Construction’s a bear, but we have a system in place to tame that bear...

We call it a system, but really, it’s just good old fashioned communication

Schedules are nuts. There’s no other way to put it. Between weather and subcontractor commitments, scheduling is tricky! At O’Leary Cole, we keep you up to date with all the happenings. Good, bad, or indifferent, we share it! When you go to contract, not only do we provide an overall estimated build out timeline, we also provide access to a builder portal that is by far one of the best tools we have.

The builder portal is where all the communications go down and it’s a great way to track everything for both the homeowners and the builder. Not only do we share our construction schedule through this portal, but we manage all the financial records through it. And a cool feature of the portal is that a majority of messaging can be done through email, without having to log in to the portal each time.

Financials are easily tracked, which allows the homeowner to be in charge of their expenses. This is immensely helpful to the build process, as the team is spending their time discussing the fun stuff about the building of the home, and not trying to figure out expenses and overall financials!

Selections are managed through the portal in an easy to follow format. With so many options out there, the selections process can be overwhelming! Who needs the additional frustrations of keeping track of what they chose? We certainly don’t want anybody frustrated with something that can be easily managed. Let’s keep the build fun, and any worries to the actual selections!

Change Orders are created immediately and posted for sign off on the portal. Not only do we include the change order amount, but we provide the anticipated affect the change may have on the over progress of the build. If there are any questions, the homeowner can immediately respond to the post and it will all be kept to that specific change order. We do not make a mystery of change orders, they are all there in one section to see and track.

Timelines/Schedules have always been one of the homeowner’s and builder’s toughest conversations. Weekly posted update messages that generally include photos make that a thing of the past. The messages let you know what happened that week and what’s coming up. This allows for an open discussion about the progress of the build as it’s happening. The last thing we want is for the homeowner to be in the dark, that’s not fun for anybody! We also share the schedule for the homeowners to understand where we are in the build and what’s coming up. This is super helpful in understanding the selections process.

Pictures speak a thousand words and we can’t argue with that! The portal allows us to post photos and organize them. We always post the progress photos on the portal for the homeowners to easily reference and look back on. We especially like to share action photos, we’ve found these to not only show some sweet progress being made, but the photos are fun and interesting.

General communications will also be kept through the portal. There is a messages section where random thoughts, burning questions, and photos can be posted.

The portal is a game changer for everyone involved in building the home. Having one place to go back to for reference is awesome.