Irving E. Schottenstein Build of the Year

Last Friday, Zenios Michael Zenios was awarded the Irving E. Schottenstein Builder of the Year from the Building Industry Association of Central Ohio. This award is voted on by Zenios peers and is a great honor. Thank you everyone for their support!

Where's the Value? New Homes, Existing Homes, Short Sales or Foreclosures

In the current housing economy, it's tempting to buy a "short sale" or recently foreclosed home, especially one that was built during the recent housing boom and is being offered at a bargain-basement price.

But that strategy is full of pitfalls and potholes. It's well-documented that owners of homes in foreclosure tend to neglect their property, knowing there's no point in maintaining it. They are likely distraught and distracted at the prospect of being evicted from their home, and understandably might focus on more important things than fixing the gutters or repairing a leak.

The result is often a home in poor condition with extra expenses required to bring it back up to par, much less to your standards. After all, a home is the center of your family's life, a safe haven, a shelter. Walking into a money pit of repairs and service issues -- some of which you may not even know about until after you've moved in -- threatens that security and quality of life. Is it worth the risk?

By comparison, a newly built home provides you with exactly what you want from the get-go. It reflects your specific needs now and into the future, as well as your style and other aesthetic preferences. It's fresh, unblemished, and ready for making memories.

A new home offers other advantages over an existing home, and especially a short sales or foreclosure, including:

Better Quality. As a professional builder, we are dedicated to delivering a high level of construction and finish quality in our new homes. Not only do buyers demand that our homes be better-built (and rightly so), but we also have the knowledge, skill, strong trade partnerships, and commitment to continually evaluate and refine our building practices and materials to improve that high level of quality.

Better Plans. We and other quality builders were offering "customization" long before it was necessary to satisfy or attract potential homebuyers. That means we work closely with you to determine your needs and find a floor plan and house style that matches your tastes and lifestyle requirements.

The result is a floor plan that is uniquely yours: functional, comfortable, flexible, and efficient. Trying to find exactly what you want and need in that regard in a foreclosed home or older house is unlikely, and probably would require remodeling.

Better Technology. Today's homes and their occupants demand a high level of technological capability and convenience. Personal computers and other electronics have become part of our daily lives. Homes now require a "future-proofed" design that won't become obsolete anytime soon, everything from a docking and sync station for smart phones to a network of cable and communication wire for flat-screen televisions.

Technology is moving so quickly these days that few homes built even five and certainly 10 or more years ago simply can't compete on that level, leaving you and your family wanting (and needing) more. Current wiring and wireless networking systems are available and increasingly affordable ... ready for the foreseeable future.

Better Service. If the recession taught the building industry anything, it's that customer service needed to be improved. Existing homes, bank foreclosures, and short sales offer zero service after the sale.

Meanwhile, a professional builder offering a new home tailored to your needs -- especially a company that survived the downturn -- is well equipped and eager to make sure the experience is satisfying from start to well past the finish, giving you peace of mind and the highest quality living environment.

Maximize Your Home's Value

The great thing about a new house is that everything is, well, new. Nothing is scratched, stained, or worn out. It's wonderful: Everything works! That's one of the main attractions of buying a new home.

But, as any homeowner knows, the rigors of day-to-day living can cause that blissful new-home feeling to fade. It's an inevitable process, but one that can be stemmed or slowed with proper maintenance of key systems and finishes.

Once homeowners take the keys to their new home, they become responsible for maintenance of the entire structure and all its systems. Typically, professional builders will ease that transition with a warranty, but ultimately the baton is passed to the owners to protect their investment, enjoy the comforts and maintain the value of their new home.

The thought of staying on top of everything in a home can seem daunting, but really, it comes down to common sense, some diligence, and a short list of critical products and systems, including:

• Heating and cooling. It's a simple thing everyone has heard before. Changing the furnace filter every three months goes a long way toward maintaining the proper operation of a home's entire air distribution system. A clean filter keeps dust, moisture, and other allergens out of the ductwork to help ensure fresh and healthy indoor air. Clean filters and ducts also put an easier load on the furnace, prolonging its life and use less energy. Beyond that, homeowners should have the ducts and carpets professionally cleaned every 2-3 years.

• Drainage. Rain and other sources of water, must be directed away from the home to maintain the structural integrity of the foundation. To preserve the drainage and watershed design of a house, gutters should be inspected, and when necessary, cleaned and repaired in the fall and early spring. Downspouts should have extensions or splash blocks to direct or disperse runoff away from the house, if they are not already installed. As new landscaping is added, the dirt against the house (called "backfill") must be checked again to be sure that it continues to slope away from the structure. Plantings should be set at least 18 inches away from the foundation, as well.

• Roofing and siding. A new home's exterior finishes -- mainly roofing and siding materials -- are designed to last for at least 20 years and usually longer. That being said, any cracks, voids, or other damage to these finishes can lead to leaks and related moisture problems. Visually inspect the roof and sidewalls of the house at least annually for the first five years of ownership, and then semi-annually after that. And, of course, make any repairs immediately.

The effort and consistency you put into maintaining your home will pay dividends for you and your family in the future. Following these basic maintenance tasks are key components in retaining your homes new look and feel, while protecting the value of your investment.

Realty Times - Five Great Things about Homeownership

Realty Times - Five Great Things about Homeownership

Safety First

There's no getting around it: construction can be a hazardous job. We say "can be" because professional builders respect those hazards and equip and train their workers and subcontractors to mitigate safety issues as much as possible. By doing so, professional builders protect their businesses and their clients from liability.

The federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) provides specific guidelines and regulations for homebuilders and contractors regarding the prevention of accidents on a residential job site. The penalties for failing to comply with those rules range from hefty fines to shutting down the job until violations are corrected.

Professional builders not only comply with those regulations, but also often take extra steps to help ensure a safe working environment on every project, and to help keep everyone out of harm's way.

Inspection. As directed by OSHA, professional builders continually inspect their job sites for potential hazards, and may even have a safety manager that regularly visits each site. Common hazards may include ladders or scaffolding that are unsecured or set on uneven ground, unmarked trenches, or an incomplete or missing first aid kit.

If violations are found, they are quickly reported and remedied to get the company back into compliance. And, they are corrected for the next job.

Education and Training. It is critical to continually educate workers, to train and equip them to recognize and avoid construction job site hazards and accidents.

In addition to a written safety and health program required by OSHA, professional builders often conduct what's called "Toolbox Talks" on the subject of safety, perhaps showing a video, presenting a report, or (even better) showing workers a real-world example of a common hazard and how to remedy or avoid it.

Builders who are dedicated to safety also equip their crews with the latest in safety gear, from guardrails on ladders and scaffolding to hard hats, gloves, eye protection, and personal harnesses -- and keep that gear in optimum working order. These builders also require their trade partners to follow these same safety procedures with their employees.

Incentives. Smart builders often use incentives to help ensure safety. A worker who reports or remedies a job site hazard may earn a bonus, time off, or some other reward that recognizes his or her initiative and sets an example for the rest of the crew.

Builders may also track and publicly post job site safety achievements, such as the number of days without an accident or time lost to a job site injury. Those accomplishments may earn the company recognition from OSHA or acknowledgement from the company that insures the builder against liability and worker's compensation -- lowering the builder's overhead costs and enabling them to be more competitive for future jobs.

Including Owners. Savvy and safety-conscious builders know that their homeowner clients will want to occasionally visit the job site to see progress, make decisions and discuss concerns. Safety is no less a priority for those instances.

Homebuyers can go a long way to keeping themselves safe on the job site by following the same rules and procedures as the crew. We encourage them to wear hard hats and safety goggles and avoid visiting and walking through a house under construction without supervision, after hours, and on weekends, as they may not be aware or are unprepared to avoid hazards.

The Savvy Homebuyer: Understand your Builder

Let's face it: Homebuilders don't always have the best reputations. The prospect of building a new home can cause a lot of anxiety, stemming from a combination of mystery, misperceptions, myths and illusions most people have about the homebuilding profession.

While some builders earn that reputation, the professional builder successfully exposes any preconceived notions a prospective buyer might have about the building business and the construction process. They work hard to clarify their motivations and approach to construction. They seek to view the project from the client's perspective and meet their needs and desires.

Getting to know a builder can foster a greater respect and a higher level of confidence for a company's ability to deliver a high-quality new home.

First, it is important to understand that professional builders are business people. They build homes because it's their chosen profession. Of course, like any business person, they are interested in making money; a professional builder, however, makes money honestly, and seeks to earn a reasonable profit.

As building and business professionals, we constantly refine our approach to business, adhere to predetermined building schedules, and establish reliable and lasting partnerships with building products suppliers, financial institutions, and specialty trade contractors. We live in the areas where we build and are active in our communities. We rely on a strong local reputation to continue to build our business.

Some builders, though, lack the business and communication skills to be successful, resulting in dissatisfied customers and ruined reputations that often blanket the entire industry. This is not an industry-wide scheme to separate homebuyers from their money. Rather, it's just an unfortunate slice of society that both buyers and professional builders have to endure.

Unlike almost any other industry, a builder's work is exposed to the public; while cars and washing machines are assembled in factories and seen only on the showroom floor, a house is on display from foundation to finish. This can lead to misinterpretations or misunderstandings between a builder and a homebuyer. Often, however, what looks to be incomplete or irregular during one stage of construction is quite different from the eventual finished product.

Given those circumstances it is also important to understand that builders are engaged in the home building process every day and over many years. They gain experience and have a unique perspective. They have a vision of a home's progress that extends well beyond daily progress, one that few owners can truly share or comprehend.

As a result of that perspective, a builder may occasionally appear to take a casual approach to what a nervous homebuyer perceives to be a problem on the job site. Simply, the builder has likely seen or heard about it many times during his career, knows implicitly how he'll deal with the situation and has significantly less emotion invested in a home than a client does.

Successful builders listen closely to their buyers' concerns, respect an owner's questions and patiently communicate solutions. They understand that building a house is a considerable emotional investment, a potential source of anxiety and a financial risk. Understanding this, builders seek to ease those burdens.

By the same token, an informed and understanding homebuyer recognizes that the construction process is second nature to a professional builder. When both a homeowner and a builder respect each other's roles and approaches to the business of homebuilding, it fosters better and more open communication, opens the opportunity to develop trust and maximizes the prospect of achieving a successful and satisfying project.

Practical Green

Green building is certainly a hot topic these days. For builders striving to reduce the environmental footprints of the homes they build, the process encompasses a wide range of materials, products and systems.

But does building green really mean anything to you as a homebuyer? You may recognize and perhaps even appreciate seeing the Energy Star label on windows and appliances, but what's the tangible benefit of recycled-content drywall or certified wood doors to your daily life ... and your pocketbook?

As a professional builder who is ready and able to respond to what our homebuyers want -- including homes with better energy efficiency and indoor air quality -- we also recognize that buyers need to see how our efforts impact them personally.

To that end, we strive to educate our clients about the various “green building” methods and materials we employ. Along with contributing to our planet, we approach this from the perspective of the practical benefits to our owners and their families.

Hidden Gems. The bulk of a comprehensive green building effort happens behind the finishes. Instead of touting the R-value of the attic insulation or the solar heat gain coefficient of the windows, we talk about comfort: no more drafty feelings by windows and doors; no more temperature differences between floors or rooms; the ability to walk around in your bare feet. Those benefits seem to resonate far better than any technical information.

Easy Recycling. We not only want to encourage but also help facilitate recycling household waste. So we increasingly provide convenient bins within the kitchen and laundry cabinets to make it easier to collect those items and get them to the curb and out of the landfill.

In that same vein, we have also installed handy compost bins in the kitchen to collect vegetable clippings and other organic matter that can be added to a larger compost pile or collector outside and used to improve soil for a vegetable or flower garden -- allowing homebuyers to extend an interest in local produce and organic foods.

Breathe Easier. To help save energy and boost indoor comfort, green builders often use non-toxic paints, flooring, and other interior finishes -- as well as ventilation systems -- that improve the quality of the indoor air.

Rather than explore the world of vent fans and semi-gloss paint, we often phrase our efforts in terms that address allergies, respiratory problems, and other sensitivities that our homebuyers might suffer ... and will appreciate not having in their new homes.

Future Green: Monitors and Electric Cars. While certainly not mainstream, in-home computer programs that allow homeowners to see and adjust their use of energy and water are great visual reminders of green building efforts that also help to optimize them.

Similarly, we've seen electric car chargers that run on the home's electrical service (or even solar energy) that can accommodate all-electric or hybrid cars, allowing homeowners to conveniently serve that investment in sustainable living.

The bottom line is that builders often get caught up in the details and technical specs of green building; professional builders understand that to be truly beneficial, those efforts have to improve the quality of everyday life.