You have found the perfect property for your dream home and now you just need to match it with the perfect builder to turn your vision into reality. Where to begin the search? First, it’s important to understand that building a custom home is not a transaction: it’s a relationship and a commitment that should not be oversimplified. Furthermore, it’s a relationship that often extends beyond the time you actually move into your home and for that reason, choosing a builder that carries a reputation of following through on commitments is critical. Cordillera Ranch’s four Preferred Builders have long-standing reputations of standing by their homes.
Although it is not a requirement to use a Preferred Builder, their reputation for delivering the highest quality homes and value has allowed them to build the majority of homes in Cordillera Ranch. These builders account for 70 percent of the homes currently under construction and among the many reasons most owners put their trust in these Preferred Builders is their referral base from former customers. Their extensive experience in building custom homes in Cordillera Ranch and their knowledge of these uniquely comprehensive and detailed design guidelines is extremely valuable — and makes the design and building process easier for clients.
THE VALUE PROPOSITION
When evaluating what builder to select for your custom home, you want a builder whose product is going to stand the test of time and deliver the highest quality craftsmanship that will result in strong value over time. Preferred Builder homes consistently have the highest resale value in Cordillera Ranch. In fact, Preferred Builder homes accounted for two-thirds of the resale homes in 2016 and those homes sold for 44 percent more than resale homes not originally built by Preferred Builders. Generally speaking, Preferred Builder homes’ higher level of craftsmanship and quality have given them an edge in the resale market.
One myth about the Preferred Builders at Cordillera Ranch is that they are more expensive than other builders because of the marketing fee they pay to Cordillera Ranch. This is simply an inaccurate assessment of how all builders (and frankly all businesses) operate. Israel Pena of Authentic Custom Homes explains, “Our marketing relationship with Cordillera Ranch allows me to focus on operating a homebuilding company and delivering the best possible home for my client. I’ve effectively outsourced a major part of my marketing and branding to Cordillera Ranch — there’s not a successful company in any industry that exists without some marketing budget.” It’s likely that because of the scale of Cordillera Ranch’s annual marketing budget and the ability to create a consortium of marketing power with the builders, that the Preferred Builders have a more cost-efficient marketing operation and thus can allocate less dollars per home to marketing. Simply put: the Cordillera Ranch Preferred Builders have a marketing economy of scale that allows better cost efficiency than some equally-sized custom builder competitors.
The Preferred Builders’ cost efficiency does not end with marketing. The Preferred Builders are each consistently building three to five more homes in Cordillera Ranch than other builders. This leads to economies of scale with trades and suppliers that is difficult to achieve otherwise. In addition, each of the Preferred Builders have most, if not all, of their construction jobs within Cordillera Ranch which allows for much more cost-efficient — and effective — job supervision.
The value proposition of a Preferred Builder extends beyond their cost-efficient model. How valuable is your time? Do you want to partner with a builder that has built 30+ homes in Cordillera Ranch and will save you time and money in the design review process or one that may still be sorting through the nuances and thus may lead to costly delays or change orders? “It saves everyone time and provides great comfort to clients when I can confidently guide a client through the site layout process by understanding what has worked for me previously in the community on a similar lot,” says Damon Christofilis of Christofilis Custom Homes. “There is a lot of art in laying out your home site here, and if you approach it any other way then you probably haven’t maximized the beauty of your lot and ultimately the value of your home,” adds Ray Stadler.
Many homeowners were living elsewhere during the home building process so having a Preferred Builder they could trust to navigate the process and communicate throughout has been essential. “We were living in Virginia during the building stage and only came to check on the progress about once a month. I think that speaks a lot about Garner Homes — they kept us thoroughly informed of all progress and decisions that needed to be made,” said Tim and Jenefer Reardon, who built with Garner Custom Homes.
In summary, choosing your custom builder can make or break the ease and enjoyment of your building experience. To learn more about each of these Preferred Builders, stop by the Cordillera Ranch Visitors Center or call us as 830.336.3570.
