Mud Rooms are perfect after-school Landing Pads
When I read about a Pew Research study conducted earlier this year that revealed that half of Americans now use Smartphones, their number seemed far too low since all of my real estate clients seem to use them non-stop.
Smartphones are perfect to help people search for homes, read about the local schools or review “walk-scores”, and that Huffington Post article got me thinking about recommendations that I have given clients which they hadn’t thought about beforehand especially when they were buying a new or custom home. During the construction process, it is important to have a second set of eyes because there are always twenty five decisions that have to be made and each little thing can make a big difference in the finished product.
No power ~ an overlooked opportunity
Yesterday I had a chat with the boss of Fisher Custom Homes, a local custom builder in Vienna, Virginia, and he was about to meet some clients who are building a new custom home just up my street. They were doing a pre-drywall walk through and were dragging the kids along to see the future homestead. These walk through inspections often are a first chance to get acquainted with a dream that has previously only existed on oversize paper drawings.
It isn’t something a regular person does… ever!
Plan your 30 minute custom home look-see
That home will have a mud room where the kids can store their backpacks and sporting goods for years to come. In essence, this area needs to be the official Landing Pad for everyone in the family especially for the digital natives they will be raising there. Now, their new home is in the pre-drywall stage and they have a golden window to make sure that area is equipped to handle the essential needs of their smartphones, iPads, and whatever cool new technology we will all be using six months from now.
This window of opportunity closes quickly when the drywall goes up, because at that point the builder has already installed the plumbing and electrical and the county inspector has done a pre-concealment inspection. Yes, the work is done in sequence and disrupting that sequence is going to cost you.
Mr. Scott, we need more power! – James T. Kirk
Don’t overlook this because your new mud room or Landing Pad needs special consideration in the pre-drywall phase.
It isn’t just hooks, cubbies or wainscoting, but a chance to strategically add an outlet or two in this area to accommodate all the power needs your digital natives will demand to power up their smartphones and iPads everyday . This is your chance to get those pain in the ass power cords off your kitchen counter and properly organized.
Essentially, this is where a second set of eyes who looks at real estate everyday brings value to the project making sure that walk though inspections are well planned for future needs. My new home clients looking in Vienna, McLean and Arlington Virginia where new construction priced below $1.2 million simply does not exist anymore and custom builders are searching for lots for new luxury homes. My thought is… good ideas can make a big impact.
For more on this topic… send me an email and we can discuss your plans.
