. Get out from behind the desk, take a drive around your building area and see what your competitors are building.  Cost: some gas

Go to the planning and zoning offices and find out if new subdivisions are being submitted.  Cost $0

Advertising:

Drop your business cards when you go to breakfast, lunch, local stores with business card boards, friends, neighbors and anywhere else yo go.   Cost: about $10 for cards

Put up job signs on all your empty lots and houses under construction.  Cost: about $15 each

Sales:

Clean up your office, model home and showroom.  A bottle of Windex and a roll of paper towels does wonders.  Throw away old literature and display material.  Cost:  $3.50

Revise your base price and options lists.  By adding a couple of "packages" to your homes, you can add thousands of dollars to your bottom line.   Cost: $0

Great results: Priceless!

CITY COUNCIL APPEARS CONFUSED ABOUT MODULAR HOMES

The Beaumont, TX city council is having a "work session" to consider what they are going to do with those nasty "Industrialized (Modular) Housing within the city limits of Beaumont".

Here's a link to my original story:  Beaumont, TX

How can you argue with any town not wanting housing that looks like an industrial byproduct?  I sure can't. Houses made out of recycled steel and plastic with the manufacturer's name stamped on the front of it wouldn't be welcome in our neighborhood either. 

That's how ridiculous this work session is going to be.

The problem is not whether the houses are modular, it's the public's perception of modular housing. 

Let me point out again the three types of modular home manufacturers. 

The first is the modular built by companies that also produce HUD or manufactured homes.  These are what most people think of when talking about modular because they are sold on the same "street lots" as HUD homes.  Champion Homes, Liberty Homes and Oakwood Homes and their many divisions are examples of this group.

The second group builds basic modular housing that can best be described as "affordable housing".  These are semi custom home builders that offer a lower priced product than most stick builders.  Safeway Homes, Beracah Homes and New Era Homes fall into this group.

The last group is made up of custom home manufacturers that can build just about anything you can imagine.  You will find some of the biggest names in today's modular housing in this group; Ritz Craft Homes, AvisAmerica Homes, Excel Homes and Haven Homes.

BUT WHAT DO THEY ALL HAVE IN COMMON....they are not trailers or mobile homes or industrialized housing units!  They are real homes!

They all build their homes to the highest Federal, State and local building codes and are thoroughly inspected every step of the way.

The real problem for the homeowners in the subdivision is that the homes that were "affordable" just 3 years ago are no longer able to purchased by the average Joe.  That means that if the land developers are too make sales, they have to build what people can afford.  So suck it up and let the "new" average Joe move into your subdivision and quite thinking that a modular home is the stuff you step in your yard.

FORECLOSURE RATE FOR 2ND QUARTER

Here's a little experiment for you to try today.  On your way to wherever you're going, start counting houses.  When you've counted 171 houses, stop and try to guess which one of these if facing foreclosure.

The foreclosure rate for the second quarter was one in every 171 U.S. households. 

In my town from April through June, 41 new foreclosures were listed.  I went to my County Courthouse and found there actually only 38 in the city limits, which was good news, but my county had 118 new foreclosures for the quarter...WOW!

And that's just the second quarter!

As a nation, at least 739,714 homeowners received at least one foreclosure notice in the second quarter.  The median price of a new home sold in June dropped by 2% compared to last year.

Homes sales dropped again in the South and West.

The bright spots were the Midwest with a 2.5 % increase and the Northeast with a 5.3% increase!

The flooding in the Midwest will surely have a positive impact on new housing but only after the infrastructures are repaired or replaced.

I live close to a very popular summer resort area where it's not unusual to have over 300,000 tourists clogging the streets every day.  The interesting thing about this is the number of homes for sale in that area.  5,000 condos and townhouses for sale at any one time was the norm about 3 years ago.  In 2006 that climbed to over 11,000 and stayed there through most of 2007.  I just read that there are now ONLY 8,500 condos and townhouses for sale!

I predict if that if that drops to between 6,000 and 7,000, there will be a new housing boom in our area.  Compare the number of homes for sale today and in 2007 are compared to 2006.  If the number is dropping for 2008, now is the time to start gearing up for what could be pent up buying!

Pickens Plan . . . Will it work?

Some of you may be familar with a plan by oil baron T. Boone Pickens to increase wind production to remove the need for natural gas as a source of electricity. The question is will he get the support, and does it make sense?

Oilman T. Boone Pickens says he's pushing his alternative energy proposal to Congress because he knows how to solve the nation's energy problem. He continually brings to mind that we pay $700 billion a year as Americans for oil that is produced outside the US.
His plan is to place an extensive wind farm in the panhandle of Texas. Enough turbines to produce 20% of the nation’s electricity, and completely remove our need for natural gas powered plants. The plan would cost $1 trillion dollars and would be implemented in 10 years.

This in turn would free up the use of natural gas in vehicles. More specifically the commercial use in the nations fleets which account for almost 40% of the fuel burned.
The harshest criticism he faces is because he is heavily invested in natural gas and wind companies and stands to improve his fortune.
Pickens told CNBC “Let's don't waste time on [the idea] that I'm up here in Washington talking about something that's going to make me money. I've got plenty of money, don't worry about that," "I'm an American and I think I've got the answer to a horrible problem for this country."

While he never cites the environment is this still a good thing? Is it self serving?

"I want to elevate the energy debate into the presidential campaign," he said. "If you don't get the energy question solved, you can forget doing health care and education because you aren't going to have the money to do it. We're going to break ourselves on energy if we don't solve the energy problem."
Take a look for yourself
http://www.pickensplan.com/

Nic Stover
Rubicon Construction
www.rubicondevelopment.com

100 MODULAR HOMES IN 90 DAYS

The first of 100 new MODULAR homes was delivered to the town of Bayou La Batre in Alabama.  What makes this special is that it is the first one delivered through a fund set up with a $15.7 million by FEMA.

Two subdivisions, named Safe Harbor Estates and Safe Harbor Landing, are soon going to be home for families displaced by Katrina 3 years ago.

The new housing will "rebuild this community, but add on to this community," Mayor Stan Wright said.  There were 2,300 people living in Bayou La Batre before the storm but that number is quite lower since then.  This will bring back about 1,000 people to the town.

Here is a picture of what the main industry of the town looked like after Katrina.

These will be "rent to own" with rent costs set at 20% of a household's income.  When the renters are ready to buy, almost half of the rent can be used as a down payment.  The city is going to use the rent money and the money from the sale of these homes to purchase even more affordable housing units.

This first home will be ready for it's first occupants by the end of August with all 100 completed be October.  The houses are being built to withstand 150 mph winds on land 82 feet above sea level, outside the federally designated hazardous flood zone, officials said.

The homes are manufactured by Palm Harbor Homes and built through the Mitchell Company.

Here is the link to the Mitchell Company, a big builder in the Sunbelt with a solid reputation.

The Mitchell Company

This is why developers should GO MODULAR!

CULTURE IN THE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF UNIVERSAL DESIGN

When I asked for someone that understood Universal Design to write an article or two about problems and their solutions in helping people with disabilities, I never expected one of the leading experts in the field to contribute his thoughts.  First let me tell you that this is the condensed version.  I'll print the second part at a later date.  Visit his website found on the left column.

Scott Rains, D. Min

srains@oco.net

By now most readers of Design for All India have a healthy grasp of Universal Design. Many, perhaps most, have become highly competent in its application as is evident from the articles appearing in past volumes and today. Beyond technical mastery of the Seven Principles, knowledge of best-of-breed solutions, and familiarity with allied concepts such as Visitability, Adaptive Technology, or anthropometrics there is a cultural component to this design approach that is unquantifiably – but undeniably – transforming Universal Design. By systematically and thoroughly examining this cultural component in the coming decade we will discover the true nature of Universal Design to be social sustainability.

Defining the Cultural Component

There are two ways to define this cultural component.

The first is to take the generally accepted meaning of culture as a social system involving ethnicity, nationality, language, arts, shared values or some combination of these elements to define a coherent and dynamic system. The second is to apply the term culture to that system in relationship to persons with disabilities as a whole (pan-disability culture) or as various sub-groups (blind, deaf, deaf-blind, spinal cord injured, post-polio cultures).

Research into response to Universal Design in this first domain is still in its infancy. A rich body of literature will result from future inquiries into adoption, rejection, and adaptation of Universal Design by cultures as they have been traditionally defined. Such study can provide a complementary approach to other inquiries into disability in the field of Disability Studies.

Historically Universal Design arose in the 1970’s as a product of the Disability Rights Movement in the United States. Closely associated with the work and teaching of North Carolina architect and quadriplegic Ron Mace it began to gain widespread acceptance in the 1990’s through a dissemination process that has not been well documented. One theme in that documentation will be the interplay between the cultural values embedded in Universal Design, either intentionally or unintentionally, and those held in locations where it is introduced.

Anecdotal evidence indicates integration of Universal Design in Japan’s Mitsubishi, Toto, NTT DoCoMo and a uniquely Korean appropriation of Universal Design at Samsung. Reference to the Tao and the principle of balance symbolized in Tae Kuk are being integrated into the approach as applied to product design by the latter. Research by Thai scholar Antika Sawadsri (2006) on affective responses to Universal Design in Tai domestic settings is the first of what ought to be a series of similar studies done around the world. Such a micro-scale look at cultural factors involved in receptivity to Universal Design will provide uniquely targeted guidance to social planners and businesses attempting macro-scale Universal Design projects in the same social conditions.

As successful application and adaptive enculturation of Universal Design occurs there will be impact beyond the predictable further inclusion of persons with disabilities into the economic mainstream. From the earliest conversations leading to what we now know as Universal Design pioneer Elaine Ostroff was involved in the arts and incorporating Universal Design. Other positive secondary effects of adoption will include the importation and fabrication of new materials, dissemination of new designs and new construction methods, and the economic enhancement of those able to consult, design, or build according to a culturally appropriate but inclusive norm as populations age. In areas where an age-inversion causes the numbers of elderly to exceed those of youth, adoption of enculturated Universal Design in infrastructure, products, and services will become necessary not only for social cohesion but as a user demand due to the natural conservatism common with aging.

Defining Universal Design

In order to pursue this research priority and ensure meaningful and generalizable results it is important that researchers share a common definition of Universal Design. That definition is found in the Seven Principles of Universal Design but requires ongoing attention to evolving definitions of disability and to local permutations of Universal Design such as Design for All.

The Principles of Universal Design are:

1. Equitable Use: The design does not disadvantage or stigmatize any group of users.

2. Flexibility in Use: The design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities.

3. Simple, Intuitive Use: Use of the design is easy to understand, regardless of the user's experience, knowledge, language skills, or current concentration level.

4. Perceptible Information: The design communicates necessary information effectively to the user, regardless of ambient conditions or the user's sensory abilities.

5. Tolerance for Error: The design minimizes hazards and the adverse consequences of accidental or unintended actions.

6. Low Physical Effort: The design can be used efficiently and comfortably, and with a minimum of fatigue.

7. Size and Space for Approach & Use: Appropriate size and space is provided for approach, reach, manipulation, and use, regardless of the user's body size, posture, or mobility.[1]

Adaptive Environments describes Universal Design as:

Universal Design is a framework for the design of places, things, information, communication and policy to be usable by the widest range of people operating in the widest range of situations without special or separate design. Most simply, Universal Design is human-centered design of everything with everyone in mind.

Universal Design is also called Inclusive Design, Design-for-All and Lifespan Design. It is not a design style but an orientation to any design process that starts with a responsibility to the experience of the user.

Current trends are toward a functional rather than a medical diagnostic approach to defining disability. The World Health Organization (WHO) reinforces that with its International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF 2001). This aligns well with the third of the three theoretical models of disability – Charity, Medical, and Social (or “Social Interpretation” see Gabel, “Disability Studies in Education”[2].) The latter defines disability as an interaction between function and environment.

Rudiger Leidner of NATKO made a distinction between US conceptualizations of Universal Design and a European reformulation known as Design for All in his 2006 presentation "Tourism Accessible for All in Europe":

"...the main difference between the D[esign] F[or] A[all] idea and similar approaches such as “Universal Design” is that the targeted users should be involved in the process of product development."[3]

The designation as Lifespan Design referred to in the citation from Adaptive Environments above captures the observation that human functionality changes through the natural course of maturation and aging. It reminds designers that the value of a product is not the only its durability through time. Predictable changes in the functional abilities of the user may prove to be more important measures of value. Large-scale changes in the ratio between the young and the old are poised to be socially disruptive in ways that immediate adoption of Universal Design can mitigate.

Studies to determine the culturally contextual rationales for accepting Universal Design will become increasingly essential. Already the narrative behind Universal Design projects for seniors or for people with disabilities differs. Public perception of the social value of publicly-funded Universal Design projects takes on added importance in times of scarcity of public resources.

The aging segment of the population appears to figure more heavily than the disability community in Japan’s adoption of Universal Design. While in the US arguably the strongest non-governmental promoter of Universal Design, the non-profit AARP through its Home Design resources, conferences, and workshops educates on the concept without reference to its origins in the Disability Rights Movement or its foundation in disability culture. This appears to be a deliberate marketing strategy to present only images of “healthy” attractive seniors.

These and other examples serve to alert us to the reality that Universal Design applied to infrastructure may equally benefit both seniors and people with disabilities while the political discourse attached to such projects may work to drive a wedge between two groups with common interests and needs.

The Travel and Hospitality Industry as Locus of Transformation

The travel and hospitality industry will be the site of the next major developments in Universal Design.

A typical legislated strategy for social inclusion employs the language of rights. It mandates access to government properties and services in the name of citizenship, human, or civil rights. It extends the argument to the business sector and mandates compliance through threat of sanction.

Such a strategy is sound and within the purview of government. Yet it is not sufficient.

Persons with disabilities in numerous countries report accessibility requirements that conflict within the same jurisdiction, corruption that allows regulations to be ignored, and a general failure on the part of those regulated to imagine any accommodation beyond the mandated minimum.

A parallel approach is to use the industry's profit motive to achieve accessibility, employment, & attitude change for the benefit of the disability community.

Aside from metropolitan transit and national rail systems the infrastructure of transportation and lodging – of tourism – is under private ownership. In the language of private business the laws protecting the rights of people with disabilities place them in the category of cost center or as legal risks of lawsuits to be managed. While establishing a necessary legal baseline against discrimination such laws evoke a resistance response that, in practice, prevents business from imagining people with disabilities as a lucrative customer base.

Over the past several years the disability community has had some success gaining the attention of the tourism industry with research such as that done by the Open Doors Organization that US travelers with disabilities alone spend an average of $13.6 billion annually on travel.[6]

During this period I have been researching, refining, and promoting a reconciliation of these two approaches to social change where legislative scaffolding sustains the market for profit-based incentive. While some countries may never adopt national civil rights legislation for people with disabilities, approval of the UN Declaration on the Rights of People with Disabilities will radically change the business and legislative ecosystems and raise expectations in the disability community. Tourism remains largely unprepared for the future impact of this UN document. As a global industry that is increasingly being held accountable to social responsibility metrics such as the inverse of Universal Design – Green Design[7] – tourism may become more receptive than governments themselves to accommodating persons with disabilities.

I have proposed to the Echoing Green Foundation the creation of a series of strategically located Centers of Excellence promoting Universal Design within the travel and hospitality industry. We call this application of Universal Design to tourism Inclusive Tourism and Inclusive Destination Development.[8]

Each Center of Excellence will work to standardize the diversity of accessibility laws, disseminate accessibility guidelines for hotels, train travel & hospitality industry staff, and promote the education and hiring of persons with disabilities in the industry. At the local level we will increase accessibility of the tourist destinations hosting the Centers and train a core of persons with disabilities as self-sustaining regional experts in Inclusive Tourism.

Expected outcomes include increased tourism infrastructure accessibility (hotels, airports, and transit systems), greater self-reported social inclusion of people with disabilities and disabled peoples' organizations (DPOs) (i.e. people with disabilities hired in the industry and DPOs contracted as travel industry suppliers), as well as people with disabilities positively portrayed as valued customers marketing by the industry.

This project will engage industry's self-interest in profit by recruiting and training an overlooked workforce, product development for this under-served market, best practices dissemination to an awakening industry, and marketing a new image of disability completing a feedback loop that encourages more in the disability community to travel.

Conclusion

Cultural factors influence the adoption of projects involving Universal Design as well as the development of the approach itself. These cultural factors include social groupings traditionally understood as cultures. They also include the communities of persons with disabilities as an aggregate and as sub-cultures differentiated by disability.

Universal Design, as a product of disability culture, represents an authentic voice of disability culture when understood as a design process and not a catalog of sanctioned and static design solution or “accessibility features.”

Yet as a voice competing among other social systems and cultures Universal Design must be clearly articulated and intentionally directed.

One area of promise for shaping the Universal Design of the future is in dialogue with the cultures into which it is introduced. One vehicle for animating such a dialogue is the global travel and hospitality industry operating out of the profit, in addition to the rights and entitlement, motive. A network of Centers of Excellence of Inclusive Tourism and Inclusive Destination Development offers a scalable and sustainable mechanism for the continued development of Universal Design as an authentic voice of the disability community worldwide.

- 30 –

Dr. Scott Rains writes daily on travel and issues in the tourism industry of interest to people with disabilities. His work appears online at www.RollingRains.com and http://withtv.typepad.com/weblog/travel/ . Rains’ articles have also appeared in New Mobility, Emerging Horizons, Contours, Accessible Portugal, Audacity, Travel and Transitions, eTur Brazil, Turismo Polibea, [with]TV, and Disaboom among others.

For his research on the topic of Universal Design and the travel and hospitality industry he was appointed as Resident Scholar at the Center for Cultural Studies of the University of California Santa Cruz (2004-05).

He is active as a consultant and speaker.

---

[1] Compiled by advocates of Universal Design in 1997. Participants are listed in alphabetical order: Bettye Rose Connell, Mike Jones, Ron Mace, Jim Mueller, Abir Mullick, Elaine Ostroff, Jon Sanford, Ed Steinfeld, Molly Story, Gregg Vanderheiden. The Principles are copyrighted to the Center for Universal Design, School of Design, State University of North Carolina at Raleigh [USA].

The Principles established a valuable language for explaining the characteristics of Universal Design. They are in common use around the world, sometimes with slight modifications, primarily one or two principles grouped together. Source: Adaptive Environments

[2] One hallmark of disability studies is its adherence to what has been called a “social model of disability” (Abberley, 1987), first suggested by Vic Finkelstein (1980) and other disability rights activists, in which disability is understood as a form of oppression.  Although “social model” is the most common usage of the concept, I agree with Vic Finkelstein (2001, ¶. 2) that the phrase “social interpretation” is a better and more inclusive representation of disability studies standpoints.  In this paper, I use “social model” to refer to the traditional historical-materialist version of the social interpretation of disability.  In contrast, I use “social interpretation” to refer to the wider array of disability theories in disability studies (e.g., disability identity, disability embodiment, disability discourse).  As a whole, social interpretations of disability contrast with typical educational views wherein “disability” represents innate individual deficits.  In disability studies, the disability-as-deficit notion is referred to as a clinical or medical model and is rejected as the basis for understanding the lived experiences of disabled people because it tends to pathologize difference and rely upon expert knowledge (i.e., physicians, special educators, rehabilitation counselors) to “remediate” difference (Society for Disability Studies, Guidelines for Disability Studies, ¶ 3). Disability Studies in Education: Readings in Theory and Method (2005, New York: Peter Lang)  Source: http://www.nl.edu/dse/SusanGabel.htm

[3] Source: http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/Tourism_for_all_in_Europe_Leidner_2006.pdf

[4] Handbook of Disability Studies, Gary L. Albrecht, Katherine D. Seelman, Michael Bury, 2001 Sage Publications , ISBN 076192874X

[5] Personal communication, 2004

[6] Open Doors Organization, 2005

[7] It [Universal Design] has a parallel in the green design movement that also offers a framework for design problem solving based on the core value of environmental responsibility. Universal Design and green design are comfortably two sides of the same coin but at different evolutionary stages. Green design focuses on environmental sustainability, Universal Design on social sustainability. Source: http://www.adaptiveenvironments.org/index.php?Itemid=3&option=Content

[8] Sources: http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/travel_with_disabilities/114773 and http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/travel_with_disabilities/115176

LAST WEEK'S POLL RESULTS SHOW OPTIMISM ABOUT FUTURE

Last week's poll asked when you thought the housing market would turn around and you said that it would end within the next year.  If that's correct, you've got to be planning right now.

Prepare a new business plan or adjust your existing one to reflect your optimism about the future. 

Enough said about that.  Let's hope it happens sooner but I'll be happy to see it within the year.

SAN DIEGO FILING LAWSUIT AGAINST BANK OF AMERICA

San Diego’s city attorney, Michael Aquirre,  said on Wednesday he filed a lawsuit against Bank of America and its Countrywide unit to prevent the mortgage lenders from foreclosing on homes in the city, which he aims to make a “foreclosure sanctuary.”  He also said he might file similar lawsuits against Wells Fargo, Washington Mutual and Wachovia.

“We would like to see San Diego become a foreclosure sanctuary,” Mr. Aguirre said.

With a population of almost 3 million people, San Diego could see as many as 40,000 foreclosures by the end of the year.

The city attorney wants to stop the foreclosure procedures but what could happen is that people that shouldn't have gotten a home in the first place are going to be able to stay in their homes "Payment Free" until they decide they don't want to live there any more.  Routine maintenance will either stop or just be neglected until the houses take on the appearance of subsidized housing.

Then when the banks finally get them back, all they will have in a lot of cases will be a derelict shell of a home that needs to be condemned.  I don't think Mr. Aquirre has thought this through.

Click on the link to his office's press release:

San Diego Press Release

I GET THE MESSAGE - YOU DON'T LIKE MODULARS

Yesterday when I opened my email I found one from someone who says he is a home builder.  At first I was going to do what he asked and then delete it, but I just have to share it with everyone!

QUIT SENDING ME E-MAILS I AM A CUSTOM HOMEBUILDER NOT A MODULAR LOVER THANKS.

Was I shocked because he wanted to be deleted from my mailing list?  Not particularly.  Maybe he just doesn't like me.  That's too bad, I'm a real nice guy.

What really made me go Hmmm? was his statement that he is not a modular lover.  Now that really puzzles me.  Some of the largest custom homes in New England and on the East Coast are modular.  Schools, motels, dormitories, apartment building and condos throughout the US are modular.  Modular is the wave of the future, if we can only figure out how to deliver them at 1995 freight costs!

Well Mr Custom Homebuiilder, I've been in this industry a long time and I also stick built homes and with today's modular home engineering, there isn't much we can't do.  Once you go modular, you'll never go back!

I won't give his name because you will never win an argument with someone that opinionated.  Yes, he is deleted from my mailing list, but I bet he'll still visit once in a while!!!

A PAST VIEW OF OUR HOUSING PROBLEMS

I was looking through some old files on my computer and came across something I just have to share with you.

In 2002, MSNBC published a little article titled "A boom (and bust) cycle".  The story is a classic tale of "economists" giving their opinions about the future of the housing market.  In all fairness, one of them got it right, but more on that later.  Here are some passages from that article.

Home values in many places have risen at a quickening, double-digit pace in recent years, and a few economists warn darkly that a collapse in housing is not only possible but likely. Yet the vast majority of analysts see little reason for concern, and history is on their side.

Here's a big OOPS!

“It’s difficult if not impossible to find prices looking out of alignment with underlying economic fundamentals, meaning I don’t see any housing bubble in the national or regional markets,” said Dave Seiders, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders.

One part of the article talked about troubling times on the horizon because of the "rise in personal bankruptcies, mortgage delinquencies and foreclosure activity". 

Then there was this statement with a small glimpse of what might be headed our way.

“Housing is still relatively affordable due to the low interest rates, but if income growth starts to slow, houses are not going to be as affordable,” said Paul Kasriel, director of economic research at Northern Trust Co. in Chicago. “If people are going to lose their jobs, even the most liberal underwriting standards won’t allow them to get a mortgage.”

Unfortunately he didn't count on the mortgage lenders and underwriters actually throwing away the guidelines.

And finally, here's the guy that got it right.  I'm going to start reading his stuff because he seems to have his finger on the right pulse of the nation.  Here's an AttaBoy for you, even though you did predict our housing disaster.

Morgan Stanley chief economist Stephen Roach, well known for his bearish views, sketched a doomsday scenario in which consumer spending tanks and housing prices collapse, leading to a devastating deflationary price spiral.

“There is good reason to believe that both the property and consumer bubbles will burst in the not-so-distant future,” Roach said, writing in The New York Times. “If they do, there is a realistic possibility that the United States, like Japan in the 1990’s, will suffer a series of recessionary relapses over the next several years.”

It is hard to find other economists who agree with this plot line.

That was 6 years ago.  What will next 6 years bring?  Who knows, but like I said earlier, I going to read what Stephen Roach writes.

WORKER ELECTROCUTED SETTING MODULAR HOME

Andera Reddick, age 55, was part of the set crew putting up a 2 story modular home in Lee County, NC when the cable he was pulling touched an electrical line and killed him.

Mr Reddick was employed by Superior Cranes of Rockingham, NC.  He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

When you have a house set, contact all the utilities and if an electric, phone or cable line has to be moved and make sure you arrange for it in advance.

Police are investigating the accident but at this time there is no indication that anyone was at fault.

BEAUMONT, TEXAS ALMOST GOT IT RIGHT

Tuesday night saw a meeting between the Beuamont City Council, the homeowners of Pine Island Bayou Estates and the developer that is putting in Modular Homes.

Here is the original story about the problems:

IS STICK BUILDING BETTER THAN MODULAR?

In fairness to all parties, a compromise has been worked out that on the surface looks just fine.  The neighbors had voiced their concerns that the modular homes would change the character of the neighborhood and these concerns were fully addressed.

The compromise itself is what I have a problem with!  See if you agree.

The ordinance would require the homes to be worth equal or more than the median value of the homes within 500 feet.  It will also require the exterior of the home to closely reflect those same homes within 500 feet.

So let me get this straight...if the houses within 500 of the new modular home are all shotgun ranch style homes with front porches, a 2 story modular can't be built there?  Is that a requirement for stick built homes?  I DON"T THINK SO!

Is everybody in Pine Island Bayou Estates and on the Beaumont City Council still looking at modulars as if they just stepped in something warm and sticky?  You betcha!

If modular home builders and developers don't stand up to this double standard soon, more communities will be spot zoning to make sure you don't get into to their "sweet little communities".  What a shame that would be.

NOW IS THE TIME FOR "SPRING TRAINING"

I turned on the TV last night and saw where the Washington Redskins were at training camp for the start of football season.  That got me thinking about preparing for life after the housing crisis.  Just like the Redskins, we have to get our sales and building processes ready for next season.

IF someone were to walk into your office or model home this morning with the EXACT house plan they want, have CASH to build it and already OWN their land; how long would it take to build their home.  The first thing you'd do is pinch yourself and smile. 

If you are like most homebuilders I know, you're ego wouldn't allow you to just accept their plan without putting you're imprint on it by trying to change some things.  I have never met a builder that just says "OK, let's build it your way".

If this were Day One, it would still take about 6-8 months to build this home.  First you have to obtain a building permit and a septic permit.  This could take as long as 90 days!  In the meantime you have to get the customer a price for the home and that could take some time, anywhere from one week to 4 weeks.  I said they had their "EXACT" plan, I didn't say it was a 40' x 28' ranch style home.

You've got to get bids on the foundation, excavating, septic, well or public utilities; prices for framing, drywall, plumbing, HVAC and much more.  If you build in New Hampshire, let's hope they don't want in their house by December!  That ain't gonna happen!  Most customers will not have "cash in hand" and will need to obtain a mortgage.  You've got to be ready to add another 2-8 weeks for your customer to get mortgage commitment and this is addition to the "permit" time mentioned above.

So looking back to the first moment they walked in door until the day they walk through the front door of their finished home could be up to a year!!!! 

A great way to cut this time and keep more dollars in your pocket is to go modular.  While you are fighting to get your permits and putting your foundation in, your modular factory is drawing "stamped" plans, buying materials and building your home, having it ready at about the same time your foundation is ready.  That's a savings of 30 to 60 days off the total time.  If you have a three man crew, saving even 30 days will drop about $11,000 to your bottom line, not counting their insurance and taxes.

How do you cut this time and still build a great house and have a happy customer?  The best way is to prepare for the next "selling season" that begins now and ends about Thanksgiving.  Every home that goes under contract between these dates will be a Spring Start!  Preparing yourself now by aligning your subs, getting current pricing on materials and getting your showroom or office clean and prepped is what I call "Spring Training".

Spring Training is absolutely necessary to make sure you don't get caught with your tool belt around your ankles.  Mortgage lenders will be putting you on a tight leash because of new regulations that are being imposed upon them.  Your customers are more cautious about working with a builder and I'm hearing that some banks are now requiring a performance bond!  I built my first home on a handshake and a price scribbled on a piece of notebook paper.

If the Washington Redskins need to practice to sharpen their skills, why do you think you don't have to practice and that next year will be "business as usual" even though it won't be. 

Start "Spring Training" today.  The work today will pay off come Spring!

UNIVERSAL DESIGN MORE THAN JUST SMART BUILDING SYSTEMS

I received an email about my article on Universal Design and I was just going to publish it as a comment to the story.  But then I went to Scott Rains blog, The Rolling Rains Report, and found out that I didn't have a clue as to the difficulties facing millions of people.

The only downside to his blog is that some of the articles are in Spanish and I can't read them.......damn!  If they are as informative and interesting as the rest of the site, I might have to learn another language.

Here is his comment about UD:

You might want to mention the Seven Principles of Universal Design. I have a publicly available slide show on them here:

http://www.slideshare.net/srains/universal-design-the-seven-principles

Scott Rains
The Rolling Rains Report

I've added Scott's blog to my list of Interesting Sites.  Visit it and I believe you will find out that there are more barriers than just in our homes.

UNDERSTANDING "BUILDING GREEN"

It didn't take long for help to arrive about building GREEN!

The Editor of Building Systems Magazine, Charles Bevier, quickly sent me links to two of their publications that I would like to pass onto you.

This is a great start to figuring out just what the Modular Industry is accomplishing to help our environment.

2008 Green Building Guide

2008 Complete Guide to Building with Modulars

IS NEW ORLEANS A FAILURE FOR THE MODULAR HOME INDUSTRY?

If you thought that Katrina ravaged New Orleans would be a great place to sell modular homes, well so did others and they jumped in with both feet.

But after the initial flurry of activity where people were touring quickly installed model homes and getting quotes for new homes, something happened to put the brakes on modular housing.

ROAD HOME money from the government which would pay up to $150,000 to rebuild lost housing for each homeowner was not the blessing many had thought.  The amount paid was significantly less than what was needed to replace lost homes.

Modular builders and dealers found that the only homes that were selling were the lowest priced models.  When freight and setup were added to the price, many prospects couldn't even afford that.  One builder even tried selling the lowest priced home he could find and offered it fully furnished with appliances, furniture and even blinds!  Sort of reminds you of mobile homes a few years back.  That didn't work either.

The thought of living in another home that came in on a truck reminded many people of mobile homes.  Those homes have been the prime FEMA houses for thousands  and many of them are now full of health threatening mold. 

Then another factor came into play.  The people with ROAD HOME money weren't qualified for new homes and many moved to Texas and beyond.  Upscale modulars never were any factor in the recovery.   And did I mention the freight costs rising 25% in 4 months?  There was also a problem finding electricians and plumbers.  The stick builders were paying a premium for these trades and the "Come lately" modular builders were at their mercy for finishing houses.

Most of the modular housing companies have moved out or closed their offices and models.  Only a couple of modular factories have survived these conditions and most of them are located close to the source of the devastation keeping freight costs low.

So if you want to sell the lowest priced home the manufacturer offers, work with unqualified borrowers and fight to get subs to finish them, then New Orleans is your place.  Otherwise let the big boys fight over the scraps.

HELP NEEDED IN UNDERSTANDING "GREEN"

Help!!!

I've really tried to dive into the whole idea of going GREEN and now I'm  more confused than ever.

I hear BLUWOOD is Green!  Whole Foods is Green!  My neighbor using his his cat litter as filler for his flower beds is Green!  And Al Gore is Green!

Help!!!

I read a statement recently that gave me pause to reflect on how everything we do effects EVERYTHING we do!  It's sort of mind boggling.

“Every time an architect designs a building, his decisions about orientation, materials, windows, and heating and air-conditioning systems affect energy consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions for 50 to 100 years.”

I need someone to write articles about going Green in the Modular Home Industry.  Everything aspect from planning to the factory to the jobsite.  If you or someone you know has a real grasp of this subject geared toward the Modular Housing Industry, tell them I am looking for a columnist to write articles for this blog. 

email me at modcoach@gmail.com or modularcoach@yahoo.com or simply leave a comment.

 

5 WAYS TO STOP THE BLEEDING

With money tight and the outlook for the immediate future bleak, now is probably the best time to Stop the Bleeding of your company's money.

Here are my suggestions for things to do to stop throwing money in the trash can and keep it in your pocket.

1.  ONLY BUY WHAT YOU NEED.  This may seem like common sense, but I still see builders buying new equipment trailers when their old one is still in good shape.  Some of you just have to have that new GPS for your truck even though you were born in the area and know every back road.  Make sure what you buy is a necessity and not a "want".

2.  STOP TRYING TO COME UP WITH THAT SPECIAL "THING".  I was in a builder's office not to long ago and the builder showed me an in-the -wall combination fire hose and fire extinguisher in a self contained box that he was going to sell to every homeowner in the area.

 

He had the display unit and 4 more in the back room. How many had he sold?  Zero.  Don't pin your hopes on that one thing that will save your business.  Just get out there and try everything you can think of to promote and sell your HOMES!  Offering options from your factory is a great way to make extra money.

3.  REFOCUS YOUR ADVERTISING.  I am a big believer in putting your name on the Internet.  Websites today are cheaper than ever.  You will be shocked as to the number of people that will find you when they are ready for a new home.  Radio, TV and Print advertising is expensive and what you pay for just one print ad can get you an entire website up and running.  Most Modular Manufacturer websites will link to your site giving you two sources of leads instead of one.

4.  CANCEL EVERYTHING.  Cancel anything that is nonessential!  Do you really need to spend the money for seminars, training and subscriptions right now?  I'm not saying that you should never do these things, just stop it until you stop the bleeding.  One of the best sales and marketing aids is Builder Radio. Every Monday a new program is aired and it's FREE!  Your Modular Home sales rep is also a good source of information about what other builders are doing.

5.  REVIEW YOUR CHARGE CARDS AND TRAVEL EXPENSES.  If you want a real eye opener, keep accurate records of each truck's gas expenses for one month.  If you're a builder with 3 trucks and each makes 2 trips a day to the lumber yard, electric or plumbing supply store, you've got a problem.  Here's one you probably didn't think about.  Driving a truck to McDonald's to buy from the dollar menu is costing you a fortune.  If each truck makes two job related runs and one McDonald run a day and each trip is 20 miles round trip (more in rural areas), it is costing you $20 per day per truck.  That's $1,200 per month.  And don't forget your subs.  Their rates are also going up because of gas prices.

When you buy a modular home you can keep most of that $1,200 from ever leaving your pocket in the first place.  Fewer trips and shorter building time makes modular a heads up favorite for today's builder.

HELPING YOUR CUSTOMER PREP FOR THEIR FUTURE

ADA or Universal Design, which is the new buzzword,  still brings that old feeling of hospital furniture and fixtures.  Home design traditionally has been based on standards that address the wants and needs of regular people most likely to live in a given type of residence.

But today there are two groups that are finding the need for Universal Design very important in their lives.  The first are the Baby Boomers and their issues such as failing eyesight and mobility.  There are over 80 million Boomers ages 43 to 61.  Yes, I'm in that group and proud of it!

The other group is the physically handicapped that number about 30 million and use wheel chairs or walkers.  This not only includes the elderly but now we're seeing returning soldiers with injuries that put them in this group. 

What we as an industry is striving for is to integrate Universal Design into homes so that the ideas become part of the standard home rather than just an afterthought. The concepts of universal design should be  attractive to all generations.

Simple things can be done on every one of the houses you order from the factory to prep them for these groups without looking like a hospital wing.   These include lever handle locksets, which I think should be in every house anyway, wider hallways with bedroom door placement so that a gurney can be taken into the room and rocker light switches.

For two story homes, try to get the a "Master Bedroom" on the first floor for either the homeowner or the parents that are now living with them.  Make laundry rooms larger and put in sinks and under counter drawers.

You should also plan for an elevator shaft to be built in for future needs.  It could double as a large closet on both floors until the need for an elevator arises.  This alone will probably save the homeowner over $20,000 in retrofit costs to build the shaft later.  Now that's a great feature with an excellent benefit!

Toilets are getting higher and you probably didn't even realize it. And here's a trick I learned early on in my builder days, install additional bracing in bathroom walls for handicap railing.  I also checked with code about the minimum bathroom size for a wheelchair.  Why not install electric wall outlets at 27-30" from the floor. 

None of these changes are earth shattering and will probably be appreciated by the new homeowners.  And you might be the only builder to offer them as standard!

Kitchens and baths are two areas that need more discussion than this article can feature today.  Look for more to come on kitchen and baths ideas.

WE NEED THE FIRST TIME HOME BUYER

When the First-Time home Buyer decides it's time to buy a home, they start a chain of events needed by our industry.  If they decide to buy a new home, they will be shopping for affordable housing and for us that means basic units.  They will be looking for designs with 2-3 bedrooms and  1-2 baths and some nice options that will make their houses unique.

When they buy a used home, then a domino effect happens where the sellers will move to bigger homes.  If these sellers buy new construction, they will be looking for more comfort features and energy efficient homes.  If the the sellers buy used, then those sellers will start building or buying homes. This is the cycle we need for recovery.

Now comes the unique situation I mentioned before concerning the Generation Y buyer.  They are the probably going to be the "First-Time" home buyer.  If they walk into your model home or call you for an appointment, you must be aware of their mindset. 

A survey by the Time/Rockefeller Foundation said Generation Y are pessimistic about the future of the U.S.

Almost 50 percent of young Americans between the ages 18 to 29 told pollsters it was better to live in the 1990s than the present and they foresee the economic situation further deteriorating. Another 29 percent said the best days for America had already passed, while 58 percent admitted they had to borrow money in 2007 to cope with rising prices.

About 52 percent said they no longer had faith in the American dream, while 85 percent believed the U.S. is on the wrong track.

From reading the above statement, you've got to be wondering, "Just what the heck do they want?".   Small affordable boxes don't seem to be their idea of a dream home.  Large homes are priced too high.  It's up to you and your manufacturer to come up with unique ideas to satisfy their needs and keep the home affordable.  If it were easy, everybody would be doing it.

Generation Y people that buy used will probably be buying Gen X'ers first homes.  The the Gen X people that sell will be looking to what the Baby Boomers are trying to sell.  Or they might want to build.  This is a good solid market for new home construction and just about every factory has addressed these buyers with a wide range of product. 

Which brings us to the Baby Boomers.  Now here is another group that is currently misunderstood.  They are probably empty nesters, but more than likely are taking over the care of their parents.  They don't want the big houses with the high heating bills and upkeep because they are entering retirement.  Baby Boomers are being hit from all sides to build or buy homes that will fulfill their current needs, such as parents living with them, and future needs such as their own needs as they age.  First floor Master Bedrooms, wide door openings and ADA complaint features are what they are looking at for the future, even if they don't voice it.

Which brings us back to the Gen Y buyer.  Unless you have a larger than average staff of sales people and knowledge of each age group, you might want to pick the group you want to build your business around and be the best you can for that age group.

The shotgun approach we've used in the past has to be retired and more age specific marketing started to attract the buyers you want.

Don't forget the Hispanic buyer.  This growing demographic of our country wants what every citizen of the US wants, a home of their own.  They are proud to be homeowners and will work hard to get that first home.  A lot of them will be buying used homes because they are more affordable than ever, but for the ones that want to build, you must learn their needs and wants.  Their background is forged in another culture and they want their homes to reflect their ethnic backgrounds.

If you learn what the Hispanic home buyer wants, you will be one step up on most builders.  Satisfy their needs and make them happy and you will reap a blizzard of referrals!

Two of the biggest groups hitting the housing market today are the Generation Y and Hispanic buyers.  Pick your target market and start planning today for it.

SADDLEBROOK/SAWTOOTH UPDATE

On July 24, 2008, a judge is scheduled to hear the Saddlebrook Homeowners Association case for an injunction against the developer, Sawtooth Custom Homes,  of 110 building lots in their development.

There have been many accusations against the developer, Dave Ochoa and Sawtooth Homes.  This whole mess started when Sawtooth Homes brought "Modular Homes" into an unpopulated phase in Saddlebrook without informing the Homeowners Association that the homes were not going to be stick built.

A legal fund has been set up to fight for the homeowner's rights.  If the judge rules in favor of the homeowners, I wonder if the first four homes will have to be removed or will it only stop new homes from being brought in.

To read more about this fight, read the following articles from Modular Home Builder.

HOMEOWNERS CLASH WITH MODULAR BUILDER IN IDAHO

HOMEOWNERS DENIED INJUNCTION BY JUDGE

MY VOTE AGAINST COMPOSITE DECKING MATERIAL

I know that the salesman really believes what he is saying, but vinyl and composite decking material is not "maintenance free". 

One of my neighbors is having his 5 year old vinyl deck replaced with wood.  About a year ago he noticed that the deck he put down was looking old and gray.   There appeared to be splinters on the surface and whenever he barbeques, he see grease stains on the deck.  He tried one of the cleaners recommended by the manufacturer and it did help a little, but not much.  Now the cedar wood decking is going down and it looks great.  Will it stain with grease from his barbeque?  NO! He's having it stained and finished.  Will it look older with age?  Yep!  Will it matter to him? NO!  It's wood.

Then I visited a couple of houses in PA and MD over the past several weeks and discovered decking and steps made from composite materials.  Both the houses had their decks and steps installed about 3 years ago and they look terrible.  As I walked up to the front door, I noticed the steps were sagging and the front porch, which was also made with the composite materials, was two different colors.  One color was in the shaded part of the porch and the other was in direct sunlight.  It looked awful and I mentioned it to the home builder I was with.  He said that the porch is scheduled to be replaced using T&G wood on the porch and custom built wood steps.  He built this house and continues to build houses throughout the area.  He estimates that he will be replacing about 20 front porches and steps over the next few years as his customers complain.

He also showed me a picnic table he built for himself using the composite stuff.  It was bowed so badly that everything you put on the end of the table rolled to the center.  The seats were also bowed and they had metal rods through the length of the seat boards trying to keep them flat.  Didn't work!

And then there are the fungus spots that show up on non wood decking.  Even though the salesman said it was maintenance free, you should power wash your deck.

Composite decks are NOT maintenance free! According to the manufacturer, you need to clean your deck with caustic chemicals about once every 2 months during the summer to avoid these fungus spots

Would I ever use vinyl or composite decking on my house?  No.  I really like the feel and look of real wood, whether it's treated or cedar.

STICK BUILT BETTER THAN MODULAR?

According to homeowners in a North Beaumont, TX neighborhood, the latest homes to be built in their community are double wide, modular or industrial home, whatever you call it and these neighbors are not happy.

"Because of this, we're angry now. We don't know what we're going to do with these lots," says Ana Molina, a homeowner and builder in Pine Island Bayou Estates.

Ana Molina and her husband built five houses on this street. They own two more lots, but Ana's not sure they'll build on them now.

"It just bothers me, we live on the corner, and are trying to build good houses to bring good people here," says Molina.

I especially like her statement about good houses bring good people.  Is she implying that people that live in modular houses are undesirable in her neighborhood? 

If the houses that are being delivered are truly double wide manufactured HUD houses, I completely agree with the neighbors, but according to the building inspector for the area, they are modular homes.

These homes, while maybe not the most exciting things of architectural beauty, are true off site stick built homes!  They are BUILT BETTER than conventional stick built homes because they are engineered, inspected, third party sealed and built to all state and federal building codes plus all local codes.  They cannot leave the factory without these inspections and seals!

Now take the stick built home that is typically built in smaller neighborhoods.  Mrs Molina states that she and her husband have built 5 houses so far on the street and have several other lots.  Undoubtedly they build a nice house or they wouldn't have been sold.  Whether she wants to admit it or not, she is a housing developer!  And as we all know, most developers look for the lowest  material prices they can get and hire the lowest priced labor available.  Their homes are inspected by code officers same as the modulars.  They typically use 1/3 less lumber than modular and everything in the home is most likely just the minimum needed to be attractive to sell.  Green building procedures are an afterthought.

The labor used by some housing developers is usually semi-skilled and in many instances illegal.  The subcontractors used on these types of homes  usually don't pay health insurance and in many cases the workers are day laborers.

Bottom line.....are stick built homes built by day laborers and illegal semi-skilled laborers  better than modular homes built in a supervised environment with inspections at every step of the process? You and I both know the answer to that. 

A GOOD SLOGAN IS FOREVER

Every business should have a slogan.  The modular housing business is no different.  Slogans should never be more than 7 words.  That's the most people usually remember on a billboard, a company vehicle or when they skim through a magazine.

Some are a part of our culture:

"Always Be Prepared", (Boy Scouts of America)

"Always Low Prices, Always", (Walmart)

"Where's The Beef", (Wendy's)

Modular manufacturer's have slogans too.  They aren't part of our culture yet, but who knows, they might be some day.  Here are a couple of their slogans. 

"The Builder's Choice" (Signature Homes of PA)

"Truly Defining 'Custom Modular Designs' ", (Stratford Homes)

"The Distinction is in our Differences" (Ritz Craft Corporation)

"Endless Possibilities" (AvisAmerica)

"Building It Better" (Crest Homes)

And then there are contractors that try to use slogans.  Some work and some should be taken off the sides of their trucks.

"We Wire the Best, Repair the Rest" (Electrician in PA)

"Let Peake Look at your Leak" (Peake Plumbing in UT) my favorite!

"Here Today, Gone Tomorrow" (Home Demolition company in NJ)

"Great Homes for Great People" (Builder in OH)

"Another Brick in the Wall" (Masonry contractor in VA)

"Discount Remodeling for Cheap People" (Remodeler in PA)

There's a million of them out there.  Look at your slogan.  Is that what you want people to know about you?  If it is, make sure it's on your business cards, your trucks, your print ads, your website and anywhere else you can find to put it.  If people have to sit and think about what it means, then it's not right for you.  It should be quick and either make them smile, laugh or connect to their personal situation. 

I saw this one last year.  Never use something like this for a slogan:

"Ready to Build Your New House?  Call Us Because We Give Good Prices"

TALES FROM A LUMBER YARD

Years ago, my start in the housing business came as the Manager of a very large lumber yard.  This was before Home Depot and Lowe's.  We stocked almost as much as one of these stores, but in a more primitive setting.  I had 40 employees, 10 trucks and in terms of today's pricing, we did about $30 million.

Recently I bumped into one of my former "Outside Salesmen" and after bringing each other up to date on what we were doing, we began reminiscing about the great days in the lumber yard.

Here are a couple of stories of those days.

Our store was largest of an eleven store chain.  Our owners sent out a memo one day saying that we should announce every customer going to the lumber yard by name.  Since our yard had many buildings and was over 2 acres, we always announced over the loudspeaker the first item that should be loaded in the customer's vehicle.  This gave our yardmen a head's up as to where to meet the truck.  One day a woman came in to get roofing felt for her husband.  After paying for it, the clerk announced in a very loud voice "Mrs Johnson coming to the yard to get felt, Mrs Johnson coming to the yard to get felt". 

On another day, a woman came up to the counter and said her husband sent hr for nails.  The clerk asked her what kind.  After looking like a deer caught in headlights she said her husband was building a shed and needed nails.  The clerk, Don, asked her to call him and find out what kind.  She called on the store phone and asked him.  You could hear his voice booming on the other end yelling at her that he wanted nails and "dammit, just get them".  Don, the best clerk I had, smiled and asked how many she needed.  She looked at him again with those doe eyes and said she didn't know.  You guessed it, she called him again and again you could hear him screaming that he's building a 6' x 8' shed and "the GD clerk should know how much I need".  Don sent her home with two 25# boxes of 16D nails, a 50# box of roofing nails and a 25# box of drywall nails.  We never got any of these returned.

Our most obnoxious contractor came in one day and ordered a special commercial door to be delivered in two weeks to his job.  After it was delivered, he stormed into the store yelling that the door didn't work.  We knew the problem, he never read instructions, so I asked him if prepped everything like the instructions indicated and knowing that he didn't, he decided to tell me "to shove that door up my a**! "  "It's too late", I told him, "there's already a bath tub up there this morning from another customer!"  He stopped, looked at me and laughed until tears came.  He and I became great friends after that.  He still didn't follow instructions, but he knew better than to yell at me.

I have a ton of these and maybe someday I'll write a book about the experience.

A RADIO IN EVERY HOME AND A CHICKEN IN EVERY POT

Aren't you glad you live in America!  Our government takes care of us and wants to make sure nothing bad happens to us. 

That's why Rep. Brad Ellsworth, a Democrat from Indiana has introduced a bill that would require all manufactured homes to come equipped with a weather radio.  The bill has passed the house but is tied up right now in the Senate.

Why is he focusing on manufactured houses?  I guess because they blow away in tornadoes.  I've seen pictures of the aftermath of these storms and let me tell you something....these storms always go straight for the mobile home parks!   WHAT?

With this kind of logic, will he have laws passed prohibiting smoking in your own house to stop fires and no alcohol in your house if you have children under 21 to stop underage drinking?  Not likely.

Here is a suggestion I'd like to see made into law.  Require the manufacturers of mobile homes install sirens and flashing lights in their houses just in case the radio is turned off.  And what about us other folks that live in modular homes, are the factories going to be required to put in 42" plasma TVs and Tivo?  Now that might be a law I could get behind.

If the government truly wants to help save lives, it should spend its efforts making sure that all government warning systems are up-to-date and functional. It should be constantly updating the system that tells us that bad weather is on the way, and ensuring that the systems will work in those vital times they are needed.

Weather radios are a wonderful invention. Without question, they should be placed throughout homes. All homes.

I know I'm going to get one of those weather radios and make sure it's turned on all the time!

 

SOME BUILDER WEBSITES JUST SUCK!

I've been telling you for a long time that if you're a builder, you need a website.  The Internet is the first place over 70% of prospective home buyers go to look for a builder in their area.  If they are from out of town and looking for a builder, then a Google search on the net increases to over 90%.

As you know, I've been reviewing factory websites for quite some time and when there is a link to builders on the site I usually click on it and look at the builder's site.

Here is what I'm finding.  Contrary to what I've been preaching about you having a website, some builders should take their sites down now!  IMMEDIATELY!!!!

After looking at over 300 websites, about a 1/3 of them are "good to great".  About a 1/3 are mediocre but still have some useful information.  But the remaining sites are so bad that I wonder if the builder has ever gone back and looked at it after it was launched!

The only thing worse than not having a website is one that SUCKS!

Here are some classic mistakes and blunders I've seen:

1. NO PICTURES - People are visually responsive to pictures of houses.  They like to assess if they like this one compared to that one, what do the exteriors look like, does the builder just build simple houses or true custom homes? 
2. NO CONTACT INFO- I just visited a site over the weekend that had no address, phone number or email address.  It did have a fax number!  What good is that?
3. ONLY ONE PAGE - What?  Yes there are builders with only a one page site.  It's usually one of those free ones that only allow you to put up a single picture and your contact info.  Absolutely AWFUL!
4. DEAD END LINKS - A couple of sites have multiple links to things like "houses under construction", "Specifications" and others.  When you click on them you either get the nothing or an "Under Construction" sign. 
5. OLD STUFF - Most of the websites that I think should be removed are simply the forgotten ones.  Another site I visited last week had events planned for the prospective home buyer dated for 2 years ago. 
6. TOO MUCH INFORMATION - Then there are the sites with so much information that after going blind trying to read it, you can't wait to click somewhere else, anywhere else to to get away from the brain numbing stuff.  One site I visited had over 60 pages of information!  And only one for pictures and floorplans.

If you want to see what I consider one of the best builder sites on the Internet, click here:

A GREAT BUILDER WEBSITE

MODULAR COMPANY SWAMPED WITH BUSINESS

I know what your thinking, this headline is 3 years old!  No, it's happening right now in England.  Cloud Nine Homes in Cornwall may have the key to building a lot of homes over the next few years,

House prices collapsed last month at their fastest rate since the Thirties;  the lowest since records began; and house builders are laying off thousands of workers. But not Cloud Nine!

The reason for Cloud Nine's success is the heating costs and overall low maintenance of their homes.  Heating bills are about $52 annually and the overall running costs are about $800.  The homes are modular, built in Poland and shipped to England where they are assembled and ready to be occupied in less than 10 working days.  Almost sounds like one of our mobile homes!  But they're not.

They are selling the homes to developers that want to put up 5 or more homes at a time.  The demand is already exceeding the 250 home plant capacity and they are thinking of expanding.

The homes feature a flat weather tight roof system but a pitched roof can be added.  Time will tell if they can sustain this pace but with the high cost of heating homes in Britain, they very well may become one of the largest builders in the country.

Here are a couple of pictures of their homes and a link to Cloud Nine Homes.

Click here for  CLOUD NINE HOMES

RATING FACTORY WEBSITES #8

I rate the sites from 0 to 5 for both the builder and consumer content.  (A manufacturer told me that they don't use their site to attract builders.  Maybe that's why they don't have a larger builder base!)  This is just my opinion.

0. Non-Existent

1. Amateurish, low quality pages and lackluster

2. Somewhat boring and hardly kept my interest

3. Average with a nice presentation

4. Very nice presentation, makes me want to look around the site for awhile

5. WOW! Somebody put together a great site that features not only their product but gives a unique insight into their business.

Here are my picks for this week!

MODULAR HOME (click on the name to visit site)

SOUTHERN STRUCTURES, INC - The only thing I can figure out is that Florida manufacturers are just a little left of dull.  After visiting this website I almost wanted to take a nap.  EVERYTHING about this site is boring.  Only one little line about builder/dealers and it doesn't link to anything.  I couldn't wait to leave it and review my next site.  Sorry guys...even though I went to Penn State, blue and white just isn't the right image for you.

Consumer 2   Builder 0

NATIONWIDE HOMES - If you are a prospective buyer looking at websites to find your new home, this one should be near the top of your list. Lots of pictures, floorplans, Hi-Res floorplans and tons of information.  It loads quickly.  I couldn't find a single email address to contact them for information, rather a form needs to be completed.  There is a log-in section for the builder, but I couldn't find anywhere for a prospective builder to contact them.  There is a phone number, so I guess that's how they get builders to find out about them.

Consumer 5   Builder 0

WESTCHESTER HOMES - Here is the website for the company I threw under the bus a short time ago for their "The heats on us" special. Click here to read more!   Now the good news.  Their site is very good! I could spend a lot of time here looking at floorplans, pictures, options, video and much more.  They tell you everything that you need to know about modular.  The best part is the Builder Section which explains what it means to be a Westchester builder along with an application.  Very Good.  Be sure to click on their Builder Day link.  It has a date of April 4, but I'm sure they have them quite often.

Consumer 5   Builder 4

EXCEL HOMES - With some of the best renderings of any website, quick and easy links, good floorplans and much more, this site reflects the quality of one of the biggest modular home builders in the United States.  The Builder page is only one page but you will find a builder Log-In section that I can only assume opens a whole new world for their authorized builders.  There is even a link to Excel apparel that I found pretty darn cool.  Haven't seen that before.

Consumer 5   Builder 4

GENESIS HOMES - Genesis Homes' website is what a publicly traded company should have.  It includes some limited home designs and an approved builder look up.  But what it really works hard to give the visitor are press releases, press kits and a feeling that when you visit here, you are really visiting one of the modular divisions of Champion Homebuilders, the country's biggest manufactured home builder. I found the site mundane and very dull.  There is quite a large area for the prospective builder with stories about their builders' successes.

Consumer 2   Builder 3

ALL AMERICAN HOMES - Wow! This is a great site for prospective home buyers.   With videos everywhere, stories, good floorplans and lots of information, this site could keep people on it for hours.  It even has a "Green Options" catalog that I found fascinating.  Great stuff!  Is there anything for the prospective home builder to look at or anywhere for them to contact somebody about becoming a dealer?  NO.  Too bad, their site would have made me contact them right then.

Consumer 5   Builder 0

COUNTRYWIDE FINANCIAL'S WOES CONTINUE

Florida's Attorney General is now the fourth one to go after Countrywide Financial in the courts, joining the states of Illinois, California, and Washington, for allegedly engaging in deceptive and unfair trade practices.

Countrywide appears to have offered reduced and no documentation loans to borrowers at high interest rates and prepayment penalties after hiding the negative effects these loans would have on the borrowers.

They also gave mortgages to people that were neither qualified nor able to make the monthly payments and also incurring a hefty prepayment penalty if they tried to get out of their loans early.

It also appears that Countrywide's loan originators and underwriters were not doing their due diligence  and even accepted loans that were obviously fraudulent.  They also targeted that outer, outer ring of borrowers I had mentioned in my previous article, MAKING SENSE OF THE MORTGAGE CRISIS.

Even Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not immune to the mortgage problems hitting the US economy.  Rumors that both are having problems surfaced this week.

IS THIS A "MODULAR MESS"?

WLS, the ABC affiliate in Chicago, IL ran a story about a man who hasn't been able to move into his modular home for three years because of shoddy workmanship by the manufacturer, Liberty Homes.

I read the story and sympathize with him. Three years and lots of legal wrangling both ways must have him about ready to just walk away from the whole mess.

Here are links to the story and to his personal website about his house.

ABC7 News Story Very Bad House

I went to both sites and found some disturbing things. After reading the info on both sites, I'm more confused than ever. It appears that Robert Kot, the guy that bought the home for his family, ordered his home from an authorized Liberty Homes dealer. The dealer, Woodale Homes of Oregon, Illinois, appears to have properly ordered the house from Liberty Homes. And from what I know about our industry, Liberty Homes built a home that met both the company's and the state's quality inspections, otherwise the third party inspectors would not have signed off on it.

Now here is where things seem to go wrong. Apparently what started as a simple set of a ranch style home became a nightmare when the home home didn't fit on the foundation. Unfortunately Mr. Kot, the homeowner and author of the "Very Bad House" won't allow any of his pictures, letters or documents to be copied without his permission, so I don't have any.

"We reached out to the manufacturer and negotiated a settlement in which Mr. Kot's purchase price would have been returned to him for the home, and he flatly rejected that. He was seeking more than that," Justin DeWitt, from the Illinois Dept of Public Health, said.

Back to the foundation. From the pictures it would seem that either the house wasn't built to the right dimensions, the foundation plan given Woodale Homes was incorrect or the people that put in the foundation didn't build it properly. Mr Kot has a document stating that the foundation was correct, but what he shows on his site is the stamped plat plan showing what the proper diagonals should be. A better thing to show would be an engineer's report with "actual" dimensions".

After the set was completed and Mr Kot complained about the foundation and the cracks in the drywall, Liberty Homes did send a crew in to reset it. Again Mr Kot was displeased and that's how we got to this point.

In my opinion and mine alone, from what I've seen in his pictures and what was reported, Mr Kot is not to blame for any of this mess, unless he is the one that contracted for the foundation. Otherwise, I believe Woodale Homes must be the ones to step up and and work to resolve this mess. If they were there when it was set and saw the problem with the foundation, diagonals should have been done right then. I doubt it would have solved all the problems Mr Kot has with the home, but at least it would have assigned a more direct link to who created the problem.

I mentioned in an earlier article, WHERE CAN CONSUMERS LOOK FOR ANSWERS? that the customer almost always blames the manufacturer even if the dealer is blind, deaf, and can't tell a nail from a sledgehammer. That is what I think happened here.

EXCEL HOMES CONFIDENT ABOUT THE FUTURE

Excel Homes, parent company of Excel and AvisAmerica Custom Homes is getting ready for the future by not only acquiring the Oxford Homes factory in Maine, but by promoting and creating new management positions within the company.

Rob Ebbets, a long time member of the management staff is now the Vice President of Shared Services, a new position that will have increasing responsibilities as Excel, the parent company, expands into new markets.

Jeff Degen, formally with Johnson Controls, has joined Excel in the position of Vice President of Marketing for Excel Homes and Avis America.

Steve Scharnhorst, President of Excel, said

I think it is very unique that Excel is able to make these type of moves in this market climate. Further I believe it demonstrates our commitment to providing the kind of resources our builders desperately need in good times and in bad. Our commitment to delivering superior products, tools and processes will help distinguish us from the competition.

Excel, one of the largest modular home manufacturers in the US has plants in Liverpool, PA; Avis, PA; Ghent,WV and the new one in Oxford, ME.

Here is the link to Excel's website: Excel Homes

ARE YOU EASY?

The following article was written by Adrian Miller, a consultant and sales trainer from New York. I found it to be right on the money for any business but especially for the housing business today.

Are You Easy?

Do your clients consider you easy? No, not the type of “easy” that wasn’t such a good thing to be in high school, I’m asking if you are easy to work with. The key components to having a good long-term relationship with those you sell to are being someone who is flexible, responsive, and available. Let’s take a closer look at the concept of being easy.

Flexibility

Do you take a one size fits all approach with clients or do you design your product offerings and services to benefit their specific needs? Flexibility is a must if you have competition. When you are rigid with what you offer, you are giving your competition an edge, and they will most certainly accommodate your clients’ needs. Don’t give your competition the opportunity. Keep in mind that flexibility doesn’t just stop with what you are offering; it also applies to how you conduct business. Find out what your clients’ preferred method of communication is and use it. While you may like email, Joe Customer might prefer a phone call. It’s your job to find out preferences to keep your clients happy and to maintain an ongoing image of being flexible and “easy.”

Responsiveness

Don’t underestimate how your success is affected by your ability to respond to a phone call or email. Let’s put it another way – being slow to respond is a surefire way to lose a client. Even if you don’t necessarily have an answer to what your client is asking, returning their call or email promptly is paramount. It’s always better to respond with an “I don’t know” than not to respond at all. Develop a timeframe in which you return all calls and emails and stick with it.

Availability

Availability goes hand-in-hand with responsiveness and is vital to keeping relationships strong and functioning properly. The goal should always be to make it as easy as possible for your clients to reach you. If you have a receptionist, make sure that the person is professional, friendly, polite, and knowledgeable. Your clients should feel welcomed each time they call. If you have an auto attendant, make it user-friendly. Don’t drag your clients through a lengthy and unwieldy menu. If you are unreachable, have a default person or solution that can help your client.

Contact Adrian at:

Adrian Miller Sales Training

43 Park Avenue, Port Washington, NY 11050

516-767-9288 by email at amiller@adrianmiller.com

Adrian has agreed to be a contributing editor for Modular Home Builder, so watch for more articles about sales in the future.

MAKING SENSE OF THE MORTGAGE CRISIS

I've been listening to the economic pundits, reading the reports from government agencies and talking with builders and mortgage lenders about how we got in the position we've found ourselves in.

Everybody blames the subprime borrowers for the problem when they couldn't pay their new ARM payments. Well, I figured there had to be something more to it than just that. So I started looking for an answer I could understand. Here is my explanation of the mortgage crisis.

Up through 2001, mortgage lenders used guidelines that were strict and the people seeking loans were actually qualified. This is the core group of borrowers that mortgage lenders have always counted on because they made their house payments on time.

Then in 2002, the lenders started to loosen the guidelines a little so that others that had not been considered for conventional loans could qualify for homes. The lenders opened new accounts with ARMs and the borrowers were making their payments. So far, so good.

In 2003, the lenders loosened their guidelines again and another group of people were now able to get a mortgage. And since everybody was making their payments, all was good.

Then in 2004, the guidelines were pretty much ignored by the lenders. If you had a pulse and fogged the mirror, you got a loan and the outer, outer fringes of new home buyers got mortgages. They made some of their payments on time but by the end of the year, things started to get shaky.

2005 came and two major problems showed up. The last round of new buyers stopped making their payments because they shouldn't have been qualified in the first place and the people that got their loans in 2002 started seeing their ARM rate go up. They started falling behind. The foreclosure rate was still within the guidelines so this was considered a blip on the radar rather than a warning shot.

In 2006 more people stopped making payments, others were experiencing rising ARM rates and foreclosures were increasing by an alarming rate. Problems started to erode the financial base of the lenders and soon there were a lot of them looking for ways to cut their losses.

Then 2007 came in like a lion and left like a big ass dinosaur! By now, just about every borrower that had taken out a loan with an ARM since 2002 was looking for help making their payments. Even the core group of borrowers from before 2002 started to have problems.

Now here we are in 2008 and the foreclosures are predicted to reach 2.5 million this year. Holy Toledo Batman! And to add insult to injury, the core group of borrowers that the lenders have always counted on are seeing the equity in their homes dry up because lenders are dumping foreclosed homes on the market. Some of the most credit worthy borrowers are now upside down on their mortgages.

Have we hit bottom? YES! Have we figured out a way to get things back on track? NO! Do either McCain or Obama have any idea how to fix things? Probably not but they say to do! You betcha batman!

My gut tells me that we are in for another 12 to 18 months of tough times in the housing industry. That doesn't mean that new houses won't be built. It does however keep the number of new housing starts down. Builders are survivors and we'll survive this too.

WORKING WITH YOUR FAMILY

As long as I can remember, our family has been in the retail business. My father got the grocery bug during the Great Depression in 1929 and saved all his money to open a "Cut Rate" store in town. For those of you under the age of 60, a Cut Rate store was the equivalent to our Rite Aids and Walgreens, only a lot smaller.

Over the years he owned several of these throughout the town. When I was 6 years old, he put me behind the cash register and taught me to ring up sales and "make change". When I was old enough to work the soda fountain, about 8, I found myself making ice cream sodas, sundaes and milk shakes for hours on end. I loved it. It was wonderful being accepted as just one of the working class.

He would often leave me in charge of whatever business we were running at the time. I remember missing my brother's wedding because "someone had to run the store" and I was the only one he could trust. I really miss those days. But my life working for the family was far from the norm.

I've heard horror stories from others that make my hair stand on end. Beatings, belittlement, harassment and backstabbing is not uncommon in family run businesses.

If you son or daughter is joining you in the business, here are some things to keep in mind:

BE COURTEOUS TO YOUR FAMILY - If your kid is one of the framing crew on their college break, don't single them out for praise, buy them lunch and let them leave early. On the other hand, don't scream and yell at them for not knowing the routine the others have. Be fair and courteous to them. Remember, they have to work with that crew after you leave and then they come home to face you telling them they are stupid. NOT GOOD!

ESTABLISH FAMILY BOUNDARIES - Work is work and family time is family time. Establish from the start when and where you will talk about business. Have family time together and try not to bring up what happened at work. First of all, nobody else but probably even cares what happened at work. Try to keep balance in your life.

KEEP LINES OF COMMUNICATIONS OPEN WITH OTHER EMPLOYEES - Here is an example of what happens when your child goes to work for you and you don't keep in touch with your employees. Joe brought his son into the business doing work on several different jobsites. One of the son's responsibilities was to "spy" on the others and report back to him. Let's just say that the employees, who were a very productive bunch, found out that Junior was telling Joe about things that did not concern him. Junior was eventually found out and most of the workers quit, leaving Joe and Junior to finish most of the work themselves. That SUCKED! Don't use family to spy. Keep all lines of communications open between you and your employees. They will like that.

DON'T TALK ABOUT YOUR FAMILY'S PERSONAL LIFE - It doesn't matter that your daughter, who works in your office, is getting plastered on the weekends and pole dancing at the local bar, or your son, who operates your grader and backhoe, is the drug dealer of choice for the Pepsi generation. Keep it to yourself! Your employees don't need to know this and will probably find out on their own anyway. Talking behind your family's back can bring nothing but sadness to you, your family and your business. KNOCK IT OFF!

APPRECIATE YOUR FAMILY MEMEBERS - You see your family not only at work but also on a personal level. Working with family members can put a strain on any family. If one of them suggests that perhaps you should do something their way instead of your way, stop for a minute, think about it, and then kill them! NO!!!! If you listen, you may find they have a good suggestion or maybe you did try that years ago and it didn't out very well. Either way, appreciate the fact that family usually has the best interests of the business and of course, the family in mind. If and when you decide to pass the business on to them, wouldn't it be great to know they have a good head on their shoulders.

Doing business with family can be very rewarding, but it can also be a very complicated and difficult. It involves hard work but in the end it's all worth it.

10 GOOD THINGS ABOUT HIGHER GAS PRICES

I'm always looking for the brighter side of bad situations.  My family was talking about the high price of gas on the 4th of July and we came up with 10 good things about the rising cost of driving.

LESS POLUTION - This is a given.  Less cars and trucks on the road means less carbon being dumped into the atmosphere.

LESS TRAFFIC - My personal favorite.  Because I travel quite a bit by car in and around Washington, DC, and even a 10% drop in traffic is a welcome site.  Sometimes it takes me an hour to go 7 miles and you can't stop your car because the traffic just keeps moving a little bit all the time!  I can't imagine how much gas I've burned through.

FEWER HUGE SUVs ON THE ROAD - Another joyous thing about high gas prices.  Fewer Excursions, Denalis and Suburbans.  I will be able to see traffic coming towards me instead of the rear end of these beasts. 

FEWER TRAFFIC DEATHS - This is just common sense.  Less traffic going slower equals less accidents, happier insurance companies and LOWER rates!  Gotta love that!

MORE COPS ON FOOT PATROL - I know most of you have never even seen a cop on foot patrol, but there really is something reassuring about knowing they will probably be back on the job.  The crooks can't afford gas for their cars either.

FEWER OVERWEIGHT PEOPLE - With the price of gas going up, people will have to walk to McDonalds to get there fix of fat and calories.  At least the walking will offset that somewhat!

FOUR DAY WORK WEEK - Four, ten hour days will become more popular with both the employer and the employee.  Overtime should drop because I know I wouldn't want to work more hours after working a 10 hour day.  Employers will find that the same amount of work gets done in four days that it used to take five to complete.  Work fills the amount of time allowed. 

URBAN SPRAWL WILL SLOW DOWN - Developers will start looking into building townhouses, condos and single family homes in areas served by public transportation.  There is already an exodus from the developments not served by pubic transportation to housing closer to city hubs.  Row houses, once abandoned by people buying in the suburbs, will have people returning and low rents and crime will start moving outward toward the abandoned suburbs.  Now that's not such a good thing.

MORE PEOPLE WORKING FROM HOME - The new trend will be home offices with links to Intranets and faxes and emails.  Workers will only have to see their bosses once in a while.  You can conference call the office while sitting in you jammies, drinking coffee and reading MSNBC news on your computer.  Who will know!  Really!

SMART CARS WILL RULE - Now is the time to buy one of these neat little cars.  Given the choice of a scooter or a Smart Car, the Smart Car wins every time.

SAFEWAY HOMES HAS THE RIGHT IDEA

When Katrina hit the south, an unprecedented number of homes were destroyed.  Even today, the housing industry is still trying to build safe, strong housing for families whose homes were lost to the hurricane.

Being from the east, I have never seen a Category 5 Hurricane completely demolish entire communities.  What kind of house could withstand that kind of punishment? 

Enter SAFEWAY HOMES.  This company is building homes that can withstand category 5 hurricane winds of 160 MPH. I visited their website, read about them on the web and followed up on articles written by major news agencies.  What I found was very remarkable.

They are highly recommended by government and private agencies as one of the best built homes in the south. 

As far as construction goes, I don't think they build houses, they appear to build tanks!  They have a patented system that allows their homes to be bolted directly to a concrete slab.  The floor system is built with 2x10's which is then sprayed with an anti mold and insect repellent turning the whole joist system blue.

They cover ALL sides of each module with 7/16" OSB and cover the trusses with a radiant barrier that lowers the attic temperature 30 degrees.  They also use a 1/2 truss system which you can watch being installed on a video on their website.  There is a 9" marriage wall!

The 13 SEER A/C system is pre-installed along with all the ductwork in the ceiling.

As far as I can find out, they only build a limited number of ranch style homes, but I suspect they can custom build just about anything.  Here is link to their website and some photos of 2 of their "on slab" homes. Click here to go to their site:

 SAFEWAY HOMES

RATING FACTORY WEBSITES #7

I rate the sites from 0 to 5 for both the builder and consumer content.  (A manufacturer told me that they don't use their site to attract builders.  Maybe that's why they don't have a larger builder base!)  This is just my opinion.

0. Non-Existent

1. Amateurish, low quality pages and lackluster

2. Somewhat boring and hardly kept my interest

3. Average with a nice presentation

4. Very nice presentation, makes me want to look around the site for awhile

5. WOW! Somebody put together a great site that features not only their product but gives a unique insight into their business.

Here are my picks for this week!

MODULAR HOME (click on the name to visit site)

HAVEN HOMES - What can I say about Haven Homes.  This long time premium home builder on the East Coast has earned it's reputation by designing and manufacturing some of the most innovative modular homes in America.  Going to their site reinforces that reputation.  When you get there, you will see a very nice minimalist site.  Nothing stands out as flashy or wordy.  It has class.  But the customer better be prepared to spend money when they buy a Haven Home.  They also have a reputation for being one of the most costly homes in the industry.  They should be with the amount of design and quality they include in every home.  There is one page for the builder and it's not very inviting.

Consumer 4   Builder 1

PENN LYON HOMES - This site is everything you'd except from a modular manufacturer.  Lots of links to interesting articles and floorplans.  News about the company and awards it has received.  It is slightly better than most sites but it lacks any pizzazz! The site is produced in the style of the 90's and I've already seen enough of those.  Nice plans and will keep the customer on the site for a little while.  There is a link to what I can only assume is their own kitchen cabinet company, Penn Craft, that is under construction when you get there.  Finish it before you put it on your site!  There is no place for prospective builders to sign up for info.

Consumer 3   Builder 0

MODULAR STRUCTURES (MSI) - Here again we have an average site.  It has everything a prospective customer would want to see in floor plans and pictures.  There is a nice builder page with an application and something I have never seen on a factory website..... a builder product selection sheet!  The one suggestion I would make for MSI is to either add a bunch of builder names to their authorized list of builders or get it off the site.  You only have TWO BUILDERS?????

Consumer 3   Builder 2

APEX HOMES - Here we go again, another factory website that looks like they haven't updated it since they first launched it!  I found absolutely nothing new or interesting here that I haven't seen on a hundred sites.  Most of their floorplans look like June Cleaver could live in them. Hey, I think one of them has Beaver's bedroom. It's time to get a good website designer and let him loose on what kind of sites people are visiting this century.  Sorry, but there's no place for builders to get more information.  This is one of the biggest modular manufacturers on the East Coast and their website screams boring.

Consumer 2   Builder 0

SUN BUILDING SYSTEMS - When I  got to the site, I found a really nice picture in the header area.  Little did I realize at the time that it would be the best part of the site!  This average looking site couldn't keep either my wife or I interested very long.  There is an announcement on the Home Page about a new website. Hope this isn't it. The only ray of sunshine I saw was the Developer Area Login.  When I got there, I found 5 different topics!  GREAT! Then I clicked on each one and they all said exactly the same thing!  I understand that you need a login to go any further...that's OK, but why not explain what a builder would see in each area if they joined Sun Building Systems.  Missed opportunity!

Consumer 3   Builder 1

WARDCRAFT HOMES - FINALLY!  A nice site that features good looking homes and floorplans, tons of prospect information and it loads quickly.  The site is above average in my opinion and the pictures show what can be built by their authorized builders.  The builder page has an application and in what areas they are currently looking for good builders.  There is also a good PDF brochure. 

Consumer 4   Builder 3

KEEPING YOUR CUSTOMERS HAPPY...EVEN IF YOU AREN'T!

If you are in the construction business and haven't been told that you were the worst builder in the world or that you were about to be sued, then you are a brand new builder who hasn't had any customers yet!

How can I say that with such conviction?  Because you sign a contract with your customer to build a house!!  If you were so good, why would either of you need to sign a piece of paper to build a house?

I haven't seen a builder or a customer go to contract that was looking to cheat the other out of money or services.  You want to build a good, solid and hopefully profitable house and your customer wants to pay you for a good and solid house.  So what goes wrong?

Just about anything you can imagine!

Here are 10 things to say to customers that will help keep things from getting out of hand.  But you must do what you say or the beast will rise and bite you in the butt and at the worst possible moment.

This is my responsibility.  Yes, it your duty and your commitment to do what you say you will do.  The old saying of "The Buck Stops Here" is always the rule, not the exception.

I'll check on that and get back to you.  If you don't know the answer to something the customer asks, don't "wing it" and give an unsure answer.  Find the answer to their question and give it to them  as soon as possible.  Don't leave them hanging.  If you don't get back to them quickly, two things are sure to happen.  First they will call someone else for the answer and it doesn't matter if it's right or wrong, it's an answer.  Secondly, they will call you and tell you what they found out.  And even if they're wrong, they are right!

I can solve this problem.  Your customers came to you to build their dream home, so they expect you to know everything.  If there is a problem, they want you to fix it.  Enough said.

I'll keep you posted on the progress.  This is such an easy thing to do but you won't believe how many of you forget it.  You tell them you will keep them updated every Friday and then you miss one and then another and another and finally your customer thinks that there's nothing happening at their house or you screwed something up and are trying to fix it.

It will be just what you wanted.  If you promised them a stair railing in the shape of the large  snake from Beetlejuice, you better get it for them.  You promised it....deliver it.

Your house will be done on time.  Here is where most of you will fall by the side of the road.  If you only have one house to build, there is absolutely no excuse for not completing their house on time.  If you signed a contract knowing that you might have a problem getting them in when you said you would; that's your fault, not theirs.  If you're completing several houses at the same time, why is it their fault that you can't manage your time.

Friday means Friday.  If you have an inspection walk-through with your customers, schedule them for the same time each inspection.  Don't schedule them for every other Friday and then forget to show up or find out you you have a necessary inspection at another home site and forget to call them in time for them to reschedule.  They are looking forward to seeing you at their new home and hearing about all the neat stuff you've done since the last meeting.

How can I help?  Your customers are having problems finding someone to landscape or build a gazebo or birdhouse of whatever.  Step up and ask if you can help them.  They may say no and that would be great, but maybe they would like your help and appreciate your attention to their needs.  This is a great reference building technique.

Here's the reason I want to do it this way. If there are two ways to do something, explain it to them, tell them which way you would like to do it and then ASK THEIR PERMISSION to do it your way.  I have personally taken it upon myself to make that decision and not include the customer.  You guessed it....I chose the wrong solution and had to do it over again costing me time and money.

I really appreciate your business (patience, referral, etc).  Thank your customer for the trust they put in you and your staff.  Whether it's meeting with someone that they referred to you or simply the patience they showed because your son had to go to the hospital and you couldn't work on their house for 3 days, always thank them.

Are these phrases enough to keep them from hating you and wanting to sue you.  Who knows!  But I do know that it will make you and your customers lives easier and that's all we can really do anyway.

LEAVE IT TO THE EUROPEANS TO COME UP WITH SEE-THROUGH CONCRETE

Litracon, invented by Hungarian architect Áron Losonczi, presents the phenomenon of light transmitting concrete in the form of a widely applicable new building material.

Litracon is a combination of optical fibers and fine concrete. It can be produced as prefabricated building blocks and panels. Due to the small size of the fibers, they blend into concrete becoming a component of the material like small pieces of aggregate.

“Thousands of optical glass fibers form a matrix and run parallel to each other between the two main surfaces of every block,” explained its inventor Áron Losonczi. “Shadows on the lighter side will appear with sharp outlines on the darker one. Even the colours remain the same. This special effect creates the general impression that the thickness and weight of a concrete wall will disappear.”

A wall made of “LitraCon” allegedly has the strength of traditional concrete but thanks to an embedded array of glass fibers can display a view of the outside world, such as the silhouette of a tree, for example.

This could be a neat product to add to a walkway, patio or maybe the master bath shower.  I haven't seen it in the US yet, but give it time and we'll all want it.

DRESSED TO SELL

Over the years I've seen a lot of modular homes.  A majority of them were uninspired homes with little thought to porches beyond what the factory supplied.  Porches can make a standard modular home the most beautiful home in the area, but you have to do it with flair!

Your customers want porches and a lot of you are just plain intimidated by them.  If you are unsure of your own craftsmanship, sub it out to someone that has the skills to complete it on time and within budget.

Here are some pictures of modular homes with some exceptional porches.  Look at each one and you'll see the standard modular home behind the porch.

STRANGE AND NEW HOME PRODUCTS

STARCK WINDMILL

This windmill is reported to generate 20-60% of the energy needed to power a home, at a price point of around $633.  Though it may not be  within everyone’s budget, it combines creativity and elegance with ecology.  Designer Philippe Starck hopes it will encourage more people to take greener steps. I hear that it should be available this September.

 

BOLD NEW PRODUCTS FROM KOHLER

 

COME OUT, COME OUT, WHEREVER YOU ARE!

Yesterday I had a meeting about 200 miles from my home. I decided to get there as quickly as I could so I went took the outer loops around two major east coast cities. On the way back, I wanted to take a more leisurely drive home.

What I saw or rather, what I didn't see was amazing! On the trip to my meeting, I usually pass dozens of housing developments with new houses being built, contractors' trucks cutting me off on the way to their job sites, lumber trucks, concrete trucks and just about anything else that can be trucked to construction sites.

Yesterday I didn't see any of these things. NOT ONE NEW HOUSE! No trucks jockeying for position on the 6 lane expressways and when I stopped for a cup of coffee at a convenience store.....no laborers!

I did pass 2 townhouse projects that looked about finished. One had a small crew working on the landscaping and the other had a siding crew putting up shutters and gutters.

After my meeting, the drive home took me through rural areas where I stayed exclusively on 2 lane roads. Even though it added 90 minutes to my drive time it didn't bother me to get away from the rush hour traffic I would encounter in the cities.

And then I didn't see it again! NOT ONE NEW HOME BEING BUILT! I didn't want to believe my eyes, so I stopped at another convenience store in a small town. I asked the clerk, who is also the owner, if his contractor trade is still coming in. He told me that there aren't any more contractors coming to his store and even though his gas sales are the same as last year, the gallons sold are less. He has a deli counter in his store that he had to close because the usual labor trade was not coming for breakfast or lunch any more.

My next stop was at a builder that I had as a customer two years ago. He was OUT OF BUSINESS. His office and warehouse were still there with his name on the signs, but his trucks were gone and a sign on the door read "See you after the elections". He is very political and I'm sure this motivated the sign. I'm going to try and contact him today and find out what he's doing now. He was one of the good, solid builders I had and I'm sure he will be back, I'm just not sure when.

This can't be happening everywhere. I'm sure there are pockets of good house building going on in some areas, drop me a line and let me know about your area.

WESTCHESTER HOMES SAYS "YOUR HEAT IS ON US!"

Westchester Modular Homes, Inc., Wingdale, NY has announced a summer special. "The HEAT is on us" promotion is for any home ordered by August 30, 2008 and delivered by November 30, 2008.

They will pay up to $5,000 in heating costs for one of their homes. But here's the small print..... THEY will calculate the estimated heating costs for the home and deduct that amount from the final invoice to the builder!

Somehow that just doesn't seem fair to the homeowner.

First of all, most builders won't show the invoice to the customer unless they are a "drop and set" or a "cost plus" builder. The builder is actually getting a discount on the total cost of the house, not the homeowner.

I don't see any problem with Westchester Homes calculating the heating costs, but what I do have a problem with is giving that amount as a discount on the invoice.

How is that going to pay for the homeowner's heating costs? I just think Westchester Homes has a golden opportunity to make a good impression on potential homeowners but I see problems arising if they expect every builder to write the customer a check from their own account!

If you say "The HEAT is on us", by golly, give the homeowner the money to buy the heating oil or gas!

Click here for details of their offer....The HEAT is on us!