build a home: Modular Isn't Just for Houses Anymore
- 05/18/20 05:07 AM
Hotels, colleges, franchises, and many others are facing the same issue as every custom home builder in the U.S. today, a shortage of skilled construction workers. Just like custom home builders, they require quality construction for their commercial construction efforts. Not only do they need quality, but they also need their projects to be built quickly and on budget. Those three items have been proving to be more elusive to the construction industry over the last several years. That means they have been moving more and more towards modular construction. MARRIOTT JOINS THE MODULAR CONSTRUCTION REVOLUTIONMarriott, one of the best-known hospitality brands … (1 comments)
build a home: The Power of Sanctuary
- 04/20/20 03:54 AM
There is never a time with perfect conditions paving the way for you to go forward. There is never a “right” time to take a vacation. There is never a “right” time to have kids. And the list goes on. But have you ever noticed that even though you can’t ever expect all the pieces to fall nicely into place, you’ve managed to pull through… and in most cases, better than ever! During this time of crisis, you’re vulnerable to more than just the coronavirus. While that threatens your physical health, the “virus” of negative thinking can threaten your outlook. It’s hard to keep yourself motivated when … (5 comments)
build a home: You Have a Choice
- 04/13/20 05:57 AM
Have you ever stopped to think about how many choices you have to make on a daily basis? From the minute you wake up you are faced with an enormous amount of options. What to wear, what to eat, where will we go, what time will we leave, etc. The same thing happens when you build a home. What style, what floor plan, what type of flooring, what color flooring, etc. But, you also have a choice on how to build your home. Today, building systems are improving home building. Many builders “dabble” with building systems. They use roof trusses or … (1 comments)
build a home: Build More Custom Homes with Modular Construction
- 01/07/20 06:41 AM
Are you attending the International Builder Show in Las Vegas January 21st - 23rd? If so, come see one of my presentations! Build More Custom Homes with Modular Construction When? Tuesday, Jan. 21, 8:45 – 9:15am Where? LVCC – Custom Building Central – North 257 During this presentation we’ll dispel the myths, mistruths and fake news that are preventing custom home builders from adopting modular construction. Hear from Ken Semler, a nationwide custom home builder that exclusively uses modular construction, about the design flexibility, customization and efficiency modular can offer your next custom home project. If hiring shortages, lack of available subcontractors and … (1 comments)
build a home: Build a Home vs. Buy a Home: What are Your Options?
- 01/06/20 06:24 AM
As we start a New Year many have made moving into a new home their top New Year’s Resolution. But what does “new home” really mean? There are many options. For some it could just mean moving into a home that is different from the one they are living in now. It could be a used home/existing home in an established neighborhood. For others it could mean moving into a community where the homes are ready to move into, just point and buy. While others want to choose the colors, their floor plan and their options. But even then you have … (1 comments)
build a home: Your Credit Score and Construction Loans
- 05/13/19 03:41 AM
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR CREDIT SCORE WHEN APPLYING FOR A CONSTRUCTION LOANIn today’s world, your credit score has a substantial impact on your ability to finance almost any large purchase. This is especially true when it comes to building a custom, on-your-lot home. A new custom home is fulfilling a dream that not everyone can achieve. You are one of the few people that has set a goal to find that special piece of land and then dedicating yourself to designing and building a home that reflects your tastes, your style, and your specific needs. A few people … (2 comments)
build a home: How Can Modular Construction Mitigate Home Building Delays?
- 04/15/19 03:37 AM
Building a custom home is not for the faint of heart. It is a process that will take time, effort, and patience. A custom home is unique. It has never been built before. Add to that the process of constructing it on an individual building site with its own unique characteristics. And then you are doing all of this outdoors in the weather. To build a custom home successfully is a process that takes patience, knowledge and excellent project management skills. Avoiding construction delays starts with recognizing their most common causes and working to mitigate those factors before they can impact the home building project. Planning is crucial, but it also … (1 comments)
build a home: Is Student Debt Killing the American Dream?
- 12/03/18 03:22 AM
There are more than 44 million borrowers who collectively owe $1.5 trillion in student loan debt in the U.S. alone. The average student in the Class of 2016 has $37,172 in student loan debt. The payment on that debt is directly impacting the ability of many potential home buyers to get the home they want or their ability to even purchase a home. College students don’t understand what the long term impacts are of taking on much of the debt that colleges make it easy to acquire. Only when they try to buy the first car or first home do they start to understand … (8 comments)
build a home: Think Off-Site Construction is Risky?, Try Traditional Construction
- 11/19/18 03:05 AM
When many people think about building a home today, they naturally think about what they have seen in the past. The old, traditional way of home building. This means working with a home builder to develop a home plan, sign a contract, create allowances for items such as tile, flooring, cabinets, counter tops, etc., and then scheduling construction to start. But the traditional way means that you are depending on a builder to find skilled employees to build your home. He is depending on his suppliers to meet material delivery schedules. He is hoping the weather holds to allow him to build and that … (1 comments)
build a home: Is HGTV Responsible for Home Design Obsolescence?
- 11/05/18 04:07 AM
Over the past several years we have seen new home buyers make many of the same or similar decisions when selecting colors and options for their home. It is almost uncanny how, when watching the DIY channel or HGTV’s new home and remodeling shows that, you can almost tell what the coming year’s choices will be. What makes it different now than it was 20 years ago is that buyers made selections for areas like kitchens and bathrooms that were very similar over long periods of time, or multiple years. Now we have added Pinterest and Instagram and Houzz to the … (1 comments)
build a home: All Paths Lead to Modular
- 10/22/18 04:15 AM
The way we currently build homes in the U.S. isn’t the way we will continue to build homes in the U.S. Too many things are changing. In the most recent unemployment figures, there are more jobs available than there are people looking for work. We have a housing shortage in the U.S. By many accounts we are falling behind in home construction by hundreds of thousands of homes each year. When supply is low and demand is high, we see prices increase. Until we fundamentally change the way home construction is done, we are stuck. As Americans, we require our homes to be custom to … (3 comments)
build a home: Modular: A Better Way to Manage Your Home Building Budget
- 10/01/18 03:26 AM
When you build a new home using traditional construction, the final cost actually paid for the home typically exceeds the original contract by 10 to 30%. That’s a big difference! That means if you agree to a contract for $250,000 for your home, you will end up actually paying your builder $275,000 – $325,000 for your home. How does this happen? Where does that money come from? How can you get control of your home building budget? The answer is fairly simple: Plan ahead, stick with original selections, and be decisive. The modular construction process actually helps home buyers better manage … (1 comments)
build a home: LEGO Celebrates 10th Anniversary of Going Modular
- 08/13/18 05:32 AM
The modular construction process is compared to building with Legos by many. A home is divided up into modules and assembled onsite in sections. It’s easy to see how the comparisons are made. The power of Legos is in its Creative Sets. A set can come with hundreds or even thousands of pieces. It is up to the creative mind that owns the set to construct a building with the pieces supplied. Imagination is enhanced by designing amazing Lego buildings from the defined list of Lego pieces in the set. The parallels with modular homes can be uncanny. WHY DID LEGO GO … (0 comments)
build a home: Modern Modular: Changing the Old Habits of Construction
- 07/30/18 04:06 AM
Habits are powerful. Much more powerful than most realize. It’s just human nature to do what we are used to, what we have done in the past, instead of making a better choice. In the study of breaking bad habits, detrimental behaviors can be modified by focusing on changing patterns and forming new neural pathways. Home buyers and builders alike have been stuck in the habit of building homes the way they have always done it for almost 200 years. How do you break out of the cycle of building the old way? BAD HABITSHabits are comprised of three distinct stages: Cue … (5 comments)
build a home: Getting a Home Mortgage: The Ten Commandments
- 07/23/18 03:18 AM
Buying a new home is exciting! Most people will only build and finance a new home just a few times in their life. When you need a mortgage to get your new home there are a few rules that you need to know about. While some may seem like common sense, they still get broken by many home buyers. When they get broken, they can add weeks to the mortgage approval process or even worse, sink your hopes of getting a home for a year or even more. Here are 10 “Thou Shalt NOTs” you need to know about. THE TEN COMMANDMENTSThou … (1 comments)
build a home: Modular Homes: Some Assembly Required
- 06/25/18 03:45 AM
Most parents purchase large toys for their children and dread the phrase: Some Assembly Required. But, when it comes to building your next home, that phrase should be exactly what you want to hear. With modular construction, only some of the work is done onsite. Most of the work is already done off-site. It is more than just a shell. You are getting walls, doors, windows, insulation, drywall, trim, plumbing, electric, kitchens, bathrooms, and flooring up to 75-85% complete off-site. For you, Some Assembly Required means that most of the assembly has taken place in a factory where quality is better … (0 comments)
build a home: Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain...
- 06/11/18 03:36 AM
Remember that scene from The Wizard of Oz? Dorothy, The Scarecrow, Tin Man and every other character in the movie had been DUPED! The Wizard of Oz was supposedly a magical solution for all their problems. And, it turned out… It was all a lie. Home building is changing. Home builders are busy; a shortage of skilled construction labor, rising interest rates, rising material costs, and a booming economy means there is a shortage of homes available. Most builders only know how to build the way they have always done it. They haven’t learned about the better ways to build and … (1 comments)
build a home: The Silent Relationship Killer...
- 05/07/18 04:13 AM
When you decide to build a home you aren’t just entering into a business transaction, you are actually initiating a long term relationship. When you embark on the journey to build a custom home you are about to enter into a long term relationship with your builder. A marriage counselor giving a seminar asked her audience what the biggest cause of divorce was. A participant’s hand shot up quickly to answer the question, “Sex, money, and communication!” That’s an obvious answer but not actually the right answer. It’s deeper than that. The same thing applies with the home buyer/home builder relationship. THE … (5 comments)
build a home: Why Do I Need a Higher Credit Score for a Construction Loan?
- 04/16/18 03:55 AM
Banks are averse to risk. This means that when they loan money they typically want collateral to make sure that if they aren’t paid back that they have some type of asset that they can sell and attempt to recoup their losses. In some cases, it is the reputation of the borrower. If the collateral isn’t enough, then a borrower’s credit history of making regular and timely payments plays into the decision of making the loan. A construction loan is unique. A lender is loaning money on something that isn’t done or complete. The lack of a finished asset (house) means … (9 comments)
build a home: A Production Home or a Custom Home: Which One is Right for You?
- 04/09/18 03:24 AM
Buying a new home is exciting. It’s fun looking at models, viewing home plans on all of the home plan sites, and checking out the latest styles and designs on HGTV or Houzz. All of this makes buying a home a thrilling experience as you explore the options that you have. Still, many home buyers don’t understand some of the basic differences in the home building industry. One of those that is most often misunderstood is: “What’s the difference between a production builder and a custom builder?” There is actually a huge difference between the two when it comes to determining what … (0 comments)
Hotels, colleges, franchises, and many others are facing the same issue as every custom home builder in the U.S. today, a shortage of skilled construction workers. Just like custom home builders, they require quality construction for their commercial construction efforts. Not only do they need quality, but they also need their projects to be built quickly and on budget. Those three items have been proving to be more elusive to the construction industry over the last several years. That means they have been moving more and more towards modular construction. 
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