Remarkable Experiences

OK - so it's been a while. What can I say, we've been super busy! We opened the Clubhouse and have had two huge events so far. We had over 60 people through this weekend alone thanks to the New Home Tour!

The title of this post is "Remarkable Experiences." For those of you that are unaware, our Mission Statement as an Epcon Builder is "To Build Homes, Neighborhoods and a Lifestyle that Provides One Remarkable Experience." Recently, we've been giving this a lot of thought and really trying to think of how to provide a Remarkable Experience for everyone - from our existing homeowners, to customers visiting us for the first time, to the community of Greenfield at large.

Most recently, we have focused on our employees, Andrea and Jim. What can we do to make their jobs remarkable too? I think we've taken a pretty big step and one that I am tremendously excited about! We have given Andrea & Jim the ability to finish out one of our existing homes as a "Staff's Choice" Showcase Home. We told them to pull out all the stops and surprise us with their creativity. Jim has been building homes for years and Andrea certainly has a style sense about her, so I am SO excited to see the result! I've heard just a few peeps from the office next door about what is to come, so I'll be sure to keep you posted. I am certain their selections for this home will be a Remarkable Experience for that home owner.

Home Warranty - What's the Big Deal?

Many existing homes that are listed on the MLS by a Realtor are advertised with a Home Warranty. While this is a very beneficial thing to have, (trust me, we used ours once or twice!) it is usually good for only a year and covers only major items with a deductible. In fact, the word deductible insinuates what this warranty actually is - insurance. It is an insurance policy so that you have a little peace of mind that the seller is not selling a house with a ton of problems. Nothing would be worse than moving in and having the air conditioner break the next day!

So, I think, sometimes, it just doesn't seem like a big deal when we explain to people that we offer a New Home Warranty with the homes here at Timber Run. It's expected that all homes have a warranty. However, I'd like to take just a minute to explain why ours is so different than the traditional Home Warranty for existing homes.

The warranty we offer on our homes has a 2 year, what I like to call, "Bumper to Bumper" warranty. So, if really anything goes wrong in the first 2 years, we'll handle it. We warrant that your Home will be free from Defects caused by faulty workmanship or defective materials; faulty installation of Plumbing, Electrical, Heating, Cooling, and Ventilating Systems, or poor workmanship and materials in its roof and roof systems. For fixtures, appliances and other items of equipment, the Warranty is good for one year. Then, during the next two years, the defects caused by poor workmanship in the roof and roof systems are still covered. Finally, Major Structual Defects are warranted for ten years! Now, of course, these warranties are all in addition to the manufacturer's warranties on the items installed in your home, such as the HVAC unit, water heater, etc.

So, while we can't make the inside of your home completely maintenance-free, like the outside, we can go along way to making sure you don't have to deal with problems that may arise in a previously owned home. Next time you're shopping for a new home, whether existing or considering building from scratch, be sure to ask about the Home Warranty. They are NOT all the same!

National Model Park

As you have probably seen from the most recent slide shows I've posted on the blog, Tom and I recently made a trip to New Albany, Ohio and the National Model Park. We have been there several times, but wanted to make another trip. After our visit, we certainly felt reassured that the two new floor plans we are going to offer at Timber Run are going to please a lot of people.

The Aboreta and Bramante are two of the most efficient floorplans I have ever seen. We have a fair amount of customers that really do not spend very much time at home and feel that the Abbey and Canterbury are just a little too large for what they need. The Aboreta and Bramante fill that gap for sure. Plus, we happened to visit on a beautiful sunny day and were able to experience the huge courtyards, which will impress everyone I think.

I think everyone on the bus tour to the National Model Park will be very pleased with what they find in New Albany. I can't wait to get started on these homes!

Why I love Social Networking

I just realized today that I have been using Facebook only for about 9 months and Twitter for only about 3. So, how is it that I am totally and fully hooked? When I started thinking about it, I came up with a few good reasons.

1. It's free! Not much in life is free these days, in fact most costs continue to increase. Think about the postage stamp! But, online tools such as Twitter, Facebook, this blog and others are great ways to get my message to customers, family and friends. As far as time, it just doesn't take very long once you're used to it!

2. It's informative! When I tell people I tweet, I always hear, "Why would I want to hear all about what someone had for breakfast." Well, it's a lot more than that. Sure, there's the occasional non-essential piece of information. But, I now use Twitter for my morning and evening news. The best part is that I follow local and industry specific news sources. So, I don't get a lot of the negative stories we are all too used to in the newspaper and late night news.

3. Stay in touch! These days, everyone is on Facebook. While status updates and photos shouldn't decrease the amount of time we spend with loved ones either in person or on the phone, it is a great way to stay in touch with those you would only normally see at a family or class reunion.

4. Mobility - Now, with phones, digital cameras and even video cameras, we can all communicate no matter where we are in the country. I can take a photo of an Epcon Community in Tennessee and Tweet it right away so that my customers can see what I am seeing. In the same sense, I can feel like I'm a part of a seminar that may be occurring in another state.

One of these days, I want to have a Social Networking Class in our Clubhouse. We'll have Wi-Fi Access in the Clubhouse, so we can all get online and become each others "Fans," "Friends," and "Followers." It's just one more way we can all get connected and become a part of the community! In the meantime, click on one of the links to the right and become a Fan on Facebook or Follow my tweets on Twitter. Check it out and you'll see why I'm so hooked!

Grand Opening Success & What's with those Green Houses?

Well, the Grand Opening of our models was a raging success! We counted over 70 people and we had only planned for about 50. But, that was OK because everyone seemed to have a lot of fun. We gave away the TV to a very surprised visitor and lots of other door prizes as well. The food from Carnegie's must have been fantastic because none of us got a single bite. Every dish was completely cleaned out! We couldn't have been happier!

So, Tom and I just added 8 green Monopoly houses to our Community Map. People may think that these homes have something to do with our Energy Star program, but that's not it! We have officially designated Buildings 2 & 12 as our Courtyard Collection of homes! This is really exciting because now all of the people that expressed an interest in these plans will be able to know where they will be built. We're very excited to get started on the Aboreta and Bramante as the interest has been very high. Check out the YouTube channel - http://www.youtube.com/timberrungreenfield for Virtual Tours.