PB May 2004

Soaring land prices the past several years have spurred more builders to enter raw land acquisition and development for the first time. Be careful.

In a recent letter, one of you chided Professional Builder, and me in particular, for our scare tactics. You wrote: 'I read your magazine every month and get a lot of good ideas, but I take exception to a couple of points of view.'

A strong candidate provides fact-based answers and examples. If you don't fully understand what a candidate has done in the past, how can you predict his or her success in your company?

I-joist manufacturers' standards dictate that web holes must be perfect circles to transfer shear forces properly, and they advise builders of the minimum distance between holes and from bearing points of the joist.

Silver Springs Village, an active-adult project in Atlanta's west suburbs, proves that seniors will flock to a TND community, especially if prices stay under $200,000.

The Roanoke (Va.) Regional Housing Network has launched the first International Cradle to Cradle Housing Design and Construction Competition.

These areas can really cook nearly year-round.

Builders of virtually every size have trouble finding talented young managers to help grow their firms. If you're in that boat, here's a tip: Watch what the big public builders do.

The biggest key to inoculation is to follow through with reassurances that you could handle problems or reduce their impact. Customers want to believe that you have everything under control.

Custom builder Mike McGuffie of Regal Classic Homes in Orlando, Fla., is using Web cams on his jobs to keep customers informed of progress and trade contractors and vendors on their toes.