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CanyonLakeMagazine.com 1 2 CanyonLakeMagazine.com CanyonLakeMagazine.com 3 contents 6 Troy French of Comal Classic Custom Homes: Publishers: Community Circular Magazines Seizing Opportunities of the Canyon Lake a division of Building Boom 17 Water Conservation in San Antonio and Surrounding Cities 22 Newt Gingrich Speaks About Redisovering Sales God in America Rachel Danley Graphic Design 26 You Don’t Have to Spend it All on the Nursing Home Michelle Fortenberry Sheryl Hawkinson Jared Hawkinson 29 Corkscrew Corner: Impaired Taste Bud Syndrom Lucy Hutchenson Administrative Faith Pena Jared Hawkinson 30 Full Steam Ahead on the Austin Steam Train Albert Salazar 34 Summertime Pet Saftey Tips 38 Jack Hanna drops by SeaWorld of San Antonio To advertise your product or services in Canyon Lake Magazine, please contact Rachel Danley at 52 Dinosaur Tracks and More at The Heritage 210-348-3709 or by email at Museum of the Texas Hill Country [email protected] 55 Puzzle Page Canyon Lake Magazine is a periodical published for the enjoyment of the greater Canyon Lake Canyon Lake Magazine is published by Community area. The magazine is intended to cover entertaining and informative topics that are of interest to Circular Magazines, a subsidiary product of White- the Canyon Lake area community. The magazine is not affiliated with the City of Canyon Lake Frisbie Media. It is provided for the enjoyment and or any other government agency and is supported by its advertisers. education of its readership. The information presented in this magazine is believed to be true at the time of We want your feedback! publishing. Community Circular Magazines does not What do you think of our all-new Canyon Lake Magazine? As a reader, we want to hear from guarantee or warranty any of the services or products you. If you have feedback on any of our articles, or the magazine itself, we want to know about produced by the companies represented herein. it. We encourage you to visit our web site at www.CanyonLakeMagazine.com and let us know what’s on your mind. If you have any feedback on this publication, please contact us at 210-348-3709 or visit our web site at www.CanyonLakeMagazine.com 4 CanyonLakeMagazine.com CanyonLakeMagazine.com 5 Troy French with clients Steve and Linda Neely at their home in Mystic Shores at Canyon Lake. Seizing Opportunities of the Canyon Lake Building Boom Troy French, owner of COMAL CLASSIC CUSTOM HOMES by Susan Marx • photos by Travis White 6 CanyonLakeCanyonLakeMagazine.comMagazine.com Canyon Lake is fast becoming one of the most desired places to live in Central Texas and a growing percentage of those choosing to live here are opting for custom homes. Troy French (owner of Comal Classic Custom Homes), specializes in that market and says he’s seen a trend developing over the last few years. The Canyon Lake area has a lot of beautiful building sites to offer with magnificent views, access to lake recreations and all the plusses of a central location to San Antonio and Austin and strong Hill Country communities, such as Bulverde, Spring Branch, New Braunfels and Gruene. From 2000 to 2010 Canyon Lake grew 26% in population (from 16,800 to 21,262) reaching nearly half the population of neighboring New Braunfels. In the same 10 year period, the number of home sites grew 35% (from 8,693 to 11,775). The boom not only includes people retiring to the Hill Country, but also an influx of young people. With exemplary schools in the Comal Independent School District, 80 miles of lake and river shorelines stretching from the Guadalupe River and gentle rolling hills lined with oak, cedar and wildlife, this highly desirable area appeals to all ages. For Steve and Linda Neely, Mystic Shores at Canyon Lake was the perfect location to build their dream home. After living in a busy Houston suburb, this was the perfect place to escape the crowds and enjoy the peacefulness of the Texas Hill Country. Troy is a native Texan - born in McAllen and raised in Corpus Christi. He studied construction at Southwest Texas State University while working his way up in the industry and moved to Canyon Laketen years ago as construction manager for a prominent custom homebuilder. As a licensed Texas realtor, Troy knows the business from every angle. But what really makes Troy stand out is his drive to not only build the best homes but provide his clients with top-notch service. Troy’s drive to achieve this level of customer care has its genesis in personal tragedy. When Troy was nine years old his parents decided to build a custom home. They went through all the usual motions. Everything was going according to plan until about halfway through the process. Then the builder started distancing himself. It was hard to even get him on the phone. About this same time, Troy’s father was diagnosed with cancer. The builder continued to drag his feet and when the house was 90% completed, the French’s (whose rental release was up) moved into their new home only to receive an eviction notice from the FDIC. The builder had filed for bankruptcy and disappeared, leaving them with a legal nightmare. A prolonged and painful battle over the debts the builder had not paid ensued. During this period, Troy’s father passed away believing his family was going to lose their home. It all worked out in the end but for Troy it was a life defining moment. Troy wants to save his clients from that kind of suffering. Opportunities Since 2009, when the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC) was disbanded there is no longer any government oversight (or even any special licensing, for that matter) necessary to call yourself a home builder in Texas. Of course there are building codes in place but these do not protect the financial interests of the buyers. Home builders are paid directly by the banking and loan companies at trigger stages in the building process. Unlike the real estate business, there’s no escrow to regulate the distribution of those funds either. The banks check to make sure the work is being done but they don’t police the payment of subcontractors. And there’s the rub. The buyer must beware and do their due diligence. Troy advises everyone to get multiple bids on the home they want to build. He urges them to check the builders’ references and call their subcontractors to see how (and if) they were paid before signing on the dotted line. Norman Lenz, who hired Troy to build his ranch-style home last year, says that “Troy listened to what I wanted and exceeded my expectations.” Lenz did exactly what Troy suggested. He interviewed several contractors and, by process of elimination, whittled it down to Troy. Lenz says he chose Comal Classic because his wife is handicapped and he knew he wouldn’t have to worry about anything going wrong. Lenz says he is very happy with his custom home building experience – if anything Troy went overboard on customer service. CanyonLakeCanyonLakeMagazine.comMagazine.com 7 At Comal Classic Custom Homes, Troy helps his clients from start to finish. Although most of Troy’s customers already have their lot and house plans, his service includes lot acquisition, securing a loan, choosing a designer, working with “MEP’s” (mechanical electrical and plumbing suppliers), establishing the orientation of the home and lot, interior design features and making sure everything is complete all the way through to warranty. Troy works on a fixed percentage rate plus overhead so the deal is the same whether you’re building a house for $350,000 or a million. One of the secrets to his success is his thorough specifications. Troy typically gives clients 25- 30 pages of specs, detailing each and every custom choice they make together. He says “the specs are a critical step in the process because they help eliminate surprise overages and inhibit mistakes.” Most builders don’t go into all the minutiae but that’s where you’re most likely to get in trouble. Of course, no builder can promise the price of copper is going to stay the same or that those NanaWall® doors you have your heart set on aren’t going to skyrocket and add thousands to the cost. That’s why Troy gets it all down on paper with the pricing right there in black & white, assuring the price on the contract is the price the owner pays. As part of the service, Comal Classic provides a decorator to stay with clients every step of the way – helping with the selection of virtually every design decision. Troy then creates a mock-up of exterior selections so his clients can see and touch samples of the custom choices they’ve made BEFORE they are installed. Communication is key. Troy stays in constant contact with his clients, providing a one-on-one experience most other builders can’t duplicate. It’s a partnership, Troy says, because you aren’t just constructing a home, you’re building a relationship, a close relationship. That means there’s never a time when it’s too late to call – to talk things over and make sure everything is right and both parties are happy. By the time the house is finished and the owners move-in Troy says he feels like he has made a new set of friends. Comal Classic Custom Homes is located at 1937 IH 35 N. Suite 102, New Braunfels, Texas 78130. You can reach Troy French at (210) 573-5970 or on the web at www.comalclassic.com 8 CanyonLakeCanyonLakeMagazine.comMagazine.com CanyonLakeMagazine.com 9 10 CanyonLakeMagazine.com CanyonLakeMagazine.com 11 12 CanyonLakeMagazine.com CanyonLakeMagazine.com 13 14 CanyonLakeMagazine.com CanyonLakeMagazine.com 15 “Freedom Found” BY SHERYL HAWKINSON I’m eager to begin this informative series of beer and… can you imagine cupcakes? This is proof that today’s wine enthusiasts have the authority to enjoy what they want with whatever articles focusing on the enjoyment of wine.