News, Information, and Updates on Real Estate Development
You may have heard of “Play Like A Champion Today”. Those immortal words are painted on a sign that hangs in the Notre Dame locker room which Lou Holtz hung in 1986. The players touch the sign as they exit the locker room on their way to the field. Each player touches the sign in their own way, some bang it with both fists, some slap it as if they were high fiving the sign, and others simply slide their hand across the famous sign. It is there to remind the team to do their very best.
Have you ever felt like you were “in the zone”? This is when you feel hyper-focused and relaxed at the same time, and when time seems to go by slowly or stop altogether. It is a feeling of complete control and performing at your peak. This is also referred to as being in “FLOW”.
We have always heard about the importance of organization, but I can tell you from personal experience that it is a miracle drug. My wife is the one who got me to see the light and it has changed my life.
Getting to know your workers is crucial and begins in the hiring process. Like a coach scouting a potential athlete, you will learn a tremendous amount about an applicant in the interview process. Today we give you a closer look at our hiring process.
Most of us at some point in our lives have been part of a team. Maybe it was a sports team, maybe it was in the workplace. Regardless of the nature of the task, when you get a group of people together working towards a common goal, you have yourself a team.
One year ago this week, we lost our friend and colleague Ty Womble in a tragic plane crash. Before his accident Stone Development had asked Ty to write a blog for our website. We never had a chance to publish the blog before his passing. Today, on the anniversary of his death, in his memory we would like to share his thoughts on Design Build / Strategic Alliances in Contracting Relative to Vertical Integration.
Change orders are one of the most controversial topics in the construction industry.
Owners and contractors understand that change orders are a fundamental legal concept that is to protect both parties. Change orders exist because construction projects often present unforeseen challenges, errors in plans, scope changes by ownership or budget reduction. Owners and contractors may not agree on whether something is a change (which costs more money) or part of the original contract scope (and included in the original price). This is where contractors must be prudent and if in doubt always refer to the contract or attorney for guidance.
Below are some helpful tips to reduce the risk of having attorneys litigate a change order dispute:
Is the change order justified? Review bid documents, RFIs, work orders, and change order wording in contracts. Consider clauses which determine whether written specifications or drawings control.
Never start work on a change order, until receiving a written, dated and signed change order from the owner.
If the owner and the contractor execute a change order, but the contractor fails to obtain a change order from its subcontractor, there may be a gap in the scope of work.
Every change order should identify the additional work being requested, including drawings, revised costs, scheduling updates, and revised costs.
This should all be reviewed, understood, and signed by each party. Make certain that you cover yourself as often contractors will perform the extra work of a change order with intentions of getting written approval from the owner. Normally, the excuse is a resorting to a verbal agreement, lack of time or placing too much faith in the other party. You want to eliminate any chance of confusion or dispute, get it all in writing upfront and document and photograph your work at different stages.
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A day trip to visit to some recent projects...
Tomorrow afternoon and evening at the Palmer Events Center the draft of the New Land Development Code is being unveiled. Guy is on the CodeNEXT Advisory Group and will be there. He would love to meet up with you so please email him.
Fantasy Business League - engaging the right people to finish the job.
Failure is not typically a positive word, but I think it’s absolutely necessary for successful business. We never learn from our successes, but we always learn from our failures. If we’re not failing, then it often means we are not pushing hard enough, challenging ourselves enough, and we may just be wasting our time.
Being on top of things is really important to us at Stone Development. There are many things we can’t control, but this is something we all CAN control. The only downside? You may have to clean your shower door a little more often!
