Any well-qualified, properly certified custom home builder will possess the professional skills needed to rebuild a fire-ravaged home. Here are some guidelines to help you hire a contractor for fire related re-building.

1. Get at least three estimates.
   This "price triangulation" approach will allow you to get a better understanding of the scope of work and to also interview each contractor to determine whom you feel comfortable working with.
2. Consult with established firms.
   Construction is a field with low barriers to entry. Just about anyone can pick up a hammer and claim to be a builder. Choose a contractor who has been around for at least five years – and has a substantial number of positive references – that is affiliated with organizations like the Texas Association of Builders (TAB), the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), or the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin (HBA).
3. Work with locally-based firms.
   It is important that you have easy access to your contractor, and locally-owned and operated firms are, by their very nature, more readily available to address your concerns.
4. Choose a contractor who communicates well.
   Timely, accurate answers from your contractor are the foundation of a successful project and solid contractor-client relationship. If the contractor doesn’t communicate well from the outset, you are more likely to encounter frustrations, both emotional and financial, as the project continues.
5. Insist on a detailed, fixed sum price proposal.
   Without a detailed, fixed sum proposal there are no guarantees against cost overruns that could cost you greatly.
6. Require a firm time table for completion.
   Without a strong commitment to a completion date, you could find yourself unable to return to your home when planned, which could cause you additional financial hardship and headaches in determining where to reside until the work is completed.
7. Select a contractor who offers a written warranty.
   The work performed by the contractor is something you will have to live with for many years. Be certain that there are protections and remedies in place should something go wrong down the road.
8. Insist on seeing paper copies of the contractor’s insurance certificates.
   Be certain that any contractor you choose to work with carries a General Liability insurance policy of at least $1 million. Confirm that they can offer Builders Risk Insurance if necessary.
9. Be aware of environmental regulations.
   For all work on homes built before 1978, there is a possibility of lead paint exposure and the Contractor must be a Lead Safe Certified Firm as directed by the EPA. If any painted surfaces were disturbed by the fire and these materials have to be cleaned up, they must be cleaned up by a Lead-Safe Certified Firm. It’s also important to note that many homes have thermometers, thermostats, and compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL’s) which contain mercury. The clean up of this debris needs to be done while wearing a respirator.
10. Know your rights.
    It is illegal for contractors to request money upfront when working on a project caused by a natural disaster. Be sure you have signed contract before making any financial transactions with your contractor.

We hope this advice serves a good starting point for selecting a reputable contractor as you begin the process of rebuilding your home. To request a free, no obligation second opinion on any proposal you have already received for rebuilding your wildfire-damaged home, please give us a call at (512) 472-3100.

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.

That’s because in North America, we take water for granted; not only is it cheap, it is relatively abundant and clean. But while an average bathtub may hold 40 gallons of water, many people in developing countries survive on 8 gallons of water or less per day. In fact, an estimated 800 million people worldwide lack access to safe water supplies and 3.5 million people die each year from water-related disease.

Domestically, recent seasonal and longer-term droughts in several areas have triggered restrictions and household quotas on water use. In fact, average residential water rates have climbed 10 percent nationwide since 2009.

As a professional builder who looks out for the welfare of our homebuyers and our community, we accommodate requests and comply with all building code requirements to reduce a home’s water consumption.

In many cases, we can use low-flow plumbing fixtures including toilets, faucets, and showerheads, to automatically reduce water use without our homeowners noticing much (if any) difference in their convenience and performance. The latest clothes washers, dishwashers, and water heating systems also use less water (and save energy, too). All of those products are readily available and generally affordable.

But as much as these "embedded" water savings reduce consumption, there is more that we can do. We encourage homeowners to keep their water use in check with some simple changes to their lifestyle habits.

One easy way to save water at home is to limit your showers to no more than 10 minutes and avoid filling the bathtub unless absolutely necessary. Turn off the bathroom faucet while brushing your teeth or shaving.

In addition, homeowners can save water by running only full loads of laundry and dishes. If you have to hand-wash some dishes in the kitchen, fill one basin with soapy water (to clean/scrub) and another with clear water (to rinse) rather than continuously running the faucet.

As much as those lifestyle adjustments can reduce water inside your home, making some changes outside can be even more impactful. Easy stuff, such as using a broom instead of a garden hose to clean off your driveway or patio and washing your car less often (or at a carwash which recycles its water) can save hundreds of gallons of water a year.

But the real culprit of outdoor water waste is landscaping, and especially turf grass areas. If you can adjust or replace your lawn sprinklers with more targeted, rotating heads that limit overspray and set up a drip irrigation system for trees and shrubs, you’ll see a significant reduction in your water use.

With that, consider putting your irrigation system on a timer and setting it to run in the early morning to reduce evaporation.

You can also buy and install small rainwater catchment systems from a home improvement or hardware store, which can be used for seasonal flower beds or hanging plants instead of using potable water for those needs.

With so many areas in the developing world so desperate for clean, healthy drinking water, and our costs continuing to rise, can we afford to take water for granted?

Choosing a builder based on the lowest cost per square foot or the lowest sales price is likely not getting the best value. It’s buying the cheapest home. No doubt about it, there is some cheap housing out there right now, but is "cheap" the best way to go?

Common sense tells us that there is a premium to be paid for a superior home. By that we mean a home that has more exacting standards, performs well over time, maintains its value as an investment and is built by a builder who stands by his work. Let’s take a closer look at these higher initial costs and why we believe it is worth paying a reasonable premium for such a home.

Better Materials. Professional builders who build to a high level of quality have higher standards for the materials that go into their homes. They cull lumber piles for the straightest studs and send the warped and knotted ones back to the lumberyard. They inspect and confirm deliveries, protect materials from weather, seek out the best warranties and track problems to weed out poor-performing materials.

When a company insists on that level of quality and provides that level of attention and care, one would expect to pay a bit more. Like cheap houses, cheap materials can deliver substandard results that often cost more to repair or replace than the premium you might pay upfront for a higher-quality option.

Better Construction. Builders who specify and only accept better-quality products do so to achieve a higher level of overall construction quality and long-term durability. They make sure products and materials are installed properly by the most competent subcontractors and adhere to performance standards that are far beyond what the local building code requires.

Why? Because professional builders know that their reputation is on the line with every home they deliver. When homeowners begin to see evidence of poor workmanship, it doesn’t take long for them to spread the word about how poorly the builder (and the house) performed. This is too high a price to pay for any company who is in business for the long-term and understands the value of a satisfied client.

As with better materials and products, a better-built home may (and should) cost more upfront, but cost less over time. As we’ve seen repeatedly over the years, it requires less repair, replacement and maintenance in the long run.

A Better Experience. Is it possible to put a price tag on peace of mind? Consider the value of a hassle-free new-home project. Less stress, no hurt feelings, no horror stories, no busted budgets, no lawsuits. What is it worth to have your new home built on schedule, for the agreed cost, with a builder who is there to answer your questions from groundbreaking through move-in and beyond?

And what do you get? A house that meets your expectations, that is solidly built, with superior fit and finish. It’s livable, comfortable, and meets your lifestyle needs. In other words, a "home." Your home.

But the reality is that this step-by-step approach to getting a new house is not only outdated, but can be risky in terms of cost and quality. A better approach is to form your project team from the outset. Doing so fosters a cooperative rather than combative or competitive working environment that produces more satisfying results. It’s also a dynamic that’s more likely to ensure you’ll get what you want in a new home at the price you can afford.

By bringing your design and building professionals together as soon as possible, they can dedicate their efforts to meeting your needs and looking out for your budget.

Selecting a professional builder at the outset of your new-home project allows that person or company to work with an architect or designer to deliver plans and specifications that are realistic and can actually be built. It also increases the likelihood that the project will come in on time and on budget.

Too often, the old approach left builders having to argue changes to the plans and specifications that sometimes compromised a home’s aesthetic value, if only to make it affordable. Downsizing is difficult. No one wants to be disappointed or feel like they had to sacrifice something — especially a favorite feature or product — because it was discovered to be too pricey.

This is much less likely to happen when architect and builder are working together early in the process. By combining their expertise they can help ensure that what’s drawn can be built without sacrificing design quality and staying within budget. This collaboration can result in a far better housing value.

Here are some additional reasons to hire a builder from the beginning:

Materials ordering. Some products and materials require long lead times — perhaps months — between order and delivery. A professional builder can identify these situations and be able to place an order so that product delivery will not delay the construction schedule.

Code compliance. More so than design professionals, builders know the applicable building codes as interpreted by the local authority and inspectors. They can help insure that plans will be approved for a permit the first time they are submitted. When plans are kicked back for changes, a home start can be delayed, or worse, a job may be stopped midway to address a code issue.

A professional builder also will know when and how to submit for a building permit and schedule necessary inspections during construction to establish and maintain a tight building schedule from the beginning.

Buildablity. You can draw anything, but even something as seemingly simple as a window or door needs to be installed properly. If allowed to be part of your new home’s planning process, professional builders and their subcontractors can quickly and easily identify potential installation issues before they become costly problems on the job site.

A collaborative effort from the outset allows ideas and information to flow among your design professional, builder, stylist, and you before anyone commits a significant amount of time and money to your new house. Sharing ideas and alternatives to achieve the best result is a far better approach than discovering a better idea too late, or not at all.

Investing in the design and construction of a new home is a daunting task, something most people do once or maybe twice in a lifetime. The last thing you need is a builder who doesn’t have it together.

Why does that matter? Simply, homebuilding today is an increasingly complex endeavor, involving dozens of trade partners and materials suppliers, requiring compliance with building codes and other regulations, demanding financial savvy and tight management, and calling for keen attention to every detail. This demands a highly organized approach to the new home construction process.

A hitch along the way can have a big impact on quality, performance, durability and satisfaction … or it can be mitigated or avoided altogether to protect your investment and give you peace of mind through the process and beyond.

The difference between these vastly different scenarios depends on how organized your builder is.

But what does an organized builder look like, and how do you evaluate a builder’s ability to guide you through this time-consuming and sometimes confusing process?

There are several signs that indicate a professional builder’s business acumen, organizational skills, and other capabilities that help ensure ultimate satisfaction with your new home.

Cleanliness. A clean and organized job site can often reflect a builder’s overall organizational competency. Beyond its aesthetic appeal, a clean job site is safer for workers and visiting homeowners, reducing liability. In addition, materials that are properly stacked, staged, and covered reflect a concern for quality construction and respect for the budget and schedule.

Responsiveness. The number-one complaint among dissatisfied homebuyers is that their builder was slow to respond, or never did. By contrast, an organized builder understands the importance of being responsive from the first contact through completion and beyond.

Often, professional builders develop a process for responding to calls or emails from potential and current clients, usually within 24 hours. They articulate that policy upfront and follow it through to establish and maintain reliable expectations.

Protection. Professional builders don’t allow themselves or their clients to be at risk. To mitigate and prepare for hazards, they are fully insured and — if required by law — licensed and bonded. And if you ask about those protections, they’ll provide the necessary documentation and lead you to the proper agencies and organizations for more information.

In addition, an organized builder pays his subcontractors and materials suppliers from your job (and only your job) on time and per his contracts with those partners. He then collects lien releases once the contracts are satisfied (based on mutual satisfaction with the work performed) to protect you from having any liens placed against your property for unpaid services or products.

Passing the baton. If you haven’t yet noticed, organized builders work to make sure their clients know what to expect throughout the building process … including what happens after move-in and beyond the expiration of the builder’s service warranty.

Professional builders know how and when to pass the baton for the care and maintenance of the house to homeowners. This is an incremental process that logically shifts responsibility over time rather than abandoning clients at the doorstep of their new home.

On Saturday, May 14, the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin (HBAGA) awarded Durrett Interests with the MAX Award for Best Custom Green Home at their 20^th annual Marketing and Advertising Excellence (MAX) Awards and Gala at the Renaissance Hotel in the Arboretum.

"We are very proud to have received this award from the HBA," boasted Marshall Durrett, President of Durrett Interests. "Of all the MAX Awards we could have been awarded, this one means the most to everyone in my company."

The MAX Awards is presented by the HBA of Greater Austin, which is made up of more than 800 home building industry firms. For more than 58 years, the HBA of Greater Austin has served as the leading not-for-profit trade organization dedicated to residential construction and remodeling in Central Texas. The HBA works with government, public, business and community organizations in five counties to protect every family’s right to home ownership.

This high-level of concern is understandable. Often our clients’ home is their largest single investment. For many, this is their first experience building a home. And for all there is a lot to learn about new home construction.

As professional builders, we understand and respect our clients’ concerns. Our job is to demystify the building process, help our clients identify and understand their concerns and overcome them quickly and confidently.

In addition to being good listeners and problem-solvers, professional builders operate on solid business principles and practices that alleviate the majority of what clients often fear about the homebuilding process, including:

Reliable partners. We seek out, work with, and retain top-quality subcontractors and materials suppliers. Our trade partners possess similar philosophies and approaches to running a successful business and are committed to the same high level of construction quality and standards. This helps mitigate disputes, foster cooperation and produce better-built homes.

We constantly review our trade relationships to ensure that their pool of subs and suppliers consistently delivers high-quality work at a fair price. That diligence protects your investment and helps remove the fear of poor workmanship and unreliable performance.

Record keeping. The best builders are diligent (some say obsessive) about documenting their new-home projects to make sure costs, schedules and progress align and meet their standards of quality and those of their clients.

For the same reason, professional builders demand similar diligence and reporting from their trade partners — not so much to keep them in line, but more to enable their own accounting processes to be complete, accurate and current.

As such, professional builders can present completely transparent and reliable reports at any time to their clients to ease concerns about whether their new home project is on track.

Protection. People having a new home built for them are often afraid that they’ll somehow be on the hook for unpaid work or materials once the job is over and their builder has moved on to his next house. It’s a legitimate fear and an all-too-common reality.

These concerns are easily managed by professional builders. As part of their standard business practices, they pay their bills on time and only from each project’s budget. In addition, they routinely collect lien releases from their trade partners upon satisfactory completion of their work.

Collecting lien releases on a timely basis (as the project progresses, not just at the end) removes the chance that a subcontractor or materials supplier will make a claim for payment against a new home; in fact, the best builders provide copies of those lien releases so that owners can rest assured that the bills have all been paid.

Sophisticated builders practice "fear management". They take a professional approach to their business and are sensitive to the concerns of their clients. They help clients manage any anxiety from project inception through final walk-through. The key, as always, is communication. Helping clients manage their fear goes a long way to keeping communication lines open and promote a satisfying experience for all.

In today’s recovering economy, everyone is price conscious. New-home construction is certainly no exception. As a professional builder, we understand how critical it is to establish and maintain a budget that everyone can both agree and rely upon from ground breaking to the final walk-through. When it comes to money, no one likes cost overruns or unpleasant surprises. Builders are no exception. When a project’s budget is busted, it’s unlikely that the builder profits from it. More often than not, it’s a cost that the company shares with the homebuyer. Going over budget not only erodes a builder’s profit, but his reputation and potential for referrals as well.

As a professional builder, we are diligent about establishing a budget and actively managing that budget through construction for each new home we build. It is in everyone’s best interest to make sure it stays on track. Here are some methods we employ to accomplish that goal:

Value engineering. Value engineering is the practice of optimizing construction costs while maintaining (or ideally improving) housing performance and durability. It requires that the builder be on the project team from the outset, working with you and your design professional to identify and make the best use of materials and refine construction costs of your new home before breaking ground.

Negotiated subcontracts. The goal here is to attract the most talented and highest quality trade partners at the best possible price. The best builders have a stable of reliable and professional trade contractors with whom they work on a regular basis. Rather than focus on lowest price, and risk dropping his quality standards, a professional builder will take the plans and specifications to his best subs and negotiate a set cost for their work. After negotiations, those numbers are added to the budget and the contractors are held to their original estimates.

Price guarantees. Similar to negotiating with their trade partners, professional builders may seek to get guaranteed pricing from their materials suppliers as early, and for as long, as possible. Placing a pre-determined ceiling on prices is critical when material costs, such as lumber or copper, are volatile and likely to rise even before construction begins.

Details, details. Costs are more easily kept in check when every penny is tied to either a specific stage of the process (such as rough framing or roofing) or materials or products (such as a dishwasher or garage door). In this way, professional builders are able to track specific costs to a detailed scope of work and materials list.

Tracking costs. Professional builders don’t wait until the end of the job to find out if they are "on budget". They set several key milestones during construction to make sure costs match the amount of work that’s been completed. Tracking costs during the project allows discrepancies to be caught early, frequently before they impact the overall budget.

Tracking changes. While change orders are a part of virtually every home we build, they are the cause of most cost overruns and time delays during a new-home construction project.

This is not an area to leave to chance. Smart builders plan for change. They have formal policies and procedures in place to manage change requests and payments. These procedures make any changes to the scope of work as efficient as possible, minimizing cost overruns and time delays. These strategies go a long way to ensuring cost control on a new-home project, protecting everyone from an unpleasant experience and helping ensure a high level of quality and customer satisfaction.

Everyone loves a deal. No one likes paying retail.

If you are considering building a new home, now or over the next year or two, you face a number of difficult questions…

• Can I do better if I wait to build my home?
• Will interest rates go lower?
• Have home values bottomed or will there be further declines?

On the surface, it may seem as though the housing market has yet to begin climbing out the hole it fell into nearly three years ago. But we see a number of key indicators that point to some compelling reasons why now may be the time to get the best value for your home building investment.

Home Prices: Like the stock market, it is impossible to pick the bottom of the current housing market. No one can say with certainty that we’ve hit the absolute bottom. Like any market, supply and demand impact price. The inventory of older homes continues to dwindle. According to the Census Bureau, the US will add over a million new households each year. The current supply of new homes coming on line is nowhere near that number. As the demand for new homes rise, so will prices.

Interest Rates: We’ve already seen mortgage and construction loan interest rates inch up in 2011. They are likely to maintain that trend as the overall economy and demand for new homes continues to improve.

If you determine that interest rates are likely to go up, acting now can save money. Every quarter-point change in interest rates is equivalent to approximately $6,000 for each $100,000 borrowed over the course of a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.

Materials and Labor Costs: We are in the middle of a commodity boom. The global demand for raw materials from countries like China and other emerging markets continue to put upward pressure on commodity prices. As the price of raw materials goes up, so do housing costs.

In addition, those manufacturers, suppliers, and trade contractors who are still standing after the housing bust did so by streamlining their operations and honing their costs of doing business. They are running very lean. In all likelihood, these companies will raise prices if there is an increase in demand for new housing.

Streamlined Operations: In order for our company to prosper during this difficult business cycle, we’ve had to sharpen our operations and systems, cut the fat out of our ledgers and operate on thin margins. As a result we are poised to meet our current demand with better processes, improved technology and lower overhead. Those efficiencies translate into lower costs for homebuyers willing to invest in a new-home project today.

If you can look past the headlines and scare tactics, you may realize that in these times, the best time to build a new home may be about to slip away.