132: ARG Unfiltered | Building Obsidian Kelowna & the $140k+ Hard Lesson with ARG Contracting's Adam Galbraith

00:00:00 Matt Glen
Welcome back to the Kelowna Real Estate Podcast. I'm your mortgage broker host, Taylor Atkinson. And I'm your commercial broker host, Matt Glen. What's happening, Taylor?


00:00:06 Taylor Atkinson
Well, I had to go out to Vernon to check out my building there. One of my tenants, love the guy, he's been in there probably since the building was built, but has had some health issues. So he's migrated out and unfortunately, you know, left the place in pretty poor condition. You know what though, as a landlord, like sometimes there's units that you see in bad condition that... make you really upset because you obviously invested a lot of time and money and you know trying to provide a good place to live other times there's just like yeah hey you feel for the people and it kind of is what it is but for this unit specifically i had to whip out there and scoop up a bunch of supplies like made a mad dash to home depot got vanity countertops sink faucets, flooring. Yeah, absolutely. Top to bottom. We're just like flipping it really quick. I just needed to get out there and deliver everything. I do have an awesome contractor, handyman, that's kind of been, you know, with the property manager out there for a while and he's always helped out. And you know what was awesome is like I showed up to the parking lot, truck was full of stuff and said, hey, Duncan, do you mind just meeting me there? Like I need a hand lifting the vanity up and stuff like that until you guys are ready to install it. He shows up, he goes. Hey, nice truck, man. Is this the truck you got a few months ago? I was like, yeah. He goes, yeah, yeah, yeah. I've been listening to the podcast. You know, you popped up on my YouTube. And I was like, how'd you find out about us? Yeah, yeah. Just showed up on my YouTube feed. I'm like, this is awesome. Yeah, it was super cool. So shout out to Duncan. If you guys are looking for like a handyman contractor, anyone to help out on a property, reach out. I'll pass on his information. Where's he from, Vernon? Yeah. Yeah, he's Vernon Bass. Yeah, he's great, man. It's hard to find good help sometimes, but it's nice to have somebody reliable and just like, yeah, you trust. So yeah, it was cool. Yeah, he learned all about financing the truck. I know. I was like, how do you know I got a new truck? But hey, there you go. Your life's out in the open. But speaking to other people that are good contractors and we like to work with and we trust, today's show, ARG. Adam, we've had him on the podcast before. Obviously we have him as a sponsor now as well. So yeah, if you're looking for a builder that brings, you know, honesty, craftsmanship, visit their website, ARGHomes .ca. The most genuine dude you'll ever meet. Yeah. And again, like his Instagram is awesome. So give him a follow on there. He's pretty transparent on how he does business. But again, this show is probably the best resource to kind of get to know him a little bit because this whole episode's kind of about him and how he's structuring his business. I hope you guys enjoy the show.


00:02:33 Matt Glen
Our other sponsor is my brokerage, Venture Commercial, Venture Realty Corp. We're everywhere. We do, obviously, commercial sales, leasing, a bunch of us in this office. We seem to be taking over the city. When I drive around, all I see is venture commercial signs. Is that because it's like that thing when you're thinking about yellow cars, all you see is yellow cars? Or is it because we're taking over the city?


00:02:53 Taylor Atkinson
I think it's because you're taking over the city. To be honest, I can't tell the difference. It's a municipal election, provincial election, and then venture commercial signs. You guys are everywhere. Is venture commercial on the ballot this month? Because if so, I know who I'm voting for.


00:03:10 Matt Glen
That is funny. Yeah, we're not on the ballot. Although this podcast has seemed to talk to every single other person that's on the ballot, which is kind of nice. I did that Instagram post saying that we've talked to Tom Dias, Ron Cannon, all the... people that run the city, Ryan Smith, Doug Gilchrist. And then for the provincial election next week, we've had Loyal Woolrich on, Gavin Dew. It's like, man, like kind of funny when the show has been around for this long and we've been doing these shows, like you realize you kind of just start to know all the movers. Yeah. You know, like, oh yeah, I know him. We've been on the podcast this episode and yeah, it's kind of cool to see. Yeah,


00:03:44 Taylor Atkinson
it's awesome. It's nice to be able to, again, like I think you said in your post, to talk to them before a campaign, like, you know, a year or two years in advance. It's kind of nice to get to know somebody in their current position instead of just like trying to collect votes.


00:03:58 Matt Glen
Exactly. Like during their day -to -day, what they actually think. Yeah, they're not in election season, not in kissing baby land. You know, like, yeah, it was good. Those conversations were awesome. They're still up, obviously. And yeah, the pod seems to be the go -to spot. Yeah. Doing something right here, Taylor. All right.


00:04:12 Taylor Atkinson
Well, enjoy the show with Adam. He covers all the residential commercial building needs. So if you're interested in chatting to him, reach out. And yeah, we'll catch you guys soon.


00:04:22 Matt Glen
One thing before we go is Adam is the perfect sponsor for the show because not only is his business awesome, he does residential, like he does renovations, new builds. He also does commercial, which obviously is my world now. Commercial tenant build outs like the Obsidian. Jim, which we talk about in the show, but he's also just an awesome guest. So like a guy that has to sponsor the show is going to be on the show a lot. It's great to have somebody with a personality like that. So we lucked out there.


00:04:50 Taylor Atkinson
All right, Adam, welcome back to the show, buddy. How's it going?


00:04:51 Adam Galbraith
Yeah, thanks, man. I'm excited to be here. Already just have us rolling over laughing, man. You're one of a kind. Don't tell anybody.


00:05:01 Taylor Atkinson
Appreciate it. I mean, we'll be hearing more from you as well in the future because we've teamed up for some sponsorship stuff. So yeah, appreciate that, buddy.


00:05:08 Adam Galbraith
Yeah, man. To touch on that, I'm so excited for this on multiple levels. I think you guys are just great. I think the show is great. I watched a ton of episodes and I think it's my exact demograph and I'm excited to even get to be a part of it. So I appreciate you guys. Yeah,


00:05:21 Matt Glen
thanks, Adam. We were talking about it when we announced you in our last episode that it actually works out super well that the sponsor of our show happens to also be... one of our most popular guests. Our conversations were so fun. So it actually works well all around. So thank you very much. And yeah, this is going to be a great partnership going forward.


00:05:32 Adam Galbraith
well all around. So


00:05:36 Adam Galbraith
Yeah. And we're going to promote it on our brand and our stuff too. So I'm excited to do that. Yeah. Yeah. I love it. Well, it's been about a year since we've had you on.


00:05:43 Taylor Atkinson
had you on. So what's been going on in the last year? We kind of left like one of the... really cool parts of that show is you were talking about building multifamily and obviously everyone knows you, you're building single family homes, but you're also switching into quite a bit of commercial stuff. So yeah, fill us in what's been going on.


00:05:58 Adam Galbraith
fill us in what's been going on. Yeah. So as you guys know, that last show led off, we were planning to do like a 60 unit rental apartment building, kind of had a development or kind of helping me run through that process. And at the same time, as you guys know, we're building some houses. I decided to build a spec house around the same time, which I don't know if it's the best idea or not, but here we are. Yeah. So basically, you know, we went through the process. In fairness, I was building five or six houses out there and we built. a spec house to sell. And unfortunately that didn't go how I wanted it to financially because of the market. And I just, you know, I really feel for the guys. I admire the guys who are in that who do really well because the ability to time a market so effectively is a fricking skillset that I don't have apparently, but it went the other way. And we ended up losing, you know, a significant amount of money on that build. In fairness, I got a five -star review from the client who bought it. And I said, that's the best five -star I ever got. It was about $143 ,000 star, but I'll take her. It is what it is. But you know, the guy's a good dude. Really cool is he's a contractor out of Saskatchewan. And he was like, this is one of the best houses I've ever seen built. And he's like, I'm so impressed with everything you guys did. Left us a great review and we move on. But so then the loss of that really was like, you know, as a business, you don't want to lose money. And you're like, holy shit, what did we do? What are we doing here? And it really put in perspective the development. And the development was, you know, 60 unit rental apartment, pet friendly, blah, blah, blah. Unfortunately, there happened to be about 78 of those being built at the same time. So that wasn't super good. Still not all online. Yeah. And it's still a bunch are not rented to this day. So, you know, we had invested a substantial amount of money. running through that process, you know, over a hundred grand to get that, you know, within the government, get it looked at and developments and blah, blah, blah. And I guess what it taught me was, you know, in construction, you need to know when to walk away. And that could be from a challenging client or a bad development or a bad opportunity. And I'm still learning that. I can't say that I know everything. And unfortunately, you know, one of the best ways to learn in construction or in life is by making mistakes and going, fuck. I shouldn't do that again. And then you just regroup. Right. So, you know, the spec house put things really in proportion of like, why would we build this? Why would we take the risk of this? Such a huge risk when we're as busy as we were, we're still getting clients, still getting builds, other projects are coming in. And I'm like. This is just not a good risk. It doesn't add up. And so we walked away from it.


00:07:33 Matt Glen
Still not all


00:08:11 Matt Glen
do that again.


00:08:31 Taylor Atkinson
Obviously, as of today, I think these things happen for a reason. And,


00:08:35 Adam Galbraith
you know, obviously, Matt has gotten into the commercial side of things, which is unreal. And we're good friends. And so now I'm seeing a lot more opportunities of what I can and can't do on these properties that I already have. So I think, you know, things worked out for a reason. It was unfortunate loss, but, you know. We're moving in a really good direction now. So, yeah.


00:08:52 Matt Glen
When you were building the spec house, like at what point did you realize it might not work out well? Like it was like during construction and near the end or? No, it was near the end. Honestly.


00:09:00 Adam Galbraith
And it's a challenge I see with every fricking client. Cause when you're building for you, you're like, well, I want it to look good. I want it to be this. I want it to be that. But it's like, well, when you're the builder, you kind of have that mentality of like, well, this is what I would like. This is what, you know? And you're like, well, that's not the right mentality to move a product. And you kind of build into what is the general masses like. Not like, what do I want? I like dark moody colors and whatever. That's not what that was, but like that may not correlate with the market. So it's like, you kind of really need to be aligned with that. And I realized near the end when it had to get listed that it was like, okay, this isn't going to happen in this market and we're going to lose some money on it. And it was like, we had it listed at a higher rate and it was, it's a beautiful property. It has amazing lake views. It's heated floors everywhere, whatever, hardwood. Like it's a nice fricking house. I was proud of what we built, but it was like, It was a lesson that we learned, man, unfortunately.


00:09:55 Taylor Atkinson
So you're like no more spec homes. We're out of that completely. Or is there a lesson there that you're like, if the opportunity came back up, we'd get back into it and change? What's funny is I have a good friend,


00:10:03 Adam Galbraith
it and change? What's funny is I have a good friend, her name's Krista, and they have a bunch of properties. And she was like, oh, do you want to build one here? And you just pay me whatever. And I was like. fuck here we go again like i didn't shut it down immediately like i probably should have so i think you know it would have to be really thought out perfect market things heat up again really good location would i consider it maybe but i mean i think the key is like when your brand grows enough we have enough demand it's like why am i taking the risk of doing that like it just doesn't correlate to a good decision to me because it's like well I knew what happened last time and what if the market changes what if you know tariffs happen and it's just like why play that game I guess it's kind of it is such a funny thing like can we talk about that for a second so spec house just for listener right is essentially the builder developer is just building a house that they're gonna sell compared to generally like a client would contact you and say hey this is the piece of land that I want to build here's the home I want to build and like they've purchased that they're gonna


00:10:16 Taylor Atkinson
like i probably should have


00:10:34 Taylor Atkinson
just doesn't


00:10:45 Taylor Atkinson
of it is such a funny thing like can we talk about that for a second so spec house just for listener right is essentially the builder developer is just building a house that they're gonna sell compared to generally like a client would contact you and say hey this is the piece of land that I want to build here's the home I want to build and like they've purchased that they're gonna close on it obviously yeah the spec house is like you rolling the dice putting out a product hoping somebody's buying it isn't that just wild that like somebody's spending that much money to hope it's to hope you have the right buyer yeah totally it's a crazy challenge man i honestly think you know 15 years ago that was an easy market i do much easier than it is today where the land costs are down money was cheaper whatever like i think you could get away with a bit more and the other thing is


00:11:00 Adam Galbraith
home I want


00:11:03 Adam Galbraith
on it obviously


00:11:13 Matt Glen
hope you


00:11:13 Adam Galbraith
have the right buyer yeah totally it's a crazy challenge man i honestly think you know 15 years ago that was an easy market i do much easier than it is today where the land costs are down money was cheaper whatever like i think you could get away with a bit more and the other thing is I guess the thing that I really realized is when you're building in the 1 .5 to 2 range, there's so much market of that. And it's like that market is above the average person in spending. So it's a really hard market. And those people who have that much money are going, well, if I could spend 1 .8 or 1 .5 on this, but 1 .9 gets me exactly what I want, that could still be in their range. Because you know what I'm saying? So it's just, it's a really hard market to compete in. In a world where I think there could be values where you buy like, 50 acres and you're building $700 ,000 houses. And you're pumping it out to give people an opportunity to get into houses, like a 2 ,200 square foot house for the garage. That's the market. Like to build those other ones, it's too big of a risk because those people already have money. They can buy their own fucking land and then help you design what they actually want.


00:11:53 Taylor Atkinson
you know


00:12:18 Taylor Atkinson
So I think that's the gap. I was going to say like spec houses seem like a thing of the 90s, right? Where exactly that. You'd have a neighborhood and there'd be, you know. a hundred houses being built and everyone was okay that they were the same house because that's just what it was. Now everyone wants their own little unique.


00:12:24 Adam Galbraith
that.


00:12:34 Matt Glen
Well, the houses were way cheaper than two together. Like they're in range. You know, one income household working at the local like plant and like afford these houses easily. Now it's like even with two incomes, you still can't afford the stock houses, right? Adam is exactly right. Like that price range was the toughest hit because it's like at the top of like the middle class price range where they either can't afford it or it's like it's not nice enough for the people that are going to buy it with cash, right? So it's kind of like the hardest hit. Yeah, yeah. Yeah,


00:12:34 Taylor Atkinson
Well, the houses were way


00:12:58 Adam Galbraith
like the hardest hit. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I don't want to play that again, to be honest.


00:13:02 Taylor Atkinson
So you're obviously still building homes for people that want them doing renovations, but on the commercial side, so the multifamily property, what's going on there? Like obviously pretty tough decision just to walk away from it. But I feel that's where some of the most successful people are is like to know when to walk away.


00:13:14 Adam Galbraith
feel that's where some


00:13:18 Adam Galbraith
You got to, man. And it's funny, I learned it in a weird way. Like it wasn't like I planned it. And I'd say that's a lot of my career was that way where I'm like, oh, I got in with the designer and got a next job, next job. And it's like, this is a similar thing where it was like, okay, I lost on this, but doing a $30 million development, it's like, what if that doesn't go right? I'd lose everything. So it's like, okay, we're not taking that risk. It became an easy assessment after it was broken down. And now looking at rental rates and vacancies and everything, I'm extremely grateful that I lost money on the spec house. to be honest. Right. So it is what it is. But we've gotten into the commercial side of things, which I'm super, you know, grateful for. Again, a lot of these industries for us is like, you need a stepping stone. And what I mean by that is like, you know, I want to get in the three to 5 million market of building very custom, cool homes and up, but you don't get that until you build a $1 million, a couple of million dollars. You kind of got to play the game because nobody's going to come to you and go. hey, you've built seven houses and the most expensive one is two mil. Can you build my $11 million house? Nobody's doing that,


00:13:51 Taylor Atkinson
honest.


00:14:22 Matt Glen
right? Unless they're avid listeners to the pod. Yes, come on now, give me a call. But I mean,


00:14:25 Adam Galbraith
Yes, come on now, give me a call. But I mean, you know, like it's just, that's the game, right? And I think our quality and the things we've done and the foundations we've set up are going to go that way for us. I know they're,


00:14:28 Matt Glen
I mean,


00:14:36 Adam Galbraith
but it's like just playing that game. So, you know, to touch on commercial, we had a company who knew. about us and they gave us a really good chance and what's funny about that gym we're talking about obsidian athletic club is literally a year and a half ago to that day when i got the call from them i had a call a year prior and it was another guy building the exact same thing and it fell apart his name is jp he's a nice guy but we went and looked at properties we had this idea to do like co -punches saunas the whole package what obsidian is essentially obsidian's a little bit bigger and has more ducks in a row. But essentially that was the plan. And then I put a lot of time into that. Unfortunately, again, a lesson learned was that because the project was a substantial one that I wanted to be a part of, I ended up losing a lot of my time into it. And then it fell apart. And so I was like, okay, whatever. So then like a year later, I get the call from Greg and he's like, hey, we want you to build us a gym. And I was like, fucking sure you do. You know what I mean? Like, I was like, I'm not doing this again. You know what I mean? Like, here we go. And so he's like, no, no, like this place and this is what we do. And this was like right before Christmas. And I was like, I hope this is real because I'm into fitness. I play ball hockey. I play basketball. I go to the gym every day. I'm like, this is. a passion of mine so like to get to be involved in this it's above like just a another place for me it's like i'm gonna go to this gym after like this will be my gym so it's like it's such a cool thing to get to be a part of and then so once that process It started. It was like, boom. He's like, can you go check out this place? I'm like, it's the old Toys R Us. I'm going in here like, this is the gym. Look at the size of this place, dude. Like I was like, what? And then one thing led to the next. And then we got in on that project. And now it's a stepping stone because we've had other businesses who are watching our social media and our brand and go. oh, you guys are building this. Could you do this? Could you do that? And it's just like, you know, you got to be grateful for those opportunities because that's how you get in the door. We had an opportunity to help build like a major accounting firm and we didn't have any stepping stones. And because of that, they were like, no, like we won't work with you. So it's like, you know, you kind of got to give someone roll the dice on you and give you a chance and then show what you can do. And I think we've done a really good job at that.


00:15:58 Matt Glen
it's like it's


00:16:48 Matt Glen
Yeah. Also, like obviously Obsidian is like super high profile location. It looks amazing. Driving by there is like, Yeah, it's a shark building.


00:16:55 Taylor Atkinson
a shark building. It is very cool. Yeah, it's pretty cool as well for you to say that's a stepping stone. I'm sure like, you know, six, seven years ago in your career, you'd have been like, man, that would be like a feather in the cap. Like that's kind of the end result. And it's totally fun to see like businesses evolve that way. Good point, Taylor. Yeah.


00:17:05 Matt Glen
in the cap.


00:17:10 Adam Galbraith
way. Good point, Taylor. Yeah. Yeah, you know, what's funny to touch on that is like we are growing. A lot of it is like I'm trying to figure things out as we go like anyone else. And it's not like we have systems in place and we understand structure, but we want to improve. And these jobs have made us look at different angles on how to improve, whether that's engaging AI into our life, whether that's utilizing other systems, you know, implementing operating systems as an entrepreneur. Like these things are happening more and more to make us more efficient. And it helps us. take on these projects. And it makes me feel like this is why it's a stepping stone because this is like, there's more to come. And it feels like that, even just from getting to be involved in your guys's podcast, which is, I think is really great for me and you guys, but to then like the connections to other businesses now, because of this, you're like, holy, there's a lot here. There's a lot of opportunity. And I just feel like that's constantly growing with ARG and it's something I'm proud of for sure.


00:17:35 Taylor Atkinson
are happening


00:18:03 Matt Glen
Have you noticed any differences that stood out from between residential and commercial like TI build outs?


00:18:08 Adam Galbraith
Yes. And the biggest one, I think, and it's funny because I got to shout out to Aaron Davenport. He's our site super there. We brought Aaron in from Maple Reinders and he was a big commercial guy. And we knew we wanted to kind of have him a part of the team right from the beginning because it allowed us to go after these jobs. But I would say what I like about commercial more is there's no emotions. It's a business. The business generates a certain amount of income and its value is creating what you're creating because it knows it can generate more income. I just, what I like is it's more transactional. There's not as much emotional thought to like, I hate these floors or this cabinet package is fucked or whatever, because it's just transactional. And I think that's kind of a nice side of it, which I guess. It's kind of a pro and con. What I love about my job and being a part of ARG is these relationships, whether it's with you guys, designers, engineers, people in the industry. I create all these friends and cool relationships, including clients. There's less of that a bit in commercial. So there's a little bit of pros and cons to it. But I would say that's really the biggest difference, in my opinion. A lot of the processes are slightly different because of like fire regulations, city regulations, architectural differences, blah, blah, blah. But, you know, I think that's it. Yeah, nice.


00:19:22 Taylor Atkinson
For the residential side, what is your favorite part of it? Like I'm thinking when someone's doing a renovation or a build, you know, probably the first 5 % where like renderings are coming together, people are excited. And then the last 5 % when they can like get the keys. But, you know, the 90 % in the middle is super stressful. No one does a renovation and you're like, oh, congratulations. Like you must be so excited to spend the next 12 months of your life just like pulling your hair out. Yeah, totally.


00:19:44 Adam Galbraith
so excited


00:19:47 Adam Galbraith
hair out. Yeah, totally. So I would say, and this is something I'm proud of my wifey for doing is, will you set up guidelines for what clients can expect? And it's one is a document. It's about living through renovations. And it's going to be what's going to happen, what you're going to feel like, your frustrations. And ultimately, hey. we don't think you should live through this. That's always number one, depending on the size of this,


00:20:08 Matt Glen
of this, because it's going to disrupt your life. Don't forget how to add a how -to on how to wash dishes in a laundry sink. Yes,


00:20:15 Adam Galbraith
exactly. Oh, just your life's going to be, because 90 % of the time you're doing a kitchen. Yeah, exactly. It's just, it can be very challenging. Yeah. But my favorite part, honestly, is the people. I'm not the day -to -day on a site, right? So it's like, I love getting to create this image and this design with a client that really makes them happy of what we're going to build and what they're going to get to see.


00:20:19 Matt Glen
exactly.


00:20:29 Taylor Atkinson
love getting to


00:20:30 Adam Galbraith
create this image and this design with a client that really makes them happy of what we're going to build and what they're going to get to see. And then I love giving that to them. Like where they're like, oh, this was it. This was the design. You guys did that. To me, that's what I like. You know, everyone in our company would have to burn. perspectives on how they feel through that process. But to me, that's it is like completing the dream. They become really happy. They're generally super happy with our process. We get a good review and then they recommend us. And like, that's the, you know, the ultimate circle that you want to kind of keep going. But for me, that's it. I would say is the end, the next job. Yeah.


00:21:06 Taylor Atkinson
Nice. Yeah. Nice. Nice. Obviously you're quoting residential and commercial now. It's got to be pretty tough as like, we talked about this a bit last time, like cost plus fixed prices. Do you want to elaborate a little bit on that? And then how that kind of goes into the commercial side of things now, like how it's different there?


00:21:23 Adam Galbraith
Yeah. So it's not for us. We only operate on cost plus. And I've just really come to a standstill on that. Our brand is transparency. Our core values is communication, transparency, teamwork, blah, blah, blah. That's us. So to me, it's like. transparency is cost plus and that's our brand. And I just want to be built around that. And honestly, I feel like the goal is to just keep building my brand big enough that that margin will go up. It is what it is, but it's still transparent. And what that means is like in a commercial project, and even if you look at Obsidian as an example, we get an architectural package that comes in and then we tender it. We tender it with every single trade, multiple trades per trade. Then we do our own analysis of every submitted quote to make sure it's apples to apples. And then if it is, We compare the prices and why. And then not only that, there'll be times where I recommend someone who's hiring money, ultimately to save you money. Because I know that if they've quoted this for more and they understand the scope greater than the other, that means two things are happening. One is you're mitigating costs because you're going to try to backcharge and create additional income off of this. Or two, you don't understand the scope properly. Both of those are a problem for me. It's amazing when you get like, I had two fire companies, suppression companies, their quotes are like identical.


00:22:34 Taylor Atkinson
identical.


00:22:34 Adam Galbraith
You're like, yes. Because it's like, they understood, we're good, pick who you want. But when you get a drive -out code, one's 280 and one's 490, you're like, what the fuck? How do you explain that to anyone? You're like, what's happening here? So then you've got to dig in. And this is where you've got to love AI, dude. I'm going, okay, assess these contracts based off these architectural plans. Tell me the difference between this one and that one and what they're missing out of the scope. Two seconds. I'm like, okay. And then I verify, okay, we're good. And then I can go to the client and say, hey, this is why this is that and whatever. So, but again, that's the process for us is essentially like we quote everything 100 % transparent. Here's three quotes from every single person that's doing any work on your job. And here's their numbers. Nothing hidden. This is the numbers. This is your project. We're going to manage it super effectively and give you a great product and be responsible for it. And this is the cost. Like the concept of just this idea of like. you know, say Obsidian or any commercial, like I just got to throw in a ballpark number with a risk mitigation percentage in there.


00:23:30 Matt Glen
How high is that number going to be? Yeah, yeah. You know what I'm saying? Like that's almost like just building a spec house.


00:23:32 Adam Galbraith
what I'm saying? Like that's almost like just building a spec house. Like, well, let's see what that number should be this time. And go, hopefully it works. Like, you know, like I just don't like that. And it's off brand. So that's how we operate.


00:23:38 Matt Glen
go, hopefully


00:23:44 Matt Glen
Yeah, good point. I guess it does make sense with a fixed price. Never thought of it like that. Where is it kind of intrinsically a winner and a loser there? Like, you know, you're making too much money or the client's paying too much money.


00:23:53 Adam Galbraith
Yeah. And to me, I think transparent is like, it's totally like a team. And a big thing is in commercial, we don't charge any markup percentage on our labor or our superintendent management. So like we're not inflated by if the project goes longer or if it costs more, I don't care. Like we want to be as transparent and fair with that as possible. There is always going to be labor for the GC to do, whether it's missed backing, missed scope, cutting concrete, whatever. There's a ton of things that get missed within scopes and that's super common. And obviously you want to try to account for the best that you can to give realistic pricing. But if you're doing a set cost number, what's my number to cover my butt and make my percentage? Is it 15? Is it 30?


00:24:21 Taylor Atkinson
of things


00:24:36 Adam Galbraith
And when you get to those jobs, that could be a huge number. So it's like,


00:24:39 Matt Glen
it's like,


00:24:40 Adam Galbraith
I don't know, why don't we just all just be transparent and be fair to both sides by looking at the margins? Well,


00:24:46 Taylor Atkinson
it probably causes a ton of friction in the conversations too with clients of like, oh, well, you know, for a fixed price, like this is the tile that we... you know, budgeted for. Now you want to spend an extra four bucks a foot on the tile. And then it's like, oh, well, we're over budget. Well, we're not over budget. You changed the design.


00:24:55 Adam Galbraith
for. Now


00:25:00 Adam Galbraith
Well, we're not over budget. You changed the design. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. I agree. And that's why it's our approach. And I'm not in any hurry to change it. It is what it is. For the multifamily that you walked away from,


00:25:09 Taylor Atkinson
that you walked away from, did you own that land? Like, are you still developing there then? That's the plan in the future.


00:25:15 Adam Galbraith
the plan in the future. Yes. Yeah. So we have... A couple options. I'm not going to talk about that on here today just because I don't know where it's at. But I do have some pretty lucrative ideas that are kind of ready to go for it and I'm working on them privately. We'll see what happens. I don't want to tell you guys in case I fuck it up again.


00:25:35 Matt Glen
I don't want to be on here in a row going, well, fuck, here we are again. You're like, but goddamn am I smart. There's a big accountability piece here,


00:25:35 Adam Galbraith
to be on here in


00:25:42 Taylor Atkinson
There's a big accountability piece here, hey? If you say something on here, we'll hold it. And then, I mean, obviously, yeah, when we spoke last time, it was kind of the Rose Valley fire. You know, you were doing a lot of rebuilds there and, you know, dealing with insurance. Clearly this summer we had, you know, a pretty major fire in Summerland. Vernon. Yeah. And Vernon. So obviously more residential builds. Are you now being contacted like from insurance companies? Is that kind of the road it goes?


00:25:49 Adam Galbraith
then, I mean,


00:26:10 Adam Galbraith
Yeah. It's funny how that's kind of happened because it's like you kind of just create yourself in this industry, whether you try to or not. But like that has for sure been what's happened. I've made a bunch of good friends in that industry from adjusters to like large loss people. And because of that, now with our brand and our reputation and those fires, people are like, hey, are you interested in these two? So super grateful. for that i think we're currently connected to like 20 plus out there that are like look like they're going to be happening the fire game is a little bit challenging because you still got a battle insurance and that's part of our job and maybe i you know i've got really involved in that with clients to try to save the money i started actually our own little podcast to explain to clients of summerland of vernon about what people who've lost their home have went through and what the process is like and they can see some of that on one of our pages social pages but it's like They're just explaining like, hey, like this isn't a fast process. You really need to have your ducks in a row. Insurance is going to challenge you and you're going to have to fight and you're going to have to understand that they're going to try to not cover you for some things. And, you know, it's going to be a bit of a battle and a process. And it's been good to get different people's perspectives on it. Ironically, I had a client who I don't know if I should say this, but I'm going to because that's who I am, is I had a client who worked with Greenspan and I posted her video because I was like, hey, like you should. tell me what happened and your thoughts and your whatever about how it went with Greenspan. And allegedly, it didn't go well with her and that company. So what happened was I posted a video of her and just her telling her story. Two days later, I had the legal department of Greenspan threatening to sue me because I shared her story. And I think that says enough about everything. And that's about as far as I'll take this in this meeting. I just said, you know, okay, we'll take it down. I'm not going to battle this billion dollar corporation over this, but it was just her story. It was her perspective of what she went through. And so recently I've just did another one for a client named Dawn and Gail, similar thing. They went through their process and I think it was cooperative. They just explained their story. So I think that's been super helpful and it is something that I'm currently involved in. I've got a cool kid named Josh that I recently met and his house was the Carrington home. It was from 1906. And it was built out of like concrete. It's a freaking cool place. It burnt down, but like the whole structure is standing. There's nothing left. But like the concrete structure is standing. I'm helping him through his process of like, here's what they're going to do. Here's their battle. Here's how they're going to, you know, things they're going to go after. I'm a sucker for that because I naturally want to help these people. Like, yeah, I want to build your house. Obviously, that's my job. But I'm like, I don't want you to get fucked over. And it's like just trying to, you know, engage people with what insurance tactics kind of are. You need to fight to tell them what you had and fight for the value of it. Did you make a YouTube video or where did you release that video?


00:28:32 Matt Glen
like the


00:28:58 Matt Glen
a YouTube video or where did you release that video? Yeah, so we did a podcast.


00:28:59 Adam Galbraith
Yeah, so we did a podcast. It is YouTube video. I think there's clips and snips of it. We have a YouTube channel now. I just learned this. So we're getting YouTube channel. But yeah, they're posting those videos on there and you can see them. The recent one with Dawn and Gail. I have another client that I'm trying to convince to do it. His name is Sonny and his house burnt down in a regular fire. And really my whole point is your fucking house can burn down. Like it is a thing. So like, do your diligence,


00:29:16 Matt Glen
Sonny and


00:29:25 Matt Glen
your diligence,


00:29:25 Adam Galbraith
your diligence,


00:29:25 Matt Glen
understand your policies because it can screw up your life so bad. Is there common mistakes? Like you obviously come in and help people after when they're dealing with their claim, but like, do you have advice for people before the fire? Yeah,


00:29:36 Adam Galbraith
that's exactly it. So annually you should do a video of your entire house and all your shit. These are my watches. This is my clothes. These are my TVs. This is my handrail. Like, just do a video of your house. It'll take you five minutes. Open your drawers, open your shit, and just show your property. Because if you lose your stuff, you have now a log of this is evidence of what I have. Cool thing is you put that video in AI, it'll type out all your shit, and you go, here you go. This is what I lost. That's one is documentate your world.


00:30:03 Taylor Atkinson
your world.


00:30:04 Adam Galbraith
Big one is if you do a reno, update it, update your insurance policy. Cause I know a guy who didn't do that. He did his whole reno himself. And they were like, well, you have no evidence that you did this other than photos. So it was like, okay. And they kind of battled him on what was going to be cover. So like if you do any major rentals, any major additions, update your insurance, tell them what you've done and why. And then ultimately really dig into your policies. Like are your own buildings included? Is your pool included? What are the exclusions that they're trying to get out of? Like, do you have overland? There's just a lot. And to this day, I think insurance needs to change in Canada to the where you need to be held liable for how you insure me. This is my house. This is what I paid for. This is my property. This is the projected value or the goal that I paid for. I need to be insured for that. Like if I paid 1 .2 million for a house,


00:30:45 Matt Glen
This is my property.


00:30:51 Matt Glen
paid 1


00:30:51 Adam Galbraith
.2 million for a house, I need to be insured for $1 .2 million minimum, right? And whereas like I bought a house a while ago that they were like, insured me for like 800 ,000. We're like 400 ,000 under the gun from day one. How's that possible? Because the person's just trying to push a policy to me. And I'm lucky that I do what I do and could understand that and assess it and was like, I'm willing to pay more. Please insure me properly, right?


00:30:56 Matt Glen
right? And


00:31:16 Adam Galbraith
So it's kind of funny how like insurance, the definition of it,


00:31:16 Taylor Atkinson
of funny how like insurance, the definition of it, like it seems like there's way more liability in policies right now than like you should be 100 % comfortable, like not have to worry about a thing, but it's kind of like erring on the opposite side.


00:31:29 Matt Glen
Taylor, from a lender, like obviously you're a great person to ask for this, but going to get a mortgage, how much of the details do they care? They just want to have some kind of insurance on there. Like what do they care about? Yeah,


00:31:39 Taylor Atkinson
so it does stay like on commitment letter and then the instructions that are sent to the lawyer. So it kind of gets pawned off to the lawyer, which honestly is not kind of the best process because it's a little late in the game. But the solicitor needs to confirm that, you know, the insurance binder provided. So that's generally when the insurance agent will send it over to the lawyer and make sure the loss payee is the lender. Really, the lender just wants to make sure that they're going to be paid out the full mortgage amount, you know, before. anything else of proceeds going to the client. So there should be something more there. And to your point, Adam, like walking through with the video, I love that. And it's funny because my commercial building, like I just, you know, went through the insurance there and the insurance company, this is the first time that's ever happened to me on any of my buildings. They emailed and said, Hey, here's a link, you know, click, download this app, walk through, take a photo of this area, this area, this area, this area, answer these questions. And I'm like, wow, I've owned. buildings for a long time. And I think this one's eight years is the first time that anyone's ever asked for that. And I'm like, why would this not be part of your like annual, even on the residential side? Like, like you said, the owner shouldn't be put on the homeowner. It should just be like, Hey, click this link, take these photos. Boom. Then everyone's like, that's a good idea.


00:32:31 Adam Galbraith
these questions.


00:32:40 Adam Galbraith
I'm like,


00:32:45 Adam Galbraith
you said,


00:32:52 Adam Galbraith
that's a good idea. I like that. Yeah. I don't understand why they're not doing it right on your end. When it goes to the lawyer, are they assessing that it's adequately insured? You know what I mean? Or is it just like, oh, this is a value. Okay. They're not assessing like the replacement costs and, you know,


00:33:05 Taylor Atkinson
assessing like the replacement costs and, you know, liability or anything like that. They're really just assessing that there's an insurance binder in place that the lender would then be paid out. Like the lender, I don't want to say they don't care if like the homeowner is going to have a house to rebuild in the future. They just want to make sure they're going to be paid out their debt that's owed to them.


00:33:20 Matt Glen
just want


00:33:24 Matt Glen
It's funny when we got evacuated in 2023, I went, ran through my house with the camera filming everything and like, Just like you do it in such haste, you're like, by definition, it comes at you fast. You're not expecting to be doing this. So like you do this and then like my wife and I watched the video like a few months later and like it is just straight comedy, man. Like what I got.


00:33:35 Adam Galbraith
doing this. So like you


00:33:43 Adam Galbraith
Kind of a glimpse into your mindset in those like crazy few minutes.


00:33:44 Matt Glen
glimpse into your mindset in those like crazy few minutes. Yeah, so I would recommend doing it when you're not at like a 12 out of 10 stress level. No, yeah, exactly. Yeah. I mean, I'm thinking like when I renew my car insurance or like take a photo of your odometer.


00:33:46 Adam Galbraith
like crazy


00:33:53 Taylor Atkinson
I mean, I'm thinking like when I renew my car insurance or like take a photo of your odometer. How is this not in place on residential homes yet? For something that's insured for way more. Yeah. It's wild. What are we doing? Totally.


00:34:02 Adam Galbraith
Yeah.


00:34:04 Matt Glen
Odometer, they just care because of the kilometers, right? If you're under, you get a discount or something.


00:34:09 Taylor Atkinson
Yeah. Yeah. But again, like it's a very simple process to just be like, boom, take a one minute video. And like, yeah, it's logged. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Well. I kind of want to change gears a little bit. You have a lot going on. You're juggling a ton. It seemed like you're really investing in ARG and being an entrepreneur and being in the community. What drives you? What's your reason? Why? Because you are pulled in a ton of different directions managing a very fast -growing company, which is awesome.


00:34:15 Adam Galbraith
yeah, it's logged. Yeah.


00:34:36 Adam Galbraith
Yeah, I would say a few different things. Naturally, I think there's a level of it. I'm ADHD as fuck. My brain doesn't stop thinking about stuff. Like I just like, it's who I am and it's a skillset that I'm learning to embrace and I've learned to embrace as I've gotten older. And it's just, I don't have kids and I'm not planning on having kids. I have a great partner and we just are very similar into like the mindset of the company. And so honestly, I would have to thank her for embracing me to allow me to be the way that I am because it doesn't stop. It's like on the phone, emails, texts, calls. What's the next thing? You know, Saturdays I work almost all the time and she embraces that and really supports it. And then I guess, I mean, I don't know, like a lot of my company are my friends. Like Dan's my best friend. I grew up with him for a long time. He's my business partner. Yeah, I guess really the truth is I love my job. Like I don't feel like I'm worried. Like I'm talking to two buddies right now. This isn't a fucking job. Like, you know what I mean? Like, it's like, I just like my job. I never feel like I'm. working i just am doing what i'm passionate about is and it happens to be growing this company and so whether that's like i'm pursuing some development opportunities whether that i'm trying to get the next big commercial project or developing us systems in my company I just see so much value in what I'm doing right now and that it's actually working. And so it gives me a sense of pride to be a part of it, I guess. Like that's how I could answer it. The people on my team, I want them to do well too. And as we start to grow, I can offer them more and give them more. And I think that's a big part of the drive, I would say.


00:36:11 Taylor Atkinson
I love it. Yeah. I think we're all similar in terms of like, I get more energy, like the more motivated and more productive I am like, you know, ticking stuff off on a list and like, I'm like, I feel accomplished. And it just like gives me that extra boost where if like, you're kind of like take your foot off and you're a bit lazy, I'm kind of like the energy drains a bit. Yeah. I agree with that. I love that, man. So obviously, you know, we're partnering up. So people are going to hear more from you in the future, but if people want to reach out, whether it's a home renovation or commercial projects, like. how can they best find you? Your Instagram's always blown up, but yeah. So obviously Instagram's a big one that we get a lot of attention on,


00:36:30 Adam Galbraith
with that. I


00:36:44 Adam Galbraith
obviously Instagram's a big one that we get a lot of attention on, but I would say the easiest way is like our website, airgyhomes .ca is the best way to connect with us. There's a thing that you can go in there and it'll ask you about projects or whatever you want to do. You can fill that out. Obviously you can call our office, which is online to communicate with us that way. That's the best way. And you're coming out with a like time -lapse of the commercial project day for the gym. Yes, I'm super excited about that. Yeah. So there is time lapse of the entire process of that happening. I've really embraced the different ways to engage with social media. And it's like growing in my head. As we said, I'd never stop thinking. But that was one where I was like, I'm going to put a time lapse in there and watch. Like when that project started, I figured out that there was a plumbing problem there. My team did. And we ended up having to like excavate down inside of there with an excavator like 12 feet down. and have like shoring boxes and doing all this plumbing work in there so you can see like from that moment of like the equipment going in there dirt piles slowly coming up slowly going down to framing starting to go up to drywall coming down like it's going to be a really cool video to share and i'm like i want to do one in one of the bathrooms to show the finishes like from how it gets drywall to waterproof to tiled to all the finishes, the gym going in. And it's going to be cool. It's just another thing to kind of engage with social media from a different perspective. But it's really funny because when that all started, I remember Dan was like, yeah, we got to do social media. You got to do TikTok. I was like, get the fuck out of here. That dude? Like, I was like, there's no way, dude. And then so it was like, he battled me forever being like, you got to do this. He's like, it's got to be you. And then. And we embrace it. And now it's something that's becoming good. And that's why I think the cool tie -in is, as my brand grows, I want to support commercial businesses that I work with.


00:38:28 Matt Glen
So if I'm building something, I'm going to support them and try to give away something or do something to help theirs brand and then help them grow and vice versa and continue that goal.


00:38:28 Adam Galbraith
if I'm building something, I'm going to support them and try to give away something or do something to help theirs brand and then help them grow and vice versa and continue that goal. That's how I look at it.


00:38:39 Matt Glen
That's kind of the same way with me when I like place a tenant or like get somewhere leased out. It's like, man, like we can do it on the pod and on social media and stuff. Like push it out, dude. So definitely use what we have and get it out there. So I agree with that totally.


00:38:52 Adam Galbraith
And then it can work for everyone, right? That's the whole goal. If any of us are working together, I want you to do well. Like I want Jim to do well. I want you to do well. And then it'll go great and we can do another one or whatever. But the goal is everyone needs to succeed in any partnership that we're doing. Exactly.


00:39:07 Matt Glen
It's also great content and fun to do, but people care about it. People want to know. Driving by Obsidian City, they want to know the details. What's funny is the amount of stuff,


00:39:16 Adam Galbraith
What's funny is the amount of stuff, dude, that we get about Obsidian is crazy. We've had people call my office and be like, hey, is Obsidian hiring? And I'm like, what? What? We're not Obsidian, dude. Like, hey, when's the gym opening? Hey, can I get a membership? What are the memberships? I'm like, dude, we're not Obsidian. Like, what are you talking about? One guy stopped Dan and was like, hey, man, like, what's going on? When's Obsidian? He's like, I've never even been to that project, dude. He's like, I don't know anything about it. It's just hilarious. Like, how much engagement we get. People will just stop in and, like, poke their heads and, like, hey, like, how close are we? And you're just like, it's cool, man. It's cool that, like, fitness is a big thing in Kelowna, I feel like. it's like a big brand kind of concept out here where I think they're going to do exceptionally well just because of, of that. It's like, that's kind of the way life is going now where people are a lot more like less smoking and drinking and going towards like having muscle and being physically fit is a cool thing. Being healthy is fun and good for you and your brain's going to work better. Those are good things. Right. So yeah, no doubt. That's awesome, man.


00:39:30 Taylor Atkinson
can I get a membership? What are the memberships? I'm like, dude, we're not Obsidian.


00:39:51 Matt Glen
like,


00:40:17 Taylor Atkinson
That's awesome, man. Okay. We'll let you go. Enjoy the, uh, Enjoy the rest of the day.


00:40:21 Adam Galbraith
the rest of the day. And thank you. Yeah. Thanks for having me. Thanks for letting me be a part of this with you guys. And I'm excited to watch your other episode too.


00:40:27 Matt Glen
Yeah, we're excited, dude. It's a great partnership for us. Thank you so much. I'm very excited to get this going. We'll talk soon. Have a good day, guys. You too.