New Construction

Building a new construction home in a master planned community in the Phoenix Arizona area provides many advantages. From the superior resort-style amenities such as aquatic centers, fitness complexes, tennis, water parks, lakes and lush green parks, to having day to day conveniences within easy access, a master planned community offers a connected neighborhood feel. If this is what you are looking for in an Arizona lifestyle, a new build in a master planned community is a must. Some of these communities are family friendly while others specialize in attracting the active adult 55 years and over.Most of these communities are conveniently located near major freeways and often minutes from one of several airports.Because of their sheer size, often exceeding 100 acres, a master planned community can offer elegantly manicured 18-hole golf courses, schools, hotels, retail and a variety of commercial shopping centers, typically featuring anchor grocery chains. Many of the newest master planned communities offer extensive recreational amenities often incorporate lakes and parks, tennis courts, unique and engaging child play areas, and extensive biking and walking paths. Elaborate community centers feature athletic and aquatic centers, spas, education classes and numerous activities for all ages. The developer’s goal is to create an all inclusive attractive environment in which residents can live, work, learn and play all within the walls of a city within a city.Master planned communities are well planned out residential developments that typically include several builders who join together to offer a wide variety of living concepts and building styles. Often five to ten builders will offer different neighborhood themes and living options from modest condos priced in the $100,000-200,000 range to sprawling luxury estates priced well over $1,000,000. Within each neighborhood one can choose from a wide variety of architectural styles, floor plans, lot sizes, landscaping designs and more. With so many green minded consumers entering the home building market, today’s home builders also feature Energy Star-rated homes and exceptional energy-efficient features that result in major saving on yearly energy bills.Phoenix Arizona is home to growing list of outstanding master planned communities to choose from when considering building a new construction home. Some of the most active family friendly communities include the unique lake themed Ocotillo in Chandler, Vistancia in Peroia, Verrado in Buckeye, Mountain Bridge in Mesa, The Bridges in Gilbert, Eastmark in Mesa, Estrella Mountain Ranch in Goodyear and Johnson Ranch in San Tan Valley.

Purchasing new construction software can be expensive, but many people don’t even realize all of the associated costs.  There are a number of costs that are not identified with the purchase price of the actual software that many companies fail to account for.  To get an accurate idea of how much the new software is really going to cost, these costs must be accounted for up front and built in to the new software budget.First, software buyers are often uneducated about the costs to train staff and implement the new software.  In many cases, these costs are at least as much as the software itself, meaning a $5,000 system may end up costing $10,000 by the time your staff is properly trained and the software is implemented.  A more complex system could even cost as much as five times the purchase price to properly implement and train.  Once companies realize how expensive these additional costs can be, some try to skimp on training and implementation, which is almost always detrimental to getting the most from the new software.Sometimes it is necessary to hire new staff to run the new software.  Existing employees are typically expected to learn the new software, but sometimes people with a different skill set are required to serve administrator roles.  Of course, with more employees or employees with a higher skill level will come higher payroll costs.  Ideally, these additional costs can be offset by gaining additional efficiencies using the new software, but this is not always the case and often takes time to accomplish, meaning these costs will affect a company for some period of time.  Refusing to hire the new employees is not an option as a system operated by unqualified personnel is a recipe for disaster. Third, most vendors charge an annual fee to maintain the construction accounting software that they sell.  These costs are usually somewhere between 18% and 24% of the software’s purchase price and can add up after several years.  Additionally, some vendors will charge an extra cost to generate custom reports for companies.  Remember to account for these costs when budgeting for the new software so they do not come as a surprise down the road. Many construction companies incur huge costs when they purchase the wrong software.  The worst part about these costs is that since they involve paying for software that doesn’t do what you want, they are costs that are never associated with purchasing new software and are essentially wasted money.  For example, if you purchase a new system that does not integrate with your accounting records, you will have to maintain two copies of the data and twice as much time to maintain and use that data.  The lost time could be considered an “opportunity cost” but the extra labor costs will be very real.  Make sure you do your research and get the right construction software!Finally, some companies that get new software realize that they do not like the way that the software performs certain functions and begin to develop their own spreadsheets for these tasks instead of changing their processes to work with the software.  Again, the additional time require to use these other programs takes away from productivity and adds payroll costs that can be avoided with proper research.Before purchasing new construction management software, make sure that you are aware of all the real costs and potential costs of purchasing software that is inadequate.  Proper training pays off quickly and should never be avoided, so long as it is accounted for up front.  Beyond that, make sure you understand ongoing maintenance fees and ensure that you get exactly the right software that you need to avoid spending more on new software than you gain from it.