BUILDER/DESIGNER OF THE MONTH – JANUARY 2011
Gary Byker and Janel Joppie
Homes by Gary Byker
Q: How did the two of you begin working together? What are the advantages of having a builder/designer team?
Gary: I wanted someone who is more a part of my team…rather than just hired for when and where I need them. I heard, through a third party, that Janel was looking for a builder to team up with and I made the initial contact. Janel is great. Before she joined our company, I worked with other designers, but they weren’t at every meeting or as involved with the complete project, as Janel is. From the first contact, through to the finished home, Janel is in on each meeting. She has great rapport with people and especially seems to click with the wives, which also makes the husband happy because they aren’t always in on everything about the design, etc, like the wives are. Also, it makes the husbands more comfortable, I think, that their wives aren’t meeting only with men during the building process when they themselves can’t be there.
Janel: I was independent prior to working with Gary. It was a win-win situation to join forces. Working with a homeowner couple is like two teams working together: builder and designer, husband and wife. Two sets of perspectives…male and female. We start with the floor plan and work together through to the end of the project. I usually design the home in-house, using the client’s ideas and goals, added to what we see as a good home flow. We don’t have an official “architect” on our team but we’re both “residential home designers” and use both a computer-assisted program and also draw up plans by hand. Three of ten people, on average, will come in with their own design. They may also have come through a Parade and want a home “just like that one”.
Q: Have you found areas you just don’t agree on? If so, how do you deal with that?
Gary: If the disagreement is contractual or structural in nature, I would say, I’ll have the last say. If it is design related, or anything along those lines, I will have input but Janel will have the last say, along with the homeowner, of course.
Janel: It’s one of those things…we listen to each other and usually, if one of us has a strong opinion about something, we will go with that. Since working together, we usually know what the other one is thinking anyway, so, generally, we are able to work things out easily.
Q: Do you work together on every home built? What if someone comes in with his or her own designer?
Gary: That really hasn’t happened much. Once in awhile, someone may come in and have a sister or cousin that’s going to do the designing, etc, but we rarely have that come up.
Janel: I believe many decide to work with us because we’re a team. They like that concept and the benefits that are gained from that.
Q: What has been your biggest challenge…individually and as a team?
Gary: I think the biggest challenge is to maintain a good reputation. You can build a great reputation over twenty years and then lose it in a second. You have to always be mindful of that. It’s a lot of work to maintain that solid reputation.
Janel: I don’t like the word “challenge”…I’d like to say that our goal is to make sure the communication and relationship with our clients remain the greatest focus. Also, we try to pace ourselves with our clients’ lives. It seems that customers of today are a lot busier than those of the past…usually both are working, so we try to set a pace that is not overwhelming, yet moves along so that their deadlines are met.
Q: What about cabinetry?
A: We do some custom cabinetry and some pre-built. We do buy some cabinets…don’t want to turn off those who sell cabinets. Seven out of ten clients have them built onsite. That’s what Gary loves to do…design and then actually draw the cabinets on the wall so his clients can visualize where and what they’ll be like; then he’ll get them started for his team to finish.
Q: What exterior siding products top the list of client requests?
A: Primarily, for the sides and back of the house, vinyl is still the king…price-point wise, too. Two out of ten will have cement board. The big thing now is multiple textures. The fronts of the homes, we’re about 50/50 cedar or vinyl shakes, either horizontal or vertical. There’s most often a mix of brick or stone with the shakes on the fronts of homes. Not as much cedar horizontal siding…we’re seeing those who want that look go to cement board, more often.
Q: What’s your favorite space in the home to design, Janel?
A: I like the heart of the home…the kitchen/great room area…it seems the rest of the home feeds off this area. I like the transitional or timeless style…if I designed your home eight years ago, it won’t look dated today. We like to capitalize on the latest colors and ideas, for sure, but we try to steer our clients away from something that is trendy, in our opinion. But, having said that, we are in the business of selling homes and pleasing our customers so if they want something they’ve seen, for example, then that’s what we’ll give them. We just try to do it in a way that stands the test of time and good design. Most of the comments I get with my designs are things like “warm, homey, comfortable”, and reflects their own personal style. And I want it to feel like that whether it’s a 2,000 or an 8,000 sq. foot house.
Q: Have you built a lot of homes on the waterfront?
A: From Lake Michigan to rivers to man-made lakes…virtually all of our homes are on some type of waterfront. Three of our Parade Homes for Spring 2011 are on water.
Q: What’s your relationship with Rivershores?
A: We do a reasonable amount of business with Rivershores…whenever we can, we do. One of the guys working for me is actually related to our Rivershores salesman. Sometimes he’ll suggest things that we didn’t even know Rivershores carried and then we’ll look into getting it there. Joel Terpstra is our salesman and he’s been great, very helpful and knowledgeable. The Rivershores Showroom is fantastic…just sent someone over there the other day who wanted a floor like the one that was in one of our Parade Homes…a bamboo floor.
Q: Why would I want to pick you as a builder, Gary? What sets you apart?
A: Janel…I’m serious…it’s a huge selling point! We’ve certainly had our separate following of clients and now we’ve pooled our clients along the way. We’ve always had the reputation of high quality building practices, but there’s half a dozen or more “elite builders” in West Michigan including us that are quality builders. Quality alone doesn’t make it…that alone is expected. There has to be added value, something more. My “something more “ is having an in-house designer. Janel connects so well with the customers. I’ve worked with some designers who have great ideas, but have a tendency to run over the client with their own agenda and ideas. I can’t think of one instance where Janel has done that. When I began building, I looked around at successful builders and thought…now what sets these guys apart…and I realized that they all had their own designers on staff. I decided that’s what I wanted to do, also.
Q: Gary has said some great things about what you do for his business, Janel, but in your opinion, what’s special about what you both offer? Why would I hire you over someone else?
A: Well, I think, as a team, we do connect well with our clients. During the process, we get to know the client and their personality and quite often help them to realize what they want when they just can’t verbalize it for themselves. Gary and I are able to put our joint talents together and create an amazing experience and outcome for our clients.
Q: In this economic climate, what is your best advice to the homeowner looking to have a home built? What can they/you do to make sure they get the best bang for the buck?
A: They have to decide what they want and it has to fit with their lifestyle…what’s most important to them. To some, it’s that bottom line…the financial side of it. And I tell them that there’s a low price and then there’s value. We don’t claim to always have the lowest price but we definitely have the best value or at least equal to the best value around. We build as much quality into our homes as we possibly can. Sometimes the worth lies in whether you LOVE your home when it’s all done. I might be 20K higher than the next guy, but I think you’re getting 30K more house.
You also need to have a good rapport with your builder. From the very first meeting, you need to feel the chemistry and then everything just clicks.
More specifically, people often come to us with pictures of homes they’ve seen or pictures from magazines. Or, they’ve been going through Parade Homes and see something they like. Just keep track of all the things you like in a file. You can come to us in any state of preparedness and, together, we will help you create your dream home.