NOTES FROM THE JOB SITE
Real-world thoughts on building a custom home in the Triangle — straight from the job site.
How Do You Finance a Custom Home Build?
One loan covers your lot and your build, you only pay interest on what’s actually been used, and many buyers get in with little — or nothing — down. Here’s how construction financing works, in plain English.
Read the post →Cost-Plus vs. All-In: Why a Lower Markup Doesn’t Mean a Lower Price
Most custom builders quote “cost-plus” — which quietly pushes you to compare the markup percentage instead of the total you’ll actually pay. Here’s why a lower percentage can still cost you thousands more, and how all-in pricing works.
Read the post →How Much Does It Cost to Build a Custom Home?
Our published home pricing runs from the high-$200,000s to just under $1 million. Here’s exactly what’s in that number, what isn’t, and the four things that move it for your build.
Read the post →What’s the Real Difference Between Builder-Grade and Custom?
Three things change when you move from a production base to a true custom build — what you can see, what you can’t, and what you can change. Here’s where the dollars actually go, with specifics from how we spec a Hornet build.
Read the post →How Big of a Drain Field Do You Need for Your Custom Build?
Drain field size is driven by two things — how many bedrooms your house has and what the soil will accept. Here's how NC sizes residential septic, what the repair area requirement adds, and how T&J panels can cut the footprint by 50% on tight lots.
Read the post →How Long Does It Take to Build a Custom Home?
As fast as ~7 months in the best case, more typically 9-12 months end to end. Roughly 5 of those months is the actual construction. Here's where the time actually goes — and what shifts the clock.
Read the post →What Should You Actually Look For in a Buildable Lot?
Two questions usually decide whether a Triangle lot will actually work for your custom home — does it perc, and what's the topography. Here's the practical version of how we look at a lot when a client brings us one.
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