As part of the Lake Views series of articles, I thought it would be interesting to talk with someone that is responsible for building some of the nicest homes in the Lakes Region. It just so happens that most of these homes have great views of the lake. Mark Flanders, of Flanders and Company in Meredith, was good enough to spend some time talking about his business and business philosophy.
Flanders and Company has been around since 1980. Mark grew up in the business working for his father, Bob, and took over the company in 2001 with a vision of creating a company that focused on building the finest homes in the area. He wanted to create an exceptional experience for his clients, one that would ensure they would call him back if they ever wanted to build another home. He also wanted to make sure that they told all their friends about his company. Imagine that, a business founded on good old fashioned quality workmanship, satisfied customers, and word of mouth advertising!
The first thing that Mark does with potential clients is talk about the construction process and then determines what they are trying to achieve. He wants to make sure he is a good fit for them, that they are looking for a company with integrity, and that they want a high quality product. Mark is well aware that his clients are going to spend a lot of money and he wants to be able to say up front to that they will be happy with the results. If he can’t say that, he doesn’t want them as a customer. Flanders and Company is also a design/build company. Mark can sit and design a home to meet your exact needs and then build it for you, or he will work hand in hand with the architect of your choice.
Mark is probably one of the most tech-savvy builders in the Lakes Region. One of the things that really sets Flanders and Company apart from many others is the web accessible construction management system he uses to keep his clients informed about the status of their build. Most clients like to be involved in the build, but because most of them don’t live here they can’t be here every day and that could cause delays and frustration. Mark explained, “As a builder, I want to make this experience as fun as I can for them and as trouble free as I can so they do want to do it more… build another house, or renovate, and tell their friends. The web based project management portal allows them to come in and see the schedule, so they can see what is going to happen when and to see progress pictures.”
All of the documents associated with the project such the construction agreement, plans, and schedule of values are posted on the website so the client has everything readily accessible. When choices are made that are different than estimated in the construction agreement, the program automatically updates the expense section so the client knows exactly how much the change costs. Any changes, dialog, or communication are documented on the portal so there is never any disagreement about who said what and which changes were made when.
Mark says that at the end of a project a client doesn’t remember what went well; they just remember what went poorly. Two years down the road they might not even remember what they paid. But they will remember if they liked their builder. So the more disagreements (let’s say misunderstandings) you eliminate, the more satisfied the customer will be.
Mark’s clients are “willing to pay a little extra for quality and for piece of mind” knowing that work will be completed on time and on budget. His clients are more about a mindset rather than a dollar amount. And, while high end clients provide the bulk of the business for the company, they also do everything from homes for first time buyers to small additions, decks, and major renovations. No job is too big, or too small.
Mark says he thinks the next big building trend will be focusing on energy efficiency and green buildings. He says that “people sometimes don’t get the correspondence between the fact that generally if you build a house that is more energy efficient and cheaper to run, it is also more comfortable as long as you do it right. You get a tangible benefit of saving money, the intangible benefit of a better, more comfortable house, and the tangible, but hard to measure benefit of better resale.”
Mark hopes that there is an undercurrent of people that are not so focused on the size of their home, but more on the quality of the home and whether the home meets their needs. Some people really need 6,000 square feet because they entertain or they have a lot of family that visit. But he doesn’t want to build 6,000 square feet when the client doesn’t really have the budget and the quality suffers. He would rather design a smaller, high quality home for those same clients that would meet their needs and that would not only have all the features they were looking for but would also be very comfortable.
P
eople will often live in a house for years before they realize that they have rooms that they never use and wish they didn’t have to heat. But it can be tough to tell new clients that when they walk through the door. Unfortunately, building a home is not like buying a car. He says if you make a mistake when you buy a car it is not a disaster as you can usually trade it or sell it even if it is at a small lose. It is much harder to deal with and lot more costly when you make a mistake on a house.
Mark believes that the next statistic that needs to go on the MLS is the HERS (Home Energy Rating System) score of the house for sale. It just so happens that there is a spot to denote the HERS score on the MLS, but I have yet to see anyone plug a number in there. Just as buyers often compare tax bills on similar homes and often buy the home with the lesser tax, they would likely opt for a home that has half the heating cost of the other if all other factors were the same. There are lots of different green home designations and different levels of achievement within those designations such as Energy Star, LEED Gold, Silver, and Platinum, or National Green Building Standard Gold, Silver or Emerald, but the HERS score is the number that would tell the buyer exactly how efficient the home is.
What does he feel his company does that is better than anyone else? Well, right after building some of the finest homes in the area, it would be providing a great home building experience to his clients through superb communication provided by the on-line project management system. Delivering on time, on budget, and with no surprises ensures that Flanders and Company will have many happy clients (and friends) talking about his company for years to come.
Mark can be reached at 603-279-4254 and the office is located at 169 Daniel Webster Highway, Suite 10, Meredith NH. Drop in and say “Hi”.
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