Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.

-Soren Kierkegaard

If anyone could write a book for understanding life in the housing market, it’s Jeff Bentley. His understanding comes from many years of living the experience forwards, in a variety of roles.

 

Carpenter, builder, rater and realtor, this self-identified kid in the classroom that always asked why, Jeff Bentley has developed a keen understanding of what goes into making a high-performance home and which aspects uniquely interest prospective buyers.

Jeff is a 4th generation home builder turned realtor who has personally supervised the construction of over 4,000 homes in the Dallas-Fort Worth market. He acutely understands that buyers buy on emotion, yet they justify the costs (money and time) with logic.

 

Jeff has assisted clients in designing and building high performance, energy efficient homes. Including the first LEED Gold home in Frisco, TX. 

 

He shares with us his five rules: take care of the customer, train continuously, top down commitment, verify the work, be willing to evolve.

 

In his writings, he suggests that every superintendent and operations person should be energy rater certified, so that energy raters wouldn't need to be the “kW police”.  He believes these concepts, many of which are embodied in RESNET standards, have changed homebuilding forever.

 

He stresses the importance of air sealing and accountability of the trades yielding work properly completed the first time and the concept that quality is still free! 

 

His experience and capabilities guide his clients in selecting architects, home builders, lots, lenders and subcontractors or suppliers. His clients enjoy a high-performance home while the maximizing the benefits of energy tax credits, utility rebates and supplier discounts. Jeff shares what he has learned within his company and at national appraisers’ conferences. You can reach out to Jeff at [email protected]

 

RESTalk: To the RESNET community, we hear you and want to engage.

 

Pros can learn more at www.RESNET.us/professional 

Consumers can learn more at www.RESNET.us

Or for more info on this topic contact RESNET at [email protected]