Our Process

Select a number below to skip ahead to the section you need.

Kickstart Your Custom Home Journey. If you don’t own land, begin by seeking the assistance of a seasoned Realtor. Prior to diving into home design, gain a comprehensive understanding of site constraints. Take the critical step of securing your lot with a firm purchase contract. Along the way, collect crucial details including a current survey, topography data, zoning information, and utility plans.

Should your Realtor encounter challenges in pinpointing specific features, like septic field locations in relation to the water well, don’t hesitate to engage a civil engineer at an earlier stage. If they lack proficiency in green building methods, feel free to reach out to us for expert guidance.

We collaborate with you to craft a computer-generated floor plan for your customized home. Together, we choose the major components you want included. If you can envision it, we’ll strive to design and build it within your budget. Unlike many other small builders that limit your choices, we offer a wide range of options. To get started, consider using one of our in-house plans or provide us with a link to plans you find online (excluding ePlans.com or similar providers, as they’re primarily intended for on-site construction). While we can adapt ‘stick-built’ plans to modular, this may result in more expensive work-ups with additional charges. If the design process exceeds three sketch plans and preliminary drawings, we’ll arrange a fee schedule for extended customization. Please fill out our Project Information form for further details.

Once this collaborative planning phase is completed and you’ve approved the preliminary design, we will request a Preliminary Drawings fee. The AutoCAD drawings are converted into Adobe PDF line drawings, which become your property upon payment. At this point, we’ll provide you with a house foundation plan required by your civil engineer to precisely position your house on your lot (Step 3), as well as a house construction budget for the lender (Step 4).

At this pivotal stage, it’s imperative to engage the services of a licensed professional civil engineer or surveyor who will actively design a site plan, also known as a grading plan, for your house and lot. This professional will determine what can be constructed on your property, ensuring compliance with local regulations. While we can recommend an excellent firm, you also have the option to conduct your own search. The site plan is a comprehensive document containing vital information crucial for both land development and house construction phases of your project. Notably, it’s a prerequisite for securing a site work permit and building permit from the relevant local authority. Furthermore, the engineer will identify any unusual site conditions or utility issues that require attention.

Involve the lender at this stage. Armed with your lot cost, budget house cost, and an understanding of site conditions and utilities, it’s time to engage the lender. They will likely seek our input and assurances on construction issues and tailor a funding schedule for house construction. It’s crucial to note that our Systems Building (modular components) process has unique requirements that must be incorporated into the loan structure. The end result will be a written, non-contingent construction/permanent mortgage loan commitment (contract) between you and the lender. Your home project must meet this requirement to advance to the next step.

With your lot, site plan, Preliminary Drawings, and financing or construction-to-permanent mortgage in place, you’re now ready to dive into the detailed Permit Sets. This phase initiates the design, drafting, and structural engineering required to create the final architectural plans and specifications for your home. It all begins with the Preliminary Drawings we completed in Step 2. These initial plans are handed off to engineers and draftsmen who generate the first draft of your comprehensive structural house plans. The process runs efficiently because they work from the preliminary design you’ve approved as a starting point and use known components (Modular or Systems Building). We thoroughly review their work and your house specifications, making any necessary revisions until we arrive at a final set of plans and specifications that meet your approval. Typically, this process only requires a couple of iterations due to our use of known components, resulting in a final set of large-scale Permit Sets that become your property.

With the detailed construction plans and specifications now complete, we’re excited to provide you with a fixed price to construct your home. We’ll gather cost data from our systems subcontractors and tradesmen over approximately two weeks and present you with a written cost proposal. It’s essential to review this proposal with your lender for their input and potential adjustments to your commitment, which was originally based on our preliminary house budget. If everything aligns to your satisfaction, we’ll proceed to execute a firm Contract Of Sale. This step concludes the planning stages outlined above and signals the commencement of the construction process.

It’s time to actively engage in the process at a deeper level as the homeowner. Your responsibilities include securing approvals from local and state authorities for land development, securing rights for driveway access to a state road, arranging necessary easements and service agreements for utility connections, obtaining approval for well and septic system plans (or sewer and water system tie-ins), and gaining municipal approvals for site and building plans, leading to the issuance of your building permit.

Your level of involvement can vary, and we can connect you with reliable contractors and professionals to assist where needed. While it may initially appear complex, the agencies and utilities you’ll work with are generally quite helpful to individual homeowners navigating the process. Ultimately, you’ll gain valuable insights about your property and home, becoming an expert in your own right. We strongly recommend an active role in this process, even if you opt to delegate certain tasks to others.

Before we can initiate construction on your home, your lot must undergo various essential improvements, the extent of which can vary from a few days’ work to a significant project. This encompasses tasks such as demolishing existing structures, land clearing, grading, soil import or export, well installation, septic system or sewer and water laterals installation, rock blasting, electric, gas, and telephone setup to a temporary pedestal near the house, and establishing road and driveway access for heavy vehicles. Your level of involvement in these land development tasks can be tailored to your preferences. We can introduce you to experienced contractors or manage certain aspects of the work on your behalf with payment facilitated directly by the lender. Based on our experience, an informed and active owner tends to yield greater long-term satisfaction.

Now, it’s time for you to step back and allow us to take the lead in the main event. Our Contract Of Sale (Step 6) provides us and our team access to your home site for this phase. Once the land development (Step 8) is complete, we’ll establish a construction entrance from the access road to your house site. Weather permitting, we’ll commence excavation for your foundation. As the foundation walls take shape, our goal is to finalize our portion of your home construction within 90 days, with a shorter timeline if using ModularDirect.

At critical junctures, our work will undergo inspections, either by municipal inspectors or licensed engineers. We can furnish you with their reports upon request. If you decide to bring in contractors for additional improvements like a pool or sauna, we’ll collaborate with you to ensure seamless integration. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by the speed and efficiency of our modular construction process, and your home will be completed before you know it.

After completing our work, a formal inspection and acceptance process will be conducted, involving both your assessment and the lender’s inspectors. Any identified deficiencies, if they arise, will be swiftly addressed. Whether the acceptance process includes municipal inspections may depend on your intentions to involve additional contractors under the same permit. And that’s a wrap! Your construction loan transitions into a permanent loan, and you’re ready to move into your new home. Welcome home!