Blog posts in Get to know us.

With warmer weather well on its way, it’s time to start planning those weekend getaways. Trips to the lake, barbeques on the beach, freshwater fishing and exploring the great outdoors are hallmarks of summer in Alberta. Now imagine a whole season of fun in the sun without having to pack up the car and fight weekend traffic out of the city. This blissful fantasy is actually reality for homeowners at Calgary’s Community Of The Year (212, 213 & 214!)

We love being a part of this family focused community that’s set on a picturesque southern hillside in Airdrie. HillCrest is close to excellent schools, shopping and amenities, and offers easy highway access for trips to the city, airport and Cross Iron Mills mall. You’re also spoiled for choice when it comes to recreational pursuits. There’s a host of parks and pathways to explore, as well as the Woodside Golf Club and expansive Genesis Place recreation centre with pools, fitness centre and outdoor track.

Giving back to the communities we build in is extremely important at Excel. Our most recent project was building the Boys and Girls Club of Cochrane & Area (BGCCA) a brand new kitchen and bathroom. It took five days, 1 volunteers and over 2, hours of labour. The result? Some of the brightest and most appreciative smiles we’ve ever seen.

Good things come to those who wait, unless we’re talking about one of Excel’s quick possession homes. Then the waiting game is officially over! Throughout the years we've built a series of brand new spec homes. This means that instead of waiting the standard six to nine months for new construction, you can be in your home within 3 – 9 days. And a speedy move-in date isn’t the only benefit you’ll enjoy with a new Excel spec home:

At Excel Homes, we are so excited to have built our 1^st home. Along with the 29 million combined man hours to build all these homes, the weight of Calgary’s Bow Tower in concrete, and a lot of teamwork, we have been able to make more than 10,000 homeowner’s dreams come true. In celebrating our 26^th anniversary, we found some cool and interesting facts about what it really takes to build 10,000 homes. Check it out!

Our company has been very fortunate to have tremendous support from our friends, our homeowners and our community. In order to celebrate our 26^th year and building our 1^st home, we sat down in June and started brainstorming how we could give back to those who have supported us throughout the years. As we began hearing the stories of the Excel Homes families, we found out that the 1^st homeowner, Barrett Budgell had an inspirational story we knew had to be told. We decided to surprise Barrett and his family in a very special way.

We think of Excel’s Warranty Team as our homeowner advocate. They are responsible for conducting a quality control inspection on each home. This means that they walk through every completed house with a detailed list to ensure that the home is move-in ready. Our team reviews everything from a customer’s perspective – always asking the question ‘would I be satisfied if this were my home?’ Once the answer to that question is ‘YES’ homeowners receive a possession package which includes a key-handoff, homeowner orientation date and two pre-booked warranty appointments for four and eleven months post-possession. All new-home warranty information is also included in the package.

2013 marks Excel’s 25th year of building homes for families in and around Calgary. A major milestone like this provides an opportunity to take stock of what we’ve accomplished so far.