Realizing Your Dream Through Ubuildit

(Thursday, July 28, 2005) - Who hasn't designed their own home in their dreams?


Dave Contorno, owner UBuildIt-Mokena, takes an active role in the operation of the business as a consultant with clients. Here he looks over a set of house plans before meeting with a client. As a consultant, he is involved in every step of the process from setting a budget and designing the project, to making up to 23 site visits during the construction phase.

But the homes we dream are frequently impractical to build or cost much more than we can afford, so we forget our dreams or turn them over to architects, general contractors, and mortgage lenders and hope for the best.

In doing so, we lose control of the process.

When UBuildIt came onto the scene in 1988, a new option was created for people who wanted to realize their dream home.
Through the services of UBuildIt, someone wanting to build a custom home can serve as general contractor of the project with the confidence that professionals were providing guidance and advice every step of the way.

Now this newest concept in custom home building has come to our area with the opening in March of David Contorno's UBuildIt office at 19606 LaGrange Road in Mokena.

The concept behind UBuildIt places the homeowner in charge of overseeing all decisions involved in building a new home, including site selection, home design, material purchasing, subcontractor selection, and scheduling.

According to Contorno, "The homeowner can do all of this with no experience in or knowledge of construction because UBuildIt provides the expertise needed from the beginning of the project to the end."

Contorno understands the insecurity many clients feel as they embark on the adventure of building their own home. He has been there. He acted as general contractor to build his own home in 1987. He learned a great deal in the process and began his own contracting business a year later.

As his expertise grew, he began teaching classes for park districts and in college, teaching students how to be their own general contractor.

His move to open his own UBuildIt office was a natural extension of that experience.

UBuildIt experts work with the client through every step of the home building process, but the decisions are the client's.
The consultant will work throughout the planning stage, helping the client choose or develop a house plan through an architect and helping the client locate a suitable site or evaluating the appropriateness of the client's site for the designed project.

UBuildIt can assist the client in finding a lending source; and, through the influence of its reputation for helping clients build homes valued above the mortgage amount, help the client secure a mortgage.

The consultant will assist the client in choosing subcontractors by providing a list of preferred vendors who have established a track record with UBuildIt or by screening subcontractors identified by the client. The final decision is the client's.

Final decisions regarding building materials are also the client's, but UBuildIt can provide a list of suppliers with whom it has established a relationship and through whom the client can maximize purchasing power by taking advantage of discounts on high quality materials and appliances.

The client also receives direction and guidance through the construction phase of the project.

The UBuildIt consultant prepares a detailed construction calendar at each stage of the process and outlines in detail the sequence of tasks that need to be performed.

The consultant also visits the construction site at strategic points during the building process.

Contorno said, "It's important for homeowners to understand that even though they are acting as their own general contractor, they are not on their own. I personally visit the site during construction to review the work and offer advice when it's needed. We help ensure everything is up to code or flagged if anything needs to be redone."

The homeowner can realize significant savings when working with UBuildIt.

From choosing one of the 11,000 house plans UBuildIt has available online to opting to do some of the work themselves, homeowners can save.

By writing the checks directly to the subcontractors and suppliers, the homeowner can take advantage of discounted prices available to UBuildIt clients, saving even more.

Taking advantage of the savings potential of working with UBuildIt, homeowners frequently save between 20 and 30 per cent of projected cost of their project. That's a savings of between $80,000 and $120,000 on a $400,000 home. And UBuildIt does all of this for a set fee that varies based on the size and complexity of the project.

Dreams can be realized, and UBuildIt is committed to helping clients realize their dream home whether the project is a new home or a remodel and/or addition to their existing home.

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