.png)
Simplifying Life Through Technology
SoundVision LLC is a lifestyle technology company located in Mooresville, North Carolina. We interview vendors, clients and staff with the purpose of demystifying the capabilties of new technologies for your home or business and sometimes highlighting local content that is important to our community.
Simplifying Life Through Technology
Aaron Feldman: Lakemist Homes
On this episode of “Simplifying Life Through Technology,” Mark, Andrew, and Sue sit down with Aaron Feldman, owner of Lakemist Homes and 15-time Best of the Lake winner.
Aaron takes us behind the scenes of his award-winning approach to crafting distinctive residences throughout the Lake Norman area. His journey from national production builder to custom home craftsman reveals the stark differences between mass production and personalized construction. Unlike the cookie-cutter approach of high-volume builders, Lakemist Homes deliberately limits their annual builds to ensure impeccable quality. "We have someone at our homes every single day," Aaron explains, highlighting how this constant oversight allows them to catch and fix issues immediately, maintaining their flawless record of zero structural problems across 200 completed homes.
The customization process at Lake Mist is comprehensive and intimate. Aaron personally walks every lot with potential clients, guiding them through design decisions based on their unique lifestyle needs. From floor plans and foundational elements to the smallest details like door hinges, clients experience true freedom of choice. This approach has earned them not just industry accolades but also numerous repeat customers who return for their second or third Lakemist home.
Technology integration has become a cornerstone of modern custom homes, with Aaron noting that 80% of clients consider it essential. From robust WiFi networks and automated window treatments to smart lighting systems, these features have evolved from luxuries to necessities, comparable to electricity and plumbing. Aaron shares insights from his own custom home experience, where thanks to SoundVision, technology enhances both functionality and lifestyle.
Looking to build your dream home? Aaron's advice is refreshingly straightforward: take your time. In an industry where rushing decisions can lead to lasting regrets, Lakemist Home's thoughtful planning process ensures your home truly reflects your vision. Connect with Aaron and his team to discover how their passion for quality craftsmanship and personalized service can transform your homebuilding journey.
To learn more about Lakemist Homes:
https://lakemisthomes.com/
Check out Lakemist Homes on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/lakemisthomes/
To learn more about Best of The Lake Awards:
https://www.lakenormanhba.com/bestofthelake/lnhba
To learn more about SoundVision:
https://www.svavnc.com/
Check out our Instagram to see our recent projects:
https://www.instagram.com/soundvisionllc/
To listen to more “Simplifying Life Through Technology” podcasts:
https://open.spotify.com/show/7fIkJuLZ7lZ8xbafz62muQ
Contact Us Today: (704) 696-2792 Ext. 1 | Info@svavnc.com | soundvisionlkn.com
Joining us in the podcast studio today we have Aaron Feldman, owner of Lake Mist Homes. Welcome, aaron.
Speaker 2:Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:Thank you for joining us and also joining us, we have Mark Hi Andrew, hello Mark, and Sue Hi Andrew.
Speaker 3:Hey, sue, and I cannot believe you did not start with the most important thing about Aaron, and I don't know how many X times winner he is. How many X times winner of home of the year do you have?
Speaker 2:So we are now officially 15 times.
Speaker 4:Best of Lake winner.
Speaker 2:Congratulations.
Speaker 3:Thank you so much 15 times, so we're going to learn a lot today. That was a good job.
Speaker 2:Studio audience by the way, I don't even notice they're here.
Speaker 3:So it's very exciting always to have a builder partner, that that we have um in studio, because we get to learn more about, not only about you individually, which we're going to touch on here in just a sec, but also kind of your philosophy, what makes you and specifically late mist different and what our you know customers and listeners might go at. Man, that's going to be the person that we want to build our home, whether it's our next home or forever home, because you kind of do both. Is that fair? Yeah, absolutely Awesome. Well, let's jump in and, as we typically do, get you to kind of talk about yourself a little bit, which I'm sure everybody was talking about themselves. Kind of tell us how you got in the industry and how Lake Miss started and all that. Just go from there.
Speaker 2:Absolutely so. I've been in the industry for over 20 years now. Um started with the national builders years back um post-college and uh which which national builder I was with uh beezer and the raleigh uh durham division um oh my god, hold on quick, quick. How long ago uh, so it's back in. I'd say 2004 is when I started and I left there, let me see and probably about 2011, 2012. Yeah, any shot in the world. You know Shoshana Burkhart, I do, I do actually.
Speaker 2:She was a sales agent when I first started there, um, and she left probably maybe about a year after I started there. So, yeah, yeah, it's a small, small industry. Yeah, oh, that's wild.
Speaker 3:Yeah, she started with Ryan and she trained with me.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh, I got to get. Okay, we got to. I got to get her contact information. I haven't talked to her in 20 years. I don't think I've talked to her in 20 years either. You probably don't have that.
Speaker 2:Anyways, continue. Yeah, so um started with the, uh, the nationals back then. Um, just out of college, uh, prior to that, just growing up, I was always in the building industry. Um, I was working for for Beezer for about uh eight to nine years and uh worked my way up. I was in middle management. Um, really just, I feel like it's a very different industry. Well, it's building homes, but it's it's a very different than building a custom home.
Speaker 3:So it's uh, um, I want, hopefully you you can kind of um, hold that thought because I want you to go into that a little bit down the road. It really crystallizes, in our industry as well, Kind of the DIY versus what custom is. So I love that you brought that up, but continue, no, no, definitely so I love that you brought that up, but continue, no, no, definitely.
Speaker 2:So yeah, kind of cut my teeth there and learned quite a bit and just grew Around 2011, 2012,. I was offered an opportunity to run a division for Charlotte for a different national builder. At that time my dad, who actually founded Lake Mist Homes about three years prior, was building up quite a bit. He pretty much said if you're going to go take this job in Charlotte, you're moving back here from the Raleigh Durham market. You should come partner with me. So pretty much the best decision I ever made.
Speaker 4:I was going to say that's a no brainer, that's a no brainer.
Speaker 2:I look back on it, they probably have had four people in that position. They offered me and really I came to work with my dad. He was building. He had built, I want to say, six homes over a three year period, so it was not a massive business by any means. He was the only member of the company. It was him, and my mom helped him with some listings.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:Kind of family oriented. The first year I was with him we built 12 homes together.
Speaker 3:Wow, okay, so you? You ramped it up quick. Yes, was your father. Did your father come from the building industry?
Speaker 2:He did so. He was actually a builder his whole life. He's in his mid seventies now. He's 70, 75 now. So he started out in a paneling plant. We're actually working on a paneling plant that supplies lumber and everything to Ryan Homes.
Speaker 3:Oh, wow, okay, what's your dad's?
Speaker 2:name Jim Feldman.
Speaker 3:Shout out to Jim Hi Jim, hi Jim.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but he was a builder his whole life and he actually worked for the National Builders, became a construction manager and um worked his way up. He actually became a regional president for a couple of the builders running multiple states and um pretty high, pretty high up there.
Speaker 3:Yeah, okay, let me back up just real quick on your uh, on your background. So you were in Raleigh, the Raleigh-Durham area, which is where I grew up. Yeah, what, what got you there? Did Beezer get you there?
Speaker 2:No, no, actually I started out. Did Beezer get you there? No, no, actually.
Speaker 3:I started out. I was an NC State undergrad, yeah me too.
Speaker 2:I did my undergrad there, and right out of college I started working for Beezer.
Speaker 3:Okay.
Speaker 2:And just really you did the construction management. Actually I was more on the sales side back then, so I kind of I was wondering they do a lot of cross training, but it was mostly on the sales aspect of it and becoming a general manager with them towards the end of my years there, but worked all around. I mean I started out in. I want to say I started out in Holly Springs.
Speaker 3:I was in Apex.
Speaker 2:Cary, raleigh, durham. So I sold everything from first time and then by the end of my career they were actually sending me to Texas to learn about Energy, um, energy star and advanced building technology, um, which back then it wasn't as big as it is now, but call it 13, 14, 15 years ago it was kind of a new process that the uh, the big, the big builders were just getting into.
Speaker 3:Man, that is, that is super cool. I didn't, actually didn't even know the NC state thing, but that, okay, very cool, so it was's hard to get to a game.
Speaker 2:nowadays with the kids, yeah, my weekends are full. How? Many kids do you guys have Two? I have a seven and nine-year-old and we're pretty much involved in seven days a week activities. What activities are they involved in? My oldest does travel soccer, so that's a— Seven-and-nine travel soccer. Yeah, so my. My oldest does travel soccer, so that's a three days of practice a week, two days of games.
Speaker 3:Is he with independence or Fox? It's actually a she but she, I'm sorry, excuse me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, she's actually with Fox, so she does that. She's loving it, she's done. She was at CESA for six seasons and then this is her first season with.
Speaker 4:Fox. So she what's her position?
Speaker 2:Uh, she usually plays defense, so she plays a center back or left back usually.
Speaker 3:But um my wife hates third person. What is she's name? Oh, raleigh, uh, riley Riley, not Raleigh. Riley Riley, yeah.
Speaker 2:It's actually it's spelled just like Riley with a Y.
Speaker 4:So that's the position light of my life.
Speaker 3:We're going to cut this part out because no one will care about this. I played at NC state. Oh, nice, nice 87 and 88.
Speaker 2:That's awesome.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I've played my whole life. I coached at Christ the King for eight years.
Speaker 2:That's awesome, that is amazing.
Speaker 3:I have a very I was the ODP goal to goalkeeper coach for North Carolina a very extensive soccer background, very extensive no, all the guys that run Fox and that's, that's amazing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that we, we love it. It's, it's a great program. Um, I grew up playing soccer. Sadly, by the time I got to high school, I had, uh, uh, played some other sports which I continued to play, but I took a one or two years off. Soccer and it, it's, it's pretty wild If you take a year off, or two years off how far behind you fall and how competitive it can be.
Speaker 2:Oh sure, where did you go to high school? I went to, actually grew up in Maryland, but we moved down to Charlotte my sophomore year and I went to Providence Day down there.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, oh. Providence Day is a good program too, most years yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so they actually won. I wasn't on that team, but they actually won state champs a first years of the program. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yes, the early, like the not years lacrosse was just starting here. It wasn't very good. Now it's very good, absolutely Very good. Well, that's really really cool. Okay, so you started working with your dad and you guys built 12 homes the first year, and then take me through that transition to where you eventually bought your father out and now you're a business owner, and how that's different than being a production manager or a sales guy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely it's. It's, uh, really, our first year there. We did 12 and I kind of realized at that point, uh, I need, I need help, I need some. I kind of realized at that point I need help, I need some staff. At that point my dad was already scaling back, so I, at that point, had my GC license I actually went back and got my master's prior to that but just realized that, just with my business background, this is a very, very sustainable and lucrative business and industry to to be in and um, but I need, I need help. So, um, uh, as my dad kind of scaled back, I hired our first employees. Um, and really what's impressive to me is those, those first employees that I hired, are still working for us.
Speaker 2:So it's that's awesome, good for you, um, have one of my construction managers been with me for, say, 13 years? The other one has been 12 years. So it's, it's. It's a great team and it's a family, but we just continue to grow and it's very organic. I also talk about, yeah, we built 12 homes that first year. That's about what we do today. So it's it's. Yeah, the biggest difference I have found is that homes are much more complicated.
Speaker 2:So, everybody is more um in tuned to what's going on. There's many, many more options to put into a home. Um, it's it's custom, so you can do whatever you want.
Speaker 3:Well, I tell you what let's. Let's go down that path a little bit. So, philosophically, you know what is your kind of vision for lake mist versus there's. There's certainly options, there's certainly people that you compete with in this market oh absolutely. I mean, it's a. It's a hot market, yeah, which is wonderful for all of us, certainly, but also presents challenges. So what's what's your unique? Uh, you know your unique. What makes Lake Miss different than anybody else?
Speaker 2:Uh, I think, uh, just the amount of. It's easy to say quality, but uh, for us that's probably the most important thing. So we have the ability and the demand um upon us that we could be building three to four times as many homes. It's.
Speaker 3:this is one of the best housing markets in the country and I feel very blessed to be in this area, and if I could just jump in, if, for those listeners that are not like real estate junkies cause I am a real estate junkie and if you don't follow this. Aaron is 100% right. Florida is super hot, but they've got all kinds of insurance issues. That's going on. Texas, similar, similar. There are some other hot places in the country, but there is nobody that's hotter than North Carolina. It's crazy if you look at it nationwide. So yeah, I agree with that 100%.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we've just been very fortunate. I feel lucky that just even the timing from someone who lived through 0304, at the kind of peak of the market, and then also saw 0708, which was the absolute worst time in home building At that time I was still with the National.
Speaker 2:So seeing our company's stock plummet, seeing people get, laid off and then coming to a market like Mooresville and then just the last I'd even say 10 years and just the Lake Norman area, it is hot, hot. I don't know how to describe it other than that. Yeah, we do have the ability to build quite a few more homes, but we're not willing to sacrifice the quality.
Speaker 4:I was going to say 12 homes in a year is even a lot. Yeah, absolutely yeah, that's a lot.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the biggest difference is we have someone at our homes every single day. So a lot of our competitors, that's a big one. It's uh, um, they talk about oh the. It's a custom home, it's hands-on, but they go check on it three times a week and we have someone at the house every single day making sure that things are happening the way they're supposed to. I will tell you mistakes will be made, but they're caught immediately.
Speaker 4:Let's say you catch them early and you can fix them earlier.
Speaker 3:That's exactly the case we hear we talk about creating you wouldn't believe moments, and oftentimes when we have our team meetings, I'll say there's going to be issues.
Speaker 3:I mean we're dealing with imperfect products, and people are imperfect. It's not necessarily that you have the issue, it's how do you handle the issue Absolutely, uh, and as a as a matter of fact, a lot of times when you get through, when you go through that, that's where you really start to shine and that's where people go. We made the right choice, absolutely. You don't have to be perfect, you just have to. You just have to follow through on it. So that's that's great. No-transcript.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. It's a. We pretty much take people from the very beginning. I'd say 75% of our homeowners are actually doing their full plan design with us in house. Um, I'd say 25% might bring us a plan or are working with an outside designer, but really every step of the way we are customizing. So I actually work with every single homeowner. So when someone calls the phone and they want to meet out at a job site and they own a lot, I actually go walk it with them. If they're thinking, oh, we don't own a lot and I'll walk them through one of ours. But uh, once we find the location they want, I'm, I'm literally meeting with them to walk through a plan design. What are their wants, what are their needs, Um, and then kind of fast forwarding a little bit after they've designed a home, when we start the selection process, we have a design manager that helps them through the process. I will say 12, 13 years ago that process was much more limited but still well more advanced than the track builders.
Speaker 2:Track builders you go into a design studio and you make all your selections, usually in an hour and a half On site, On site. Some of them don't even have design studios. Sometimes they walk into the model and they have a closet full of here's your choices, Just talking one selection. If you talk flooring and you just went to help guide them to keep them in budget, If that's a preference for them, which is our preference we're not cost plus, so I don't make more money if they spend more. But Buyers have become more educated, especially with the internet, so they are shopping quite a bit more. We even have people pick out their hinges on their doors. It's kind of wild things. We would never think to ask someone. Three or four new items come up a year where I have to add them to our contract spec sheets, where I kind of put things where here's your new allowance for door hinges, because we have buyers that want to pick those things out and never before and it sounds like you were in sales with the, with the national builder.
Speaker 3:I was as well, so I can absolutely validate what aaron is saying here about selections. Now, there's certainly a place you know some people like get overwhelmed with the enormity of the selections Absolutely. There's certainly a budget thing that comes into it. So there is certainly a place for that. But if you want to control or you want to have input, what you're saying is that, hey, man, you can have as much input as you want.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 3:We're going to build your home the way you want it, absolutely, and that is incredibly cool and obviously valuable as well. Yes, part of that home would be the technology aspect of it. Yes, and I'm curious. I mean, I have an opinion.
Speaker 4:Not biased at all. Not biased at all.
Speaker 1:here an opinion not biased at all here.
Speaker 3:Uh, but I am curious what you see, uh, not only your own eyes, but what people are actually asking or thinking about technology. And this can be raw, like, I don't care if they like it, hate it, whatever.
Speaker 2:I'm just curious what you're, what you're seeing out there. I'd say probably 80% of our customers' technology is important to them. So, especially in an environment where we have gone to a lot of people working from home where that was not as big call it six years ago, because there was an event that brought everybody home. So one of the biggest things there is just networking and I can even talk from personal experience and I'm getting a little bit off subject, but also related Um, I recently built my new home.
Speaker 2:We built our forever home and sound vision was one of our partners in that project and I will tell you it probably was one of the smoothest processes of my entire build and building for yourself, your your most difficult customer you will have. But technology was very important to my wife and I when building our home. For her it was more I want speakers that I can play music in these locations and we want to make sure the alarm system and we did all these things through SoundVision, whether it was the security cameras, the alarm system, the audio video. For me I'm nerding out a little bit and I was like I want my theater and want it the way I want it and got so much guidance from you and your team that it was just a breath of fresh air. It actually made those decisions very easy and I'm just kind of a microcosm, um of uh or small sector of the clients out there, but separately I I do have an office, but I will tell you I'm a workaholic, so I work from home.
Speaker 2:I go home after hours and I continue to think about work nonstop.
Speaker 4:So I'm well it's your baby, yes, yes. So now we've seen Aaron's home and it's a dump. Yes.
Speaker 3:So now we've seen Aaron's home and it's a dump. So I don't know. Aaron's home is is is pretty darn impressive he did an incredible job.
Speaker 1:Yes, gorgeous.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's, it's crazy. So we asked this internally a lot If you had to go a week without wifi versus a week, I don't know if we say a week, we say a couple of days A couple of days without Wi-Fi versus a couple of days without hot water. Yeah, what would the customers?
Speaker 2:say. I think it's a tough decision for the customer. Personally, I wish I could go.
Speaker 4:Without Wi-Fi.
Speaker 2:I'd be a healthier person. I feel like I'm addicted to technology, which is actually most of the world, but yeah, I don't know, I like hot water. If I don't get a shower every day, I'm a mess. You want to be clean?
Speaker 3:Can I just say maybe I'm the only one and it's okay if I am. I literally will walk out of a room. I'll leave this room my phone is sitting right in front of me here, shocker and I'll like go to the conference room after we've finished this and I'll have forgot the phone and the second. I realized I forgot the phone. I have to come back and get the phone.
Speaker 1:It's like panic, oh yeah, like where'd it go?
Speaker 3:I mean literally my wife is in our house doing that all the time so, yes, the technology and you know, to some degree is a necessary evil.
Speaker 3:We, internally, because that's what we do, we wonder if, from a builder standpoint, we are now you know, you have to have electricity, yeah, absolutely. You have to have plumbing, absolutely, you have to have heating and air. I mean, I guess you don't have to. You have to have heating and air, yeah, right, um, and and now our stuff? Up until maybe, I don't know, 10, 15 years ago, you didn't necessarily have to have anything, uh, but wifi.
Speaker 2:Oh, I think you have to now. You have to have it right, Absolutely.
Speaker 3:It's just, it's literally just as important as that stuff.
Speaker 2:Now I'm in a location where the, where it's not a good signal, and just the in general, and I have wireless access points done by sound vision all throughout my entire home and it is a lifesaver because, yeah, I can't imagine, and especially with with kids too we we limit our children's screen time quite a bit, but sometimes you need them just to not to say this, but here's, here's your here's your device for 30 minutes, also for school For school.
Speaker 3:I mean the schools are fully dependent on it. Oh, absolutely. So. Okay, wi-fi, we got that. What other technologies do people whether it's your opinion or what are your customers asking for?
Speaker 2:A lot of the big things now is even things as small or as important as just your window, drapery or blinds just having smart technology.
Speaker 2:We did it in a few rooms in our home and it's pretty amazing. I'm the type where in the evenings I like all the blinds closed During the day. I want sunlight At night. I don't want to be a fishbowl where anyone can see and my wife will never remember to close the blinds. So I just anyone can see and and my wife will will never remember to close the blinds. So I just having a having the functionality of I can either press a button or set a timer and we're we're all set. So that's that's important to us. But that's actually been brought up by many of our customers lately.
Speaker 3:So if you'd have told me back in the early two thousands that we would be selling any kind of window treatment, whether it you know, blind shades, whatever and automated or not, I would have said like that's crazy, that would never happen. And we literally zach loves to use the term verticals, meaning like security is a vertical and audio video is a vertical and lighting is a vertical and shades is a vertical. It's like our third or fourth most often sold item in the entire place. In fact, I would almost say we never do a house.
Speaker 1:Rarely.
Speaker 3:I don't think we ever do one without any automated shades in it, and they're amazing. Like Aaron was alluding to, he likes light during the day, he likes it dark at night. Well, literally this stuff happens without you doing anything, absolutely, it's on the timer. You know the timer. So dusk, which changes every day, they come down at dusk, they go up at dawn or whatever time you want. It's incredible.
Speaker 2:And even even, uh, the the actual lighting, having those, those that functionality too, where you can have your lights set up to dim and um it. I encourage people to check out the sound visions showroom because it's it's pretty mesmerizing when you, when you can come in and just the way that some lighting makes you feel so it, it can, it can change your mood. Absolutely and it's, uh, it's pretty impressive.
Speaker 4:So, very cool. Um, sue, yeah, I was just going to ask you, aaron. I mean, what is your vision for Lake Mist in the future?
Speaker 2:How are you?
Speaker 4:guys looking to be stay the same or be a little different, or set yourself apart from other builders.
Speaker 2:No, we are going to continue to grow. It's going to be very organic, though, and natural. Again, I keep going back to I don't want to overextend ourselves. I have been blessed with an amazing team, which makes these things easier. I also try to set things up in a way that services our existing customers too. I've also been very fortunate in that. A humble brag, but we've actually won the Integrity Award through Quality Builders Mutual a couple times, which sounds weird.
Speaker 4:It does not sound weird. No, that's very impressive.
Speaker 2:Giving you an award from a warranty company. But um, I joke because we've built 200 homes and we have never had a structural issue, so we have a warranty company where uh they uh? They give us this award because we keep paying for everybody's warranties when they don't have to utilize them. But uh, it's kind of a good thing for us, so we like that, and actually we have several repeat buyers where we've built multiple homes for them.
Speaker 4:Well, that's the best compliment right there. Now, one thing I always like to see, like if I see a home that's like 15 years old and then they're modernizing it or something like that, to be up to date. What are you seeing some of the design trends leading towards?
Speaker 2:A lot of new things. We do a little bit of remodels and renovations. We primarily do focus on new construction. But some of the newest trends I'm seeing and I say they're not even that new. I think 10 years ago, 15 years ago, the formal living rooms started to slowly fade out. We still do a couple of year, but not nearly like we used to Um, but dining rooms actually formal dining rooms have actually slowly disappeared. Um where, uh, I look at even my personal family we've we've used in the last three homes that we've lived in um over the last 20 years, I think I can count on one hand how many times we've used the dining room and see I'm dining room person.
Speaker 4:you know it's so funny, yeah, go ahead.
Speaker 3:We we just, chris and I, just uh uh are buying a house uh down near the coast and as we were looking, we looked at a ton of homes and it could not have a dining room that was like one, unless unless you could turn it into a study or an office. We, literally, if it had a formal dining room, it it was out.
Speaker 4:That is crazy, because that is very true. I'm from a huge family and we always have people over, so we used our dining room easily once or twice a month. And if we didn't have our dining room now, we just built a home. It wasn't truly a very custom home, but that's one thing I miss the most is my dining room, isn't that funny. How interesting.
Speaker 2:Everyone's different. So it's pretty interesting and that's the benefit too from a custom home is you can take the areas that are important to you and focus on those.
Speaker 4:Well, that kind of leads me to my next question what advice do you have to give to people who are looking to do a custom home? What path would you steer them down?
Speaker 2:Really taking your time. So we try to spend a lot of time with the customers. Um, we do have a few customers that are this sounds weird too but are trying to hand us money and I'm and I'm slowing them down.
Speaker 4:You don't have to spend that amount.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you don't have to. You don't have to spend that amount. Let's, let's think this through a little bit and let's, let's all be thoughtful in our planning. Um, and I do that too, in that approach, when a customer's looking at a lot um.
Speaker 2:I'll. I'll tell them upfront. I've actually had a couple of customers where they came back to us five, 10 years later where I kind of killed it and just said you know what this is for? What you're trying to accomplish you, this is not the right location for you, or this is not the right plan for you. Um, it's more important for us to make sure they get what they want. So, taking a slow approach, especially, I think, in the last five years, a lot of people had the fear of missing out and people were rushing.
Speaker 3:FOMO.
Speaker 2:Yeah, just rushing to do things that had they had a little more time, they probably would have done something a little bit different. So we're very fortunate and we actually have very fast build times for custom homes. We're generally well under a year. If you're doing a basement you're probably pushing a year, but we're faster than the industry. But at the same time we take a slow and thoughtful approach and plan things out months in advance to help.
Speaker 3:This is a bit off topic, but you were kind of bringing up FOMO and I was curious I don't this is a bit off topic, but you were kind of bringing up FOMO and I was curious when the whole COVID situation happened and everything went crazy with real estate pricing, how did that affect new construction? Your, your 12 homes?
Speaker 2:or so that you built.
Speaker 3:Each year, were you flooded with more people, or was it, you know? Was it less because they were buying preexisting homes?
Speaker 2:No, we were absolutely flooded with. We had to turn down a lot of business, so we just told you we'd have to slow down. I don't want to take on a project and then have our quality sacrificed. So people were very excited, anxious. For us, our biggest battle was the cost, the pricing. It was not inorganic increases. Even right now costs continue to slowly climb, but things like lumber are plummet, were looking at doing this kind of hardwood and it has tripled in cost now so that we can still get you a lot of other options and find things that would work for you. But I actually, while we're good years as far as customers coming to us, to me it was probably my least favorite time in home building was during COVID, when things were just out of control.
Speaker 3:And we might go a little long here, but I'm really interested to hear your take on this. I said I'm a real estate junkie, so during that period of time and up until maybe two years ago, I saw two seismic shifts that I'm wondering how they are right now. The first is the interest rate. Right, we have I know people be called a house lock or whatever where you've got these rates that are, say, under 3% and the money's so inexpensive that you literally can't afford to sell your home, cause even if you could sell it like what you buy, you're going to get half the home for the same price, absolutely, but at the same it like what you buy, you're going to get half the home for the same price, but at the same time, like you were saying, you had these inorganic hockey stick-like prices that adjusted almost like commodities. Right, you had lumber I mean you could put anything in there, absolutely. So the homes. There was a period in there where those things converged. You had really low interest rate but homes were really expensive to build.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Now, with the prices of, like you were saying, numbers plummeting, are you finding or are there customers that you built a home for because they were, so they had to have it. They're so passionate and now their home's almost worth less than when you built it, because to build the same home today would be less but the interest rate would be higher. So how does that?
Speaker 2:It's pretty interesting. A lot of our customers that we're building for the values have certainly maintained or gone much higher. We have homes where I've built them and homes that I might've built for five $600,000 a years ago, but they're reselling them for one, two, one, three. So it is-.
Speaker 3:Even with those price increases.
Speaker 2:It is wild Lumber has gone down, but a lot of other things have maintained their higher pricing. So very fortunate there and part of our approach, we do a of allowances um more than we used to, so we we're not um. 90 of your builders in this market do cost plus and I feel like that's a and just just to make sure that everybody understands, can you explain the difference please?
Speaker 2:yeah. So a cost plus is, uh, the the approach that most and when I do my general contracting, continuing ed, 90 of the builders raise their hand or, on zoom say, raise their hand, virtually saying that they are a cost plus builder, and those builders essentially give an estimate and then add on a profit margin. So let's say it's 20%, so they will build the home. It doesn't matter what the estimate says, but whatever the cost of the home is plus that profit margin, for instance 20%, is what they'll be charged. Plus that profit margin, for instance 20%, is what they'll be charged. I feel that does a disservice to the homeowner because that builder is motivated for things to come out overpriced. The more things cost, the more they get paid.
Speaker 4:Or they're going to have them build with certain things that they really don't need, but they're going to want the extra profit.
Speaker 2:Correct things that they really don't need, but they're going to want the extra profit, correct. Um, so it's just a um, you, you would hope they would be uh, ethical, upfront and just, but when you have something working against you that way it's, it's hard to know for sure. Um, we take a different approach. Um, I pretty much put myself on the hook for half the items in the house. So it's just, these are fixed price items. Uh, it what it costs and I'm on the hook for it.
Speaker 2:What's an example of one? We'll do insulation or even a foundation. If I misestimate your footers or your foundation, that's on me. Within reason, we also have caveats. If you hit bad soils and if your height is supposed to be 8 feet and you make it a 12 foot tall, 15 foot basement, then it's a different beast. But a lot of those things we give fixed pricing for and if I messed up the estimate, that's on me. You're not paying a dollar more If costs go up, you're not paying a dollar more. But then other things we make as an allowance, things like your countertops, your flooring, things where you have more say in it. Full disclosure during COVID, we made lumber an allowance because it was so volatile.
Speaker 2:We had buyers who had to come out of pocket because lumber spiked so much. And then the following year I was cutting checks back to customers for $30,000 because lumber plummeted, because it was such an artificially driven thing, and and said you know what? I put an allowance of this amount and it's absolutely-.
Speaker 3:It didn't cost that.
Speaker 2:No, it plummeted and yeah.
Speaker 3:So again, just to be transparent and make sure everybody understands so an allowance, let's say what is something that's typically on an allowance.
Speaker 2:We'll use courts.
Speaker 3:Okay, countertops.
Speaker 2:If someone goes with courts countertops and they end up, we give them a $10,000 allowance and they go out and spend 9,000, here's your credit back. If you go out and spend 11,000, unfortunately You're writing a check for a grant. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 3:So the allowance dictates what's in the contract and that fixed price extends up to the limit of the allowance. Is that fair to say? Absolutely, by the way, we do the same thing. Fixed price is, uh, extends up to the limit of the allowance.
Speaker 3:Is that fair to say, absolutely. We, by the way, we do the same thing. We're we're fixed in in our world. Uh, it's not cost plus, it's time and materials. Absolutely, basically the same thing. Uh, but we do fixed price contracts 98% of the time, yeah, and and that kind of. And we find that whether prices adjust which can happen because, as we're working with you and your home takes a while to build and over time things change- no, absolutely New models come out, whatever, but we do find that works for us as well.
Speaker 3:So we're in alignment there. I understand.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, absolutely. But again, I keep going back to, however you structure it, it's a good industry to be in. I feel very fortunate to be in the home, absolutely, but it's it's uh, I mean, again, I keep going back to know how, however you structure it, it's, it's a good industry to be in. I feel very fortunate to be in the home building industry and, again, having good partners always makes a big difference.
Speaker 3:So now we've shouted out Jim and Riley, but we, your son is seven, oh, so I have two daughters actually, so Riley is my nine-year-old daughter.
Speaker 2:She's about to turn 10. And then I have a seven-year-old, addison.
Speaker 3:Addison. Okay, hi, addison, we didn't want it to go. I did not want this to go without you being called out, absolutely. By the way, seven is my favorite year, yep, uh, we have four boys and they're all in their twenties now and we have twins and I always, I say there's seven dot.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:However, right now there's seven dot 15. Yep, Uh, because seven is like the perfect age. It's the perfect age. So what is Addison into Cause? We didn't get, we didn't hear.
Speaker 2:Yeah, she does a cheerleading and dance. Um, and I will tell you, I feel very fortunate to, at this age, having two girls at seven and nine. They are an absolute dream. I'm dreading the, the. What is it? The next? Uh, about three years? What it's? What it's going to be like in my household when it's there's a lot of estrogen and, uh, between my wife. Even our dog is a is a girl, it's. I grew up with brothers, so this is, this is a. This is karma.
Speaker 3:And your and your wife's name is Kristen oh, mine too so, kristen, it's going to be worse for you oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Sue is shaking her head yeah, you're dealing with a 15 year old right now and it is, it's fun slamming doors and yeah getting upset over the wind blowing the wrong way we can cut this one too.
Speaker 3:But I have a soccer buddy that has two daughters and we, he would say, man, I would come home with sons. You come home and you go. How was your day? Fine, how was everything?
Speaker 4:Good, what did you do?
Speaker 3:Nothing, yeah, what did you do? Nothing. He comes home and he goes how was your day? And he's like oh God, now.
Speaker 4:I got to sit here because, it goes on for 30 minutes.
Speaker 2:I Now I got to sit here because it goes on for 30 minutes. I'm like that in my 40s. How was your day? It was good it was good, that's right.
Speaker 3:Boys, how was your day, oh my goodness? Well, this is Andrew's little section where we like to ask all of our guests.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so as an audiovisual company, you can imagine we love music around here, so we always like to gauge your music interests. Love music around here, so we always like to gauge your music interests, so why don't you share with us who is your favorite band artist? Any notable concerts? What's your jam?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I mean the cop-out answer is to say I like all music, but I do. I will say I do have a favorite.
Speaker 3:When's the last opera you went to?
Speaker 2:Well, there you go, you got me, you got me, you got me. I think I went to an opera with my parents when I was eight and slept the whole way through.
Speaker 4:I did.
Speaker 2:That's right. But I'd say I like grunge music, like 90s grunge Really. I mean even Pearl Jam, nirvana.
Speaker 1:If you get in my car.
Speaker 2:You're probably listening to some. Everyone's like this music's 30 years old.
Speaker 4:I'm like yeah, yeah it is Because it was the best yeah it's the best cassette I ever had.
Speaker 3:There you go. That's cool. Have we had a grunge?
Speaker 1:I don't know that we've had anybody say grunge, a lot of country, yeah we do get a lot of country, a lot of classic rock, but yeah, that's cool. Pearl Jam.
Speaker 3:So have you seen Pearl Jam on concert.
Speaker 2:We'll say I've seen Eddie Vedder, the lead singer. Yeah, sure, I love his voice. I haven't actually seen a Pearl Jam live concert, so it's on the list. I don't, sadly, most of the music I get out to when I'm going to concerts. It's something my wife's picked out and I'm tolerating it and it's we're going to her favorite musician. We'll see a gentleman named andrew mcmahon who actually I enjoy his music, but it's like the 10th time you've heard him in concert and I'm like okay I don't know andrew mcmahon uh, he was in something corporate and a bunch of stuff.
Speaker 2:She's one year younger than me, but it's pretty wild how much her music taste is different than mine well, my kristin has the, the the, whitney Houston, uh uh, barbara Streisand, bette Midler.
Speaker 3:Yeah, those 13 songs on repeat yeah. Yes.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:It's exactly right. Yeah Well, this has been really cool. Most importantly for this is we want people to know how to get in touch with you, and so you know, we'll clearly put this in the show notes, but tell people how to get in touch with you.
Speaker 2:No, absolutely. I mean, I encourage everybody to go to our website, wwwlakemisthomescom, and they'll have our contact information on there. But my email is Aaron A-A-R-O-N at lakemisthomescom. But if you reach out through the site, there's a 90% chance you'll get hold of myself personally. So we're I'm very hands-on, um try to meet with every customer or at least talk with them, um, even if we're not the builder for them, just to kind of give them advice and and point them in the right directions.
Speaker 4:And check out their Instagram page. Your Instagram page is amazing. I love all of your postings and stuff. I appreciate that.
Speaker 2:We, we sadly. We had social media for quite a bit of time.
Speaker 3:We were actually hacked at the beginning of the year no no no.
Speaker 2:So since then it's been a rebuilding process, that's tough.
Speaker 3:It's kind of wild, yeah. So two things before we go. First, how many times do you actually introduce yourself as AA, ron?
Speaker 2:All the time.
Speaker 4:I was waiting for it. Aa, ron, it's E for a girl, a for a boy.
Speaker 2:It's B-Lock-A, B-Lock-A. What is the other one? D-nice that's. D-nice yes, yes, jaqueline, jaqueline.
Speaker 3:That was the one.
Speaker 2:I missed yeah.
Speaker 3:But actually, before we sign off, I do want to say that you had said you won the integrity award from this warranty company, and we really do enjoy all of our guests that we come on. But very, very truthfully, you have done some things that we haven't talked about on the podcast and don't need to, but I do want to shout out that you truly do live that mantra. Having employees that basically started with you and are still there, that is a testament. That is not easy and it's not normal. And doing some of the things that you do for the folks when no one else sees, that's really cool, and Aaron really does that, and so I encourage you. Hey, you may not find that Lake Mist is the partner to build your home, but I think you're shortchanging yourself if you don't at least go and talk to them, because it's a really good group of people, it's a really good company. We're very thankful to partner with you, absolutely, and we appreciate you being here.
Speaker 2:Now we. I appreciate you having me and I appreciate the positive words, but I keep going back to it it does take a village. We have amazing partners and that that makes us who we are. So we're very fortunate to to work with you and I'm very fortunate for the team I have. So just can't, can't be appreciative enough, thank you.
Speaker 3:Very cool.
Speaker 1:Andrew, all right. Thanks again for joining us, sue.
Speaker 4:See y'all later. Bye.
.png)
