Introducing...The WeheartDurham Team!

A few posts back I introduced you to Renee, our newest addition to the Garman Homes sales team...she's the one we tasked with taking over Durham in a totally welcome non-hostile kinda way.  That's her in the pic above with Kevin.

I realize I haven't introduced Kevin yet...meet Kevin!  He's integral to our takeover plan for Renee.  You know all those houses Renee is going to sell in Durham?  Well, Kevin is the guy that's gonna make sure all those houses get built.  Because really, what would be the point of selling houses you can't build?  That would be silly.  And frustrating.

So truth be told, this isn't the first time Kevin & Renee have worked together.  They actually crossed paths once upon a time in another builder life.  So now they're like Peaches & Herb...Reunited and it feels so good!

We're so lucky to have these two on our team.  They take great care of our buyers, our agents and our neighbors.  That's why we heart them.  And they heart Durham.

Design Process: Step 4.

Step 4:  Transition from Virtual to Reality.  

At this point in your design journey you've probably flipped through lots of Flickr pictures (some of you may have stayed on there longer than you should have-no worries, we can spot that glazed over 'I don't even know what I like anymore' look).  Help is on the way.

Maybe you've even driven through a few neighborhoods taking note of the colors you liked.  That's all good stuff because you're about to transition to a whole new level...time to pick some stuff!

Your first Design Appointment!  [With a real live actual designer.]
Time Allotted: 2.5hrs
By Appointment Mon-Fri.

First up on the agenda:  Exterior Colors.

We've narrowed down your choices slightly from 'every color in the rainbow' to 'every color we like seeing on a house'.  We refer to this collection of colors as our Exterior Color Schemes.  Clever, right?

We've spent lots of time refining these palettes to make sure we're offering a broad range of colors and the right mix of colors for your neighborhood.  We may even have a few recommendations just for your house and elevation.  We try to be thoughtful about these things.

At this point we should probably also outline a few ground rules on choosing your Exterior Color Scheme...you can't pick the same colors as your neighbor.  Not even if you're building a different house.  It's not that we don't want you to have the color you want, we just want to protect what is special and unique about each house.




Second on the agenda:  Cabinets, countertops and whatever else you have time to choose...

We'll start in the kitchen and see how far we get!  Cabinets, countertops & cabinet hardware, OH MY!
Before you know it your house will start to look good in more places than just your head.

After this appointment give yourself a pat on the back.
These are big decisions and you're making em!
We're proud of you.

Hello. My name is Jim Garman

Hi! I'm Jim Garman. That's me over there. More often than not, I have an iPhone pressed to my right ear and my left hand on the steering wheel of my 2008 Prius. I don't often sit still. Gretchen Mathison must have used a high shutter speed to capture this photo. Love her.

I live in Durham with my wife, Katie, and our two children, Ellie (5) and Sam (2). Katie is a doctor at Duke, she's kind of a big deal. I'm very thankful that she has a "real job." Ellie is in preschool and Sam hangs out during the day at Lakewood Avenue Children's School. I grew up in Kentucky and graduated from Yale in 1998. During college I spent more time on the Habitat for Humanity jobsite than in the classroom...and I have the grades to prove it!

After graduating, I moved to San Francisco to chase a dream with Antony Brydon, founder of the Habitat Bicycle Challenge. In 2000, I moved with a ring in my pocket to Durham, where I promptly proposed to Katie, my college sweetheart.

I spent the next six years working my way up through the ranks at DR Horton, where I learned homebuilding and leadership during the best of times. Oblivious to the pending economic disaster, I struck out on my own in late 2006, starting the first Garman Home in March, 2007.

Since then, our merry band has built over 250 homes in the Triangle.  We are thrilled to come to work everyday and do what we love...build great homes for great people.  As a five-year old company, we are excited to wrap up kindergarten this year and move up to first grade...always humbled by how much we have to learn and how much better we want to be.

You ain't seen nothing yet.

Have a question about me?  About us?  Anything at all?  Call me.  My cell phone is the "main company" phone number posted on our website, I'm easy to find.  I look forward to hearing from you!  \JG

Design Process: Step 3.

Step 3:  Search our Flickr  Feed

See that cute little baby in the corner of our photostream?  That's Sam Garman.  Jim is confident that someday Sam will thank him for stealing his identity for our Flickr feed because of the primo yahoo address registered well before Sam could talk let alone type.  Or search Flickr.  

Flickr is how we catalog our houses.  It's our portfolio (we know, fancy word for 'database' but we had to veto that word on account of it being just too boring and not worthy of describing our awesome collection of house pictures.)

Your time on Flickr will be well spent...we recommend the following searches so you're well prepared for your upcoming design appointments.   Think of it as fun house homework.  We promise, this is fun homework.

Search #1:   Exterior colors

We've labeled each picture with the paint colors, roof shingles and trim colors so you'll know the exact colors you like (and in some cases, don't like).  This will help tremendously when you're faced with the task of picking colors you like from a collection of samples that are way smaller than the size of a house.

Search #2:  Kitchens, Master Baths  & any other spaces you have a vision for...

We love the search feature in Flickr.  Type in kitchen and you'll get transported into every kitchen we've ever built!  Type in Master Bath and it's instant access!  You can even type in your neighborhood name and see what all of your neighbors houses look like.  It's so fun.

Enjoy!  See...we told you homework could be fun.

Design Process: Step 2.

Step 2:  A is for Appliances.

It may seem like an odd place to start the design of your home but appliances are our first stop for a few reasons.

Reason 1:  Shopping for appliances is fun.  And you have a credit.  Don't you love to go to stores where you have a credit?

The base price of your new Garman Home includes a credit towards appliances at Sears in Crabtree Valley Mall.  They offer us special builder pricing that we pass right along to you.   It's a sweet deal. We'll help you schedule an appointment with a Sears appliance expert who will help you choose which appliances are right for you.

Reason 2:  Depending on what you choose, appliances can affect the layout of your kitchen cabinets.  30" appliances vs. 36" appliances...gourmet vs. non-gourmet kitchens...it all affects your cabinets.  And kitchen cabinets require the longest lead time from order to installation.  So if we want your cabinets to be on time for your construction manager (and trust us, you want them to be on time)...we need to get you to Sears quickly so we can get to work on your kitchen cabinet layout.

Ok...I think you're ready for Step 3.

Design Process: Step 1.

See this kitchen?  Isn't it pretty?  Do you want a kitchen that looks like this?

Or this?

Or maybe this?

Maybe you have something entirely different in mind.  That's cool, we can help you with that too.  But first, you gotta help us, help you.  Not to go all Jerry Maguire on you but there really is no better way to say it.  Other than you had us at hello.     

Step 1:  Admit you have a house to design

Admit that you have a lot of decisions to make and then reassure yourself that you have the capacity to make good design choices.  You may not have your own show on HGTV but trust your own sense of style.  You will be able to design a home that is uniquely yours.

Now, remind yourself you will have help.  Our designers are fantastic at what they do.  We hired them because they love helping you pull together all the small details that will turn one of our houses into your new home.  Think of them as your design sherpas.

Ready?

Ok...move to Step 2.

Meet Renee!

Hey Everyone...this is Renee!

We just hired her to take over Durham for us...(in a non-hostile totally welcome kinda way.)

Renee will be selling Garman Homes in Fairfield and Amberly and a few other neighborhoods to be named at a later date.

She's kind of a big deal and we love her.  We can't wait for you to get a chance to work with her.

So here's what you should know about Renee:

1.  She's never on time, except for a buyer.

2.  She'll never tell you what you want to hear...she just tells the truth.

3.  She loves Durham.

4.  Her home could be mistaken for an animal shelter.  Seriously, she has 2 dogs and 4 cats.  She's got a thing for saving animals.

5.  She's not Mac savvy just yet but she's trying real real hard.  Real hard.

6.  She said her favorite part of her job is meeting the people...the buyers.  That might sound cheesy but when she left her last community, the homeowners threw her a party.  And she regularly hangs out with her buyers.  That's legit.  2legit2quit.  HEY HEY!

Nice shoes, Kendall!

Ask Kendall what she did to deserve these shoes.  

We are the World - Real Estate Industry Bands Together

Two years ago we produced this video...just for fun!  Obviously, we had some time on our hands back in 2010.  Thank you to the hundreds of people who made this happen, what a great memory!

Hi Mandi!

Mandi Cook, our Builder in Wedgewood

Obviously this is not a glam shot, but I just love it.  This is Mandi.  She is delightful.  When you see her in Wedgewood, say hello.  Ask her about her love of dogs and the 10 acres she is buying this summer as a first step towards a lifelong dream.  

OK, I'm a little proud

My daughter, Ellie.  Her preschool class took a field trip to see a home we are building for one of her classmate's family.  We couldn't resist the kid-size hardhats as a souvenir for the group.  Big thanks to Mike & Aria for allowing us to invade their half-built home with 13 four-year olds!

Garman Supports Go Koman Team

Pick a Color...but save the drama for your mamma.

Michelle's first assignment as Guest Buyer was choosing exterior colors.  A process that should be a joyful expression of color but sometimes turns into a torturous debate over which 6x6 sample of green has too much gray and whether or not you'd like that same 6x6 sample spread over the wide expanse of a new house...it's not always an easy decision.

So in order to protect us from exterior color confusion (ECC for those in the know) I fired up our Flickr studio pictures and showed Michelle some of the houses we've built and the colors we've used.

I could tell almost instantly Michelle was not going to have any problem deciding on colors.  She quickly weeded out the colors she didn't like with subtle hints like, 'ew, not that' or the more cryptic, 'wow...' (eyes wide with disgust)...I love a girl with strong opinions.    

Michelle's vision for a sophisticated gray palette came together easily...our only lingering question...do we select a matching gutter color for a seamless look or do we go for high drama and pick a dark contrasting gutter color?  After much squinting and pensive facial contortions as we surveyed the colors chosen so far (no cameras allowed during this phase) we decided we should go for it!  High drama...black gutters.  Hot stuff!  We knew it wouldn't be the right look for everyone but surely someone would drive up and love this house because of the gutters.  Right?

Maybe.

But a few days later neither of us was feeling the drama as much so we opted for a safer matching gutter color.   And even as I type this I can already hear our future buyer speaking the words, 'I love everything about this house...I just wish there was a little more drama on the exterior.'

Drama, indeed.  We shall see...

  

Michelle and her exterior masterpiece...

Meet Michelle, our first guest buyer...Take Two!

Hi, my name is Alaina.  I'm full of great ideas but I'm not always great on the follow-through.  

It feels really good to get that off my chest.  

Once upon a time...in a land as far away as early May...I had a great idea to blog about my friend, Michelle.  Michelle is our first guest buyer...a title you can read all about below.

I'm re-posting my original post about Michelle for two reasons:

1.  I felt the need to confess my follow-through sins.

2.  Michelle has a great story to share.  And there are many more posts to come.   

This is my friend Michelle.  Everyone, meet Michelle.  Michelle, meet everyone.

Before I tell you why I'm introducing you to Michelle, lemme tell you why I love this picture of her...

#1.  It was taken in Italy.  My favorite place in the world.

#2.  Her shirt says, 'Stay at Home Rock Star.' It doesn't get much cooler than that.

#3.  Happiness is infectious and looking at this picture makes me smile.  We can all use more of that.

Back to why I'm introducing you to Michelle...

Michelle is our very first guest buyer.  Guest what?  What's a guest buyer?  Well...I'm glad you asked, fictional voice in my head.  A guest buyer is a title I made up for Michelle so she could get the experience of building a Garman Home virtual-reality style.  Now some of you quick folks out there might be asking...why doesn't Michelle just build an actual Garman Home?  Why go virtual?

Because Michelle, like most of us, prefers to own just one home at a time.  And she already has a home.  A home she tried to sell so she could buy one of ours in Sunset Oaks.  But it didn't sell.
[insert sympathetic-yet-not-surprising sigh here...maybe some of you have been there-done that.]

When Michelle sent me an email and told me they were taking their home off the market I was genuinely sad.  Sad for her knowing what she would be missing.  Knowing how excited she was at the prospect of building her own home.  I know what a cool experience it is to get to build a home from scratch...I get to live vicariously though each and every one of the inventory homes we build.  I get to pick out all kinds of cool stuff...funky tile, souped-up wide-plank floors and even the occasional custom slab of granite that makes me dizzy with visions of elegant dinner parties dancing in my head.  I am spoiled by the new home experience.  I didn't want Michelle to miss out on that.

So I decided to offer Michelle the virtual experience of building a new home.  Why not?  As far as reaching your target demographic goes, it doesn't get much better than having someone who would buy your house design it for someone who could buy your house.  And because I work with the best people on the planet, when I first proposed this idea they didn't ask about all the how's, when's and why's...they just offered their full support.  Which, I gladly accepted.  

So to recap:  we're building the house Michelle would have built...but not for Michelle...for someone else...who shall be named later...but Michelle's gonna pick out all the stuff for the house.  And in the meantime, we're going to chronicle Michelle's experience here.  And it's gonna be cool because...well...that's just how a Stay at Home Rock Star rolls.

Mandi makes secret door

The back of the Full House

Cool, right?

G-Team visits

We all know that buying a new home is an exciting, anxious, stressful, and overwhelming experience all at the same time. At Garman, we clearly understand this and we strive to make the whole experience and transition as smooth and stress free as possible!! Nothing relates to this more than our 45 day warranty and our 1 year warranty.

With out a doubt, its hard to catch and grasp the functions of a new home with the walkthroughs we do before the closing date. Obviously, we go over and critique all the measures of a new home during these walkthroughs. Whether it's explaining the HVAC and plumbing systems, or the functions of each applicance, or even how to maintain the granite/tile. We want the homeowner to feel as comfortable as possible upon their first day moving in.

What helps create an even stronger bond, is the assurance that we will be there at the 45 day mark of their closing, to go over any and all questions or concerns they may have. At this 45 day mark, we go ahead and bring in the installers of the HVAC, plumbing, electrical, painting, window/door, etc..... Pretty much every and any outfitter that had a process in building the home. Some might say its overkill, but at Garman, we want that great look of satisfaction from the homeowner as if to say, "this is why I built a Garman Home"......

At the 1 year mark, we again come back and look into any and all issues that may have come about since closing..... This is great because after a full year, the homeowner is even more accustomed to their home and helps build that sense of comfort and reliability to an even higher degree!

Both warranties are a great attribute to the homeowner and Garman. It allows the homeowner to keep their beautiful home as pristine as when they first moved in and it allows us to build an even a stronger bond and also the chance to live up to our already great reputation!!!

- John Douglas

Thanks C&W Concrete!

There are very few things that are not "fixable" in construction. If the framers goof up and frame the door at the wrong height, they take 30 minutes, tear it back apart and frame it correctly. If the plumbers cut a pipe too long, they just measure and cut again. (Measure twice, cut one is great in theory but happens very little in reality). If the electricians forget to put in a plug, they take 15 minutes and put in another one.

There is one thing that is very permanent and costs a whole bunch of money to fix if it's done wrong. It's CONCRETE! It's heavy, permanent, and virtually "unfixable". If it is fixed, then most anyone can see it. It has to be ripped out and replaced. The ripped out stuff has to be hauled away. It's a pain in the butt, expensive to do, and costs a lot of time. That is why it is soooooooo important to have a good concrete trade partner and we have the best! The name of the company is C and W Concrete. Ronnie Chambers is the owner. Scott Chambers is his son and runs the crews. Pedro is the foreman.

I don't want to jinx it, but they just don't make mistakes. These guys are great at what they do and we love them for it. Thank you guys! Our customers thank you, also. Garman Homes is honored to have you working with us!

- Dan Morse

Dan's Favorite Thing...

Plain and simple. My favorite thing about company meetings we have is that they are few and far between. Some companies have meetings everyday and sometimes two or three times a day. Why is that? It's because they don't just talk to each other. It is amazing what happens when we just hang out. We call these informal meetings. Informal meetings are common place at Garman Homes. I am amazed at how many things get missed at our formal meetings and get figured out in our informal meetings. You should try it!

- Dan Morse

Ric Peed from Tri City

Garman Homes isn't the only place you'll find Rock stars - we have some pretty rockin' vendors too. Ric Peed from TriCity Insulation of Raleigh is one of those vendors. I love working with Ric - he's always very helpful and has a great attitude (which is a must when doing anything associated with Garman Homes). These are the kind of vendors that I truly enjoy working with. So thanks Ric for not only making my job easier, but for being a great part of the support that helps us at Garman Homes be the best that we can be!!

- Val Morse

Set up for Success

We’ve all had “those jobs” or “that boss” who only cared about the “bottom line.” I’ve got news for them; people make up the bottom line. That’s just one small thing I love about our culture here at Garman. We are for sure set up for success or at least given the opportunity to succeed.

 You see, sometimes success can mean failing and failing is not necessarily a bad thing. I can recall many times when I didn’t handle that homeowner quite like I should have, or set that foundation too high, or ordered way too much lumber. But what I can’t remember is ever being blown out because of it. There is power in failure because when handled properly it gives one the opportunity to grow and succeed.

Not to mention the freedom that comes with knowing that hey, it’s ok to make a mistake. I know all my fellow Garmanites will agree that our unique culture here has helped to cultivate an attitude of wanting to be the best we can be. We may not be conventional or kosher, but we’re definitely good at being “US!”

- Gerry Felton

Kendall's Favorite

My favorite thing that we build is... well this was a hard one. I started thinking of the items that go into a home, and tried to narrow it down. That's when I realized I couldn't and had to narrow it down to a single floor plan.

This floor plan we started building at the end of the summer. The first time I walked through this floor plan I instantly had the reaction that this is the floor plan that someday I will build. The amazing first floor is open and would cater to my style of living. On the second floor the master bedroom and bathroom are ballin! On top of that the bonus room is amazing!

Thank you Brian Russo for building the home that I have fallen so deeply in love with :)

- Kendall Ashworth
(recently engaged and someday owner of a Creedmoor plan)

Bunglehouse Blue

One of my favorite features since starting at Garman, has been the exterior siding currently in place at Lot 712 in Sunset Oaks. The Bunglehouse Blue depicted in the picture below, implies how a color of siding can add such an attitude, but also create a serene atmosphere at the same time! Lot 712, has the tendency to catch every approaching visitor who turns onto Middlegreen Lane. Whether its by the effect of the grassy common area or the effect of the Carolina Blue Sky, the Bunglehouse Blue creates that awe inspiring sight!!!

- John Douglas

our "Office"

One of the earliest steps in the construction process for every house is setting up the temporary utilities. Believe it or not, it's awfully tough to build a house without power and water...just ask any of my subs when I forget to do so.

The other day I was on the phone with Progress Energy (who I've always had good experiences with btw...unexpectedly considering the reputation of most utility companies). I was setting up a new account for a house in Wedgewood. A funny thing happened when we got to the usually well-rehearsed part of the conversation where the rep asks me for our "office" address, "office" phone number, and "office" fax number.

I put "office" in quotations of course because we don't actually have an "office". Definitely not one with an automated phone system, cubicles and a fax machine. We do have to use a physical mailing address for the company, but when I told her we don't have an office phone and that I've never actually faxed anything since I've been at Garman Homes....SILENCE.

Then:

"Well, uh...wait...huh? So what is y'alls company's number? Whuduhya mean y'all don't have an office phone? Or a fax? What do y'all use then? How do people call y'all?"

At that point I got to share with her our approach to company office overhead. It sounds boring by topic, but the philosophy behind it is eye-opening!

Why tie ourselves down with a phone cord, fax machine, file cabinet or most importantly, a single location?

Instead we're outfitted with iEverything and store our files in Dropbox (cloud file management - #checkitoutforyourself). Without trying to sound like an Apple comercial, we put the best tools in the best people's hands and send them out to do their best work.

Why stand at a fax machine or wait around the office for a phone call when an Email, Text, Facebook post, Yam, FaceTime, Picture, Blog, Video or Face-to-face meeting is 1000x better and more enjoyable and efficient?? And I can do it all from wherever I need to be. At any time. From any place.

We love being on the leading edge and thinking outside of the box (aka office).

PS - Big ups to GO Realty (SHOUT OUT!) for letting us mooch on y'alls copy machine! (Spoiler Alert: Garman Homes occasionally has to do business with the non-2012 world still)

- Brian Russo

All granite is not created equal.

That's me this past summer at Arteleye with Tommy picking out the granite slab for our Parade House.  He was excited to show this slab to me because he knows how much I love slabs with really dramatic veining.  He knew I would pick this slab.  And he was right, I did.

He also knows I hate it when our buyers are disappointed.  So he called me a month ago and told me his Luna Pearl granite slabs came in looking a little differently than they usually do.  He was concerned because we had a buyer who chose Luna Pearl and her house was ready for install but he was worried she may not like this new version.

Wow-talk about being grateful for thoughtful trade partners!

So Tommy sent us pictures of the old Luna Pearl and the new Luna Pearl so we could share with the buyer.  As expected, she didn't like the new Luna Pearl.  Imagine the disappointment he spared our buyer...from walking into her brand new house and seeing a granite she wasn't expecting and didn't even like!

When I called to tell Tommy the buyer really didn't like the new Luna Pearl he stepped up again...and offered the buyer to come to the showroom and pick out another color.  At no additional cost.

She picked out a gorgeous new color.  And Tommy helped us find a way to turn something unexpected into an opportunity to really delight our buyer.  Beautiful.

 

Inspiration from "You've Got Mail"

This scene from You've Got Mail echoes in my head every day.  Thank you Tom Hanks & Meg Ryan for reminding us that business is inevitably personal. 

- Jim Garman 

My Favorite Kitchens

  

White Cabinets...check.

Furniture Style Islands...check.

Custom Granite Slab selection...check.

My Favorite Kitchens we've EVER built...check!

I need to get me one of these.

Your Name Here!

Aren't these letters cool?  Know what?  These are shapes from homes we have built over the past 5 years.  Jill Booth (Alpha Mama Art) has been photographing our homes to build her database of letters.  And now, we are starting to roll out framed art for our customers.  Exclusively with letters photographed from our homes. 

Thanks Jill Booth! 

PS - Robert & Vonda, this one is coming your way!

We have the best buyers!

A part of the Garman culture is to have Rockstars as buyers, I mean there is even a Garman Home owner among us (Kristi Burkett :) ) Building a house takes a long time and if both parties aren't on the same side, it can lead to a very tedious process. This is one of the many reasons we recruit Rockstars!

Our buyers are patient when patience is needed, and have a voice when we need to hear it. We have completely revamped floor plans because a buyer told us it would work better this way. We listen! The relationships we build with our buyers are not only one of the best relationships we could build, but they are the relationships that last!

We love our awesome buyers!

- Kendall Ashworth

Built in Benches...My Fav

Every time I walk into my own home I wish that I had one of my all time favorite Garman Homes signature features: the built-in bench with hooks and cubbies. In my house, at any given time, you can expect to see 5 pairs of shoes, coats, book bags, and purses ON THE FLOOR! My girls and I are obviously not super organized people (yes, we are three girls with lots of shoes) but anyone can keep their entryway organized with a built-in bench. And even if you don't need help with organization, it just looks cool! And every Garman Home has one!

- Laurel Schawel

Whatever you are comfortable in

 So we have a new recruit starting for us in a couple of weeks. We are so excited to have her start! Of course she had many questions about many different things. Some questions included:

How many homes per year does Garman build?
Where will I be building Garman homes?
What makes Garman Homes different?

Etc., etc., etc. Important stuff!

Of course, once we answered those questions among many more, she could not resist coming to work for us.So once she accepted the position, there were more questions. We had more answers.Then a few days later, she called me very excited about starting work and she asked me the simple question, "What do I wear to work?"

The cool thing is I didn't even have to think about it and I answered, "Whatever you are comfortable in."

She said, "Even Jeans?"

And I said, "Even jeans and if it's hot out, you can wear shorts."

She ended the conversation with, "This gets even better."

Of all the important questions that were asked during the interview, the simple question of what to wear to work was not important. But to be able to wear comfortable clothes, especially when we work in an outdoor factory, is very important. There are many companies who tell you what to wear no matter how uncomfortable it may make you while working. We are not one of those companies! We are serious about our work and serious about our customers. We are not serious about what we wear while doing it. If our Build Like a Gilr star can wear a dress to build a house, why can't Gerry?!?! Ha!

- Dan Morse

The Case Against Building Models

We get a lot of questions about why we don't build models.  And truthfully, in the beginning it was just all about affordability.  We couldn't afford models so we didn't build them.  Then the longer we went without building models the more we realized the benefit of selling without them.

If an agent calls us up and wants to show one of our houses and we don't have a finished home to show them, we call up our homeowners.  What better way to show our homes than with actual real live people who built a home with us?

Last week I called up my friend, Jenn Cole , who represented some of our buyers in Fairfield last year.  That's her alongside me at the office-comparing fashionable footwear.  Anyway, I told Jenn we had someone interested in seeing the plan her clients built and what did she think?  Within hours she sent me a text with a time that worked for the homeowners.

We take great pride in showing the homes we've built.  But we take even greater pride in allowing people interested in buying our homes to meet the people we've already built a home.

I don't care what you spend on a model...it really can't compare with an opportunity to reconnect with agents who have sold our homes, buyers who have built our homes and give interested buyers a peek behind the curtain.  What better way to give them a sense of who we really are?

I'm not saying we'll never build a model, I'm just saying I'm grateful we haven't built one yet.

A Referral from WHO?

A couple months ago Brian got a call from Pedro, who supervises the concrete crew we use.  Pedro wanted to give him the number of a lady who was interested in finding out more about one of our houses.  She  drove by while Pedro and his crew were working on the house.  She asked Pedro if he had any information on how to get in touch with us.  So pedro took her number and passed it along to Brian.  Who passed it along to Laurel.  Who sold the house to the woman who stopped Pedro.

There are so many people out there who would not have taken the time to get the woman's number.  And I'm so glad those people don't work on our houses.  And I'm so glad Pedro does.

If you want to read more about why Pedro is the coolest, click here.

How the small details make a huge difference

When I drive through our neighborhoods I can't help but look at all of our signs with the big four colorful squares, the Garman differences of course, and love how much they stick out. (Now if you don't know what the four Garman differences are, pfff we need to talk!) Even on the gloomiest of days you look up and you see color. Although the design of our signs can be attributed largely to Alaina Money (who likes to build pretty) and Jim (who likes everything clutter-free) we have a wonderful guy that helps us bring our thoughts to life on our signs.

Randy at Routerxpress not only gets us replacement lot signs after we lose them for ummm the 6th time, but he also helps us visualize what our signs are going to look like. For example, last Thursday I was given the task of ordering a replacement sign for the entrance of Holly Glen. If you have seen our signs before, which I would hope you have and if you haven't look below for an example, they are a clean and not too wordy.

Randy came up with a rough drawing of what we had explained in words. When we saw it we realized that was NOT what we wanted. The simpler the better. After about 12 emails we had settled on the new design of the sign.

Thank you for everything you do Randy!

- Kendall Ashworth

We listen to Realtors

Feedback from real estate agents and buyers is really important to us. When we ask for it, and you give it to us, we take it very seriously. In fact, a few months ago we received feedback from an agent that the light fixtures in one of our homes seemed cheap and looked outdated. We went in that week and removed all of the light fixtures and replaced them with better looking, more updated fixtures.

Wow! It made such a big difference we decided to change the lighting package going forward for all future homes built!

We want to build homes that our buyers love. We build them for you, not for us. So tell us what you think!

- Laurel Schawel

A porch is a porch is a porch. Right?

A porch you say, who cares about a porch?? I mean I don’t get any extra money for it; it won’t count as additional square footage, what’s the big deal? Curb appeal baby. One thing we do here at Garman Homes is a big ole freaking wrapped porch…Yeah!!!! This small addition plays a huge role in giving a house style.

I like to think of it synonymously with Cindy Crawford’s beauty mark. She doesn’t get anything for it, but everyone knows about it and loves it. These little architectural tidbits of Joy can make a lasting impression on a house while at the same time offering hours on endless rocking.

 I guess I wrote all this to say, I love me some wrapped porches. Who’s with me?

- Gerry (G-Dog) Felton

Love me some newel posts!

Okay, so I was trying to decide which one of my favorite things I wanted to write about and I was having a hard time choosing. I kept coming back to the newel posts and I couldn't figure out if that was because I'm getting older and my memory is just that bad so I can only remember the newest thing? But then I realized that I keep coming back to newel posts because it truly is one of my favorite things. It adds just the right touch to "fancy up" the staircase and give it that finished look. I love it!!

- Val Morse

Meet Mario!

This is Mario from MFS Electric. Mario is an excellent field manager with MFS and allows Garman Homes to excel each and everyday! Today we salute you Mario, for you're dedication, commitment, and most importantly your Rockstar personality and attitude!

- John Douglas

Thanks BB&T!

A big shout out to Brian Woods at BB&T...he is the loan officer who handles our construction loans.  These guys picked us up in 2008 after Suntrust and Gateway Bank pulled the plug on construction lending.  Brian stepped in and financed a few homes in Fairfield, then a few more, and since then he has financed over 30 homes for us across the Triangle.   

So often our banking partners go unrecognized...I wanted to take a moment and correct that.  Thank you Brian and BB&T for believing in us helping us build Garman Homes.  We could not have done it without you. 

Wedgewood Back Yard

You never know how the grading is going to shape up...until the grading shapes up.  Brian Russo sent me this yesterday, wow!  This is the back yard of lot 21 Wedgewood looks fantastic.  Great job Team!

Thermostat Issue...Resolved!

I have the pleasure of working with the Garman Homes team and owning a Garman Home. This is one of my homeowner stories.

When we moved into our Pinehurst we found that our upstairs was not getting enough heat. My husband and I talked about calling the Garman Team and asking them to look at this issue. We figured the response would be “you have a two-story family room and therefore it is tricky to heat and cool your house”, and nothing would be done. 

But they proved us wrong and stepped up and found a solution. The problem was that our thermostat was in the hall and therefore getting the hot air that was rising in the two-story family room. The solution was to move the thermostat into our master bedroom where it would get less heat from the family room and it worked!

A few weeks later I walked a Pinehurst that was under construction in my neighborhood and the first thing I did was go to the second floor to look for the second floor thermostat. I expected it to be in the same problematic location - the upstairs hall, I was so impressed to see that it had also been moved to the master bedroom. The Team had decided to make the location change on this house and future Pinehursts to prevent the same issue. What?, a builder trying to prevent an issue...nice, I like that!

Kristi Burkett
Garman Homes '07

Look at the Newel Posts on that staircase!

Ok, I might have a problem.  I've added a few new addictions to an already full roster of time-suckers including Facebook, Pinterest & Houzz. Have you been on Houzz lately?  It's heaven.  Pinterest?  Oh my...I made 3 recipes from Pinterest just last night.  It's bad.

But back to my point...one good thing to come out of all my time-suck addictions is an appreciation for what a difference the details can make...especially in a home.

That was the inspiration behind our new 6x6 newel posts, shown above in stain grade wood.  Delicious, no?  By the way, Newel Posts are those things at the end of a staircase.  No one in the real world calls them that so feel free to throw around that builder-lingo and impress anyone who might be inclined to be impressed by such things.  Sadly, that might be a really small group of people.

Newel Posts are my new favorite things...look how sturdy they look (in an old house sorta way)!  You can't slide down those things either (which is good news in my house were 3 young girls often try to pull off such shenanigans).  I love the impression they make and that's why I've drawn all over most of our plans and requested the architects change nearly all our plans to include these babies.

Enjoy.

But if you prefer the smaller ones, we can do that too.  To each his own...but for me, these things are swoon-worthy.  

G-Team Fan Mail: Accentuate the Positive!

I just got copied on this email from one of our Bridgewater homeowners to John, our Assistant Construction Manager in Holly Springs.  That's John in the picture above, second from the left with Brian (left of John), Gerry and Me.

The Marltons 1 year walk-thru was today and they sent us this lovely note after our visit.  I love the spirit of this email...so often each of us is guilty of pointing out the negative and missing opportunities to accentuate the positive.  I'm glad The Marltons didn't miss an opportunity to let us know they had a great experience!

Thank you Brian, Emily & Ramsey Marlton, we are honored to have you living in a house we built!

Hey John,

Just wanted to start off by saying thank you from Emily and I for taking care of every single thing today in a very quick and timely manner. We couldn't be more pleased with the quality of work done today by you and the other trades. 

On that note we would also like to rave about the Cortez crew that took care of the nail pops. They went above and beyond touching up every little thing that not only we pointed out, but they saw along the way. They were fast in getting everything done, and left the house as clean as it was when they arrived. They even took into consideration the noise level when working near our 4 month old daughters room while she was napping. If you don't mind, please pass along our thanks again to their owner and crew for an outstanding job.

Thank you again,

Brian, Emily, and Ramsey Marlton

I'm Keeping Score: Preferred Lender 2, Outside Lender 0.

It's January 27th and so far this month we've had one house close on time, two houses that didn't close on time and one loan package waiting at the attorney's office for closing next Tuesday.

I'm speaking in terms of loans, closings and houses here but the important thing to remember is that each loan, each closing, each house has a person attached to it.  A person waiting to move in.  A person who is making a major investment and a person, I believe, deserves an on-time closing.

I'm keeping score because I want our future buyers to know what they can expect from our preferred lender and to know what our past buyers experienced with outside lenders.

Our one and only on-time closing so far came courtesy of our preferred lender, Brad Arendt at Prime Lending.  The interesting part about this loan was the fact that the buyer was out of the country for 3 wks leading up to closing and Brad's team needed something from the buyer last minute.  Some lenders would have thrown their hands in the air...tried to delay closing 'just in case' but Brad & Kathryn (she's Brad's right hand and pretty much the wizard behind the curtain over there) got it done.

Our second closing was delayed due to an outside lender error.  Internal review took longer than they expected.  They had to push out the closing a few days.  That buyer deserved to move in on time.

Our third closing was supposed to happen yesterday.  A different outside lender.  This time it was an appraisal report that came back 'subject to completion'-the appraiser said the house was incomplete because the utilities were not on...yet somehow the buyer, the buyers' agent and builder walked the house the day before the appraisal, with all the utilities turned on.  A new appraisal was still required before the house could close.  Another buyer the deserved to move in on time.  [a message from future A$:  this one closed on the 30th]

Our fourth closing is scheduled for Tuesday.  The loan package is already waiting at the attorney's office courtesy of our preferred lender.  The funny part...I accepted this contract on January 13th and called Brad & Kathryn asking for a January 31st closing.  A mere 12 business days away.  After they stopped laughing, and verified it was a conventional loan, they told me we'd go for it. [a message from future A$: this one closed on time!]

The bar is high around here on most things...but especially on closing dates.  If we're going to guarantee our closing dates and back it up with a $1000 in additional closing costs if we miss that date, then we expect our lending partners to do the same.  Our preferred lender, Brad Arendt at Prime Lending backs up his closing dates.  If he misses a date, he pays the additional $1000 in closing costs.  He's had to do this ZERO times but still, it's there because Brad agrees with us that buyers deserve on time closings.

Why I Prefer my Preferred Lender...a Tale of 3 Buyers

Picture it...you just finished packing up the moving truck in your driveway.  Triumphantly you pulled down the back door of the truck with a resounding CLINK!  You're exhausted but still in good spirits...after all you're running on adrenaline because in just two days you're going to be unpacking all of your things in your BRAND NEW HOUSE.  It took a lot of work to get to this point but it's finally here.


Just then your phone rings...it's your lender...there's been some sort of delay...something they didn't anticipate...something out of their control...they need to move your closing date back a few days.


You hang up the phone, look back at the moving truck in your driveway and think...WHAT NOW?!

If you've ever been in this situation personally or know someone who has, you know what comes next is anything but fun.

Consider this (cautionary) tale of 3 of our buyers:

All three buyers purchased similarly priced homes last year and were planning to close within a week of each other.

All three buyers chose to finance the purchase of their new home with a USDA loan.  100% financing!  It's a great deal and we're happy to build in areas that qualify for such a great program.
**One BIG thing to remember about USDA financing...sometimes those loans take a little longer to close because of the additional underwriting step at USDA.  And those turnaround times vary from a few days to more than a week or so.  It's important to know which turnaround time you're up against and it's important that your lender plan accordingly.  You know, so you can close on time.

All three buyers chose a different lender.  2 chose outside lenders and 1 chose our preferred lender, Brad Arendt at Prime Lending.

Can you see where this is going? Probably, but keep reading anyway...

Buyer 1: Outside Lender
Got a call from their lender much like the one I described above.  They had a moving van full of their belongings and nowhere to go.  Their lender said it was an unforeseen hiccup...USDA turnaround times were running longer than expected and they didn't submit their file early enough to close on time.

Buyer 2: Outside Lender...converted to Preferred Lender
Got a call from their lender several months into the building process telling them they didn't qualify. They couldn't purchase the house.  Heartbroken, we suggested they call Brad.  Maybe he could find a way to save it?  He could.  He did.  A cosigner and a different loan type later he got them to the closing table.  Even better?   With all that, we still closed on time.

Buyer 3: Preferred Lender
Closed on time.  Happy.

I prefer my preferred lender because I prefer happy buyers that close on time.
Which buyer would YOU prefer to be?