UDVARI-SOLNER DESIGN CO

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There isn't enough space here to express all the wonderful things that we have to say about working with Mark Udvari-Solner. Building a house can be a harrowing process, but Mark made it a wonderful experience. The first significant thing to mention is something that first-time homebuilders might not fully grasp: Mark, as a designer who is independent of the contractor/builder, plays an important role in representing our interests in the process. He provided guidance and oversight based on our interests as homeowners (rather than in the interest of maximizing the profits of the builder, sub-contractors or suppliers). By doing things like coordinating the bidding process, specifying the materials and construction standards, he made sure that we got fair and comparable bids from reputable builders with whom he has worked with in the past. He also shepherded us through the selection process with the various suppliers, making sure that we put our money into things that are important and saving money where we might have spent it needlessly. Mark also kept an eye on the construction process to make sure that everything was done according to plan. And, this is the most important point here, we figured out that the various roles that Mark played in the process actually saved us more than enough money to pay for his services. That is remarkable. When I built my second home, there was no question that I would use Mark's services again because of the excellent experience that I had working with him on my first home. This time, we had some very specific ideas for what we were looking for in building this house. I came to Mark with a floor plan that I had drawn. He listened very carefully to us and spent a lot of time getting to know what we were looking for in a home. He took my plans and created a rough draft that merged our ideas with his ideas for many wonderful features that we would never have anticipated. He very patiently met with us several times to discuss subsequent drafts that not only got more and more creative and beautiful, but also found better ways to give us everything we wanted, while reducing the overall cost of the home to fit within our budget. I just don't think that would ever happen with design and build contractors. In the end, we got an amazing dream house that fit within our budget. Throughout this process, Mark was the face of his company and we dealt almost exclusively with him on anything other than routine issues. When we had questions or ideas that we wanted to share, he would get back to us right away to talk on the phone or to schedule a meeting at his office if necessary. He was always eager to discuss new ideas or to consult with us on the choices and selections that you have to make with various suppliers. He also met with us on a fairly regular basis to inspect the job sight. He always made us feel like his most important client, which is especially impressive given that he has many clients with far larger budgets than ours. Another important factor is that Mark has very high standards of construction that he specs as part of his plans. There are many important things that a homeowner might not appreciate that some builders would cut out to save on costs. Mark won't let them do that. Mark's attention to detail is phenomenal, which provides a great level of comfort in what can be an arduous process. So, the obvious thing that one notices right away when you work with Mark is that he is a bundle of energy and ideas, which makes it really fun to work with him. When he gets going, the ideas literally start gushing out of him. Lest you think that might mean that he doesn't listen to the client, I can assure you that isn't true. Despite his whirlwind demeanor, he listens very carefully to the needs and concerns of the client. It's quite remarkable how he managed to elicit our thoughts and ideas and integrate them into his designs. Mark's designs exhibit an incredible amount of creativity--both in terms of their functionality and in terms of their aesthetic appeal. His houses definitely stand out from the crowd. When you work with Mark, you will get a unique home--one of a kind in terms of its beauty and in terms of the way it meets your specific needs. We discovered that builders like to work with Mark too. Doing a home with him is a feather in the cap of a builder. As such, Mark gets to work with some of the best builders in the area. He screened the builders that bid on our job such that all of the bids were from highly reputable builders. Mark represented us in getting the bids down to our budget limit. He helped us select a wonderful builder whose performance far exceeded anything that we would have ever expected. Together, Mark and our builder gave use a beautiful home that exceeds our wildest imaginations.