Real Estate Blog for Buyers & Sellers

Curtis Pope 0:21
Here we are. It's Saturday morning, you that means it means it's time for the company's real estate show with Michelle Cummings and myself Curtis Pope. Good morning, Michelle.

Michele Cummins - PREC 0:29
Good morning, Curtis. And good morning, Joel.

Unknown Speaker 0:32
We had morning. Yes, yes.

Curtis Pope 0:33
And we're gonna jump right in with the guest. I like that. Yeah. Well,

Michele Cummins - PREC 0:37
he has a lot to say. And I have a lot to explain and share. So I want the listeners to get the whole 22 minutes. We're going to try to keep it within 22 minutes. Well, no,

Curtis Pope 0:47
wait a minute. Now you weren't notorious or infamous or famous something one of those words, the more positive one. Thank you introductions. And so where's the introduction?

Michele Cummins - PREC 0:56
Oh, my goodness. Okay. So, Joel, you and I have known each other for almost 10 years. I can't believe it. Yes. Crazy. Time flies. Yes, sure does. When you're having fun, enjoying life, so and working hard. The first project we ever worked on together was the master plan community of Harrison Highlander. Yes. Yes. That was so fun to do. And so that was a lot lot you did? How many plans for that?

Speaker 3 1:24
I think overall, it was almost 100 Or just over 100 houses.

Michele Cummins - PREC 1:28
Amazing. And I was able to sail I was the sales manager of it and worked with you on it. And you had some great ideas, because actually, I remember the windows and I remember certain design that you brought in that was different than other masterplan communities. And these craftsman style homes are just beautiful. People love them, the buyers love them.

Speaker 3 1:49
Yeah, I think aesthetically on the outsides, we tried to keep them all kind of cohesive. But then on the insides, we tried to do something completely different with each model. Some of them had taller ceilings, some of that vaulted ceilings, some of them had bonus rooms above them, some of them had bonus rooms in the garage. So it gave a big spectrum for buyers to pick something that worked for them.

Michele Cummins - PREC 2:12
And on phase two, you had to come up with a couple more designs.

Speaker 3 2:16
Yeah, that was challenging, because we'd already done five or six. And there was already some favorites in there. And then I was challenged to come up with two more plans. And I think, what made it easy for me it was that the views on the top level, were all facing at the back, which was unique, because in the first phase, they were mostly facing out the front. So it allowed me to kind of change my thinking. And now they're pushing to the views to the back, which led to some unique ideas. And those and

Michele Cummins - PREC 2:47
the views are so amazing. The picture windows just really let it all in like you feel like you're outside when you're inside. It's really fantastic. And later, we're going to talk about the open house extravaganza we're going to have because today, well okay, I'll just say it now, today between 12 and two, we're having this open house extravaganza since we're talking about Harrison Highlands and four of your homes that you designed, we have open for the public to come through, we're going to have refreshments. So come on out to Harrison Highlands on Mount Woodside at between 12 and two o'clock today and check out Joe's work. Now, Joel, you started your business many, many years ago, even though you look so young, you have many years experience, you're

Unknown Speaker 3:29
25 almost

Michele Cummins - PREC 3:31
crazy. Oh, gosh. And fourth dimension design and drafting. Can you tell us how you started this and when you started it and what was your inspiration?

Speaker 3 3:43
Yeah, so in 2004, I was in my mid 20s. And I was kind of working for someone else and thinking, hey, I could probably do this on my own. And I just kind of took the leap. I had a partner at the time. And we started it. And at the beginning you're just kind of taking any and everything you can get building your clientele. And then you know years go by and you just get bigger and bigger. And you know now we have eight employees full time employees and we do almost 200 projects a year. So it's yeah, it's crazy how much it's grown.

Michele Cummins - PREC 4:16
You do so much and every time I've reached out for you to do something you've always your customer service is just top notch and you're so friendly, and your front staff and your employees and those that work with you. It is real nice experience as a customer and a client myself, and I had to do my Sasquatch cabin. I was doing some design there. And then our most recent one I'm so excited about is the new mission REMAX and REMAX Magnolia that's going to open up hopefully in the summer but you designed the office spaces for that too.

Speaker 3 4:49
Yes and you get to join us in downtown mission which is a place that I love that I grew up in and that I love to see revitalize and you know the buildings being redone. And, you know, it's it's a completely different experience than it was 10 years ago, downtown.

Michele Cummins - PREC 5:06
Certainly I moved there in 2007. Myself, and I've seen so much change since I've moved there. It's Yeah, crazy amazing. I'm really excited about being part of the downtown core and the first Friday nights and the candle light parade and everything that mission has to offer. The festival in the park and all that I'm really excited about.

Speaker 3 5:26
Yeah, one neat thing I even found I've the last three years, I've, I've decided that I'm going to do most of my Christmas shopping in downtown. So I start on one end, and I walk all the way down. And they go in every store and I come all the way back. And I've done that for three years now. And I got almost everything. And I've and I've overheard from other people that people are coming from other towns, Pitt Meadows Abbotsford. Chilliwack, just because they heard the downtown is getting really, really neat. And it's a good place to Christmas shop

Michele Cummins - PREC 5:55
that is so neat that you do that. I love that. And it was so interesting. My sister in law and friends, we all went out for lunch and we went out to Fort Langley and we they brought it up. Why don't we do this in Michigan, let's go to Michigan and spend a day just shopping and having lunch there. And, and I said that's a fantastic idea. Because there's so many great shops there. Now it's so fun. And

Speaker 3 6:17
some you'd never even knew were there. And you just go I'm gonna go in the next shop and you're like, Wow, this shops here and I didn't even know it was here. You do

Michele Cummins - PREC 6:25
all your Christmas shopping and I love that I should I'm going to try that shop local. And that's like, so fantastic.

Speaker 3 6:31
Instead of going on Amazon, Let's shop local and you know, support your

Michele Cummins - PREC 6:35
business. Yeah, that's awesome. Um, so I, Curtis, I know that you had a question for Joel. And but first, I just want to because I think I love asking questions. And Joel, and this is question for you, Curtis is what Who are you inspired by an architect or designer that it's funny,

Speaker 3 6:59
I'm I think I'm more inspired by just what I see. So like, when I go on vacation, when I'm traveling to other cities, I really just like to me and my wife are big bike riders. So we like, we'll go to Victoria. And we'll just go on a two hour bike ride. But we'll ride through all the neighborhoods, and you get a lot of inspiration, seeing the old houses and the new houses. So I'm less about following someone else and more just about it. Driving around going to California going here and just looking at what where the architecture is in these different places.

Michele Cummins - PREC 7:29
Oh, I'm from Orange County, California. I was born there. And my dad actually was a builder and helped build a lot of places in Palm Desert. And so he was part of design in that sense as well. What do you did? So that's really nice. I love that I will before I say who I like Curtis, who's your who's your architect design of inspiration?

Curtis Pope 7:50
My inspiration? Yeah, I don't know a lot of I actually am a fan of architecture now. And I'm getting more and more new. And as they get older. I don't know a lot of the names other than the Frank Lloyd Wright names and things like that. But um, or art deco and some of the old names. But I do love like when you're traveling when you go to like Toronto, or you go to somewhere like New York and you see these old buildings, they've been repurposed. And it's like 100 year old building, it's now a recording studio or something like that. It's so cool to kind of see that they do a great job of that. And Toronto, there's so many old buildings there that they use. We don't do a great job that banker we have a couple we have the marine building, and we have the hotel Vancouver and things like that. But I just like looking at the old stuff. I just don't want to go to Europe. I want to go to Europe and check out all the I want to go to Spain and and in Rome and things like that. And just check out all the all the buildings. Yes,

Speaker 3 8:42
it's funny you say that because our office that we just moved into a year ago on first it was 100 year old building, they tore it right down to the studs rebuilt it all. So we were in an office and 100 year old building where everything is new, but we kept the floors. So they're actual 100 year old hardwood floors from 1921. And it's cool piece of history and we kept some of the doors or doors to our board room is 100 year old handmade door that we used to that's really cool elevator. And yes, there's a little bit of history, even though there's a lot of new, we like to keep it the history because that's one thing about Michigan is it feels very historic downtown.

Michele Cummins - PREC 9:20
Yes, the character and I love the revitalization that's happening. And of course things don't happen as quickly as you'd like, but it is coming along and it's really great. When we come back on our second half I want to talk about like the actual meat and potatoes like the actual process and how this all works. But yeah, I was gonna say for my inspiration, you know, the father on Brady Bunch, I'm talking

Curtis Pope 9:48
reference. I forgot. He was an architect and a model builder. And I'm just like She's bright. He was an architect. I remember.

Michele Cummins - PREC 9:56
Their house is fantastic. But Though Frank Lloyd Wright to lots of nature and just I know you're inspired and your family, your wife and your daughter out, getting outdoors and spending time, you know, being out in nature.

Speaker 3 10:14
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, we're big fitness enthusiast and we bike ride, probably a few 1000 kilometers every summer and last year, we did the Victoria one where you take the ferry bike bikes on the ferry, and you pack your bags on the back and you just ride your bikes to Victoria stay a few days and you ride back. I want to do that on my motorcycle. It's really neat.

Curtis Pope 10:35
That's cheating.

Michele Cummins - PREC 10:37
It has a throttle. It's one of my E bikes has a throttle, too. That's cheating too.

Curtis Pope 10:43
Well, at least you can pedal the bike.

Michele Cummins - PREC 10:45
Yes, true. So I guess we have to run on our break. But yes, I've got some more questions for you when we come back.

Curtis Pope 10:55
All right. If people want more information about your listings, and things like that, where can they go? Michelle cummins.ca. We're back with more right after this.

We are back with segment number two of the Cummins real estate show with Michelle Cummings and myself Curtis Pope. And of course, we have our very special guests here too. We're talking architecture, because you know more about that than I do. Michelle and you definitely know more than than I know, Joe.

Michele Cummins - PREC 12:04
Joe Marples is here from fourth dimension design and drafting if you weren't here for our first as part of our show. So I wanted to get into the kind of the nitty gritty. And because those who have never hired an architect or have never needed the service before, Joel, what is the how does that is the process when they come in to see you or give you a call?

Speaker 3 12:24
So yeah, usually say someone comes in and they say I want a custom home. But I don't really know what I want. I tell them to come on in, bring anything that you have, say pictures, Pinterest saves Pinterest things on how was that you found that you'd like? I tell him bring it all in. And then what I do is I have about 100 question questionnaire. And I start at Question one and we we work through it. And it's about a one to two hour discussion about what they would anything they could have in a house. So how many garages Do you want? Do you want a formal living room? Do you want a formal dining room? Do you want a more open concept? Do you want master on the main Where do you want the laundry all things that people don't necessarily think of? So we run through this for about one to two hours. And then by the end, I have a pretty good idea of what they want. And the way my brain works as I'm almost designing it as they're talking. I'm moving rooms around, I'm like, okay, they want this. So I'm going to configure like this. Oh, no, no, now they wanted an office there. So that's gonna push this room. So by the end of the meeting, I kind of have an idea of how I'm gonna lay it out. And that's just kind of my mind works as as they're talking.

Michele Cummins - PREC 13:40
That makes perfect sense. It's almost like a buyer's list of questions I have for buyers and what they're looking for, and getting to know their personality and their quality of life they're looking for and all the aspects of their family dynamics, if they have pets, their hobbies, like all this, this can go into as well. But what's interesting, too, is you do do you do mostly custom homes? Or do Do you have a niche? Or do you do because I know you do. Obviously commercial and yeah, sorts of things.

Speaker 3 14:08
I think we have a pretty even split. We do custom homes, we'll do renovations, we'll do additions. We'll do tenant improvements, which is what you're doing where you're just moving into a space and you want to redo the space, we'll do new commercial buildings. We do townhouse complexes, we'll do rezoning applications, kind of the whole spectrum. And I don't take there's there's not anything that we necessarily specialize in. But we kind of specialize in that we do everything.

Michele Cummins - PREC 14:36
And you actually like you'll go to the steps of inputting in the application to the city for your client.

Speaker 3 14:43
Yes, we do offer that where we can fill out all the paperwork and we can drop it off at the city and deal with the city through the process

Michele Cummins - PREC 14:51
because it can be daunting, especially if you are not used to it. So definitely have Joel and his team do that for you.

Unknown Speaker 14:57
I would suggest Yes, it's a good idea.

Michele Cummins - PREC 15:00
So Okay, so once that happens, what how long does it typically take?

Speaker 3 15:04
So say specifically on a custom home, we'll go through that questionnaire, and then maybe it'll take me about a week to come up with a first design, which is usually, like you would see in a plan book, like main floor and upper floor. And I'll send it to them, and then we'll meet again, and we'll go over things that they like about it, things that they don't like about it. And usually, they kind of move a few rooms around, or I would like this bigger. So it's about another hour discussion, where we go over their preliminary, and then it kind of goes back and forth like that, maybe two or three more times where I revise it, and then I send it back and then maybe add the front elevation and the basement layout. And then they'll critique that and then usually by about the third or fourth time, it's like, okay, I really liked this, proceed to finishing the rest of the drawings. So then it goes to our drafting department. They put all the stuff that when you look at the drawings makes you dizzy, it's it's all the structural trusses, and the joists and the beams and the cross sections showing all the insulation and the dimensions and all that kind of thing that the city needs. And the builders need to actually build the house.

Michele Cummins - PREC 16:19
So you work with a lot of cities and municipalities obviously. And in how quick are they once you really apply for that building permit.

Speaker 3 16:29
So I think during COVID was the worst of times, as most people would agree with the cities where they got very behind because there was lots of people building. And a lot of them were working from home and they were having staffing issues. So it got some of them got to where it was a year wait for reviews. But I think most of them are between one and two months. Some of the longer ones or maybe three months now. So it's definitely corrected. They've done a very good job at bringing on staff and catching up. I think in this last six months,

Michele Cummins - PREC 17:03
yes. Because I know, I know. Especially mission, we don't have a lot of building starts you know, Abbotsford doesn't either we just don't have we have like nothing last year practically. And this year is a little little better. But with the immigration growth and the population and the housing needed. You know, I like how many custom homes does it seem that people reach out, because when I'm driving around all the time, every day, it's part of my job. Yeah, and I do see a lot, especially in certain areas of Michigan, I see a lot of great custom homes, we

Speaker 3 17:33
have a lot of property. Here's the one thing that a lot of municipalities don't have, which is why people come to Michigan generally. And I think the reason that applications and missions are more complicated is because say you have a rural property, there's a creek on it. Now you have to get riparian studies, you have to design a driveway that's going to come in. So rural properties definitely take a lot more planning versus a city property. A lot of that's already done, you just have a sewer connection of water connection, you design your house, and you're good to go. So but I'd say in Michigan, we probably do 30 to 50 per year,

Michele Cummins - PREC 18:16
there's some gems gems in Michigan. So okay, so you also are like a one stop shop because I go into your office and like there's everything that you would need seems to be right in your building. Can you share us a bit about that.

Speaker 3 18:31
So that's part of the concept of our new office that we moved into. So it was a lot of space. And I'm like I don't necessarily need 3000 square feet. But But I need maybe half of that. So what we decided to do is invite a bunch of other engineers. And so we have a civil engineer, a structural engineer, interior designer, land surveyor, home builder, renovate renovator, all in the same space. So it allows us to kind of work collaboratively. It speeds up things for the class customers because they can just come to one place pick up four or five drawings that are already all collaborated, and we can print them all in one in one place. And it just seems for the customer to cut out a lot of red tape

Michele Cummins - PREC 19:17
that's worth its weight in gold all the time it takes to try to find referrals or try to find the different professionals that you need to do this and you have every one right there which is just fantastic. I love that. So oh sorry about that. Um, so also I wanted to ask, you know your full time at what you do, but you also somehow find time to spend with family and friends and be outdoors and all that. And I really do think that lends to your friendly nature and you're very empathetic or what am I trying to say? You have empathy like you you connect with your customer Isn't your clients, which is really neat because you're in a professional field, but it's also very personal because these are people's homes that they're having. They're trusting you with. So I think that lends very well.

Speaker 3 20:11
Yeah, I think it's it's part of it's a very intimate process as you're meeting with them. And they're, they're pouring out their hopes and dreams, do you? They also have budgets. So that's something you have to sometimes tell them. Yeah, that sounds good to have that roof deck in that pool, but I don't think you can afford it. But here's what you can afford. So there's little give and take, and you become very close with people and their families. And a lot of them invite me back when the house is finished, to see the house and, and get give tours and things which is really neat.

Michele Cummins - PREC 20:43
I love your website, too, by the way, and are some, I always like to ask, usually, when somebody does something like you do, you must have a favorite, but you probably don't. Or it's hard to probably think of a favorite because they're all kind of personal to you. I would think because you're putting a little bit of yourself in all your designs,

Curtis Pope 20:59
well, maybe not favorite, so I would go with it. What's your Mona Lisa, what's your masterpiece so far? There you go.

Speaker 3 21:05
I would say there was one that I did very early on in Michigan on wooden Street. And it's supposed to have been posts that I did, probably in 2008. And it was one of those ones where the client came in and said, I'm not gonna put any parameters on you. I want you to use your full imagination. And just anything you can think of put it on paper, and I did it. And it's yeah, it's I think it's one of the more iconic houses in Michigan, if you know which one I'm talking to.

Michele Cummins - PREC 21:33
Oh, my gosh, I do. And I love that street. And absolutely, it stands out. That must have been so fun. It's like carte blanche, you could do whatever you want.

Speaker 3 21:42
It's really neat when they're like, so we did like things like a walk through shower and sunken kitchen and just things that are a little bit wacky, but they they wanted things to be original. So yeah,

Michele Cummins - PREC 21:54
are the same owner still there? Yep, same. I haven't I haven't been inside of that home.

Speaker 3 21:59
I would really love to check it out. Yeah, the coolest part of it is is to the front door, we did a bridge. So there's a bridge that goes over to the front door and there's actually running water underneath it. So it creates a bridge effect. And they actually pump the water so it actually rushes like a stream. Yeah, it's very, very neat. I

Michele Cummins - PREC 22:17
love that. Well, thank you so much, Joel for coming on. And I am excited to showcase some of your listings today at my extravaganza open house. Again, we've got four of Joel's designs out at Harrison Highlands. So you can either go on our social media and check out the map or call me just punch in Harrison Highlands on mal Woodside and you will definitely see the signs and new listing coming up is an actual 55 Plus condo style townhouse. So stacked townhouse. It's an upper unit in Abbotsford off Trafalgar. And it's priced at 430,000. And so keep an eye out. That's coming up next week. And it's move in ready, all freshly painted, and everything. And then I've got a new listing that just came out the other day. And I'm actually going to have an open house at it today between two and four and it's off holiday Avenue. And it's three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and it's a custom home. It's very character character character, it's like one that the father from Brady Bunch would have built okay. And that one is on a 7500 square foot or actually a little larger corner lot. So come out and have a look at that one today between two and four as well. And I'm gonna you know, I got a quote, you know, we always do on our show. And you mentioned Curtis, Frank Lloyd Wright. I did. That's a quote I thought I would bring it today. I thought it was very soothing having Joel here. And the quote is there is nothing more uncommon than common sense. That's

Curtis Pope 23:46
very true. All right. If people want more information about your listings and things like that, where can they go? Michelle cummins.ca. And join us again next week when we will talk real estate in order to unlock your real estate potential on the show real estate is maximized. Thanks for listening

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