As You Like It

“We used to rough in for everything we could think of so we could sell our options at very low prices,” says Atlanta builder Brendan Murphy, whose semi-custom business, ChesapeakeBuilt, specializes in infill courtyard homes in established neighborhoods.

“That included everything from pre-plumbing for pot fillers to pre-wiring the whole house for surround sound and toe kicks for a central vac system. Even if we weren’t putting it in, we wanted it roughed in so we could sell it,” he says.

Now that buyers are more inclined to nickel and dime, and lenders are less inclined to bankroll excess, that sort of padding doesn’t fly. “Now we can only do those things upon request, so the customer ends up paying a little more for the same option because the rough-in isn’t part of our routine,” Murphy says. Furthermore, many features that ChesapeakeBuilt once offered as standard are now optional, including hardwood flooring in upstairs bedrooms, structured wiring, granite countertops, and 8-foot solid-core interior doors.

For buyers with discerning tastes, this means that half of the total price of a home may well be accounted for in upgrades, Murphy says. “They are getting exactly what they asked for, but they also aren’t getting what they didn’t ask for.”

At the end of the day, buyers can be as variable and idiosyncratic as the design options they desire. But then again, humans are creatures of habit. Acknowledging this paradox has been critical to some builders’ survival, post-meltdown.

“We have designed our system and schedules to accommodate one extreme—that being the most involved client,” says Robert Kleiman, a Los Angeles builder offering a portfolio of plans and design schemes that can be customized to the nth degree or purchased as packages that are ready to go. “Some clients love us because we boil down their choices for them. Others love us for the exact opposite reason. Every client has their own agenda, and we are there to be the conduit and resource library to get them what they want,” he says, likening the business model for his company, Structure Homes (not to be confused with Kendrick’s firm, Structures Building Co. in South Carolina) to Starbucks, where anything and everything you want in the coffee world is possible, but you can also order a standard latte straight from the menu board.

“We’ve got some clients who are researching retardants and the materials in concrete slab, and some who show up on the jobsite wearing a tool belt,” says Kleiman. “Others don’t want to be so involved, and they trust our interior designers and architects to make choices they will like. Either way they want a house that feels like it was designed expressly for them.”

Bowman summarizes it this way: “It’s hard to predict when exactly the market will turn around. I like to say that I can’t see past the hood of the car today. I can see the hood ornament, but not beyond it. You can’t ever predict your top line revenue, but you can control the customer experience and make it a good one. That’s something to hold onto.” B

Common Denominators: Many of the floor plans in Structures Building Co.’s HouseSimple program started out as custom designs. Those best suited for mass appeal offer features such as open kitchens and first-floor master suites, according to owner Steve Kendrick.

Courtesy Coastal Living/Tria Giovan

Light Fare: One of Charter Homes’ most popular options is a “sun space” that swaps out the rear wall of the house and replaces it with floor-to-ceiling windows.

Photo: Courtesy Charter Homes & Neighborhoods

Trade Ups: Special requests from buyers of ChesapeakeBuilt’s courtyard homes have included large picture windows, landscaped patios, and custom tile work.

Courtesy ChesapeakeBuilt

Inside Job: All of Sivage Homes’ entry-level plans offer multiple configurations, such as a dining room that flexes in size to accommodate an adjacent one, one-and-a-half, or two-car garage, per buyer preference.

Rick Ricozzi

Degrees of Difficulty: Clients of Structure Homes in Southern California may customize the builder’s portfolio plans as much or as little as they wish.

Courtesy Structure Homes

Customize Me: Plan modification is a routine part of doing business for Danze & Davis Architects.

Right Sizing: The original plan for this house in Zinn Design Build’s portfolio was 2,400 square feet, but the clients widened it to 2,860 square feet to accommodate an extra bedroom and bathroom on the second floor, as well as a larger family room on the ground floor.

In Builder We Trust: Builder/designer Carol Ann Zinn has cultivated a group of clients who appreciate her sense of style and want her to make some of the decisions for them.

Matt Wright-Steel