Frequently Asked Questions
How long have you been in business?
I went to school for construction in High School, Left construction to work on the floor of the New York Stock exchange for five years, Worked in Manhattan doing rehabilitation of buildings until I got into real estate in 1992, and came back to construction in 2006. I've been building multi-family buildings and single-family homes since then.
How many homes have you built within the last ten years?
I've rehabbed a handful of homes and built 44 ground-up single-family homes. We are currently building 4 homes, with 11 more to do.
How much of this project do you take on as our builder?
We are involved with the project from the moment of its inception including design and all the way through the finish punch list and beyond.
Do you provide assistance with suppliers?
Absolutely! We have relationships with suppliers and discounts that we pass on to our buyers.
What’s included in the price? What are the standard finishes and what are the upgrade items? What isn’t included and what may come up?
Design falls into the category of “pre-construction”; this is part of the initial concept design of the house. Permitting is included in the construction budget. We are not like other builders; we don't have standard finishes and upgrades. Everything we do is carefully itemized as part of the budget. If something changes along the way it's not treated any differently than an item that's been in the budget since the beginning.
How do we ensure that you will not exceed our budget??
The agreement between us (the construction manager) and you (the homeowner/customer) is a very transparent and open-book model. There are only two ways the budget can change.
1. If you as the homeowner/customer decide to change it.
2. An extraordinary situation arises that we have no control over, similar to what happened to material prices during COVID.
What differentiates you from other builders?
There are a lot of things that differentiate us from other builders. To start with we have excellent communication and scheduling processes. We take full advantage of technology in order to keep the homeowner/customer involved at every step of the scheduling and building process.
We have relationships with an extensive network of suppliers who have access to a wide range of materials and brands as well as subcontractors who provide the finest craftsmanship.
Every home comes with a full 2-10 warranty and guarantee.
Our payment arrangement is unlike anyone else, we operate under a cost-plus, open-book, highly transparent construction management contract.
We are serious business people with extensive financial savvy and profound design and building experience.
What makes you unique in your process?
What makes us unique is our core values. We care about our relationship. We have empathy, ethics, fairness, gratitude, hard work, integrity, love, loyalty, and passion for everything we do!
Do you use quality subcontractors?
We have relationships with a multitude of subcontractors. Each and every one of our subcontractors understands their responsibility is to perform at the best practice level. Some have earned the title of Master Craftsman.
How long have you worked with these subcontractors?
We have long-term relationships with almost all of our subcontractors - some as many as 20 years.
Who will be taking care of my project?
Every custom build will have a project executive, project coordinator, and project manager, as well as a bookkeeper assigned to it. This is known as the project team.
What roles will they be playing in the process?
The project executive leads the team and coordinates between the designers, suppliers, subcontractors, and project manager. The project manager oversees the schedule. They are responsible for ordering and scheduling material and supply deliveries and managing the project coordinator and the bookkeeper. The bookkeeper works with the project executive to manage the budget and finances.
Can I show your construction project to my lawyer prior to signing?
Yes. As a matter of fact, we require a call between our project executive and your attorney in order to clarify any questions about the contract.
Do you have references from prior homebuyers?
Yes. We have good references and reviews from prior home buyers
Do you have completed homes I can view?
Yes. We can make arrangements for you to meet one of our homeowners and see their home.
Are you licensed and insured?
We are a licensed and insured home builder in the state of New Jersey.
We have licensed and insured subcontractors.
Each project will have its own property and liability insurance policies.
What’s your warranty and how do you handle issues?
Each new home comes with a 2-10 homeowners' warranty. This warranty provides for one year on everything in the home, two years on mechanical, and ten years on structural. We have an excellent track record for having very few callbacks but when we do come across an issue we address it quickly and efficiently.
Do you provide assistance for selecting home finishes?
The selection process is an integral part of the design and planning of a new home. We work very closely with the homeowner to make selections and document everything as part of an addendum to the contract.
What’s your communication style and how accessible are you to answer my concerns?
We subscribe to a web-based program called “Builder Trend” which provides an app on your phone that gives everyone the ability to communicate clearly and continuously. This technology allows us to quickly address concerns at any step of the process. The homeowner, the project executive, project manager, and each subcontractor are subscribed to the program and communicate the project's progress using photos and written updates on a regular basis.
What’s the timeframe for building a home and how do we make sure we won’t exceed it?
Each custom build has its own time frame depending on the breadth of the project. A schedule is created that details the amount of time required for each phase of the construction and expectations are managed carefully.
Can you provide me with detailed specifications and costs?
As part of the planning process a budget, schedule, selections, and specifications are all provided and documented.
Is home building your only profession?
Homebuilding is our profession and our specialty.
How do you know you can trust the builder?
Print out a copy of our How to Hire a Builder document to get a better idea of the steps you should take before you make a decision. When you complete this process you will know if you can trust the builder that you choose.