A Conversation With … Michele Boswell

You’ve started a new venture called PunchList Professionals. What is it?
We are a new handyman, home repair (and) renovation company. Wayne Morelock has been in the building industry for 30-plus years. He really had this vision for breaking into this field of home repair and remodeling because there’s a real need. Wayne’s the president and owner. We function on our own, but we’re really a division of Morelock [Builders & Associates Inc.] A lot of people who have had to try and get things fixed or repaired, it can sometimes be a frustrating process or it can be a process where maybe you have a list of five or six things you need fixed around your house and you don’t know who to call about them. Our business model is really that we’re set up to knock out your entire punch list. We have very good skilled labor guys who work for us full time, six full-time employees, and we have access to people who work on the builder’s side. I bridge that gap between helping understand what a customer really is wanting or needing done and helping get the right people there to take care of it.

We’re sitting in a home you’re remodeling in east Springfield. What other projects are you working on?
(The owner) had several areas in it where he wanted to change the look. It originally had a large island in it, but it was very outdated and the cabinetry was pretty rough. We replaced all of that. We replaced what was a built-in pantry, created a whole new wall. We have projects like that where somebody either has been in their home for 15 years or buying a new home and they want to change something up about it. We have a commercial remodel that we’re working on right now – it’s 600 W. College St. – where the tenant is renting and they want to personalize it and make it really fulfill what they’re wanting to do for their clients. We’ve got an apartment complex that is a remodel that we’re working on – Forrest Heights Apartments.

Is interest in remodeling growing?
With how the housing market is right now, a lot of people are selling their homes or buying new homes and they want to update it. Or maybe they want to get a home-equity loan and update the home they’re in. And then I think, of course, with stations like HGTV, people see lots of do-it-yourself projects. Some people want to have those things done but don’t want to tackle it themselves.

What are the most common home repair or update projects?
Kitchens and baths are the top two things that people want to remodel. We also have a real appeal in the market to Realtors for when they have an inspection that comes back and they need to quickly get things fixed. That’s where our ability to knock out several different things and manage that works to our benefit (as) an asset to the Realtor and to their client.

What are the design trends clients gravitate toward?
A lot of white and a lot of open design. A lot of people love older homes, but older homes tend to be chopped up a lot more and people want open space. They like that kind of open concept of a newer home but kind of the feel in the neighborhood of the older home. In kitchens and bathrooms, really clean looks, whites and grays and things that just are clean and simpler.

How many projects have you completed?
We’ve done probably 25 projects. We are constantly going in and looking at people’s homes and things they want to accomplish and putting together estimates and then trying to help them work through the remodel process.

Michele Boswell can be reached at michele@koyourpunchlist.com.