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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (April 24, 2019)
10 Partners in Construction // The Nugget Newspaper // April 24, 2019 Hayden Homes pays it forward By Sue Stafford correspondent For the team at Hayden Homes, customer care is the single most important aspect of building houses, according to Geof Harris, Hayden9s regional manager. <We must understand what9s im- portant to the people in the area in which we are building. Our goal is to be there as long as we can,= ex- plained Harris. <Our commitment begins at closing. We are here to advise and deal with any problems that may come up. <Most builders use the area me- dian home price when setting their sale prices. We look at the median area income and build to that so people can af ord our homes,= he went on. Hayden of ers an in-house home- owner9s warranty program. They have instituted a 400-point quality inspection that is ongoing through- out the construction process. Half- way through a build, a third-party inspector checks on each house. Special homeowners9 <touch point= meetings occur with each buyer, escorted by a Hayden team member to answer any questions or concerns that come up. <We9re working on ways to make it more accessible and safer for buyers to visit their house during construction,= Harris said. Safety is the main reason they ask buyers to not walk through houses under construction unescorted. In addressing earlier problems with some of the o rst homes built in Sisters, Harris said, <We haven9t done everything right and we know that. We trust that the community sees that we will always remain engaged and work toward positive solutions.= Hayden Homes, the largest builder of homes in Central Oregon, has had a big impact on the Sisters community since they o rst started building homes here 13 years ago. They have worked with 170 Sis- ters customers over that time pe- riod, building single-family homes, townhouses, and small rental units. Village at Cold Springs, located of both sides of McKinney Butte Road, was their o rst venture here. They are currently working with the City for approval of their master plan for McKenzie Meadow Village, which is adjacent to Village at Cold Springs, and will bring 200 more housing units online to provide moderately priced housing to help with the current housing shortage. In 1989, land developer Bob Watson and his wife, Virginia, sold the o rst Hayden home, which cost $49,000. The story goes that Bob, being a former resident of Califor- nia, priced the house in honor of his favorite <49ers= football team. The company was named for their son Hayden who, along with friend Dennis Murphy, built that o rst home during their summer break from college. Ten homes were con- structed that o rst year in Redmond, Hayden9s headquarters. Since 1989, Hayden has built over 16,000 homes in underserved, secondary markets throughout Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, making them the largest privately owned new homebuilder in the Pa- cio c Northwest. In 1995, son Hayden took over running the business and now serves as Chairman of the Board. Murphy is the CEO, and Steve Klingman became president in 2015. Klingman started as a project manager and worked his way up the ladder. Harris moved from Vir- ginia to Central Oregon to join the Hayden team in 2015. <I had a job before we knew where we were going to live,= Har- ris said. <I was attracted by the spir- it of giving exemplio ed by Hayden as well as their professionalism in homebuilding.= Harris related that Hayden Homes was named the 2019 #1 Hayden9s size, they can buy build- Best Company to Work For in the ing materials like a big builder with large companies category for Or- economies of scale, but are able egon Business Magazine. The 100 to deliver af ordable housing in a Best list recognizes companies for way most other big builders can9t. excellence in beneo ts and com- They are always looking for local pensation, work environment, subcontractors, or trade partners. decision-making and trust, perfor- Harris pointed out that their local mance management, and career building projects provide numer- ous economic beneo ts. Their trade development and learning. An integral part of their business partners who are constructing the homes provide model is support business for lo- for the communi- Most builders use the cal gas stations ties in which they build, including area median home price and restaurants. Hayden uses the direct charitable when setting their sale local Western donations from Hayden Homes, prices. We look at the Title oû ce for closings, and has as well as pro- hundreds viding monetary median area income and paid of thousands of donations and in- build to that so people dollars in com- terest-free home can aû ord our homes. missions to local mortgages with 4 Geoû Harris realtors. no down pay- Harris said that ment, through the servant lead- their 501(c)(3) nonproo t First Story. At McKenzie ership and positive collaborative Meadow Village, their plans call for culture of Hayden Homes is what 10 First Story homes for purchase makes it such a great workplace. <It is the spirit of generosity that and 10 af ordable rental units. In Sisters, Hayden and First unio es us,= Harris said. Each member of the team is given Story have made considerable con- tributions to Sisters High School two days a year of paid leave time for visual arts supplies, athletics, to devote to charitable endeavors and a new arts scholarship, as well throughout their communities. as to the Sisters Area Chamber of Harris told the story of an elderly Commerce for the Holiday Parade, disabled widow in Redmond who Sisters Arts Association, Sisters needed a new roof on her home Habitat for Humanity, Friends of (not a Hayden home). Employees the Children, Sisters Rodeo, Sis- of Hayden worked with a local roof- ters Folk Festival, Sisters Chris- ing company to secure materials tian Academy prayer breakfast, and in one weekend reroofed her Sisters Kiwanis Food Bank, Sis- house. Every time a Hayden home is ters Park and Recreation District SALI lacrosse tournament, and sold, one-tenth of one percent of the sales price goes to support the HousingWorks. Sisters is smaller than the usu- First Story program. For the sale al community in which Hayden of a new home, Hayden pays the builds, but it is also in their back- percentage. When that o rst buyer yard. They began building here to sells the home, they pay the same provide for the unmet need of mod- percentage and so on, each time the house sells. Harris calls it <paying it erately priced homes. Harris explained that because of forward.= photo by patti jo beal
