New consulting business eases home improvement work

Wouldn't it be nice to have someone you could go to when you need to have work done around your house? Someone who knows the best people to call for all the little tasks you need done?

Who do you call when the line on your ejector pump gets clogged? Who do you call when your chimney caps get blown off in a windstorm? Who is the best person to refinish your wood floors with the least mess?

These and questions like these are confronted by homeowners every day and most people don't know where to start to find someone they can trust.

Nicki Norris of Riverwoods tried to hire her own floor refinisher several years ago and ended up with poorly refinished floors and a real mess on her hands.

So this time, when she felt that she had to refinish those floors again, Norris called on an old friend who has recently started a new "coaching" business for people embarking on remodeling and new construction projects.

And this time around the result was perfect.

"They found me a really solid contractor to do my floors after getting several quotes and they also checked in every day while the work was being done," Norris said. "They were great because they knew the right people to do all of these different little things whereas I wouldn't have known where to start.

"That is the big thing. They have such great connections," she said.

"Undertaking a major home improvement project or building a new home from the ground up can be an incredibly time-consuming, frustrating and risky endeavor for consumers," said Laura Harris, vice president of PowerHouse Real Estate, a new construction and remodeling consulting business based in Riverwoods.

"You have to take the time to carefully search for the right professionals for the job. And you worry about the project staying on schedule and remaining affordable," Harris said.

"But when you enlist our services, you take all the guesswork out of the equation," she continued. "We ensure that the project is done right - on time and on budget to your satisfaction."

PowerHouse Real Estate opened its doors in January. Previously Harris and her business partner, Eileen Malcolm, worked together at Pickell Designers and Builders and decided to use their expertise there gained from 25 combined years of advising high-end custom homebuyers to start a new business venture.

The partners spent about six months amassing a portfolio of the "best of the best" professional resources in the industry before they opened the business. That is why they are able to feel so confident about the outstanding results they can achieve for every homeowner they serve.

Now that their doors are open, Harris and Malcolm will advise clients in the Chicago area; Lake Geneva, Wis.; and Harbor Country, Mich.; on anything from remodeling a small bathroom to building a whole house.

"We work for very busy people who don't have time to do the due diligence on builders and contractors and honestly don't even know where to start," she explained.

"We will stay with them throughout the whole process if that is what they want us to do," Harris said. "We will keep the project moving along in a timely fashion and keep the client apprised with regular progress reports. And we document all expenses and tell them when they are going beyond their budget so they don't fall off their chair when the final bill comes in."

Harris and Malcolm meet with prospective clients to hear about the project and what the homeowners want to accomplish. The duo then contacts their subcontractors for quotes and returns to the homeowner with a proposed budget.

If the homeowner decides to engage their services, they ask for a small retainer fee to cover the first few hours of consultation and then later PowerHouse earns a commission by adding a percentage to the project's total budget or by collecting a referral fee from each professional enlisted.

"We see ourselves as relationship sellers," Harris explained. "We love to see people get things done the way they want to have them done. That is our passion."

Besides putting people in contact in the first place, Harris sees PowerHouse's job as keeping the lines of communication open during any project.

"It's easy for homeowners to feel overwhelmed, intimidated and pressured when they've made the decision to initiate a major project like redoing a kitchen, building an addition, finishing a basement or crafting a custom residence," Malcolm said.

"The truth is that many of these folks spend more than they should and grow aggravated and impatient with the process. There is so much you can't anticipate during the course of remodeling or new construction. Many consumers see their projects get stalled. They realize they chose the wrong contractor and later say, in hindsight, 'I wish someone would have been there to help guide me along the way.'

"We think of this business as a boutique where our clients can pick and choose what services they want from us," Harris explained.

"The truth is that we get a lot of joy from putting the pieces of the puzzle together so the client doesn't have to do all the work," she continued.

After all, she added, "time is money and a renovation or new construction project can take months or years. It's vitally important that a solid match with a level of comfort, trust, communication and mutual respect be present in the relationship."

To contact PowerHouse Real Estate, call Harris at (224) 420-6222 or visit PowerHouseRealEstateIL.com.