In homebuilding and remodeling, everything was coming up roses right up until the pandemic hit Dallas-Fort Worth in the spring of 2020. That’s almost two years ago. Homebuilders and remodelers were deemed “essential workers,” which kept housing humming and inventory replenished.
Having put most of that behind us, we reached out to the homebuilder and remodeler Stephen Sardone for a state-of-the-building-market update: Are clients still able to obtain the home of their dreams in this inventory and resource-tight market?
He had a single word for the state we’re in: challenging.
“This market is unlike any we’ve ever experienced,” Sardone said. “The prices you might be quoted today won’t be accurate a month from now unless your remodeling company is organized, efficient, and has great relationships with suppliers. We have spent years building relationships with our suppliers and sub-contractors. For the best outcome, your remodeling company should be with you throughout the entire process and your expectations have to be realistic.”
The value of the relationship and trust factor between remodeler and client is critical. It’s easy to default to the assumption that remodeling with a quality firm like Sardone is expensive. What is hard to comprehend, especially if you’ve never remodeled a home, is that cost is always relative to expectation.
“Everyone wants to be smart, and spend wisely,” Sardone said. “You want to deal with professionals, know that the work is done the right way and that you can move your family back into your home safely. It’s essential to find a trustworthy partner who can help you navigate the entire process.
“Forty percent of projects that are not part of the design-build model never get built because of the disjointed and disconnected process of design and the cost of remodeling,” Sardone said. “However, more than 90 percent of design-build we start from scratch actually gets built and completed, which means people get what they want at the end of the day. Now it may not be exactly what they thought it would be before speaking with a pro, but it is a lot closer to their building dream.”
“I can’t emphasize this enough, our primary goal has to be to find someone you can put an enormous amount of trust in to have a process, to accomplish your design goals, to help you figure out what you need to invest and to do the work well, timely and professionally.”
Check out Sardone Construction’s video series on the design-build process here.
