Choose Hartley Homes, Custom Home Builder Kelowna and surrounding area

Clients choose Hartley Homes because they understand our experience, integrity and commitment to customer service will make their dream home a reality in Kelowna, and the Central Okanagan.
Clients choose Hartley Homes because we are constantly raising the standards and building better homes,  because we save them money, without cutting corners, and deliver the look and function exactly as promised.

At Hartley Homes we :
- build 24" wide reinforced concrete footings for a stronger foundation
- reinforce concrete walls to reduce potential cracks in walls
- use steel rebar in basement slabs to reduce cracking and heaving
- use CSA grade 4" PVC pipes to prevent the collapse of perimeter drainage systems
- use 14" floor  joists for stronger stiffer floors
- use 2 x 8 studs framed 16" OC for stronger walls maximizing the in wall insulation
- use R-28 wall insulation exceeding the building code by 30%
- Use R-50 attic insulation  exceeding the building code by 25%
- committed to exceeding customer expectations
- committed to clear communication with our clients throughout the entire building process
- eliminate frustration and stress
- make the process of building easy and rewarding
- deliver the look and function exactly as promised
- get the best value for your money
- have documented systems and controls so everyone understands the requirements
- build to meet code requirements and exceed customer expectations
- handle customer concerns before they become problems

Brian Roth
Hartley Homes & Consulting
“Quality Construction built for Life”
Phone (250) 808-1148 Fax (250) 765-0730
email: mail@hartleyhomes.ca

Selecting Your Custom Home Builder

This is by far the most important task of the new home construction process; there are four key words for this; budgets, experience, commitment, integrity and budgets.

·Select a builder who truly enjoys the entire process of planning, coordinating and physically working on-site, someone who has plenty of experience and who gets excited by new ideas and who has the ability to translate the customers dreams into reality.  The builder needs to show they will respect your budget and not mislead you.
Select a builder by referral and the internet, this is usually the most reliable way to get find a builder and check out their referrals. Another source is building supply stores and home builder associations.
· The builder is fully responsible for making your dream home a reality, he needs to be on-site every day from the beginning of the project through to completion.Your builder must have the homeowner’s wants and needs at the forefront of every task during the building process. The builder must ensure a clean and safe work site and clearly define the tasks for every trade. It is the builder’s responsibility to ensure the customer’s vision is translated into the look and function exactly as promised.
· Above all, the homeowner needs to feel comfortable with the builder after all there are as many personalities as there are people. Trust your instincts with this, first impressions are usually correct.
 make your final choice from a small group of experienced builders capable of delivering experience, commitment and integrity.

Current Projects

This project features 2000 square feet on the main floor and a 3 car garage. The workshop under the garage adds another 750 sq ft to for a total of 2750 sq ft on the lower floor of the walkout basement. The home is situated on 2 acres of land overlooking the North end of the Okanagan Lake and the Spallumcheen Golf Course.

Cost of Construction

In 1978 when I started building homes, the average builder had about $35,000 gross profit in a new home, this continued to increase until early 2008 when some builders were earning a gross profit as high as $250,000 per home. Today the average builder's gross profit in a home is about $80,000 - $120,000 depending on the size of the home. Builders can't offer a quote to build your home without seeing the home plans and visiting the building site to estimate the excavation costs.
To get a Ball Park cost of construction, here is a very simple method. Add up all the square footage of the home including basement, main floor, second floor and garage then multiply the total by $190 / sq ft. It does not cost $190 per square foot to build a garage and it doesn't cost $190 to build kitchen complete with cabinets, it's simply an average number for an average home to get a "Ball Park" price. Oddly enough, this price tends to be plus or minus 5% of the actual building cost. Included in this price is excavation, materials and labour to complete the home, stainless appliances, hard surface counter tops, hardwood and tile floors, heated bathroom floors, exterior concrete slabs, building permits, new home warranty, builder fees and taxes. Retaining walls and landscaping and septic systems are not included in the Ball Park price.
The Ball Park price will help you establish the size of the home relative to your available funding. Once you have the Ball Park price, then you can move forward with construction plans and have the builder quote on the cost of the home, a review of the building site by the builder will help them get a good idea of the costs for excavation and retaining walls. The Ball Park cost of construction changes with: exterior finishes, deck styles and sizes, counter top selections, electrical fixtures, plumbing fixtures, floor coverings etc.

The style of home also changes the Ball Park cost per sq ft.
Based on a 1575 sq ft home with a 576 sq ft garage

• Built with a 2' concrete frost wall and concrete slab is 2151 sq ft at $190 / sq ft.
• Built with a 5' crawl space, is 2151 sq ft at $210 / sq ft.
• Built with a fully developed walk out basement  is 3726 sq ft at $170 / sq ft.
• Built with a walk out basement and a full second floor is 5301 sq ft at 160 / sq ft.

At Hartley Homes our objective is to make the entire building process easy joyful and rewarding. We do this using a system of best practices and controls to deliver the look and function exactly as promised. We also believe in transparent pricing, our clients see every supplier invoice, our builder fees are declared upfront so there are no hidden charges. For more information go the "Cost of Construction" in the header of this page

How much ?

The most common question people ask me is "How much does it cost to build a new home?" Many people tend to believe the real cost of a home is a fixed price based on the size of the house, nothing could be further from reality! The cost per square foot changes rapidly with the size of a garage, the cost of excavation, style of home, and the level of finishing and amenities including the number of bathrooms ,the style of cabinets, floor coverings, finishing and right down to the quality of the paint.

My response is a common sense approach, the first step is determining how much money the owners are willing to comfortably spend! The second step is helping them to understand what features of the home are important to their lifestyle. From here we can get to a mutual understanding of the size, look and function of their dream home that fits their budget.

Look as the COST OF CONSTRUCTION in this article to get a ball park price for budgeting purposes.

At Hartley Homes we build dream homes for every lifestyle, every budget and deliver the look and function exactly as promised. If you are interested in speaking to a professional quality focused home builder, talk to us and let us make your dream home a reality.

For more information on the Cost of Construction go to Okanagancustomhomecost.blogspot.com or the link at the top of this page.

Understanding Home Construction Lending In Kelowna by Philippe Daigle

To build a home is the dream of many people. While it conjures up images of happiness and family life, the whole process can difficult and emotionally draining. Such a project is fraught with financial risks; the most common are delays and associated cost overrun. To minimize those risks, it is important for people to be well prepared and have a clear plan. Many people place offers on a vacant lot and approach me to arrange lending with one or two week window; which is way too short for most situations.
Financing construction is very different from getting a mortgage for an existing home. For a start, lenders typically lend up to 80% of finished appraised value without requiring CMHC insurance. Interest rates are commonly set at prime plus 2%. With construction financing, your loan may be drawn down in stages while making interest-only payments until construction is complete. Completion for homeowners means that the house is 100% complete and has its certificate of occupancy. Different lenders may have more or less the same number of ‘funding’ stages; the following is a common example:
1. Lock-up stage: foundation, framing, windows, doors, roofing, etc (approximately 40 % of funds)
2. Drywall, insulation, wiring, and plumbing ( approximately 30 % of funds)
3. Finishing: exterior and interior ( approximately 20 % of funds)
4. An additional advance may be requested to assist in purchasing the land.
5. Additional advances may be requested subject to an appraiser’s inspections to maintain sufficient cost to complete.
Lending for construction is usually planned for 6 to 9 months depending on the project and the institution. At each stage of funds being advanced, an appraisal and inspection of the property and a lien search is typically required. The goal here is to ensure that construction is following the plan as stated in the application.
Construction loans are ‘story’ loans. That means that the lender has to know the story behind the planned construction before they're willing to loan you money. To be successful an applicant must provide most lending institutions with the following:
Ø a complete set of plans
Ø specification of materials
Ø cost estimate for the proposed building
Ø a time table for completion
Ø an appraiser will examine site survey plans, construction plans, specifications and cost estimates in order to produce an appraisal on a completed construction basis
Ø a copy of all contracts relating to the construction is a must
This list is not exhaustive and will vary between lenders.
This article is meant as an overview and specifics will vary between lenders. In writing the article I searched the internet for information, and I did not find much. The reason is simple, each project is specific and each lender adapts their practice to the local environment.

For further information Ckick Here please feel free to contact Philippe Daigle at 250 801 1279.