Breaking Ground 2017

2017

BREAKING GROUND A GUIDE TO NEW CONSTRUCTION IN SOUTHWEST MONTANA

A SPECIAL PUBLICATION OF THE BOZEMAN DAILY CHRONICLE

Summer 2017

Staff WRITER / EDITOR

Table of Contents Intro: Dreaming of Living in Big Sky Country .................................. 4

Lisa Reuter

Building Local? Bank Local.............................................................. 6

DESIGN

You Want to Really Like Your Realtor®, Really ............................... 8

Matt Gasbarre ADVERTISING DIRECTOR

Cindy Sease

A Builder’s Best Advice................................................................. 10 Think Sunshine and Furniture Arrangements To Design Your Best Home ......................................................... 12 Don’t Trust Just Any Remodel Estimate ....................................... 14 Is It Time to Put an Inspector on Your Home Building Team? ...... 16 Don’t be Blind to Shades’ Warranty .............................................. 18 How to Light Up Your House ........................................................ 19 Inside or Out, Here’s What’s Trending in Décor ........................... 20 What Baby Boomers Want in Their Next Home ........................... 22

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Breaking Ground

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CLEAN

One of the largest local stormwater pollution sources is uncontrolled runoff from unprotected construction sites. Sediment and other pollutants in stormwater runoff compromise our infrastructure (costing you money!) and polluting our water ways.

Talk to your contractor about following the City of Bozeman’s Best Management Practices which are designed to minimize construction pollution (and will help them, and you, avoid enforcement penalties).

Best Management Practices · Control concrete waste · Protect inlets · Contain the construction area · Contain material stockpiles · Minimize tracking · Manage dewatering flows · Stabilize disturbed areas For more information visit www.bozemanwater.com and click on the Stormwater Department button.

Public Works W - Stormwater Division

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Summer 2017

Dreaming of Living in Big Sky Country?

By Lisa Reuter

W

elcome to one of the most popular small towns in North America. Bozeman’s scenic mountains are great for biking and hiking in summer, and even better for winter skiing. Yellowstone National Park is just an hour away.

City parks are lovely and varied, and offer ample active programming for all ages and interests. There’s a great trail system for biking and hiking, one that starts downtown and stretches to the mountains.

Downtown presents fun events in all seasons and great shopping every day. The restaurant scene covers nearly every cuisine, with exceptional choices for ethnic food, seafood and steaks.

The cultural scene rocks, with multiple theater companies, lots of bands, a sym-

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Breaking Ground

phony, opera, ballet and film society, an arts center, and a lovely old theater with an eclectic programming mix including classic Westerns. Big name entertainers and the Professional Bull Riders Circuit all come to the area. Montana State University, the state’s largest, is in town, and so are the nation’s top dinosaur and computer museums. (Think about that chronological spread.)

People come here for vacation and decide to stay. If the thought has occurred to you, flip through the pages of Breaking Ground, the Daily Chronicle’s annual guide to what’s up in new home building and décor. Local housing is tight in some price ranges, but not all. And lots of local professionals, from bankers to builders, real estate agents to architects and interior designers, will be happy to help you make your Big Sky dream come true.

Summer 2017

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Summer 2017

Building Local?

Bank Local First things first: As of early June, mortgage rates were trending down slightly. “We’re not at the historic lows we were a year ago, but 30-year mortgages are at 3.875 percent, and 15-year fixed rates are at 3. Those are great prices,” said Rob Gregory, Senior Vice President at First Security Bank.

If you’re building a home in Bozeman, consider getting your mortgage with a Bozeman bank, he advised. “This is a unique market, with some unique properties. Outside lenders trying to understand an appraisal from Bozeman might not approve the loan because they’re used to dealing only with big city suburbs.”

It can be hard to make equivalent home comparisons, for example, when nearby houses have significantly more or less acreage, and cost significantly more or less. Local banks understand that, and they often know all the builders in the market. In fact, Gregory recommends that people buying in Big Sky use Big Sky bank branches to gain the best advantage.

Using a local lender can also cut closing or other mortgage costs. Many local banks give such discounts to cli-

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Breaking Ground

ents who hold both loans and accounts with them. Local banks are more likely than distant banks to service their own mortgages, which means you can also see your banker anytime.

Have that first talk with your banker as soon as you think you’re in the market to buy, because down payment requirements vary depending on your loan. If you qualify for some government loan programs, such the Veterans Administration or USDA Rural Development, you may not need a down payment. With conventional programs, down payment amounts range up from 3 percent.

“You also want to know early if there are any hurdles you need to get over.

Then we’ve got time to fix a credit problem or put together a plan to get a down payment if you need one.”

Lending institutions consider 29 different things about the borrower and property before loan requirements.

“If you have a low credit score, for example, it can affect your interest rate quite a bit, but it doesn’t mean you won’t be able to get a loan,”he said.

That’s yet another reason to visit a local bank early in the process.

Summer 2017

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Summer 2017

You Want to Really Like Your Realtor®, Really

Y

ou’ve got a friend in the home building process, and it’s your real estate agent.

All the standard suggestions for finding that friend apply: Ask people you know for recommendations; talk to several Realtors®; ask for references and check them; and choose an individual you can see yourself in a long-term relationship with.

A good agent can help you at every step of the process, said Andrew Hurlburt of Bozeman Real Estate Group.

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Breaking Ground

He’s been working in the Bozeman market for 13 years.

“There’s definitely a very short supply of traditional subdivision lots right now, about 36,” he said. The typical size is 6,000 to 7,000 square feet.

Larger lots are available in the rest of Gallatin County.

More lots are expected to become available later this year, and an agent is going to know about them first.

“Having a professional you know is in your corner is critical if you don’t have any experience with the process or the market,” he said.

Summer 2017

A good agent: • Knows what land developers are holding back and when it may be available.

• Can also help select the builder, architect and interior designer.

• Can help buyers work with the architect and builder throughout the process to get the best value for the dollar.

• Can help buyers qualify for a mortgage with a local bank.

“You want to work with a local bank if you’re building,” he said. “They understand the local market. And they’re more familiar with all the builders and their processes, which can make everything go better.”

Area builders prefer working with buyers who qualify for their own construction loan, Hurlburt said. Some builders will still finance the construction and sell the house at the end, but that generally costs more.

A Whole Lotta Lot Considerations “Right now, the buyers’ biggest challenge is getting a lot in an area they want at a price that makes sense,” real estate agent Andrew Hurlburt said. “Every amenity comes at a cost.”

That means buyers should prioritize what their top searching points are among choices including location, view, a larger corner lot, proximity to a city park or location in a specific school district. “Seek lots with your first priorities first and work from there,” he said.

When buying a country lot, the combined cost for water and septic construction averages $17,000 to $30,000 on top of land and building costs; and construction time will take longer. Buyers who choose a spec home now partially under construction within Bozeman city limits will likely be able to move in within 20 weeks. If the build begins with lot selection and home plan approval, the build time is 24 to 30 weeks.

Inspection and impact fees for water, sewer and power are higher for city lots than county lots. More building inspections are required inside city limits, and that will add to building time. In the county, where the only required inspections are state sign-offs on plumbing and electrical, give some consideration to hiring your own inspector to follow the building process.

Also consider how far you are from police, fire and medical services.

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Summer 2017

A Builder’s Best Advice

If

you are a newbie Montanan, here’s an important thing to know about working with a home builder: There are likely fewer requirements for getting a building contractor’s license here than in other regions of the country. The registration process requires proof of worker’s compensation insurance and a Federal Employer ID Number.

“This definitely is a buyer beware market,” said Anders Lewendal of Anders Lewandal Construction, who has been building homes in Bozeman since 1991 and is a noted green builder. He was chairman of the Southwest Montana Building Industry Association in 2010.

Get recommendations from people you know and trust, then ask the recommended builders for references and check every one. Look for SWMBIA credentials, which indicate the builder is active in the industry and interested in learning more. “We all have different personalities and

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Breaking Ground

skill levels,” he added, “so it’s worth visiting several of us and going from there.”

Choose a builder you feel you can trust and take advice from, or the process might be seven to nine months of rocky going before a custom build is finished. If you build in the city of Bozeman, more inspections are required throughout the process.

“They inspect homes and sign off on safety, but not quality,” he said. In the county, only state plumbing and electrical inspections are required.

“The smartest thing to do is hire a Realtor® first,” he added. “Their fiduciary responsibility is to you. Use their professional services.”

Listen to their builder and home location recommendations. Location matters when it comes time to sell a home. Most everyone wants a great view, or a larger lot, a park nearby or a specific school.

Ask your builder about the location too, before you buy that lot. “You

Summer 2017

Let your real estate agent help you get your mortgage with a local bank.

“It’s not complicated. It’s just hard if you’ve never done it before. You might miss something and end up paying too much.”

Most home shoppers want a house in the 2,300-square-foot range, and that’s what banks are most likely to lend for, Lewendal said. There are a few of the trendy tiny (1,000 or less square feet) homes in Bozeman, but few builders are building them, and fewer banks are lending for them.

It’s okay to choose a townhouse or condo over a single-family home, or to rent and save your money for a while longer too, he advised.

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don’t want the side of a hill or an area that gets no sun. And there are groundwater and soil issues in some areas of the county. You might have to spend an extra $10,000 or more to deal with mucky soil.”

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Summer 2017

Think Sunshine and Furniture Arrangements to Design Your Best Home

R

alph Johnson has been teaching students at Montana State University how to design homes since 1986, and earned more than 25 teaching architectural and urban design awards doing so. He’s also designed many homes himself, and long been an active member of the American Institute

you are going to do anything other than always have the air conditioning on, you want to know where the sun comes up and sets, and where the winter winds and the summer breezes come from so you can organize the inside and outside of the house in relationship to each other.

of Architects.

“Is the lot facing north-south or east-west? Will the front be on the north side? In Bozeman, that means you’re not going to use the front porch much in the winter,” he said.

“The first thing I tell my students to think about is the site, because knowing what the residents will be looking at and where the sun comes into the building are probably the two most critical elements to making things feel good in the living areas,” he said. “What you are looking at has a tremendous influence on the sense of privacy inside the home. And if

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Breaking Ground

Having more south-facing windows allows mountain state residents to make better use of passive solar heat. “In one of my houses, I put nearly all the windows on the south side, and built tile floors on a

Summer 2017

concrete radiant heating slab. The owners rarely have to turn on the heat,” he said.

Rooms that will be used often should be on the home’s south side.

But if noise comes from that direction, consider putting the garage on that side and, if there is room, creating a patio space between the house and garage to help block it. If noise isn’t a factor, a northside garage can act as extra insulation. North-facing bedrooms will be cooler in summer.

Don’t imagine a home strictly in terms of numbers of bedrooms and baths either, Johnson said. “Design a home based on how you are going to live in it. If you cook a lot, and you entertain through cooking, you might

not need a living room.”

Likewise, don’t think of a bedroom in terms of 10 by 12, or a living room in terms of 20 feet by something.

“Think first about what you want to do in those rooms, and about furniture layouts. If you typically entertain four to six people, arrange the furniture and the room so you can do that. If your aspiration is to have a very intimate space adjacent to a fireplace, put that fireplace where the furniture will go and physically experiment with that.

“If you always work from the outside in and inside out, you’ll have a house that functions very efficiently and looks different from others in the subdivision too.”

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Summer 2017

Don’t Trust Just Any Remodel Estimate More Gallatin County homeowners are electing to remodel their own homes rather than build new ones this year.

“I call it deepening your commitment to your existing home,” said Rob Evans, CEO of Constructive Solutions. It’s keeping Evans and other remodelers busy full-time trying to keep up with demand. He isn’t accepting new projects unless homeowners can wait three to six months for a start date.

If you’re game to get in line, choose your contractor before you fix the plan, he suggested. Get contractor references from friends and neighbors, or the Southwest Montana Building Industry Association. Then ask for references and check each one. Montana is definitely a buyer beware state for home building and remodeling.

The success of a good remodel hinges on both the quality of the work and the how of the process. Building anything is a messy business, Evans said.

Living through a remodel is also noisy (the work crew can wake you up regularly), inconvenient (utilities may need to be shut off for extended periods) and stressful (someone accidentally leaves a door open, letting the dog out or mice in). “I generally recommend that families move out for any project that costs $20,000 or more,” he said.

“I want homeowners to go into a project with their eyes wide open. When you get

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Breaking Ground

a free estimate, you get what you pay for.

It takes hours of investigation to arrive at a remodel estimate, and we need to be compensated for that. There’s a value to it.”

The investigation may reveal shoddy underlying construction that can increase remodel costs. It’s better to know that upfront when you can. And the contractor’s design team may be able to suggest better, less expensive options for achieving any HGTV dreams if they thoroughly understand your desires and outcomes before building begins.

“Anyone who tells you your remodel will cost X dollars per square foot without investigating your home isn’t going to be right,” Evans said. Depending on the scope of the project, the design consult amounts to 2 percent to 8 percent of the remodel cost.

Locally, the most popular remodeling projects are historical renovations, followed by kitchen and bath remodels, and patio or deck additions. There’s no typical historical renovation, but Constructive Solutions does have cost ranges for many jobs.

Expect to pay $10,000 to $45,000 on a bathroom remodel, depending on finish selection and job size, said Chelsie Fisher, a project manager and architect in training with the company. The job will likely take two to six weeks.

A kitchen remodel begins at about $20,000 and ranges to $60,000 or more. Refinishing

cabinets and floors plus countertop replacements, for example, is in the $20,000 range and takes about four weeks to complete. A more extensive project will require two to three months to complete.

“Anything that involves touching an exterior wall adds $60,000, so try to reuse the space inside your home in new ways,” Fisher recommended.

Summer 2017 Patio and deck projects range from $30,000 to $60,000 or more, and take four to eight weeks on average.

There is another option, and several of Evans’ current clients have chosen it. The company can design a major renovation to remake some rooms and add others over several years, with specific jobs completed each year at a cost of $10,000 to $15,000 annually.

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Summer 2017

Is It Time to Put an Inspector on Your Home Building Team?

P

eople buying an existing home know a home inspection can be their best protection against future disaster. The inspector can detect a variety of costly problems from the foundation on up before the buyers put any money down. In some cases, it can pay to have an inspector on your side throughout the building of a new house too.

If you’re moving from a highly regulated state to a less-regulated one like Montana, the building process might not be as buyer-protection oriented as you’re used to. Contractor qualifications and standards are different, fewer inspections are required, and the building code itself might not be as rigorous as it was where you came from.

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The benefit to this more libertarian approach is that building costs are often lower and homes can be finished faster. But, without anyone doing anything wrong, the finished home may not meet the standard you’ve lived with elsewhere.

That’s why it can be a good idea to hire your own building inspector to check your home throughout the construction process, said James Childre, owner of RedPoint LLC, a company that offers building inspection, building diagnostics and energy audit services.

“Anywhere you build, the building code is always just a minimum standard to meet life, safety and health requirements,” Childre said. “It’s not an A grade, it’s a D grade. It’s what’s required just so you don’t fail.”

Summer 2017

Here’s an example. Recently, he received a call to conduct an energy audit on a recently built, $400,000 home. The owners said the basement was always freezing and unusable. They were convinced the insulation job was bad.

“I tested it and everything was fully insulated. The energy envelope was tight, and the home had a good furnace too,” he said. “The problem was, the entire house faced north, and it had a big deck over the walkout basement. No sun or passive solar energy reached into the basement. It was like a cave. There was a single heating system for both floors and the thermostat was upstairs.

That basement is always going to be cold until they put a separate heating unit in it.”

The home couldn’t have been sited differently on the lot, as it was part of street of homes all facing

north in a subdivision. “But someone looking at the whole of the house during the construction process – and not just the foundation, or the framing, or the heating system – might have picked up on the problem and reconfigured the deck, or suggested putting in separate heating systems from the start, or controls for each floor so the upstairs temperature did not control the downstairs,” Childre suggested.

If you think you’d like to hire your own inspector, have a discussion with your builder. Negotiate the number and timing of inspections and the fees with your inspector. And ask if he/she offers warranties, is insured or is part of a national trade organization that can mediate complaints or pull certifications.

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Summer 2017

Don’t Be Blind to Shades’ Warranty

B

linds can be a room’s decorative focus or fade into the background.

They’re made of all kinds of materials, and come in all kinds of styles. After you’ve made those decisions, pay attention to one more thing: getting an all-inclusive or no-questions-asked warranty.

That’s crucial to making sure that all the components, from materials to motors and remotes, are built to last and covered, said Tyler Barnwell, owner of Budget Blinds of Bozeman. Think of it as the difference between a bumper-tobumper and a power-train car warranty, he added.

Some blinds’ warranties exclude any motorized or internal components, cords, fabrics and normal wear and tear.

“All that’s really covered then are the metal rails and the brackets that hold them up,” he said. “I sell brands that I’m confident I won’t have to see you in a year to fix.”

The trending development in new blinds is cordless. More clients are asking for them every day. Barnwell

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Breaking Ground

expects California to be the first state to mandate them, to prevent child and pet accidents, and manufacturers are already changing designs. The most common new choices are a motorized blind that can be operated by remote, or a spring motor-counterbalance shade that is pushed up or down to the desired opening.

As the up/down references indicate, horizontal blinds are in. Customers are also showing a preference for roller shades, plantation shutters, wood blinds and horizontal fabric louver blinds. Top sellers are honeycomb blinds, and Barnwell recommends getting fabric blinds in polyester. “It’s resilient, it hangs well and the woven style (vs. point-bonded) prevents heat transfer through the fabric,” Barnwell said.

If you’re getting wood blinds, wirebrushed finishes are fashionable, and gray is the all-around favorite color regardless of material.

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Summer 2017

How to Light Up Your House

G

od created light third, but when you’re designing a home, think about it in the beginning.

“Light affects everything in the room, from mood to functionality,” said Bill Fiedler, owner of Distinctive Lighting of Bozeman. “You wouldn’t buy a car that only went one speed or had only one volume on the radio,” he said. You want your home lights to be as flexible, providing different layers, colors and intensities of light.

In the kitchen or shop area, where you’re likely to use knives or power tools, choose bright white light.

Also install light sources at different levels and angles – not just the ceiling – so work areas aren’t shaded by your shadow. In children’s bedrooms,

warmer lights on dimmer switches help calm little ones down and ease fears of the dark.

As a rule, cooler white light is best in rooms where focus and productivity are key. Generally, people prefer warmer light in most areas, and especially in rooms where the main activities are leisure or relaxation. If you have an area where color accuracy matters, an art gallery for example, choose neutral white light.

Light preferences do vary from person to person, and they can change as we age. A lighting specialist can help you determine your preferences and guide you in lighting different rooms for different needs. Fiedler recommends using dimmers in all rooms for maximum flexibility.

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Summer 2017

Inside or Out, Here’s What’s Trending in Décor

A

survey of interior designer websites, magazine covers, Pantone color reports and the latest Best in American Living Awards from the 2017 International Builders’ Show suggests that the up-and-coming developments for 2017-2018 home interiors and exteriors will include:

REPURPOSING SPACE. This isn’t about remaking the kids’ room into a home office. It means using the space under staircases for installing bookshelves, displaying art or creating a nook for pets.

It also means making the master bedroom more than a place to sleep.

(This may be where the home office is moving.) Designers say the new master bedrooms are going to be “the home within the home,” or a hotel suite-like retreat, where homeowners can complete daily tasks in their pajamas.

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Breaking Ground

Decorators are using natural-state beams as popular ceiling finishes to add a focal point in public rooms. “Cerused” wood finishes, meaning techniques that bring out the wood grain, are taking over cabinets, tables and chairs. Wooden tiles are trending too, especially in the kitchen. That could be because, depending on who’s speaking, subway tiles are still in or on their way out. If they are gone, textured, colored or patterned tiles are on their way in.

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GRANITE IS DEFINITELY A GONER. The stone trend now is quartz, because it’s durable and fresh, and has so many finish options. Say bye-bye to brushed metals too. Shiny and warmer brass, bronze, gold and rose gold are in.

Blue in most any room ups a home’s resale value. Dramatic jewel tones such as emerald green and amethyst, or the pastel colors found in

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Summer 2017

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Summer 2017

What Baby Boomers Want in Their Next House

B

ozeman is a young city, with the biggest chunk of its population (32 percent) ages 20 to 29.

Another 23 percent are under 19. Baby Boomers, though, are holding their own, with residents 50 and older accounting for 21 percent of the population.

Many of the city’s newest residents fall into this demographic. They’ve come here on vacation, fallen in love with the mountains, culture and lifestyle, and moved in. A small city that still feels small town, and has a thriving downtown and quality university within city limits, appeals.

There’s also a significant number in that age group who have loved being Bozemanites for years. They want to “age in place.” Moving to warmer climes is not in their game plan, but their housing needs are changing.

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Breaking Ground

They want smaller homes – in a 2,000-square-foot floor plan – with fewer maintenance requirements, easy-access doorways and bathrooms and first-floor master suites. They may keep rooms for kids who want to move back home, but they want their critical living space on the first floor.

They also want to hang on to the upscale amenities that have been part of home décor the past two decades: marble and hardwood finishes, commercial-grade and energy-efficient appliances, French doors, designer baths and kitchens, and walk-in closets. Builders and real estate agents are calling the phenomenon “jewel box” housing.

Don’t be surprised then, when some of the city’s near-future new homes look like small sparklers.

Summer 2017

Breaking Ground

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