Our program
Finding that special new home is now more difficult than ever. For families and individuals looking for that special new home that reflects your values of quality, aesthetics, and tradition, a Johnson Design Homes custom home can reflect your good taste and commitment to long term quality.
What To Look For
Choosing the right builder
Selecting your builder is probably the most important element in a successful experience that results in the home you want. Selecting the right builder can make the experience creative and fun. There are three qualifications your builder must have:
- A commitment to your satisfaction at a demonstrated level of quality that you expect. The builder needs to have a demonstrated ability to meet your expectations.
- Be financially qualified and capable of meeting your commitments. You need to have the mental security to know the funds released are being used on your home and that the builder is in good standing with his subcontractors.
- Have a clearly defined process of how the home is conceived and the budget is developed.
A builder with a well defined upfront process from advising on land acquisition, design and budget will have the greatest success at delivering a home on time and on budget.
Many builders have drained their financial resources and have very little opportunity. They are desperate for a job and their focus is about getting the job not your satisfaction. In addition many builders have had financial difficulty and have lost the confidence of their valued subcontractors for timely payment. While there have never been more builders willing to build a custom home, there has never been so few as qualified as Johnson Design Homes, to build your home when put to the test of quality, financial strength and a well defined and clear process.
Step 1
Select your level of finish and overall budget
Johnson Design homes have specific specifications for pricing. Pricing per square feet is based on the quality of finishes, design and location. Johnson Design Homes is unique in the custom home industry that incorporates all costs; including design, drawings, permits, building fees, landscaping and construction. The only additions would be for specific site conditions such as shoring, piling or excessive slopes. Also these fees do not include sales tax or financing costs.
First determine your budget and how you want your home to look. You can do your initial planning and rest assured that your budget will be respected by working with our specific specifications on your pricing. The process can be as easy as saying you would like a 4,000 sq. ft. home and the budget for that home would be set firm at $1,000,000 with the agreed upon pre-approved specifications and square footage. You control the process at all times. A final overall budget is arrived at by adding sales tax, a budget for your financing cost and identifying any specific site conditions. Once this is done you now have a realistic budget that you can make plans for.
Design your home
Johnson Design Homes is unique in the custom home industry in that Johnson Design Homes’ services also include the design and permitting of your home. Many contractors leave this to you the owner to secure an architect and manage site conditions and code and structural requirements for your home design. A Johnson Design Homes representative will work with you to develop a “Design Brief”.
The Design Brief spells out styling desires, overall home requirements and a targeted square footage. In doing the Design Brief realistic expectations are set regarding your desires and the size of your home. Once the Design Brief is done you meet with Johnson and he begins the design of your home. At this stage a deposit is requested. depending on the scope of the project, is taken to cover the cost of the preliminary design. This deposit is applied to the cost of the project and is in your square foot allowance.
The representative will work with you until you receive a design you are fully satisfied with. This design is taken to the “Preliminary Plan” stage and is a quarter inch scale fully dimensioned plans. It is also at this stage that the specifications are finalized and you do any mixing and matching of the specifications. In addition the site conditions are addressed if there is any unbudgeted items. At this stage you now have a firm price and can apply for any financing.
Finalize your plans and permits
You now have a price for your home and hopefully have secured financing. At this stage another $15,000 to $30,000 is released to have the drawings taken to a building permit set and a building permit is applied for to the municipality. Again these cost are already in your agreed upon price. Once the building permit is approved there is one final payment to pay for any building permit fees and any mitigation fees associated with the building permit. At this time your financing should be approved and construction can start.Build your new home
This is the easy part. The home will be built as agreed and you will be amazed at the attention you receive. You will see Johnson on the job site almost everyday. There is no designated “project manager” and no extra office overhead. There is no home ever where the contract is turned over to the “field people” and the builder who was there at the time the contract was signed now refers you to various departments in their company. If it is a Johnson Design Home and has Johnson’s name on it then you work with Johnson to build your home. Just ask a past Johnson Design customer.Frequently asked questions (faq)
Because the strong financial position of Johnson Design Homes, we are approved by many banks as a custom home builder. Despite what is said, there is custom construction financing available and the banks like to work with Johnson and his customers because of the successful outcome of his building projects. Banks know good builders attract good and valuable customers.
