NEWSLETTER - HOLIDAY SEASON 2007

Spotlight On MyHome’s New Exterior Program and Guru Rich Farrant

This fall rang in enormous growth for MyHome along with the debut of its new gutters, siding, and windows program. In addition to providing the installation services for these essential tools for the suburban market, MyHome began providing its own brand of customized gutters, window replacements, and siding options meant to promote a more sustainable world. In addition to reducing the carbon imprint on our planet by addressing the climate crisis, the MyHome exteriors program also provides financial incentives that allow homeowners to save money on energy costs and increase their property value at the same time.

Spearheading this new campaign is MyHome’s exterior veteran Rich Farrant. Director of Sales & Marketing/Exterior Division, Rich has been working hard to bring these new products to the many home owners who just don’t know where to start when it comes to improving their homes. Recently we sat down with Rich to discuss his career as well as the new MyHome exteriors program he’s been so integral in creating.

Born in Newark, NJ, Rich Farrant is well accustomed to the fast-paced tri-state area where new renovations are in constant progress. However, his home exterior renovation career began after moving to Virginia Beach in 1989. His interest was piqued by an ad that promised a brighter future, an attractive income, and the chance to change people’s lives, and Rich soon became ensconced in the home renovation world with a specialty in exteriors for the suburban market.

As an avid body builder, the chance to make over exteriors always appealed to Rich. Enlivened by the joy people received from making over their bodies and the personal happiness it gave them, he soon found himself enjoying the chance to do the same thing for people’s homes. By changing people’s lives and making them happy with their most personal and often largest investment, Rich fell in love with the beautifying process home renovation brings to people and he’s been doing it ever since. His passion for the work put him on the fast track from installation to the #1 sales rep in Virginia to project management and finally to executive marketing in less than ten years.

When we asked Rich about the relevance of the new program and its impact on the environment, he has this to say:

3Everybody up and down the East Coast is talking about energy efficiency," Rich says. "Add to that the Energy Star Tax Credit of 2005 and everybody's also thinking about cutting down electric costs. That's why our exteriors offer such a value."

"Our Prodigy siding has five times the energy value of other models and our MyHome windows provide an r value of 10 when the average replacement window has an r value of 2.5. All of this means that by adding the right exterior adjustments you can save money and increase your curb appeal simultaneously. "This is the purpose of MyHome1s exterior division: to encourage people to use products that pay for themselves and stop fuel providers from getting richer. And the options are growing. New developments in exterior wall systems allow us to simulate fiber, cement, cedar, almost anything, which gives us a viable synthetic and green alternative to natural resources."

In addition to his passion about energy efficiency, Rich takes great pride in changing peoples’ perception of the industry and gaining the trust of homeowners.

“So often we find that people want to change their homes but they don’t know how to start,” Rich says. “Homeowners are often reluctant to build because of a bad experience or horror story that colored their perception of the industry. I work hard to take the fear away from a major life change and make people feel comfortable with improving their homes and their lives.”

For more information on MyHome Exteriors visit our website at www.myhomeus.com or call 212-666-2888 or contact Rich directly at rich@myhomeus.com.

The Green Scene – our monthly look at beautiful new ways to help the environment

The number of innovative new “green” building products is snowballing. We’d like to tell you about a few of the most interesting we’ve seen lately – all of which are now available through MyHome.

Forestaflooring
This flooring is made without cutting down trees or using adhesives during the manufacturing process is 100% waterproof and requires no environmentally unsafe glues to install. It’s a perfect solution for areas that are going to be regularly exposed to water – such as basements, outside areas, kitchens, bathrooms and foyers.
www.forestaflooring.com

Richlite
A beautiful countertop material made completely out of recycled paper. You can see it in our showrooms. www.richlite.com

Kieriusa
They produce great-looking engineered panel boards made from the residue of sorghum manufacturing without using any toxic adhesives. www.kireiusa.com

American Clay
Just what it says – clay mixed with recycled materials to produce a gorgeous finish for walls. The final result resembles Venetian plaster or a very high-end faux finish. Naturally sound-proofing as well. www.americanclay.com

Plybo
They’ve come up with a way to use bamboo and coconut residuals to make anything you can make out of wood. Check out the wide variety of colors and textures. www.plyboo.com

Yolo Paints
100% environmentally friendly paints that actually look better than most conventional paints. We are encouraging all our clients to give them a try. www.yolocolorhouse.com

If you hear of any great new environmentally-safe building products – let us know, at bob@myhomeus.com.

Above & Beyond

There seems to be a general feeling that customer service is on the decline and that rudeness, short-term thinking, and simple incompetence are on the rise. At MyHome we are doing everything we can to buck this trend. Toward that end we’re starting this column called “Above and Beyond” to recognize customer service people in many different industries who give more than 100% to satisfy their clients. We’d like you all to participate by sending in examples of great customer service that you’ve personally experienced.

One of our employees submitted this example:
“ My wife and I went to a famous (and very expensive) restaurant for our anniversary dinner. The service left a lot to be desired – there was a big party at the next table and the waiters kept bumping into us as they served them. My girlfriend’s entrée was cold. With our check came a form to fill out and I wrote that what could have been a great meal was merely good. A few minutes later the manager came to our table, told us that we did not have to pay for the meal, gave us a gift certificate for a future meal, and asked us to call him personally before we came so he could show us why his restaurant would not tolerate being ‘merely good.’ We took him up on the offer a few months later and everything was perfect. Since I’ve now told this story about twenty times, their customer service is surely paying off.”

At MyHome, we understand that mistakes will happen during such a complicated process as remodeling. That’s why we guarantee to fix such problems, even if it ends up costing us money. And it is one reason why we offer a five year warranty on our work – much longer than the industry standard.

Remember, if you have an example of great (or horrible) customer service, send it to bob@myhomeus.com.