February is American Heart Month

Heart disease has probably already affected you or someone you love.  In fact, it is the #1 killer of women.  Learn more and share your knowledge with those you care about- you could be a lifesaver!

Check out http://www.goredforwomen.org/ and order a GO RED healthy heart kit for up to 5 women you love!

Share heart healthy tips for Valentine's Day!

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/NutritionCenter/HealthyDietGoals/Heart-Healthy-Valentines-Day-Tips_UCM_322023_Article.jsp

For every free Valentine you send on the Heart Association's website, Macy's will donate $1 up to $250,000 to  GO RED for women!

Take care of your heart and help protect the hearts of those you love. 

Your family needs you!

Home again, home again...

We just returned from Florida where our buyer’s group met. It is a mandatory annual meeting where the group must have a quorum of its membership to act on items.

It is interesting to see how others in the industry are doing both personally and professionally. It was nice to see some old familiar friendly faces who asked about the boys. They were surprised when they heard that Josh just turned 16. Many of them met him when we first joined the group in 2000, after taking ownership at PHO. A few met him even before that in '97 on a Fleetwood Homes cruise (photo.) He was just two then and we were the only ones who brought our kid. Needless to say, he got a lot of attention from the moms in the group missing their own children. I’ll never forget when he said to me after returning home “Mom, when are we going back to the boat?” Funny kid.

It was nice to see some new faces too, mostly the next generation in a family owned business. There were a couple of young men in their early twenties clearly trying to get out of their father’s shadows and make a name for themselves. And there were other young families that looked like ours when we first started. Amazing how fast this all goes by.

I was surprised by the optimism in the room. This is not a naïve group of people. Many have been building homes for 3 or 4 decades, and they represent all areas of the country. While most thought there were still challenges ahead, they were excited by the traffic at their sales centers and number of commitments to build they have received. We too are feeling excited about the opportunities that this year will bring. With 54 in attendance at the seminar, we felt like most folks have realized they need to take advantage of these low interest rates. And while not everything is necessarily perfect, that’s life. We have often found that when people wait for everything to be just perfect, they never achieve their dream, because perfect rarely comes.

So, it’s back to the cold as I write this on the plane, and I am looking through the new agreements we forged with our building partners, pleased about what was accomplished and excited to pass on our efforts to our customers for a great housing value.

Oh, and there was a celebrity sighting to report- we saw Johnny Damon at Margaritaville enjoying lunch with his wife and kids. Eric says he signed with Tampa. Pretty cool.

What is your inspiration?

Beyond the walls and R-value or our homes, what I find most interesting is the story behind a new home.  Each home is different, and the reason to do so varies as well.

Sometimes, like today, its to celebrate an expanding family.  I had the pleasure of having a great yong couple in today with their new baby daughter.  They have a 2 year old son at home as well.  They have the land and now we are helping to design their new home!

Other times, customers come to see us later.  I had a great phone conversation with a customer today and her husband passed away a couple of years ago.  She is now ready to start a new chapter in her life, and she has someone interested in their current home and business.  The new home will offer her peace of mind as she will have little upkeep in a new home. 

Regardless of the reason, we would be honored to help you.  A home is where you feel most safe.  Thank you for allowing us the privilege to assist you.

Start the new year on the right foot!

Our first home building seminar of the year has been scheduled- and if this year your resolution is to finally build your dream home, then consider yourself invited!

There is no cost or obligation to join us- and even if your plans are for some point in the future, the information will stay with you.  We have built homes for folks who came to seminars two years before!

We hold the workshop at Dino's Pizza so it is a relaxed environment- not high pressure "condo sales!"

You will learn about financing and lending requirements, how to find land and develop your property, how long building takes and more.

The best part is often the question and answer section- if you have a question, chances are the person next to you is thinking the same thing!

So mark your calendar for Thursday, January 20th!  We can't wait  to see you there!  All the details are on the website.

Do you ever outgrow report cards?

The day before Christmas both our boys got their progress reports.  We also have a sign on the wall at the holidays that reads "Dear Santa, define good."  Lucky for them, they both had all A's so Santa made a trip to our house after all.  Apparently the lost science homework made its way into school in the nick of time.

In today's mail we received a Customer Satisfaction Survey from one of our customers.  After a couple of months in their home, or in this case, camp, each of our customers receives this in the mail along with a self addressed stamped envelope.  It's not designed for us to pat ourselves on the back, though that feels good from time to time, but it is a snapshot of what went well and areas that we could improve for next time.

It asks about our client's experience from the beginning to end and asks about honesty- a huge thing for me, helpfulness, knowledge and more.

We really appreciate the time it takes our customers to fill it out and we look at each one carefully because we should always strive to do better next time- even when it went well.  Without change and improvement even the best companies can eventually falter so each of us involved talks about the "report card" and the opportunities for the next time.

Wishing you each a happy new year!

It was time for a facelift!

I am just so excited!  I spent much of the week adding, modifying and deleting information from our company website.

It's funny that what felt so perfect at one point in time, now felt outdated.  So I spent some time on other websites figuring out what I liked or disliked about them, talked to customers, and my colleagues about what should be on mine- and while it will always be a work in progress, I think we have it!

I sent off the new tabs for my wizard designer to work on.  We added information on project management and separated out our house plans from the models we have on site.  And made a space for "getting started" which remains blank, but that is my next project!!

So take a peek at the new and improved http://www.plattsburghhousing.com/ and please tell me what you think.  I really do welcome your suggestions!

Best wishes to you and yours for the holidays and may all your dreams come true in the new year!

In with the new

We have made the final changes to our new chalet plan, and are now trying to figure out if we are best served with a winter or early spring set to have our new model come in. 

A sneak preview... we are just bursting at the seams to share it with you!

We have decided to borrow from the Craftsman styling of the 30s and 40s.  Classic, simple lines, but elegant in its own right.

It will have a beautiful lofted living room and dining room which will feature a
beautiful wall of windows to see the mountains, a lake or stream- whatever you desire!

And we are pleased that we worked and worked the plan and were able to encorporate a formal foyer with great guest closet in the entry.

The floorplan design will be posted on the website soon, and is available now by request.  We can't wait to show you more!