You want a new home, but none of the designs you’ve seen match your ideals. You know what kind of home you want, and you need a custom builder, so you start looking for custom builders near you. While researching, you find that everyone claims to be experienced, but you’ve worked with contractors in the past who said that – and then weren’t.
Now you’re lost and don’t know which firm actually completes custom builds and has the experience to get it right. You may even ask yourself, “How can I possibly find good custom builders near me?”
If this sounds like a familiar struggle, you’re not alone. We’ve had many clients tell us horror stories about “custom” builders they tried to work with before finding us.
Why It’s Important to Ensure that your Builders are Truly Customizing your Design
One client story, in particular, stands out as an example of a “custom” build gone wrong. They had completed a few additions and remodels on their home before, but found that they still needed more space. After some consideration, they decided there was nothing else they could add on or change in their home that would make it meet all of their requirements. They concluded that they’d have to tear it down and start from scratch.
Homes have sentimental value, so tearing one down to make room for a new one is a big decision. And if the home you build in its place doesn’t meet your needs, the process can seem like a huge mistake and lead to a lot of regret.
That’s exactly what this couple had to go through before enlisting our help. They went to what they thought was a team of custom builders and described what they wanted. Instead of drawing up a new home design for them and creating something truly custom, they shoehorned all of the necessities into a plan they’d already made. This “custom” firm just built a few variations of the same basic design to save money and effort.
How can your homes fulfill each client’s dreams if you’re building the same house for all of them? The short answer: you can’t. Luckily, this couple found out about Winthorpe Design and Build shortly after these unfortunate events took place. We were able to sit down with them and work together to design a home that really was unique and was everything they’d ever wanted in a home.
We took the mess the previous “custom” build team had left behind and made it a gorgeous dream home that our clients love to this day. We’d be more than happy to do the same for you.
How to Tell if a Construction Company Really does Custom Builds
There’s not always a clear way to tell that a company isn’t honest about being a custom building firm. Still, you can often tell pretty quickly if they’re copy-pasting the same basic design. The first thing to do is read their reviews. If people leave poor reviews and complain their home didn’t come out as intended, you probably shouldn’t work with them.
Next, if the reviews seem mostly positive, but you still have doubts, look at a few of their previous builds and browse their portfolio. If the firm doesn’t offer many pictures of previous builds or detailed portfolio samples to potential clients, that’s a big red flag.
Look closely at these previous builds. Do they all have a similar floor plan, and seem like they were designed off a prefabricated design? Do any of them seem unique and different from other homes? If you see warning signs, this firm may not be able to build the home you need to fit your standards and daily lifestyle.
Winthorpe Design and Build
There are many companies in the Maryland area that claim to be custom builders. At most, about half actually do custom builds. And in our opinion… only one is the best custom home building firm.
Winthorpe design and build has been constructing custom homes and remodels for decades, so we have far more experience than most other building firms. We’re also more than just a team of custom builders.
Our team of designers works hand-in-hand with our build team to ensure the designs are practical and functional before we build them. This continuity is a luxury you don’t get when working with an architect hired separately from your builders.
Winthorpe Design and Build stays with you through the whole process and always keeps you in the loop. And our services don’t end just because the build is complete. We also check in with you afterward to ensure the build is still working for you and that you haven’t encountered any issues with our work.
If you have any issues with the build, we’rel be happy to work with you and fix it so that you can get back to living in a home that you absolutely love.
To learn more and experience our new process, feel free to visit our website at www.winthorpe.com.
We look forward to working with you!
