I met yesterday with Joy Luedtke of Luedtke Real Estate.  I called to introduce myself and to set up an appointment to drop off some marketing materials and chat.  Rather than wait, Joy said I should come right down.  So I did.

Clearly knowledgeable about the market and offering honest advice, it was one of the better meetings I’ve had in some time.  I was pleased to hear a few things. For one, Joy said she has many people specifically requesting modular options. That surprised me, as did the fact that some are ocean and bay-front owners.  She thought I should be more aggressive in marketing the modular aspect of the construction in our process, and it got me thinking.  I’ve certainly not been hiding from it, but I must admit that I’ve kept it as a secondary issue in our marketing.  I’ve perceived, perhaps incorrectly, that this aspect of our approach would be an issue with some folks - an issue I would prefer to discuss one-on-one.  I am starting to get the feeling that I was wrong about this, and that’s a good thing.  In nearly all of the conversations I’ve has with people over the past 2 months, I’ve been quite pleased to realize this about modular - most people don’t care, and some actively prefer it or think it’s cool.  Obviously I think they’re right, but this caught me off guard.  With magazine like Dwell regularly touting the advantages of off-site construction and the cool houses that can be built, I think the public is starting to get it.

Joy had some other good suggestions too, including about the homes themselves, and especially about marketing (which she is clearly good at). I very much welcome the input she offered.  

One of the reasons I blog here is to encourage that same feedback. This company and these homes are a conversation.  We will iterate and adjust and change, in large part due to things realized in meeting such as yesterday’s and comments from this blog and other places.  Obviously I can’t do everything people suggest - but I do listen.