FEEDBACK

Following is a collection of your opinions on various subjects taken from email and the RD B blog.

As an architect, I took great offence to Jay Grant's recent article "Marketing a spec home without buying the lot" (January 2011, page 8). His advice is very good for the home builder, a decent deal for the landowner, and all built on the expense of the architect who is "paid for his plan only if the effort results in a sale." Architects are notoriously bad businesspeople, and giving away free work with no reward (other than being paid the usual fee) is among the top of the list. Architects who participate in any such arrangement should either pull out a house plan they already have in the drawer (and been previously paid for design) or agree to a higher than usual fee to compensate for the risk. Otherwise, your magazine is promoting for builders to capitalize on the same bad business practices architects face from maltors, banks and others who have created the current housing economy.

DavidM. Hammer, AIA

RD B BLOG

WHY DO PRODUCTION BUILDERS GET A PASS?

http://bit.ly/elWmoe

I've been a builder most of my life; I'm 72 so that's a long experience, all in custom building. I've built two marinas, boats, liveaboard-floating-homes, land homes, and even computers. In my view~ production homes are not built "incorrectly" but they are built with expethence ... shortcuts are in cosmetics and detailing. Doors will be functional but not beauti�il; moms will not have crown moldings; floors will be carpeted or even tiled but not finer hardwood with embellishments; and windows will not have multiple lites or panes. These, then, are examples of the expethent manner of building a production home. It doesn't diminish anything but the lifestyle enhancement For most people, that's OK. Some, even most, people never develop their tastes beyond that and can accept production because it is in their means. When their tastes do develop, it sometimes manifests in improvements to their production home. You may be seeing that result in your new first home and find it a comfort and maybe even attractive. I hope you do.

Gene Maiorano

Dobbs Ferry, NY.

I'm a custom home builder and design/build remodeler. But I'm also very connected to the rest of our market in the Madison Area Builders Association (Madison, Wis). The "big dog" builder in our market has seen its ups and downs (before the companies merged and became who they are now), but I can say that they are genuinely concerned about their quality control, and they have the National Housing Quality award to prove it. I even overlap with them on numerous subcontractors, and when it comes to those subs, they are among the best of the best. in fact, knowing what I kno~ I would sooner refrr someone to the biggest production builder in our market than to some of the midsize, "semi-custom" builders in our market. As a remodeler, I get to see the worst of the worst and sometimes some pretty good work, too.

Abe Degnan

Degnan Design Builders

DeForest, Wig.

LEARN OUTSIDE THE COMFORT ZONE

http://bit.Iy/hXg88o

It's definitely a challcnge to push yourself outside that comfort zone from time-to-time but when you do and you embrace it, the feeling is amazing. I look at it as a way to not only be a better person but to also be that much better at what I do in the buikling industry. I pushed outside of my comfort zone this past summer and decided to start writing a blog (crafti 945. blogspot.coin). I had no idea what I was doing at first but found my way and made a commitment to keep pushing on.

Tim Capaldi

Capaldi Building Co.

Birmingham, Mich.