Parade of Homes

Joel, who gained his formative business experi- ence in the insurance industry, says his role is to deal with the administrative red tape so Andrew is free to take care of the creative details. "my thing is numbers, and bringing structure to a business. I'm content to leave all the things that come with building a home to Andrew, and to do my thing, which is bringing order to what can sometimes be a very chaotic business," he says. "my job is to take the pressure off Andrew. I try to do that by looking after staffing, growing the business and forecasting the market. While there's no question Andrew also brings a lot of business sense to the company, his strength lies in design- ing great homes." Suffice it to say, it's been a partnership that works extremely well. "Joel's organizational skills are very strong, and are something that I really appreciate," Andrew says. "He's great at lists, schedules and systems. << cousins andrew Koop (left) and Joel neufeld at an irwin homes display suite at country estates condominiums in the Oaks. the flow of information and all company operations go through him. He frees me up to do what I do best. He takes away all the distractions. that allows me to focus on building the best possible home for every client." both men say they work together so well because of a factor that unites their thinking — Irv Koop, who worked long and hard to build Irwin Homes into one of the province's most trusted builders. "He did all the heavy lifting before us, establishing the company with his integrity, honesty and attention to detail," Andrew says. "He always did things right, and his mission was to please customers. He was a huge influence on me, and shaped me in how I function and do things. Like my dad, if I say I'm going to do something, it's done, and you have my word on it." that philosophy will continue to guide the company into the future, Joel adds. "We treat building a client's home as if it's our home," he says. "When we build a home, we think, 'could I live in this home?' We put our- selves in our client's shoes and visualize living in a house or condo- minium ourselves. If any issues arise, we'll deal with them up front in an honest, forthright manner. We're pleased to have a good repu- tation and want to continue doing the things that earned us that reputation." At the end of the day, they want clients to feel it was a pleasure working with Irwin Homes, Andrew says. "maybe that's old fashioned, but people seem to appreciate our ap- proach. It's an approach that worked for my dad, and that I believe will continue to work for us. We get a ton of business by word of mouth, which tells us we're doing something right," he says. "From the start, Irwin Homes' goal was to build homes of quality and distinction, and to offer great style and value. that's something that will never change." 'We're pleased to have a good reputation and want to continue doing the things that earned us that reputation' Parade of Homes Fall 2014 37

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