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| Volume 3 Issue 4 August 1998 |
Features
Interviews
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| HTINews Article - Aug98 - [HTI Home Page] |
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No one would even think to buy a new home without indoor electricity and plumbing. Yet plenty of today's unsuspecting home buyers are purchasing homes that are missing an equally essential foundation ... advanced home wiring that enables them to take advantage of state-of-the-art home offices, advanced digital TV, high-speed Internet and other high-tech advancements of today and the future. The result is an obsolete home that won't allow the home buyer to enjoy the latest technology and won't bring the maximum resale value should he or she decide to sell.
The issue of outdated homes is a serious problem that many home builders have failed to address because of the complex nature of advanced home wiring and all the different components and options available. But now, thanks to the new turn-key solution recently unveiled by Greyfox Systems, home builders have an easy, affordable way to ensure that the homes they build will be ready for the future.
"What sets the Greyfox System apart from everything else out there is that it is really comprehensive," notes Carl Goldberg, a principal owner of Roseland Property Company, a New Jersey-based home builder that is currently featuring the Greyfox System in several new developments. "The Greyfox System allows builders to deliver a product to a home that can expand as needs expand. I think it provides potential purchasers with a huge amount of flexibility as their needs change. That's what is built in when you put in a Greyfox Advanced Home Wiring System."
With the turn-key package Greyfox Systems is now offering, home builders can include a basic advanced wiring system in all the homes they build for only a few hundred dollars more than it would cost them to install obsolete wiring. Typically, home builders include the basic wiring package in the price of the home. The home buyer then has an opportunity to purchase numerous upgrades based on his or her individual needs. Home buyers simply go through a checklist and indicate the upgrades they desire at the same time they discuss carpeting and other customized features for their new home. The checklist is turned over to Greyfox Systems, which takes care of installing and activating the requested upgrades and options.
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Because the Greyfox Advanced Home Wiring System is offered directly to home builders, notes Greyfox Systems President Mike Jennison, the costs associated with a middle man are eliminated, resulting in substantial savings that are passed on to the home buyer.
"For a few thousand dollars, home buyers can expand the network and add all upgrade options including computer networking, surround sound stereos and video monitoring cameras," says Jennison. "And because the system is modular, Greyfox System home buyers can build a network that meets their exact needs and then expand it as their needs change."
Like other builders who have integrated the Greyfox System into their homes, Ron Wolf, president of Maronda Homes in Pittsburgh, is excited about the Greyfox Systems technology and calls the advanced wiring package "a much-needed breakthrough that safeguards homes from becoming obsolete in today's high-tech world." He says he decided to make the Greyfox System a standard feature in the homes he builds because home buyers will not only be wanting it, but will be needing it.
"In the '70s, people didn't wire for cable," says Wolf. "People were saying that it would never get into households, that no one would pay for it. They were convinced that everyone would stick with their bunny ears."
"Take VCRs," he continues. "People said, `they'll never catch on'. People said personal computers would never make it into every house. You wait, they will. And look at what's happening with the Internet. People would be fools to build a house not ready to take advantage of the latest technological advances. "
The Greyfox System is currently being offered to residential builders throughout the United States. The system is also being marketed exclusively under the Bell Atlantic name in New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Virginia. To find out more about the Greyfox Advanced Home Wiring System, please visit the Greyfox Systems web site at www.greyfox.com
