General Questions for Consumer Users:
What is Truehome™?
A fun, insightful journey to your ideal home: The Exercises
and organizational tools in six ascending “Steps” combine neuroscience, architecture,
and lifestyle analysis to enable you to identify, organize, prioritize, and communicate
every detail of your perfect living space.
Truehome helps you figure out your destination before you begin your journey to
a home that is tailored to who you are, how you live, and what you love.
We do that by collecting the unique details and circumstances of your lifestyle,
your tastes, your goals and values, your finances, your architectural preferences
- - and more - - and then organize them in a way that helps you and the Professionals
you work with identify and create a home that is tailored to you.
Home Ergonomics: A scientific term for what Truehome offers
is “home ergonomics.” It’s a systematic method for creating a home that fits you,
your housemates, your goals, values, lifestyle and budget.
The data that Truehome collects can be used by consumers to inform their own decisions
about any type of home project.
Why is Truehome different?
Your Home Is An Eco-system: Truehome is breakthrough technology
unlike anything else on the Internet. It looks at your home life the same way an
ecologist looks at an eco-system. Truehome’s holistic approach was developed over
a decade in an award-winning architecture firm. It was field tested by real clients
working with a team of architects and therapists designing real projects.
Create a Healing Home: Truehome also shows you how to
use your home to improve your wellbeing and quality of life by using your home and
its décor as a tool to reduce stress, improve relationships and empower your goals
and values. It’s like nothing else you’ve ever seen.
Does Truehome work with all types of home projects?
Yes! Whether you are buying, building, designing or redecorating, we’ve got the
product that is right for you. Truehome has value even if all you want to do is
fantasize about a future home or understand your relationship with your current
home.
Products for Buying a Home: Our
Going Home Editions
focus on simpler projects, like buying a home. In fact,
Buyer’s Basic
and
Buyer’s Deluxe
are specifically designed to collect data that informs home buyers and real estate
Professionals so they can make smart decisions about buying a home that fits.
Products for Remodeling and Building: Our
Major Projects and Lifestyle Editions
are for more complex projects like remodeling, or designing and building a custom
home. Each Step of the Truehome journey builds on the one before it. The further
you go, the more accurate and complete your Results section becomes.
When I have completed all Truehome Products, will I have a house plan?
No. But you will have the “criteria”, or the basic building blocks,
for a house plan: Using Truehome to develop an actual house plan is currently
beyond the reach of computer technology. There are plenty of software applications
that can be used by both consumers and Professionals to take the data collected
by Truehome technology and apply it to the creation of a house plan. But collecting
reliable “human factors” information (as Truehome does), and then asking a computer
program to use that information and automatically create a fitting house plan is
much more complicated, for a number of reasons:
-
First, because there is an art to designing a quality home and tasteful décor.
-
Second, because creating a home involves emotional and subconscious needs, not just
conscious and practical ones. For now, the human brain is a much more effective
machine for applying the kind of data we collect to a design. So you must either
do it yourself, or find a Truehome Professional to help you do it.
So if Truehome can’t draw a house plan for me, why should I use it?
A Holistic Approach to Creating a Home: In normal architectural
practice, the process of developing the criteria for a design is called “programming.”
What Truehome does is combine all the traditional practices architects use to program
such design criteria with a variety of techniques that map the “eco-system” of your
life. That includes how you feel, what you love, how you live, what your goals and
values are, your budget and many other factors.
We call all these details “building blocks.” Once you have identified all your “building
blocks”, it is much easier to make good decisions about your project, and then to
communicate effectively with the Professionals who will help bring your ideas to
life.
A Truehome is a Home That Fits Your Life: Truehome also
helps you understand how to translate emotional and subconscious patterns into useful
data about your living space. Even without specialized training, consumers of both
genders can make good use of Truehome data.
Professionals Can Take Truehome to Another Level: It is
also true that those trained and experienced in the intuitive art of designing a
home are more likely to use such data at a higher level. Assuming they trust their
clients’ responses. licensed architects and interior designers are more likely to
be able to deliver the “experience of home” with greater accuracy using Truehome
data than is a person who has less experience,
Likewise, a trained therapist is more likely to be useful in helping a homeowner
avoid blind spots in his or her reactions, or to help a client tailor living space
to enhance wellbeing, than is someone who has less expertise.
Your Are the Expert on Your Life: Despite these facts,
we strongly recommend you trust your own feelings about your home. Professionals
will likely know a lot more about “how to” create a home, but YOU are the expert
on how you feel and how you live. Never forget that and make sure the Professionals
you work with remember it too. Truehome gives you the tools to help you do this.
How can Truehome save me time and money?
Be Sure Before You Buy or Build: It’s simple. You can’t
make effective decisions about any type of home project if you don’t truly know
what you want and need.
Most of us assume we know the answer to those questions, but in reality, almost
everyone has blind spots when it comes to making such decisions. Every day, about
95% of the work your brain does is subconscious, which means you are making choices
you are not really aware of making.
Many are good decisions based on the human genius for making intuitive choices,
or based on “emotional intelligence”. But sadly, many of those choices are based
not on current circumstances, but rather on past experience or temperament. That
can lead to some very bad choices.
This is the primary reason so many expensive and unnecessary mistakes are made by
people who are buying homes, or taking on home improvement or home building projects.
Avoid Costly Mistakes: Home improvement is the number
one source of consumer complaints in America. One of the primary reasons this is
true is that most consumers assume they know what they want and need, but in important
ways they really don’t know what will make them feel at home. That is partly due
to a misunderstanding about what a “home” really is.
A House Does Not Make a Home: A home is not the house
itself. “Home” is a suite of emotional experiences. It is how we feel in a living
space. It’s just like the old saying, “a house does not make a home.” What Truehome
does is help you identify all the details, both practical and emotional, that are
important to creating a house that fits your unique criteria for “home.”
This allows you to make good value and priority decisions about the multitude of
factors that must be considered when you take on changing your living space. And
that helps save you both money and time.
Manage Your Budget and Your Project Effectively: Managing
a project budget can be the most difficult and stressful aspect of making a change
in your living space. Truehome products include nine distinct Exercises that deal
with budget, project management and Professional relationships.
The only way to manage your time and money effectively is to know a great deal about
your desires and priorities before you begin your project so you can prioritize
them based on their relative value. That’s one part of what Truehome is designed
to do.
Do you share my personal information with others?
Because Nidiant and Truehome are committed to protecting your personal information,
we have joined TRUSTe, a widely recognized Web Privacy Seal Program. TRUSTe is an
independent, non-profit organization whose mission is to build users' trust and
confidence in the Internet by promoting the use of fair information practices. As
a condition of our license with TRUSTe, we have agreed to tell you about what we
do with the information you give us, to let you know when we change what we are
doing, and to have our privacy practices reviewed by TRUSTe to determine compliance
with their extensive set of privacy standards.
TRUSTe also provides Truehome.net users with
a way to resolve any privacy concerns that you feel we haven’t adequately addressed
after you’ve brought them to our attention. TRUSTe has a complaint process that
you can access, and TRUSTe will then serve as a liaison with us to resolve your
concerns.
Please Read Our Privacy Policy. In general, we do not
share your private information with anyone except in a few specific circumstances
(detailed in our Privacy Policy), and then (except as detailed in our Privacy Policy)
only with your express permission.
Professional Matching Service: In the Fall of 2007, we
will launch our
Professional Matching Service. It identifies home Professionals
who might be compatible with the needs you’ve identified in your Exercises. When
that service is available, your neighborhood real estate agent, architect, interior
designer or life coach can view your Results if you choose to use this handy free
tool. But we only allow that with your express permission.
A limited version of this service is available free during our Beta period. If you
request it, our website allows a Professional you authorize to view your Results
through a separate Professional’s Dashboard.
Free Promotion Codes: The second circumstance in which
you might authorize a Professional to view your test Results would be if you are
using a Promotion Code provided by a Truehome Professional. Real estate Professionals,
architects, interior designers, mental health Professionals and others who opt to
become Truehome Professionals can take advantage of a variety of programs that allow
them to give their clients or prospects “free passes” to specific Truehome products.
During our Beta launch, for instance, any licensed
real estate Professional
can apply for a Promotion Code that allows him or her to give clients and prospects
an unlimited number of “free passes” to Truehome’s basic real estate product,Buyer's Basic. They can even use that Promotion Code
in their advertising.
Your Privacy Is Important To Us. Beyond those two situations,
and except as otherwise outlined in the Truehome Privacy Policy, we do not share
your private information without your permission. We depend on your trust - - and
since we ask a lot of personal questions in order to help you discover your Truehome
, our general approach is not to disclose your personal information to anyone unless
you instruct us to do so.
Please read our
Privacy Policy. You will discover that your privacy
is one of our key concerns.
How can I get a free trial?
Just Sign Up: Simply go to any web page and click any
of the boxes that show the door opening to a cloud-filled sky. Or, you can go directly
to the Products page. All of our products are listed there, both those that are
currently available during our Beta period, and those that will be available soon.
During our Beta period only, we are offering anyone who visits our website the chance
to experience Truehome by trying out our Introduction and FREE TRIAL without cost
or obligation!
Simply sign up for the product and you will be sent to your My Exercises page, where
you will see that
Going Home
has been bought and is ready for you to begin. Click the “Begin” button and your
journey to your Truehome will get underway.
How much time does it take to do the Exercises?
All of our products are very thorough and require some time to complete. After all,
your life is not simple, nor is your brain, and we are collecting detailed data
about both. That is why all our products allow you to logout in the middle of a
test and resume later at your convenience when you have more time.
Truehome products are effective tools for a busy lifestyle, but we refuse to compromise
the quality of our testing, and that means you should allow some time to complete
each product, particularly our higher level products.
After all, decisions about buying, remodeling, designing, building or redecorating
your home can be some of the most significant financial choices of your life. At
Truehome, we take that seriously and urge you to, as well.
Is there a way to make the Exercises take less time?
Yes, but frankly, we do not recommend you use it.
A New Way to Create a Home: As we’ve said, Truehome technology
is not just a new piece of software, but also an entirely new approach to creating
a home. So by necessity, all our products are in part instructional. That means
there are many informational pages that help you gain a deeper understanding of
our process and how to get the most out of the Exercises.
You Can Skip Most Tutorial Slides: We understand that
some of our users may not be interested in these deeper aspects of our products
and will simply want to get on with the core Exercises. For that reason, in each
product, you are given a choice to either do the “Full Version with Tutorials” or
the “Basic Version” with only the minimum instructions and the questions themselves.
We strongly suggest that you choose the Full Version. After all, if you find it
to be more than you bargained for and don’t want to read all the information provided,
you can simply skip through all the slides that do not interest you. But, as with
everything about Truehome, it’s ultimately up to you to decide!
Must I answer every question for my Results to be accurate?
That depends upon the type of question that you’re referring to - - because over
the course of the Exercises we ask you several different kinds of questions.
Multiple Choice Questions: If the question is a multiple
choice question, the answer is YES. In fact, you must answer each multiple choice
question to be able to proceed to the next question in an exercise.
Some multiple choice questions require only one answer, while others ask you to
select “EVERY” answer that applies to your situation. In all cases, you must provide
the number of answers that are required by that question to proceed to the next
one. Read each multiple choice question carefully!
Slide Shows and Range Questions - Move the Slide Show
Bar Only If You Feel Something: Many of our questions, including all of our slide
shows, use a “slide bar” to record your response. You are instructed in many of
these Exercises only to answer if you have a significant emotional response to the
image that you’re shown. That means you should not choose an image in that case
(i.e., don’t “answer the question”) unless you either really like it, or really
dislike it. In those types of Exercises, which include all of our slide shows, we
are measuring emotional response. If you do not feel an emotional response, you
should NOT move the slide bar. In that case, a neutral response is recorded, which
is also useful data.
Skip Images You Don’t Care About: You can skip the image
or the question if you don’t feel strongly one way or the other about the information
that is collected, or about the image. So if, for instance, you are looking at a
slide show with images of bathrooms, and you come to an image you don’t care about,
you do not have to wait the ten seconds that are allowed by the timer. Just skip
ahead to the next image and it won’t compromise the quality of your Results.
Text Responses: In some questions, you are provided a
text field so you can answer a question in your own words. Some of these questions
require answers. Some do not. Just follow the instructions.
Use Full Sentences: In all cases you are asked to use
full sentences in your text responses because what is returned to you in your assessment
Results are the exact words you use. So if all you write is “My living room…” instead
of “My living room is where my family gathers in the evenings”, you can see that
your response would be less useful to you later.
Prioritization Questions: There are also questions that
combine multiple choice answers and a prioritization field. So you might have twenty
possible reasons why you want to change your living space, and you are instructed
to choose the top five and to prioritize them. Needless to say, if you do not prioritize
those choices, your assessment report will not accurately represent your true priorities.
Numeric Answer Questions: In our later products, you will
be asked to provide numerical answers in order to fill in a variety of spreadsheets,
financial planning tools, and dimensioning lists for sizing furnishings, appliances
or rooms. Obviously, if you do not enter the information needed in the proper fields,
these tools will not work effectively. But we do not force you to use those tools.
If you wish to skip them, you can.
Read and Follow Directions: In all cases, a “Directions”
slide will precede any slide that introduces a new type of question. So just make
a practice of reading all instructions pages carefully and following directions.
Can I change my answer after I move to the next slide?
No. You can change your answer before you hit the
button on most question types, but you cannot return after you hit the
button and change your answer. We have learned that your first response is usually
the most accurate.
Is Truehome related to Feng Shui?
Not really. Truehome is a science-based process. It is
informed by neuroscience, systems science, environmental psychology, attachment
theory and architectural programming. The ancient practice of Feng Shui is grounded
primarily in mysticism.
Compatible Methods: However, the two methods are compatible
in several ways. Both use your home to focus your attention on creating a better
life, and both seek environmental relationships that impact or enhance goals, values
and emotions.
We feel that Truehome can be used by Feng Shui practitioners to good effect with
their clients. We also think that Feng Shui is a viable alternative view that offers
value to home owners who are ideologically aligned with its underlying principles.
Truehome Is Not “One Size Fits All”: Truehome differs
from Feng Shui in that our Exercises and Results are user-specific. In other words,
the details of “home” that it helps you discover are specific to each individual
and each family. They are not “one size fits all.”
How do I view the Results of my Exercises?
After you sign up and begin your first exercise, you will notice a link on the top
of each test page that says “Stop Test and Resume Later”. If you click that link
at any time, you will be taken to your Profile area. That area consists of six pages
and a logout link. All of those pages include links to your two assessment areas
– My Results and My Pictures.
After you have signed up, you can login anytime to My Exercises and check your Results
from there.
My Exercises: The first page you will see is My Exercises,
which shows you the status of your current account. You can buy a product on My
Exercises, or continue an exercise in a product you have already bought, or click
the Results button to see the Results of Exercises in a product you have already
completed.
My Results: From My Exercises you can click through to
My Results. My Results offers written reports, based on the answers you gave in
your Exercises, on fourteen different aspects of your life in terms of how they
relate to your project. Each area is displayed by clicking a tab on the left side
of the page. When you click that tab, the Results that apply to that aspect, or
“domain”, appear in the field to the right of the tabs. These fourteen “domains”
in the tabbed areas are:
My Past
My Lifestyle
My Architecture
My Project
My Neighborhood
My Outdoor Areas
My Money
My Rooms
My Feelings
My Goals and Values
My Relationships
My Healing Home
My Future
Each tabbed report can be printed from inside its assessment field.
Our test results are produced in real time, so if you visit My Results in the middle
of the test, you will see the results your testing has produced to that point. Our
products are like the layers of an onion. As you take each new Step on your journey
to your Truehome, all previous test results are re-assessed. This means that your
Results become increasingly more accurate and complete the further you go on your
journey.
My Pictures: My Pictures proves that “one picture is worth
a thousand words.” This section of your Results is also controlled by tabs. It shows
you thumbnail views of each image you selected that you either loved or hated, along
with the specific reasons for your reactions immediately beside each image.
The My Pictures tabs include all of the different slide shows, which increase with
each level of Truehome up to. Truehome Elite, our highest level product. The tabs
are shown here in the order they appear in our various products:
My Activities
Dream Spaces
Neighborhoods
My Exterior Style
My Living Areas
Kitchen-Dining
My Baths
My Bedrooms
Other Rooms (All other room types)
My Storage
My Details (Architectural details)
My Porches (Includes other exterior living spaces)
My Landscape
My World Tour
Goals and Values
Healing Home
Pop-Up Image Screen: If you click an image, a pop-up window
appears that shows a larger version of that image and your answers. It also allows
you to print the image if you like.
Beta Period DesignPro Special Offers: During our Beta
period, you will see that if an image came from the portfolio of a Truehome architecture
or interior design firm, then it will display a link to the website of that design
firm. Not all images used in our slide shows come from design firms but many do,
so if you see something you like, you can go right to the website of the designer.
Sign Up To Be a Truehome Pro: When we move past our Beta
period and our
Professional Matching Service
comes online, we will begin matching our users with compatible design firms, and
that link will become a paid service of Truehome. But during our Beta period, if
you have a friend or colleague who is a licensed residential architect or interior
designer who might want to share images from their portfolios with us, please ask
them to contact us at
customer support. We apply a
review process to the images we accept, and not all images are accepted. The images
and the quality of the design must be of high quality, and the content of the image
must be useful in our testing tools.
How do I use My Results and My Pictures to inform my project?
Easy and Intuitive: For the most part, how you use My
Pictures and My Results will be obvious once you look at them. The main thing you
need is the confidence to trust your own intuition. You use the tabs that relate
to various aspects of your home - or how you will use your home - to help you understand
and prioritize your needs in that area of your living space. You can also share
that information with Professionals so they can help you accomplish your goals.
A Broad Variety of Analytics: There are many ways you
can use Truehome Results that might not readily be apparent. Our Tutorial on the
top navigation bar will give you insights into how to use our higher levels. Truehome
Tutorials will grow and build in the months after our Beta launch. There are many
sophisticated ways Truehome data can be used.
Past History With Architecture Clients: Truehome has been
tested in the field for over eight years. During that time clients found that the
frequency with which they selected images determined their ideal architectural style.
Example: A client couple said they “loved” twenty pictures
of the front façade of homes. Eight or nine of these images represented a Colonial
architectural style, while all the others were grouped in style sets of only two
or three each. So we learned that this couple would respond best to Colonial architecture.
Then, we evaluated the “non-Colonial” images in terms of specific details rather
than overall style.
In our higher-level products, this “mapping” is done automatically. In our lower-level
products, a human being must do it.
Repeating Patterns of Response: Emotional associations
about the environment tend to appear in repeating patterns.
In other words, if you select many pictures related to a certain living area, and
you notice you are picking several that include similar architectural details or
arrangements – for instance a dining room table in front of big windows with a view
– you should consider that an important emotional association. That detail should
be included in your design or in the house you buy because you have demonstrated
that arrangement is subconsciously compatible with your emotional self.
You are much more likely to “feel at home” with that architectural arrangement.
Old emotional environmental associations from childhood very often do not change
over a lifetime, though more recent associative memory is more likely to change
as you grow and develop.
Emotional or Value Based Goals: These same types of patterns
also appear in terms of emotional goals for rooms or other living spaces. If you
choose “welcome” as the central emotional goal for your entry area, your architecture
will be different than if you pick “surprise” or “safety”. Our brains often associate
different types of architectural details, room arrangements, details of décor, style,
furnishings, fabrics, textures and other features with certain emotions that arise
from past experience. When you find a “pattern” that repeatedly makes you feel a
way you want to feel, make sure to include it in the criteria for that particular
area in your home.
Direct Response Reporting: Most of the data in your Results
area will be what we call “direct response” data. In other words, we are organizing,
and in some cases rephrasing, information you have directly given us.
Algorithm or Query Based Trend Analysis: In our higher
level products, a much more complex trend analysis is added to direct response reporting.
We can look at the entire data set of your responses over all the Exercises you
have done and provide information about trends in your response. This level of analysis
offers many unexpected and unpredictable benefits. So again, the further you go
on your journey to your Truehome, the more accurate and complete your Results become.
Finally, there is an art to using Truehome. Some people are better at seeing patterns
than others, and some people are more readily able to translate a pattern of response
into a useful and practical architectural condition.
How do I find a real estate agent, an architect, interior designer, life coach or
builder through Truehome?
Professional Matching Service Coming Soon: Our
Professional Matching Service
will not be fully operational at our Beta launch, but that does not mean you cannot
share your Results with Professionals. In fact, it’s easy to do.
Invite a Pro to View Your Results: At the top of your
My Exercises, My Results and My Pictures pages are obvious e-mail links that allow
you to send an invitation to as many Professionals as you wish asking them to sign
up as Truehome Professionals so that they can view your Results.
Free Trials for Truehome Professionals: If they are active
licensed real estate Professionals, architects, interior designers or mental health
Professionals, they can apply for a free trial period without cost or obligation.
After they sign up, and with your permission, they will be able to view your Results.
Free Gifts From Pros: You can send such requests to as
many Professionals as you like unless you use a Promotion Code from a specific Truehome
Pro. In that case, since you are being given a free pass to
Buyer's Basic
by the participating Professional, your Results may only be viewed by that Professional.
When will your Professional Matching Service be available?
Our Current Estimate is in the Spring of 2008: There are
a variety of uncertainties regarding the launch of this functionality on the Truehome
website, but our goal is to launch our
Professional Matching Service
in the Winter of 2008. Consumers can sign up now to be notified when it is available
by e-mailing
customer support. Please place
“Matching Service” on the subject line.
Professionals Can Sign Up Now: Qualified Professionals
may sign up now to join the Truehome team. There is no cost to a Professional to
do so. After we launch our Matching Service, when a Truehome Pro accepts one of
our highly pre-qualified, consumer requested sales leads, a referral fee must be
paid to Truehome.
However, unlike other such matching services, both Professionals and Consumers are
tested to assure their compatibility. We only place clients with Professionals who
match their needs as expressed in their Exercises and Results. Likewise, we do not
place Professionals with clients that do not match their business objectives and
skill sets.
Questions About the Website:
Do All Web Browsers Work With Truehome?
Most Of Them Do: Most of the browsers commonly used on
the Internet will display Truehome properly, though variations in appearance may
occur. Older versions that are no longer supported, like Internet Explorer for Mac
computers, may cause errors to occur, but such issues are rare. If you do have problems
or concerns with your Truehome experience, please contact us at
customer support.
Known Error With Safari Browser: The Safari browser for
Mac computers causes the slide bar used in our slide show Exercises to function
improperly. Instead of sliding smoothly left and right, it only moves if you click
the location on the slide bar with the cursor of your mouse. In that case, the slide
bar will move to your chosen location. However, in Safari only, the bar WILL NOT
SLIDE.
Are you fully up and running right now?
Not All Products Available: Truehome is currently in its
Beta Launch period. Only two of our six products are available. Those products are
fully functional. But our remaining four products are not yet available.
The Full Power of Our Analysis is Not Fully Implemented:
Our software has extremely powerful trend analysis capabilities that will not be
fully implemented until our more complex products are launched. The two products
that are currently available,
Going Home
and
Buyer's Basic, will be somewhat improved in their assessment
capabilities at that time, but the greatest impact of our higher level assessment
functionality will be on our
Major Projects and Lifestyle Editions .
When will the rest of your products be available?
Products To Be Launched One at a Time: We expect our entire
product line to be available no later than Spring 2008. You can register to be notified
of each product’s launch date. There are some “early buy” and
Special Offers
available to Truehome Professionals for licensing our full suite of products before
they are fully online.
Professional Matching Service Launching Soon: Our goal
is to launch our
Professional Matching Service
during the Winter of 2008. However, REALTORS®, architects, interior designers, mental
health professionals, builders and general contractors can all register early and
be first in line when that portion of our site is fully functional.
Unlike Other Referral Services: Our
Professional Matching Service
is not like other such services on the web. Both Professionals and consumers are
tested to determine their goals, values and objectives; and then matched with one
another based on a broad variety of compatibility values.
That way, consumers do not waste time with Professionals who do not meet their needs,
and Professionals do not waste time and money pursuing opportunities that do not
meet their business and Professional objectives.
Free to Consumers: Truehome Professionals will pay a fee
for any of the highly relevant targeted sales leads they accept, but our
Professional Matching Service
is FREE to consumers.
What Other Types of Functionality Do You Have Planned?
Our next four products will offer all kinds of features you can read about on our
Products pages or in the Learn Section of our website.
After that…let’s just say we have a lot of exciting new surprises in our bag of
tricks that will allow our users to communicate with one another about their dream
homes.
Think “Web II.” For now, we will leave it at that.
What is the Architecture of Life blog?
The Architecture of Life
blog is the personal blog of our founder and CEO. The discussion is focused on the
home…but that is not the only subject discussed. As you might suspect, he doesn’t
see home as merely a building where you hang your clothes. He talks about "home"
in all its forms - as a potential project, as an investment, as an eco-system designed
to fit its inhabitants, as a personal claim to territory, as an expression of self,
and as adaptive evolutionary strategy that is used by many animals on this planet.
He also looks deeply into the idea that a “home” is first and foremost an emotional
experience.
The blog is Christopher K. Travis’ personal project and its content does not directly
represent the opinions of Nidiant Corporation. Nor is the purpose of the Architecture
of Life blog to promote Truehome directly. It is a lively discussion by
our CEO’s of his life and thoughts over the decade during which Truehome technology
was developed. Be forewarned, Christopher K. Travis is also a satirist, so not everything
on the blog can be taken at face value. If you want to do some deep thinking about
your living space - and goodness know what else - then he invites your to join the
discussion.
Questions for Professionals:
How do I become a Truehome Professional?
Just
Sign Up: Click
Professionals
on the top navigation bar, then select the type of Professional you are. Or click
any “Signup to be a Truehome Professional” link and go right to the Pro signup page.
A Real Person Will Contact You: A Truehome representative
will contact you within a reasonable period by e-mail or by phone depending on your
preferences. You can ask all the questions you want. We will not pressure you. We
only want to work with Pros who want and need our technology.
Be Sure We Can Reach You: If you use e-mail blockers or
other e-mail security procedures in your business, you should give us a contact
phone number in case we can’t get past your e-mail security system. We do not spam
our customers or anyone else. We only send out e-mails to people who have expressed
an interest in our technology or products and given us permission to approach them.
Who can be a Truehome Professional?
Real Estate Professionals: Any licensed
real estate Professional
in good standing. You must be licensed in a state in the United States. You can
be a broker or an agent. You will have to verify that you hold an active license.
We do not require that you be a member of the National Association of REALTORS®,
but we prefer that you are. See the
real estate Professional
section of our website for more information.
A Licensed Architect or Representative of an Architecture Firm:
We work predominantly with residential architecture firms, but any licensed
architect in good standing qualifies. You can also sign up as the representative
of a firm. In that case, you would need to demonstrate your right to do that by
providing the license number of the architect of record at your firm. We do verify
that your firm has given you this right.
You do not have to be a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) to
qualify, but we prefer that you are. Please visit the
DesignPro
section of our website for more information.
An Interior Designer or Feng Shui Practitioner: You must
prove that you are a Professional in good standing. Members of A.S.I.D. are given
preference in some markets. Membership in recognized Professional organizations
is preferred. Please visit the
DesignPro
section of our website for more information.
A Builder or General Contractor: Quality builders or general
contractors, particularly high end custom builders or remodeling contractors, can
also become Truehome Professionals, but generally not as licensed providers due
to our focus on developing design criteria for Professionals.
However, Truehome is a source of highly qualified referrals for builders and general
contractors. We seek partners for our
DesignPro
and
REALTOR
members, other Professional partners and consumer users. And in rural markets or
other areas in which there are limited licensed architects, or if the builder is
a Design/Build general contractor, we do consider exceptions for full services.
You must have a creditable background and a good reputation for service to your
clients. We prefer you to be a member of a national organization such as NAHB, NBRO,
NARI, GBI, NAWIC, AGC, ABC or like organization. We do verify that you use good
business practices with your clients.
Our standards are high. Not all applications are accepted. But if you are interested
in becoming a
Truehome Professional, register as a Builder or Contractor
when you sign up or e-mail us at
customer support.
Is Truehome a form of therapy?
No! Truehome products are not meant as therapeutic tools
for
Mental Health Professionals
in private practice. They are designed to inform healthy individuals capable of
making good decisions about their lives and financial circumstances. However, due
to their nature, our products can be used by therapists and Life Coaches with various
types of credentials, based on their professional judgment, to help people make
good decisions about their homes.
Mental Health Professionals: Truehome is committed to
the idea that trained mental health Professionals can, and should, team up with
trained design Professionals to create homes that fit all aspects of the experience
of being human, and homes that consider the holistic features of a family system.
Truehome technology is also currently being tested with larger groups - like religious
organizations - that share common values and want to design places of worship, work,
or service that match their goals and values.
Therapists Team Up With Architects and Interior Designers:
During the first round research phase of Truehome products, trained mental health
Professionals joined with members of the architecture firm that was the Beta test
site, to collaborate as team members on multiple projects during the programming
stage of the design. We saw first-hand that this combined suite of skills and training
provided the design team a breakthrough ability to serve design clients in a wide
variety of settings, and particularly in the creation of a fitting home.
Truehome is not actively marketing to
Mental Health Professionals
during its Beta launch due to an overabundance of caution about the wellbeing of
its users during its early development. However, inquiries are welcome. For more
information about this rapidly developing approach to the creation of homes, contact
customer support.
How do real estate pros get a free Promotion Code for Buyer’s Basic?
Just Sign Up: During our Beta period, any licensed
real estate Professional
in good standing can apply for a Promotion Code that they can give to their clients
or prospects. This Code that gives those customers, or potential customers, a FREE
PASS to Buyer’s Basic, our entry level real estate product.
Truehome Will Contact You: Because we must verify your
credentials before issuing your Promotion Code, a Truehome representative must contact
you. Please provide full contact information including telephone number. If you
are not contacted within five days, e-mail us at
customer support.
See our
real estate Professional
section for more information.
How do architects and interior designers sign up for a free trial?
Just Sign Up: During our Beta period, any licensed architect
or interior designer, or a firm in good standing, can apply for a FREE Promotion
Code for 30 days so that they can use any of the products available on the site
when they sign up.
Truehome Will Contact You: Because we must verify your
credentials before issuing your Promotion Code, a Truehome representative must contact
you. Please provide full contact information including telephone number. If you
are not contacted within five days, e-mail us at
customer support.
Special OffersAvailable to Early Adopters: Because
the products that are most useful to
design Professionals
are the four products that will not yet be available at our Beta launch, we offer
several special offers for early adopters. All of these offers have very specific
terms and conditions, and are qualified by those terms.
- Share images from your portfolio and get free links to your website for 90 days!
- You can buy an annual license early at a discounted price and not start your
license period until all six products are available!
- Multi-license larger firms can negotiate deeply discounted package licenses.
- Referral packages can be rolled into annual licenses.
See our
DesignPro
section for more information.
Can your software be used to support a volume builder or national real estate operation?
Yes, but only on a negotiated basis: Our software application
is not industry specific. It can be applied to any industry that is interested in
collecting detailed consumer/environment information about customer preferences
We chose to apply the technology initially to residential real estate, design and
construction simply because of the founders’ background in building and architecture.
The software that powers the Truehome.net website can be customized to create specialized
data collection interfaces that allow volume builders, national real estate companies,
and other industries to create specialized interfaces on their own websites; with
these, they can collect customer criteria in an automated fashion that can be converted
to both market analysis, and design specifications.
In other words, we can build a web-based system that helps you find out exactly
what your clients want, and then customize that data so it fits into your current
building, selling or marketing systems.
Limited Capability: Nidiant Corporation, the owner of
the Truehome.net website, is an emerging technology start-up company, and such applications
are not its main focus. Nidiant has limited infrastructure for such installations
and in order to maintain the quality of its performance and the integrity of its
main business, these services are quite limited.
For more information, e-mail
customer support
or contact our CEO at chris.travis@nidiant.com.
Do you accept advertising on your website?
No Traditional Advertising: We do not accept traditional
Internet advertising because we think it is not consistent with our mission to provide
our users with objective and unbiased information about their homes. In essence,
we consider such advertising a conflict of interest.
Banner Images May Be “Rented”: However, we do offer one
type of advertising exclusively
for design Professionals. The top banners on many (but
not all) of our public web pages can display portfolio images from design firms
with a watermark link to the website of the participating firm. Only registered
Truehome
Professionals
are eligible to have their images considered for this purpose. All images must be
of the highest quality and formatted to fit the available space. There is a setup
charge. All quoted rates are short term. For more information, contact
sales.
Future Advertising Opportunities Planned: Truehome plans
to roll out a pay-per-click functionality for specific types of home-related products
in a format much like our slide shows. These product groups will likely be similar
to our current slide shows of room types, but may also include products such as
appliances, home furnishings, floor coverings, cabinets, millworks and other high
end components. This program is currently under development and is not available
at this time.
Questions About My Truehome Account:
I forgot my password. How do I log into my account?
Go to the
login screen
and click the "Forgot Password" link. You will be prompted for your username. Your
password will be reset and emailed to you.
I forgot my username. How do I log into my account?
Email
customer support
and tell us your first and last name. We will reset your password and it will be
emailed to you at the e-mail address with which you registered.
What if my email changed and I cannot get my new password?
Email
customer support. Include as
much information as you can think of to prove you are who you say you are. For example,
tell us
- Your First and Last name
- Your Username
- The email address associated with the account
- The email address you want to use
- Your address
- Your phone number
- Which products you bought
- Your answers to questions in the Exercise
- How you were referred to us
- The name of your Professional, if you have one
- When you signed up
- When you last signed in
- When you last changed your password
- The Promotion Code you used to register (if any)
Once your identity is confirmed, we will change the email address on your account
and send your new password to that email address.
If we are unsure of your identity, we will err on the side of protecting our users’
privacy; we do not want unauthorized individuals viewing our clients’ private information.
How do I change my personal account information?
Login
to your account after you have signed up; then click My Account to update your information.
How do I change my email address?
Login
to your account, and then click My Account to update your information.
What types of payment do you accept?
- Visa
- MasterCard
- Discover
- American Express
Payments by Professionals: Annual license fees for Professionals, advertising
payments, and certain types of Professional referral fees may also be paid by company
check or wire transfer when arranged in advance. To make such arrangements, e-mail
sales
or visit with your Truehome representative.
How do I report an error or a problem with the website?
If an automatic error screen pops up while you are taking a test or are logged into
the site, please report the error using that screen. If a technical problem occurs,
e-mail
tech support
and provide as much detail as possible. If you have any other issue, contact
customer support.
Do your guarantee your products?
Yes! We want
you to be absolutely satisfied with your Truehome Experience. Yes! We guarantee
not only our products but your experience. If you feel for any reason that a product
you buy from us was unsatisfactory for any reason, simply contact us by e-mail at:
customer support. We will be
happy to give you a Promotion Code that gives you a “free pass” to do that product
over again.
If your concerns cannot be resolved by that action, then we will refund the purchase
price of the product you purchased - no questions asked. However, our 100% guarantee
requires that you make your refund request in the following manner.
- Your request for refund will be accepted no sooner than 15 days after your purchase.
We want a chance to see if we can solve your concerns and still keep you as a customer,
and we need a little time to do that.
- We cannot offer refunds for requests that occur more than 90 days after your purchase.
- On your refund request, please include your name, your Truehome user name, a phone
number at which we can contact you, and a clear explanation about why you want a
refund. If we have not pleased you, we would like to know why so we can try to improve
our products or service.
- We reserve the right either to credit your bank card, or to mail a check, depending
on our policy at the time you make your request. We will provide your refund within
60 days of your refund request.
- If you are not a U. S. resident, depending on your country of origin, we may require
more than 60 days to deliver your refund, depending on the method of delivery selected
For more information about the Truehome Satisfaction Guarantee, go to
http://www.truehome.net/guarantee.aspx and follow the directions on that
page.