Q and A. Q and A. Quay.

Can you help me decide on a design style?

Because everything is such a melting pot now on Instagram and Pinterest that it’s kind of hard to define an actual exact style.

Not every time, but sometimes.

So the answer is yes.

We can help you do that.

And we do that by asking a lot of questions, by going through inspiration together.

And we’re able to help them understand who they are and what they are.

Because a lot of people don’t know.

Yeah, and sometimes it takes blending a couple of different styles.

Yeah.

To get something that really speaks to the client.

Exactly, yeah.

So I think that the answer is yes.

Do I get to choose my designer?

No, per se.

I mean, obviously if you know the designer or there’s a specific designer that you want to go with, we can definitely make that happen.

But I mean, all four of our designers are very…

Capable, yeah.

Capable of doing any project.

But if there’s a specific person that’s like, no, I want this person, then of course, yes, but…

You may have to wait till there’s an opening in their schedule, but it’s doable.

Yeah, because they’re all busy too, so.

What materials are best for durability and style?

That’s a loaded question.

I know it depends on where it’s at.

In general, yeah, nicer materials, steel, concrete materials, those are gonna last the longest.

You know, a lot of people will travel outside of Vegas and see a lot of usage of wood on the exterior.

And wood is just one of those things that doesn’t hold up well.

In the desert.

In our climate.

Yeah.

Generally, we try to find something that can give that same look and tone, but in a non-wood product.

To answer this question very easily, we would not push or design anything that wasn’t durable, long-lasting, beautiful.

So the answer is we would, everything that we pick is gonna be durable and wonderful, unless you wanted something, I guess what’s not durable, that’d be the question.

I mean, a lot of times what you do get what you pay for when it comes to materials.

That’s true.

And so, yeah, more rock and stone and metal last longer and cost more.

Another example of something that would be luxurious that’s not durable would be like marble, you know?

That is one of those things, yeah.

Yeah, that stuff chips and stains and things like that, but it’s absolutely gorgeous, so.

What can I do to prep my house for a remodel?

Good question.

Very good question.

Really good question.

I would say get rid of as much clutter as possible.

Cleaning and tidying up and organizing your garage and really limiting the amount of things that can be vulnerable to a lot of logistical traffic.

Yeah.

There’s gonna be a lot of stuff coming in and out of that garage.

You don’t want to expose that stuff to, especially if it’s like heirloom stuff, I’d get it out of there.

A remodel, especially if it’s a full remodel, it’s a cleansing time.

It’s a time to get rid of a lot of things.

A lot of our clients will move out of the house and it’s a time to just get rid of stuff and to open things up and to, when I say open things up, like just get rid of stuff so that we can walk through it and work around things.

But yeah, I would say clean it.

I would say- Declutter.

Declutter.

You gotta protect stuff.

Remove stuff that’s really important to you.

Yeah, that’s vulnerable.

That you don’t want to like get paint on or things like that because things can happen, you know?

But like, I would say at the end of the day, clear it out, cleanse it, and then at the end of the day, make sure you’re decisive on all the stuff you’re picking, make sure the design’s ready to go.

And I guess that’s basically, if I was a client, all you need to do is just get out of the way, get everything out of the way.

Get everything out of the way.

That’s it.

Do I need to move out during the construction?

Generally, yes.

Oh, if it’s just my kitchen, do I need to move out?

No, I don’t think so.

Yeah, it’s not necessary, but just be prepared for a lot of inconvenience.

Yeah, it’s gonna be inconvenient, but you don’t have to move out.

Just don’t be mad if you’re upset because a guy walks in your house that came in at 7.30 instead of 7.15.

Little things like that, construction’s challenging.

And so I would say yes, but don’t have these high expectations of perfection, meaning if there’s a little bit of dust that got through our seal, that could happen.

It will happen.

Yeah, I mean, there’s little things that- It’s not gonna be perfect.

Who manages the projects?

So a lot of people do.

So you have internal managers, you have a production manager who’s working a lot with the schedules, and a project manager who’s helping put that in place and facilitate.

And then on site, you’ve got your superintendent.

So you’ve got three tiers of management that’s going in to make sure that job stays on budget, stays on time, and all those things.

It’s really easy to think, superintendent’s there day-to-day, verifying quality.

Project manager is the second eye on it to make sure everything’s not getting missed.

And then production manager’s making sure all the subcontractors are scheduled, and that it’s another guy to help out.

So it’s a three-layer tier, because- There’s a lot of different jobs going on, and there’s gonna be conflicts within, you know, a drywaller crew might be needed on multiple jobs at a time, and you wanna foresee those types of scheduling conflicts.

A lot of moving parts, and custom work, and it’s challenging.

So I think having that three-layer system for us has been a game changer, and it’s amazing.

Are you licensed and insured?

Yes.

Yes.

And it’s very expensive.

Who will I talk to throughout the project?

Superintendent would be the first person you’re talking to.

And then the designer, you’re gonna be talking to the designer.

Yeah, your designer’s gonna do certain spot checks on at rough, you know, making sure, hey, that valve’s not where it’s supposed to be before you put your shower together.

That cable for that light needs to be this high, not that high.

And all that stuff should be on the plans, but another, that designer set of eyes coming through there, making sure that’s realized is important.

Yeah, but to keep it simple, three people.

Product director, designer, and superintendent will be the main three people you’ll be communicating throughout the whole process.

You may have to talk to your spouse occasionally.

Hopefully not, to be honest.

Will you handle the permits and inspections?

Yes, we take care of the permits and inspections.

Yes.

Are there zoning restrictions or HOA requirements I need to consider if I want a casita?

Yes, zoning is generally not an issue for casitas.

It’s usually to do with the HOA.

The HOA is gonna wanna make sure that it’s consistent.

Like we had one client who was gonna build a casita and the roofline was gonna be very different.

What he could get approved was gonna be very different than what he wanted for his roofline.

And so it ended up killing his deal.

Yes, the answer is HOA can restrict it if you want something modern, but the neighborhood won’t let you do something modern that can happen or vice versa.

Do you offer warranties or guarantees?

Generally, there’s a one-year warranty on what we’re installing and everything.

Then you have the manufacturer’s warranties, like if you’re getting the new appliances, things like that.

Cabinetry has a limited warranty on certain items, but generally it’s a limited lifetime warranty based on what you’re doing to it.

If you’re taking a bat to it or driving a truck through it, we’re not warrantying that.

Yes, we have a warranty packet that we give our clients and that’s gonna specify all the applicable warranties to what we’re doing.

Yeah, so we have a strong warranty program for these guys.

We’ve always been good with our clients for that.

Will there be a final walkthrough to address any issues?

There’s actually multiple walkthroughs.

There’s gonna be a blue tape walkthrough, a punchless walkthrough.

Yes, at various stages, we’re doing different quality checks.

I think one of the things that a lot of customers tend to get hung up on is when the project’s not fully done, they tend to jump to conclusions and saying, hey, why is this like this?

And a lot of times it’s, wait, we’re not done yet.

That’s gonna get addressed when we bring in this guy.

There’s a sequence to things that maybe they may not see.

And so I always say, hey, it’s important not to wait till we’re done before you really scrutinize the product.

We’re doing everything we can in our power to quality check that at various stages and making sure we’re not proceeding if something needs to be taken care of right away.

Well, and a lot of people have had bad experience with the contractors, so they lack a lot of trust.

There’s a ton of horror stories out there.

Yeah, a ton of horror stories.

So for us, it’s really cool.

I mean, we do checklist inspections throughout the whole project.

I mean, our superintendents are required to fill out an inspection form per subcontractor, and then the project manager goes in there to double check it.

So there’s a lot of variances there, but the answer is, and then at the very end, there is a, we walk through it and make sure everything’s good, and we sign off before you guys make our final payment.

So it’s very common that we do that.

And if you haven’t lived in the home and you’re moving back in, and you start working with stuff, and there’s always bugs to work out.

Let’s say like a sink, for some reason, the hot water’s not working.

Yeah, there’s always things that- Or somebody that would wanna fix it.

And so we make a list, so we come back through, and we tidy up those things as well.

Can I add or make changes after the project is done?

It happens all the time.

I guess, I mean- You can.

Yeah, it’s just not for free.

But generally, yeah, there is adaptability throughout the process.

And we do not like change orders, contrary to a lot of contractors who make a lot of money on change orders.

That’s how they make their money.

Yeah, we don’t like them.

It ruins our flow of everything.

We try to think of everything ahead of time.

We wanna streamline that process and execute our plan.

Yes, you can, it does, it comes at a price.

You gotta pay for that.

I mean, I did it myself.

I mean, I was building my house, and I wanted my gym to be bigger.

It was already framed up, and I had to pay for a structural engineer, and I had to bump it all out, and it cost me an extra $40,000.

Yes, you can do it, but it will cost you money.

And that’s just the reality.

Actually, that’s a great example, because had you spent a little more in design, and maybe had access to a VR walkthrough- It would have helped me so much.

Yeah, you would have spent an extra five grand, or whatever the number, but it would have saved you 40.

And so, a lot of times, we tell our customers, look, it’s important to know you need to spend some money to save money.

Knowing what I know now, if I would have built my house with our processing systems, I would have saved probably 150 grand.

Easy.

There were so many unknown things, because you just couldn’t visualize it.

I couldn’t visualize things, but once it was built out, you’re like, gym’s too small.

I wish I would have known that.

And then there’s like, oh, if I had that VR set on, I mean, I would have known that right away.

Yeah, there’s a lot of things that look functional on paper, that once it’s vertical, and you’re living and walking through it, it doesn’t work.

Yeah, our company’s very good at that.

Can I provide input on design throughout the process?

Yeah, there’s a lot of collaboration that’s going on between you and your designer.

Your job to do that.

And it’s important to be an active participant in that.

The last thing we wanna do is expend all this time, energy, and effort, and money, designing something that we get to the closing table, and you’re like, yeah, I don’t like it.

If you have the personality, I have a lot of friends who have personalities who don’t wanna be, they don’t like conflict.

They avoid conflict.

In this process, it’s very important just to be honest, because you’re gonna waste a lot of money, and time, and energy, by not being honest throughout the whole design process.

So yeah, we want your input.

We wanna know what you’re thinking.

And we want you to be very clear, because when you’re clear on what you want, it makes it a lot easier for the whole team to be on the same page.

Knowing what’s important to you, and what matters versus what doesn’t to you.

And if it’s something you don’t like, I don’t like that.

It’s not gonna hurt, you’re not gonna hurt anybody’s feelings.

Sometimes people are scared to hurt the designer’s feelings.

No, I hate that.

Thank you for letting me know that.

It’s good to know.

How do I choose the best location for my new build?

It all depends on budget.

It depends on desires.

Are you a family person?

Are you not a family person?

Kids, school zones, if you’re doing private or homeschool, it’s not an issue, but a lot of it comes down to affordability.

And then what side of town you like hanging out on.

A lot of times when people start shopping for a site, all they’re looking at is that price per square foot or price per acre of dirt, right?

And that’s not exactly the best tell of a good value of a lot.

It’s what is it gonna cost to get to that build point?

And so you might be spending double for a build-ready lot that you would on a raw piece of dirt because the cost to bring in the utilities is so significant and the grading and the block walls and all of that stuff.

So you really have to compare apples to apples.

A raw lot is totally different compared to a build-ready lot.

And the price is reflected that way.

Yeah, and right now our clients, McDonald Highlands, Ascaya, Summit.

Yeah, those are build-ready communities.

We potentially have some in Fermia coming up and then you have some Northwest that have some land up there.

So all over, it’s almost like the entire beltway from the Northwest Summerlin area, low mountain area, all the way around to the McDonald Highland area.

And then there’s still some in Henderson as well.

But basically that’s the main area where people wanna build houses.

Yeah.

And it generally gets your best views as well.

Yeah, exactly.