Marjie O'Connor: The Buzz on Building

Benefitting from Foreclosures

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:45:08 -0500

I've seen several items, including video on our own site, that offer information for builders and remodelers who want to buy foreclosed houses and resell them at a profit. From a financial point of view, it makes a lot of sense — as long as you're willing to take a risk. But I have to admit that the idea of buying the home of someone who had to give it up involuntarily seems a bit ghoulish to me. It reminds me of vultures circling patiently. (There are probably builders who are seeing vultures, too. It's a scary time.)

Is the End of the Bust in Sight?

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 13:04:17 -0500

Yesterday's news that sales of existing homes increased in February offers another bit of hope that the housing market is starting to recover -- or at least stabilize. Other indications include the Housing Market Index from the National Association of Home Builders, which held steady. Although only one in five respondents thinks that the market is getting better, that's an improvement from the 18% who felt that way in December.

Green is Everywhere

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 13:37:56 -0500

Last week brought the announcement of yet another certification program for professionals in residential construction. This one, called ReGreen, comes from the American Society of Interior Designers. It follows the release of NAHB's National Green Building Program last month at the International Builders' Show. Other green programs include Green Certified Professional from the National Association of the Remodeling Industry and, of course, the LEED residential program from the U.S. Green Building Council.
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The Narrowing Window of Opportunity?

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 16:01:33 -0500

Ever since the housing slowdown hit, the bright spot in the construction industry has been nonresidential building. Until very recently, it has been booming with the same enthusiasm as we saw in housing a couple of years ago. More than a few smart home builders moved into that market to even out the turndown in their usual work flow, getting involved with light commercial projects such as strip malls, doctors' offices and restaurants.

The Cost of Doing Business

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 15:28:48 -0500

I had lunch today with Bob Gatton, a good friend who also writes for HGTVPro.com. Somehow we got to discussing how little attention some business owners pay to the numbers involved in running a business. Since Bob knows a lot of people in the home-electronics biz, he has seen some sad situations: technophiles who open a company to install home theaters, for example, but who really don't understand how to run a company.

Integrated Supply: Coming to a Distributor Near You?

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:47:32 -0500

During the first half of the 15 years I've spent writing about the residential-construction business, I worked for a magazine called Supply House Times. Its audience is wholesale distributors of plumbing and HVAC materials, as well as industrial piping for non-residential applications. I was the industrial PVF girl, but I learned a lot about the PHC (plumbing-heating-cooling) side of the business, too.

The Whole World is Going Green

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 10:40:53 -0500

If you were at the International Builders' Show in Orlando last week and did not notice a huge emphasis on green building ... well, it reminds me of the joke, "If you remember the '70s, you weren't really there." Green was everywhere: products, workshops, buttons -- even shirts. (Thursday was Green Day, and many attendees were sporting NAHB polo shirts in the unmistakable shade of newly sprouted grass.)

Off to the International Builders' Show!

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 23:14:58 -0500

It's that time of year again. I leave tomorrow for the International Builders' Show in Orlando, where I'll get to see old friend and make new ones. The thing that has me really psyched, though, is the emphasis on green building this year — even more than last year.

Modular Houses and Insurance

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:37:05 -0500

I learned something from some of the comments to my previous blog about Systems-Built Houses. It sounds like people who own them sometimes run into trouble getting homeowners insurance because insurers assume that a "manufactured" home is a trailer and therefore not very durable. I didn't expect that at all, but considering the huge gray area in defining manufactured housing, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised.

Systems-built Houses

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 15:16:27 -0500

It's hard to find information about systems-built houses. For one thing, it's not the catchiest term in the world, and it's not common outside the construction industry. If a homeowner wants information about a house other than stick-built, he's likely to search for "manufactured house," ending up with a lot of info about what used to be called trailers.

Tools We Can't Live Without

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 16:57:37 -0500

Everybody in the construction business has some favorite tools that they'd hate to give up. And with the advent of electronic communication, the list of favorite tools has expanded to include such things as cell phones, BlackBerries and laptops. For many contractors, a cell phone is their main business line.

How Important is Quality to Home Buyers?

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 16:13:32 -0500

I got a thought-provoking comment on one of my blogs from a while back. While the comment doesn't relate directly to the topic of that blog, it raises a valid point -- one that I've heard before. The comment comes from Lou Marlin:

"I have remodeled all my life, built homes from the ground up, and designed several for friends and family. My son and I decided to use my knowledge and his to become contractors. We built our first house, which is on the market now. What I found out is people don't necessarily want good; they want cheap. We built this house with the best materials, and the way you would want one if it was for yourself. Well, that didn't impress anyone. They want cheap, not good. It has a nice lot with mature trees all around the property but cheap stands out! I have learned a lesson from this house."

What's Hot and What's Not

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 17:11:41 -0500

One of the things I like the most about the start of a new year is the flurry of predictions about what we can expect in the next 12 months. For the second year now, HGTVPro.com has published Realtor Mark Nash's take on trends that will continue, as well as those that have just about run their course.

Who Loves the U.S. the Most?

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 14:19:25 -0500

This is a topic I've discussed before, but I just read an interesting commentary in Time magazine about immigration. The author, Michael Kinsley, makes an interesting point: Everybody is in favor of obeying the law. What we should be worrying about is whether or not the law makes sense -- and changing it if it doesn't.

Housing Crunch is Less Painful in the Long View

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 15:20:39 -0500

I got a press release today from the National Association of Realtors that contained some good news on a couple of fronts. First, the NAR reports that the median price of existing houses for sale has actually risen in most of the markets they surveyed. And second, the value of existing homes is still holding up quite well when you look at the big picture. In other words, unless a homeowner bought at the peak of the housing bubble, he or she will still do just fine with appreciation over the long haul.