Crazy Sh*t In Real Estate with Leigh Brown - Episode #69 with Laura Czerwinski

Crazy Sh*t In Real Estate with Leigh Brown

You know those nails pops—the bumps or blemishes on a wall caused by wood studs shrinking—imagine having thousands of them on your newly constructed home. Laura Czerwinski anticipated a few as they’re common with new builds, but THOUSANDS? Throw a new baby into the mix of transitioning into a new home and having repairmen coming in and and out, and you’ve got yourself a crazy story. In this episode, Leigh welcomes Laura Czerwinski, one of Leigh’s favorite clients who has a passion not just for building a house, but making it a home that you want to live in.

Please subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or in the Podcasts App on your phone. Never miss a beat from Leigh by visiting The Leigh Brown Experience.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 00:21 – Introduction for today’s episode
• 00:48 – Leigh introduces Laura
• 01:25 – Laura and her husband decided to build their house in 2014 after the birth of their son
  • 01:33 – It was Laura’s third time building a house and her husband’s first
• 01:40 – Laura and her husband didn’t have any idea what would happen after closing
• 01:55 – “Real estate is not a moment in time, it’s the craziest thing in our lives”
• 02:32 – Leigh was very supportive of Laura after what had happened to them after moving in
  • 02:57 – They encountered a lot of nail pops in their new home that needed to be repaired
  • 03:02 – They had thousands of nail pops, only after a few months
  • 03:59 – Laura did not have this problem with her first 2 homes to this extent
  • 04:20 – Laura has a newborn premature baby at home and people are constantly coming in for repairs
• 05:13 – Laura’s builder is a giant national builder and they had decent communication with the project manager until closing
  • 05:42 – Laura had 3 project managers through the entire process of building
• 05:56 – Laura suggests being persistent and to keep notes while building your house
• 06:00 – Laura stayed positive and thought of her family to keep her going
• 06:11 – Leigh told Laura that it’s better that the nail pops are happening now rather than later
• 06:44 – Everything is not sitting well for Laura’s husband either
• 07:26 – Laura always wants her house to be ready for a re-sell and to do things the right way
• 08:39 – Laura enjoys building a house
• 08:56 – “Home is where you make memories, it’s where you build your life”
• 09:12 – Laura feels that it’s her responsibility to take care of the house
• 09:34 – Laura converted a part of her previous house as a movie room when she and her husband got married
• 10:02 – Laura’s previous house design was her interpretation of the things that make her happy
  • 10:28 – Every time we travel, every part of the hotel that we stay in should make us feel happy and relaxed
  • 10:56 – Laura wanted to replicate that feeling when she’s home, she wants to relax and rest
• 11:07 – Laura goes crazy on articles stating how to make something look expensive or high-end
  • 11:28 – It’s about having a place of honor in your home
  • 11:38 – “It doesn’t have to be that you’re trying to pull off something looking expensive”
  • 12:26 – “I’m not trying to look expensive, I’m trying to look my style”
  • 12:34 – Go with things that make you feel good
• 13:20 – Laura got a lot of great feedback from the desk manager at her previous home
• 13:48 – Buyers look for something different in their house
• 13:58 – Laura built the desk manager because she had an awkward hallway that didn’t make sense
• 14:55 – “When you think of those little details on how you live every day, that makes sense”
• 15:41 – There’s a lot of ideas online for designing and this is where Laura gets most of her ideas
• 16:11 – Laura started a Facebook page, Cookie Cutter to Custom
  • 16:17 – People come together and give advice to each other for real projects that they can do
  • 17:09 – It’s a free website and there’s no need to purchase anything
  • 17:22 – Laura can give people recommendations that are low-budget and easy to do projects
  • 17:30 – There are also people who share what they’ve accomplished
  • 17:40 – Laura’s goal is for people to love where they live
• 18:28 – There are also people who will talk on Laura’s channel on how to protect your home, how to decorate and where you can purchase things
• 19:13 – Laura wants people to share and show off what they’ve done well
• 19:27 – Follow Laura on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube
• 21:22 – Laura’s house is now doing great and she has moved forward
• 22:59 – Tweet Leigh Brown for your very own crazy story in real estate

3 Key Points

1. Be patient, persistent and keep notes while in the process of building your house.
2. Create a home where you want to build your memories with your family.
3. There are people who have great ideas, but may be too shy to share—having a online group is a great space to do this.

Credits

• Audio Production by Chris Mottram
• Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
• Cover Design by Two Minds Design
• Original Music by Rimsky Music