Question:
I am looking at buying a developer-owned lot to build a new home on. The lot is sloped and I will plan on building a half basement. I was talking to a builder three lots from mine and he said that he had to remove excess fill dirt to get to the sub grade to pour foundation. This was an extra cost to the homeowner. Does the developer have to disclose if a lot has been filled in with fill? If not, should I get a soil impaction test prior to buying the lot?

Answer:
Most developers will disclose any information they have concerning lots. However, the detailed construction drawings will show lots that are filled with soil and or debris. The construction drawings may not show rock formations and or subterranean soil problems that may require additional monies for building.

As an individual buying a lot, it is ALWAYS best to have a builder or his engineer inspect a lot before purchasing. They usually can inform you if the lot requires additional costs to build.

It is customary to do the additional requirements ie: rock removal, additional fill for poor soil conditions, hillside construction, etc. on a cost-plus basis, as it is usually more cost effective to the customer to do it that way verses having an engineer test, estimate rock removal and or fill, and then do the required work after he has included his fees. In some cases, an engineer’s report is required.

As a builder, we have purchased lots knowing there was fill on that lot and it would have to be removed for the building process, and we include an allowance or a fixed cost for that work, adding it to the cost of the structure. The same has been done with rock removal. However, we have built on a lot that had sub soil conditions that were not known by the developer or his sales team, and it was deemed the responsibility of the purchaser to either move on with the project or abandon plans. Because of already incurred costs, they moved on with the project.

Here’s a quick, fun video of us at the scramble. This is an annual event. We always announce upcoming scrambles and events on our blog, so be sure to follow along if you’re interested in participating next year.

This project is wrapping up as we speak. We’ll be sure to post a video once everything is complete. The homeowner, Mike Menkhaus, is actually a repeat customer. We built a custom home for Mike a few years ago and are happy to be working with him again.

If you’re thinking about building a custom home in Louisville, contact me and check out my blog for more information about my business and the custom homes we’ve built in the past.

When you’re in the market for a contractor, builder, or remodeler, you want to make sure you choose someone reliable and trustworthy. We’ve all heard about the horror stories of homeowners forking out big money up-front for a project and the next thing they know their contractor skips town.

While scenarios like that do happen, if you do your research, ask the right questions, and choose a qualified, registered builder, you should be just fine. That’s one reason why I wanted to write this post. I want to go ahead and answer some of those questions for you so you can get to know me a little better.

• My name is Perry Lyons and I’ve been building homes in Louisville for 37 years.
• Our business focuses exclusively on custom projects, meaning we listen carefully to your needs and work hard to accomplish your vision.
• We’ve never cut corners and we never will.
• I’m on the Board of Directors for the Home Builders Association of Louisville (HBAL)
• I’m also the Chairman for the Codes and Standards Committee.
• I teach the advanced estimating and specifications writing classes at the Home Builders Association of Louisville.
• My office is located in the oldest building on Main Street in Middletown.
• I live in Anchorage in one of many homes we built there.
• I’ve completed custom projects in many prestigious neighborhoods in Louisville including Fox Run, Glen Lakes Section II, Lake Forest, Douglas Hills, Plainview, Briar Hill Estates, Grand Lakes, and many others.

Would you like to learn more and see some of my custom building and remodeling work around Louisville? Contact me and let’s start a conversation. You can also follow along on Twitter and Facebook.

If you read my newsletter this weekend, you may have noticed that I’ll be attending the Home Garden & Remodeling Show again this year.

The show runs from March 11-13 at the Kentucky Expo Center and is produced by the Home Builders Association of Louisville. Exhibitors at the show will be offering information on any home-related topic you can think of.

I’ll be exhibiting a full booth this year and will be talking to people about custom home building and remodeling. I’d love for you to stop by my booth and say hi. If you have any questions about home remodeling, improvements, or custom home building, please make sure to ask.

Also, I’ll be collecting business cards at the booth. Be sure to drop yours in for a chance to win a prize.

We look forward to seeing you at the show!

P.S. It’s worth the trip out for a famous Ky fairgrounds pork chop sandwich. Also, if you have the time, the Kentucky State Fair flea market is in town.

Sign up for our newsletter!

Like many small businesses, we were late to the game when it came to developing an email list so we’re doing it now.

Sure we had lists. Several lists. A list of emails in our accounting. A list of emails in our old Outlook database. A list of emails in Gmail. A list of emails on rosters from various organizations. Probably a lot of emails in file folders from customers and prospects. It’s a daunting task to organize that information, and as we’ve talked to other businesses, they experience this challenge too.

You used to be able to throw people on a big email list and send away, but with spam laws, this is no longer acceptable. That’s a good thing, but it doesn’t always make sense. You know that many of your customers who like the work you’ve done want to hear from you. They gave you that address during the sales process. They corresponded with you many times from that address. Same goes for friends, family, and associates who wouldn’t care if you signed them right up. Technically though, they didn’t opt in and give you permission to send them an e-newsletter.

So that brings us to the point of this blog post. We have sent some invitations out via email to those who have corresponded with us recently. Many of you opted in, and we are very grateful for your attention. We know how precious attention is in this information-driven world. To sweeten the pot, we are running a contest for the first 100 subscribers—we’re half way there by the way. After we reach 100, we will draw two names who will win home improvement gift cards from Lowe’s and/or Home Depot.

So here is yet another chance to register. It’s a simple process. Put your name in the box, add your email, click submit. Then go to your inbox (check your spam folder if you didn’t get one immediately) and click the confirmation link. You’re done. We plan to start with a monthly update, but we may work in some other key messages here and there. You can unsubscribe at any time.

P.S. This is different from getting blog posts via email. That option has been on the site since the beginning. Sign up for that too while you’re at it.

“The President’s Grand Award” for Best Integrated Internet Marketing Campaign was given by the Sales and Marketing Council of the Home Builders Association of Louisville.

We submitted to win the award back in the fall. The basis of our campaigns included content marketing via free reports and downloadable guides. It also included social media marketing and sharing via our Twitter and Facebook accounts. We spent a lot of time blogging and video blogging about industry topics, custom building tips, and showing actual site work.

We’ve also been developing a monthly e-newsletter which is set to launch this month. We’d love for you to join our email list today by entering your email address below. You’ll receive an email asking you to confirm your subscription, and you’ll need to click on “confirm” in order to start receiving emails.

Thanks for your support!

Simplified Solutions LLC , an inbound marketing agency in Louisville, KY was proud to help with the strategy, the website updates, the blogging, and the social media coaching— but owner Perry Lyons embraced new media and ran with it. He deserves lot of credit as many scoffers have overlooked digital marketing.

P.S. I’m also Perry’s son in law. In case you didn’t know

Some of you are just surviving (we understand there is no business that’s been hit harder than builders these last few years) and the thought of buying a new home, building a home or even doing a remodel are far from your mind. We understand. Who would want to push anyone to do something to stretch themselves in this economy? If you’re being pushed— run!

Some of you are not even surviving. You need help. You’ve lost homes to foreclosure, had to sell short or take a huge loss by selling in this down market. Some of you are just trying to find housing, to rent and to get back on your feet. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. Hopefully, you’re finding some assistance from those close to you (charity starts at home) or from your local church, ministry or non profit.

Some of you are reserved. You are not in either of the situations above, but you aren’t exactly gung ho to spend money or take risk. We understand. That’s wise. We can’t fault wisdom, or sell against it without losing our moral compass— and we don’t plan on doing that.

Some of you are sitting on the sidelines though and we wonder why. You have saved your money. You have made wise decisions. You’ve paid the price. You are ready to sell your existing home and build a new one or you’re ready to do a major remodel. We are speaking to you today. The time to act is now. Need a lot? Take your pick. Want to get a good price on materials and labor? Tell me how they will get better than today. Want to make sure you get the best price from a builder? I can promise you are getting tremendous value for your money from us right now. Want to get a good interest rate? Are they going anywhere but up? The risk here may be in doing nothing.

We’re not advocating unwise risk for those in the first 3 situations. We are saying that there is no reward without some risk for those in the last situation. Of course you already knew that.

Perry Lyons has been a Louisville builder for over 35 years. Don’t go with a fly-by-night company in this economy. You’ll get our best price and won’t have to worry about all that can go way wrong.

If you’re in the market and want a quality custom home or remodel— we’d love to start a conversation. That’s all. Just a conversation.

Our part of the the story focused primarily on Twitter (micro blogging) and Blogging. It discusses how we keep up with producing content, engaging in social media and using our online presence as a sales and educational tool for customers— or prospective ones for that matter.

Online with Google— it really is the way most customers begin their search.  They vetted you there. They see if you’re up to speed on the market. They expect you to be involved in social media and blogging— engaging them with educational content and answering their questions. They want to believe you’re a thought leader in your field. They want to build trust with you online before they meet you offline. They don’t have time to drive around in cars pressing flesh (shaking hands) with 5 builders before they pick one. Yes we still meet people offline eventually, it’s just that the conversations often begin now on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, our Blog, through email or via our forms on our website. A lot has changed but the playing field is leveled to compete with those who bought attention through ads and direct marketing. It’s hard to do that now. The little guy can bootstrap his efforts now more than ever.

In this video Perry explains a few differences in this project versus others and gets a glowing testimonial from the owner.