By Carole Hawkins
Dale Roberts slowly opened the model home’s front door, over-tall and detailed with cut glass. He closed it. Opened it again and closed it.
It squawked through its entire arc in both directions. A shame, Roberts said. It makes a poor impression on a homebuyer and is something so easy to fix.
Also, he and his fellow judge, Bud Dorman, caught a whiff of bleach near the entrance.
The flaws would reflect on the scoresheets for the two judges, who were making the rounds one day prior to last month’s Parade of Homes.
The nine-day mega open house shows off the region’s latest and best new home designs.
Sponsored by the Northeast Florida Builders Association, 28 builders entered a total of 107 homes this year.
The pre-event judging is a high-stakes day. Winners are announced later at a banquet.
The public decides which homes ultimately succeed in the market, voting with their home-buying dollars.
But parade awards are an industry stamp of approval that guides the consumers.
Mentions of awards pop up in advertising all year long. Among new homebuilders especially, an award can build credibility.
The day started early for the judges.
At 7:30 a.m., the hotel lobby where they met was bathed in fluorescent light, brighter than morning sun. A buffet breakfast of eggs, sausage and hash browns was washed down with orange juice and coffee.
Breakfast plates disappeared and were replaced with manila envelopes stuffed with blue ribbons and blank score sheets. Scrunched into a small conference room, the army of nearly 50 judges and drivers waited for their assignments.
Participants are all volunteers. Drivers are local, but the judges are not.
Dorman is CEO of White Aluminum in Leesburg and has judged parades in Florida for 10 years.
Roberts is a marketing and advertising consultant for Deltona homebuilders and has judged for 15 years.
“They don’t have a dog in this fight,” said Ron Harris, a NEFBA member who volunteered to be their driver.
NEFBA parade director Corey Hacker especially wanted to stress a packet of papers that outlined the route each team would take. It came with detailed directions.
“If you think you know a shortcut, don’t take it,” Hacker said.
With only 15 minutes scheduled to judge each home, time would be tight.
Roberts and Dorman drew Route 4 — a punishing trek that included nine homes from Tamaya to Trailmark, Eagle Landing to Amelia Island.
The mood in the car was light, with a running joke about how many U-turns Harris would be allowed to make.
Once their feet hit pavement, though, Dorman and Roberts were focused, thorough and quick.
Their first model was ICI Homes’ Marabella and the work progressed like a series of dance steps.
A stance at the end of the driveway to assess the home’s curb appeal.
Then, circling around the home to evaluate the quality of the construction and the aesthetics of the landscaping.
Inside, they moved from the front entrance to the central living area, master suite, secondary bedrooms and the kitchen.
Thirty-eight separate questions were scored from 0 to 5. Does traffic flow well? How’s the lighting? What drama and impact do special features create? Are there his-and-hers bathroom spaces? How livable is the home?
Roberts and Dorman scored in parallel, but seldom spoke to each other. Except to raise awareness — Did you see the back steps? Did you notice the windows?
Tamaya Sales Manager Lisa Sarraf carefully held her comments back as well, speaking only to answer questions.
Finally the team was ready.
“The floorplan is outstanding,” Roberts said. “We loved the kitchen, the way it flows into the living and dining areas, and the connectivity to the courtyard with the large pocket doors.”
The Marabella’s best feature was its whole layout, the team said, and they marked the decision with a blue ribbon.
The best feature assessment is an award each of the other eight models would also get on the spot.
The best model by price category, a competitive prize, wouldn’t be awarded until the end, though.
It’s a blind judging system — even the judges don’t know who the winners are when they turn over their scoresheets. The final score is a cumulative total from all the judges.
Dorman and Roberts could see halfway through the day, though, the scoring for the $430,000 to $450,000 category would be tough.
“We’ve seen six in a row that are at nearly the same price point,” Dorman said.
The list price for four out of the seven fell within $1,000 of one another and many of the floorplans were similar.
“I’m sure they’re building them that way because they’re features the public wants,” Dorman said “But it makes the scoring close.”
Small details made a difference. A gauge on the deck. Floors and steps that hadn’t been swept.
The presentation also registered. At one model, the interior was dark and the house closed up.
By contrast at the next one, the lights were on and the pocket doors to a generously-sized lanai were open.
“They were prepared for us,” Dorman said.
Landon Homes’ Sarah Bonus earned compliments for generous legroom under its kitchen island.
Drees Homes’ Durbin had included a small step up to the master bathroom tub.
Lennar’s master suite had good separation between its bedroom and bathroom, allowing for his-and-hers closets in between.
“You don’t have to walk through the bathroom to get to the closets,” Roberts said. “And, your clothes won’t be steamed by the shower.”
By the time they hit Amelia Island at the end of their route, the team was tired. Which begged the question: Does it hurt when a model is at the end of the route? Or at the beginning, when there are no other homes to compare it to?
The homes are not judged against each other, Roberts said. So going first isn’t a disadvantage. But a rule of thumb is to be conservative scoring the first home, in case a home with an even bigger “wow” comes along.
Going last also didn’t appear to make a difference.
Roberts and Dorman said the last and first homes on the route were the two they found the most impressive.
Like ICI Homes’ Marabella, they complimented the last model, Riverside Homes’ Wheaton, for its floor plan. Every part of the home flowed circularly, connecting to everywhere else.
“There was no wasted space,” Roberts said. “Also, the architectural detail and the quality of everything was very high.”
It’s easier for a home to score well when it’s high-priced, which is why the homes are separated into price categories. But even extra money and features don’t always make a winner.
“I judged a $155,000 home in another market that was tighter, neater and cleaner than some $1 million homes I’ve seen,” Roberts said. “Everything was perfect. I couldn’t find a flaw.”
The next house he saw in the category was different, built faster, with crown molding that didn’t line up right.
“It was everything I’d expect in a home in that price range,” he said.