What are we thankful for? You!
As our team at Palmer Custom Builders looks back over 2022 and counts our blessings, we know what we are most thankful for – our wonderful clients! All those we have been blessed to work with in the past and those we are privileged to assist now truly have been a joy to work with.
We’ve been asked many times over the years (when we’ve bragged about our clients!) exactly what makes a good partnership in a Charlotte home remodeling project. You see, it’s almost universally true that no matter how honed a professional remodeler’s skills, how extensive our training, how broad our education, or how substantial our expertise, one of the most important pieces of your home remodeling, home renovation or new home construction project is simply beyond our control – because that vital piece is you! If you as a client begin your project with the right attitude, the correct perspective and with an open mind, you stand a much better chance of being satisfied with your results and having no regrets. But just what is the right approach? We discuss it at length in our book, Remodeling and New Construction Without Regrets, and we’ve excerpted a bit of it for you here:
As true professionals, there is nothing we want more than happy clients, and we thoroughly believe your happiness is tied to how ready and willing you are to tackle a project, how cheerfully your family can accept some necessary “inconveniences” that ultimately lead to a greater good, and how much personal responsibility you are willing to take as a true partner in your project. We feel that the best projects come about when clients are engaged partners.
That doesn’t mean getting mired in every mundane detail or trying to micromanage the process (which is a common and normal response to a prior bad experience), but it does mean playing a role in the overall scope of your project. This entails particulars such as establishing a realistic budget, instead of trying to piece your project together with unrealistic and incomplete information. It means making timely decisions, instead of delaying critical selections that can impact both the project timeline and your bottom line. It means deciding if now is the right time for your family to embark on this project and if you are willing to handle any challenges that may entail, such as temporarily living without access to one of your bathrooms or a kitchen, or even vacating your house entirely for a certain amount of time. Finally, it entails being realistic and committing to respectful, honest and open communication with the professional partners you hire.
What’s the final ingredient for a successful home remodeling project from the client perspective? We believe that it’s trust. Once you’ve done your homework, partnered with a skilled professional, been open and honest with them about your needs, your budget and your timeframe, it’s time to trust in their advice. Be open to creative suggestions they make based on their experience when they tell you that a product you want won’t endure over time, or that the room layout you’ve envisioned might not best serve your needs. There may be an unexpected twist or turn during your project. There will be positive surprises, and there might even be a few kinks, great clients do their part by staying positive, realistic and understanding as the process evolves. If you have hired a true professional who has a solid process in place, not only will you not regret your decision; you will be more than pleased with the results.
If this piques your curiosity about other ways to avoid regrets when you are starting on your home remodeling project – from deciding whether the time is really right, securing financing if needed, finding the right licensed, professional remodeler, working through your plans, beginning construction and more – grab a copy of our book.
P.S. – We’d like to say a very special thanks to all the wonderful clients who allowed us to photograph their completed projects. Many of those are on our new website and can be found elsewhere in this blog. Their willingness to open their homes to us again has allowed many other Charlotteans and those in surrounding communities to better envision the possibilities for their own homes.
