Pahlisch Homes Blog

Home Maintenance Tip for the Week

In honor of Mother’s Day, this week’s tip goes out to all Mothers and new Grandmothers!  Home Maintenance and Safety Tips for Living with Kids!

Toddlers start toddling, and all of a sudden the world may look like a scary place.  The sharp edges on every piece of furniture call out to every head to bang into them; the cleaner containers in the cabinet look extra shiny and attractive; the staircase looks like a playground and the shelves look like a ladder that leads straight to their dreams!

Now may be the time that built-ins would have been something to consider, as you tie-down the bookcase.  This may have also become the time that single level living looks extremely attractive, or at the very least the baby-gate for the stairs and the fire safety ladder are in place in your home.  Also your friends?  The locks on the cabinets and the stove.

Fore more ideas on hazards that are attractive to little ones, and how to minimize the potential threats they create, visit this list by MSN.

Market Monday

Portland’s Hottest Microhoods (Pay attention to #7!)

In the market for purchasing a home in the Portland metro area, and you want to know where the homes are hot?!  Portland Monthly magazine recently published this list of communities that are climbing to the top of the list for most desirable new locations.  While we have a few of our own personal favorites (check out our Available Homes throughout Portland), we’re very excited for a neighborhood we’re soon breaking ground on: Orenco Landing!

Balanced Living

“Every action of our lives touches on some chord that will vibrate in eternity.”  Edwin Hubbel Chapin

A close friend of one of our Pahlisch Homes employees recently experienced the profound loss of a child to cancer and wrote a beautiful blog post, inspiring not only our employee that is his close friend – but the entire team, as well.   While none of us knew this admirable little girl and the courage that she had in life and through cancer, the reaction that she had to its affect on her life and the reaction of her family to her passing are impressionable and gave us a moment to examine our thoughts of Balanced Living.

Remember that life should not be focused solely on work and moving forward and producing the next big thing.  Life should not revolve around advancement and keeping up impressions and landing big deals.  Remember to take time to breathe, and take notice of the love and beauty around you.  Remember to balance your ambitions and career with time spent with loved ones.  Our employee, Jason Myhre, put it best when he wrote “Our family will not remember the energy and attention we put into our work at the office, they will remember the energy and attention we put into our work with them.  The most successful employees are the ones that learn how to balance their family life with the work life, not the ones that sacrifice their family life for their work life.”

As we move into another new week, remember to focus just as much on your loved ones as you do your career.  Offer your love and support as much to your family as you do your co-workers and your job.  Keep a good balance on life to truly make every day count.  Please take a moment today to think of Daisy, this impressionable and sweet little girl, and remember to love your life and those in it.

Again, Jason best summarized the message in his closing, “May your week be blessed both at work and at home”.

2010 COBA Tour Of Homes

2010 Tour of Home

Pahlisch Homes wants to thank all of our trade partners for the hard work that they give day in and day out to make our homes the best quality and value.  It is something that we know, but when we are recognized for our quality and value by third parties it validates our belief.

We also want to thank our sales team members that not only put in a lot of time getting ready for events like these but also for the care and attention that they give to each of our current and potential homeowners.

At the 2010 Tour of Homes we are honored to bring home 17 Quality & Value awards recognizing our efforts.

$200,000-$230,000 Category

Best Interior Finish

Best Master Suite

Best Feature (Built-Ins)

Best of Show

$300,000-$400,000 Category

Best Architectural Design

Best Kitchen

Best Interior Finish

Best Landscaping

Best Feature (Water Feature)

Best Value

Best of Show

$600,000-$850,000 Category

Best Architectural Design

Best Kitchen

Best Interior Finish

Best Master Suite

Best Landscaping

Best of Show

Who says what quality is?

What does the word QUALITY really mean?  Most companies out there would like to think that their product is the best quality, especially in reference to the price categories they operate in.  The funny thing is that the word is used so often by companies in their marketing that to the customer it is becoming what I would call marketing dribble.  It is turned into a generic word that to the customer simply means “functional” and really is no incentive to buy one product over another.

The problem is that people need to know that something is quality but they can’t hear it from the company that makes the product.   They need to hear it either from a trusted friend who has used the product and swears by it or by a third party organization that is an expert in determining if a product is quality or not.   In both scenarios, the user or the organization has to have no connection to the company that produces the product or their statement is no better than if would have come from the company directly.

As a builder, we are constantly talking to our homeowners and getting as much feedback as we can.  We find that our quality is not validated by what we say but what our homeowners and outside organizations such as builder’s associations say about our homes.  Based on that, we feel validated in saying that we are the best quality home.  Our homeowners say it through the fact that most of our prospective homeowners have one or two degrees of separation from a current homeowner.  And this year the Central Oregon Builder’s Association recognized us with 17 Quality & Value awards at the 2010 Tour of Homes.

Whether you are going to buy a new Pahlisch Home or any home for that matter, don’t let the builder tell you they are the best quality.  Let the people currently living in a home built by that builder tell you.  Let the organizations that you trust their assessment ability tell you.  This is a big investment and you want to make sure that what you buy is the best you can get for what you are wanting to spend.

Balanced Living – Water Conservation & Your Lawn

In an interesting fact about outdoor watering is that it accounts for almost half of the water used by the American home.  This creates the greatest single opportunity for conservation.

When most people hear the term Water Conservation there may be an immediate response that it is another term for an ugly looking lawn.  The truth is that you don’t have to sacrifice your lawn through this process and can still maintain a lush green look through smart watering.  Here are some easy ways provided by the Oregon State Water resource Department:

• Water early in the morning before 10:00 a.m.  Watering in the heat of the day allows the water to evaporate and watering late in the day may promote fungus and other lawn diseases.
• Depending on the weather, it’s generally better to water once a week and provide 1 inch to 1 ½ inches of water.  (If it’s hot, you might have to water more often.)
• Time how long it takes to apply one inch of water by placing a flat-bottomed can about 6-feet away from the sprinkler.
• Do not mow lawns too short; taller grass requires less water.

For those of you that live in dryer climates like Central Oregon, go to the City of Bend Water Conservation site.