The Senters Of Franklin County

(Sunday, August 21, 2005) - Fran and John Senter know houses.


The Senters are proud of the 2,400-square-foot home they built themselves with guidance and support from UBuildIt.

Married for 40 years, they have lived in Frankfort for 35 years. Their new house on Peaks Mill Road in northern Franklin County is their ninth home and last, they say.

This is the third time the Senters have built a home. One time they purchased a house whose construction was already under way; another time they had a home built from the ground up.

This time they ended up serving as their own general contractor because their much-respected builder had died.

Meanwhile, John Senter had been a volunteer supervisor when their son, John, had a home built on 5 acres next door to his parents' future home site. The retired Senter drove out each day and kept an eye on the progress of his son's house.

With that experience under his belt, Senter thought he could build his home on the adjacent 5 acres.

"We had the concept we wanted," he said. "We had three sets of house plans. We liked the front of one house, the center part of another" and the split-bedroom design of a third.

Architect C.P. Luttrell took the couple's three plans and merged them into specifications for a 2,400-square-foot ranch-style house. The house has another 2,400 square feet between its front covered porch, enclosed back porch and garage.

But when Senter began inviting subcontractors to bid on various phases of the construction process, he ran into problems.

"One of the things that was different in our situation was that we wanted to start building in September or October, get the foundation in and then quit for the winter so we could go to Florida," Senter said. "Then we wanted to come back in the spring and start the framing, but it was hard to get people to give you a quote."

Fran Senter said their plan was logical for them, beyond the fact that they spend winter in Naples, Fla. "The springs are usually so wet in Kentucky, we thought if we didn't start until spring, we'd be half the summer just getting the foundation done," she said.


The Senters spend a lot of time in their great room, which is open to the kitchen and breakfast area.

On the day a subcontractor failed to show up for an appointment, Senter read a newspaper advertisement about a free informational UBuildIt seminar scheduled in Lexington that very evening. He went.

"I liked what I heard, but I still thought I could do it myself," he said. "But then I still kept having trouble with subcontractors."

The couple scheduled a meeting with UBuildIt owner Wayne Henning and senior consultant Don Butterfield at their Lexington office. "We talked in more detail than we had at the seminar," Senter said. "We took our house plans with us and told them what we could spend."

24/7 consultants

The Senters signed on with UBuildIt, a national franchise with 114 offices in 31 states. The system is 17 years old; the Lexington franchise opened four years ago.

Between them, Henning and Butterfield have 61 years of building experience. Henning previously worked in commercial and residential construction for 30-plus years, staffing projects on three continents.

"Of the many benefits we offer, having total control over quality and saving substantial monies are two of the most important," Henning said. "Our detailed system takes them step by step through the home-building process, avoiding typical pitfalls such as hiring questionable subcontractors and not being prepared for the inspection process."

The company helps clients find building lots, obtain construction financing and work with architects to create customized house plans.

Because UBuildIt has three franchises in Louisville, five in Cincinnati and one in Florence, "we can offer our clients multiple vendor cost-saving programs," Henning said.

In addition, many of their clients gain what they call "Smart Equity," ranging from 10 percent to 20 percent, which is the difference between the actual cost of their home and its appraisal after completion.

Most of their customers are in the middle- to upper-income brackets, with their new homes ranging in cost from $200,000 to $1 million. They must be willing to devote at least 1 1/2 hours each day to their home-building project, Henning said.
The UBuildIt consultants, who expect to help build 30 homes in Central Kentucky this year, are available to their clients 24/7.

"It can be a very dangerous path to tread if you're doing it without some professional guidance," Henning said.

On track

Once the Senters hired UBuildIt, their project got on track.

They valued the company's timetable, which guided them through every phase of the process. They also appreciated paying builders' prices on most of the materials for their home.

"We started in September 2002 and got the house done up to the foundation by October, when we left for Florida," John Senter said. "When we came back in March, we started framing and moved into our house in August 2003."
The Senters, whose house cost less than $190,000 to build on their existing property, were also impressed by UBuildIt's budgeting process.

"Our costs were quoted in July and August of 2002 and even though we didn't finish our house until a year later, we would have come in under budget if we hadn't added upgrades," Senter said. The couple upgraded their cabinetry and installed hardwood flooring and a geothermal heating system.

They used a mix of their subcontractors and UBuildIt's. "We interviewed three to four subcontractors for each job," Senter said. "Even on some of our own subcontractors, UBuildIt would check their references for us.

"And if we did have any problems, we would call them and it would be resolved within a couple of hours."

Although the Senters don't plan to build another home, "We would use UBuildIt again tomorrow," Senter said.

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