PB July 2005

We are interested in a few key things when it comes to job candidates: It is often difficult to ferret out pertinent information from a candidate's resume. An objective and/or a professional summary can distract from the really pertinent information.

In this month's special report, contributing editor Cynthia Kemper dissects color — how to choose the appropriate palette, the right way to apply color to architecture on a home and in a community and the many ways color influences buyer behaviors. As you probably anticipate, there isn't much discussion of the varying shades of beige with a little taupe or brown mixed in for visual excite...

Designing homes with HVAC systems that provide optimal indoor air quality can affect your bottom line as a builder as well as your future homeowner's health and quality of life. Building homes that are comfortable are important to long-term customer satisfaction. Proper ventilation, ducting and thoughtful floor plans will influence the quality of life for your new homes' owners as well as ensur...

The previous five financial management articles stressed discipline and systems, the importance of a solid accounting set up and the critical need for budgeting. Last month's article discussed how our fictitious builder, Chris Smith, analyzes and reacts to his monthly financial statements. This final installment of the financial management series will summarize the discussion Chris had with his...

With water infiltration identified as the leading cause of hurricane damage to homes, the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH) developed this list of strategies to help keep wind-driven moisture out of houses.

"The major story going on in this country is that people are trying to find a nice place to live," says Lou Marquet, a builder bent on proving that style and craftsmanship is a competitive edge in a world of builders battling over price and square footage. A principal and executive vice president of LeylandAlliance, a building and development company in Tuxedo, N.Y.

Although Toll Brothers is known for master-planned communities in various parts of the country, Aviano is the largest project ever for the Arizona division, since Toll Brothers bought Geoffrey H. Edmunds & Associates, a privately-owned, Scottsdale-based luxury home builder in 1995. Within Aviano, Toll Brothers created seven neighborhoods, each containing a collection of different house plans.

Looking for a way to differentiate your homes from those of the big public builders? Here's a strategy that's working for Houston builder Brian Binash and figures to become more popular as energy costs continue to rise. Like many private production builders, Binash's new Houston partnership with Austin-based Wilshire Homes needed to find a niche to avoid the Giant public ...

Strange, how something you read or hear today can suddenly trigger a memory. I was paging through this Sunday's builder display ads. You know these ads, they're the ones you all hate to write many-thousand-dollar checks for, but still do because, well, everyone else does and if they do and you don't.

With the multitude of architectural, environmental and site considerations involved in home building today, the application of color is often reduced to a last minute perusal of variations on white, beige and gray. Yet, a growing number of respected builders are challenging suburban and urban monotony and using color as a powerful tool in their marketing mix.