In 1984, to provide a better life for his wife and sons, Muhlenberg immigrated to the United States, and moved his business to San Antonio. In the latter 80's while other businesses were hurting, Muhlenberg's was thriving because of his innovative style of business. What made Muhlenberg so innovative?
According to Muhlenberg, "We focus on helping the client get what they want, the custom building process is very fragmented and clients cannot be expected to be expert in every field; we provide the consulting which enables the client to make good informed decisions. We are our client's one-stop shop."
Customer satisfaction is number one with Muhlenberg, which is evidenced by the fact that some of his clients are members of the same family, some the same church, or the same company and some even repeat clients of
The Housing Consultant. "We work hard to keep them satisfied, referrals have gotten us to where we are today." |
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In a carefully planned out process, The Housing Consultant walks their client through a ten-step procedure taking them from budgeting to the walk-through of their new home.
"It is very discouraging for a client who comes to me with a beautiful piece of property they have purchased, or a great house plan, and then for me to have to tell them that they don't have the budget to get it all done. "If they had come to me first, I could have spared them all that aggravation and all those wasted costs, we're very focused on working within their budget."
Muhlenberg, a licensed real estate broker, helps them put all of the pieces together without them having to go to ten different people to get the project done. "Our clients have demanding lives, our expertise and one-stop service saves them both time and money."
As for being competitive with other builders, Eddie isn't worried about that. For although they offer more services to people than the other businesses can, which he takes pride in, they're more competitive because his company does not have large amount of land, spec homes or a big marketing budget. This allows his overhead to remain low and he can pass on the savings to his customer.
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The Housing Consultant assists between 12 to 18 clients a year with building their homes, which typically are in the $200,000 to $600,000 price range. "We are not focused on the number of homes we build, rather what concerns us is our quality and the satisfaction of the families we work with," says Muhlenberg.
With a library filled with over 25,000 design plans to choose from, and the in-house capability to custom design,
The Housing Consultant works with their clients to help them crate their dream home.
"We pride ourselves in the fact that no two of the homes look alike, and we are always mindful that it isn't our home we are building, it is theirs. It is very satisfying to know that you can drive down a street on which we've built half the homes, and not be able to tell the ones we did.
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The Housing Consultant also prides itself with the relationship it has with its "trade contractors" as Eddie so carefully calls them. Muhlenberg truly feels they are one of the reasons for his continued success. His associates who have all been with him for many years reflect this same type of loyalty to the company.
"We've established good relationships over many years and don't change when we find someone to do the work for a nickel less. It isn't about that," he says, "We expect value. The quality of our work is directly related to the quality of their work."
To be at the leading edge of the industry Muhlenberg attends Custom Home Building seminars, has been a member of the industry acclaimed Builder 20 Club and visits the annual Home Builders Exposition which he does to say abreast of the latest in products, technology, and design trends.
Example of a new trend can be seen in The Housing Consultant's entry in the June 2001 Parade of Homes TM - designing for the way people actually live - as portrayed in Susan Shanks' book, The Not-So-Big House. "We're definitely moving away from the econ-boxes of the last few years," says Muhlenberg.
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Muhlenberg was the first in Texas to build a "Smart House" incorporating advanced electronics for communications, data, and automation, for a previous home in the Parade of Homes TM.
You can't help but feel the enthusiasm Muhlenberg feels for the projects he's working on as he discusses the unique features of each home. Like the one being built on the edge of a hill with a vanishing edge swimming pool. "We design it so that ever room would have a great view, and the study has a tremendous 300 degree view."
"We take a holistic approach when designing each home, and keep efficiency in mind at all times. We consider solar orientation, topography, and cost when working with a client needs and wants to create their dream home. We build a "tight" house, and use high efficient equipment and good insulation to keep their utility bills as low as possible. We are constantly researching new products." |
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Although Muhlenberg regards their satisfied customers as their strongest marketing tool, showing off their clients newly completed homes give prospective clients the opportunity to see real homes built for real people, and not some model family. In almost twenty years of business, most of
The Housing Consultant's business comes from word of mouth, referrals, and repeat customers.
The APA Engineered Wood Association has recognized The Housing Consultant as one of America's best builders. They are a Preferred Builder in the Home Planners national network and have been awarded the Distinguished Membership Award from the Ten-Year Warranty Company for a remarkable 15-year no-claims record!
"The relationship we establish with our customer throughout the project gives them the peace of mind to let them know that we'll be there for them even after they have moved in."
What's unique about Eddie Muhlenberg and The Housing Consultant is Eddie's ability to envision the big picture and
The Housing Consultant's ability to implement this vision, delivering beautiful custom homes-"on time and on budget".
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