How We Do It

Choose a Plan, Get a Price

Prior to your first meeting with us, we will send you a questionnaire to complete that will help us provide you with a fast & efficient price for your home. We will take you on a tour of our design studio and talk about the building products we use so you understand what is included in the price of our homes.

From there, you can choose a floorplan that is reasonably close to what you’re thinking of in a home so that we can provide you with an efficient estimate of the price for your custom home. Keep in mind:

• We are custom builders. You can modify our floorplans in any way you desire. At this first meeting, our primary goal is to help you understand what the cost of your home could look like.
• If you already own land we will review it online and talk about its characteristics in order to develop a preliminary estimate of what your site improvement costs will be. If you don’t own land, we can still make some general assumptions that will be helpful. We will also enter your site into our computer program and talk to you about its characteristics in order to develop a preliminary estimate of what your site improvement costs will be.

Free Land Evaluation

The next step, after you have come to our office and we have determined a tentative house plan and budget, is to envision how your home will sit on your land. We will meet you at your site for our second meeting to help you see the possibilities!

Every site we build on is different, and every home is unique. Because of this, we take the time to understand the nuances of every site. There are conditions that are beyond our control, such as the depth of your well and the soil conditions, but we will do our homework to understand what may exist underground and provide you with allowances that we believe will cover the cost.

Design Services Agreement

Once you have a tentative floorplan and have found the perfect piece of land, it’s time to enter into our design services agreement. From here, the FUN begins as we start the architectural and interior design process. Let’s do this!

Interactive Architectural Design – in 3D!

We love this part! Our approach to architectural design is very interactive for our clients. You will sit with us as we modify your home in 3D. You will see it become what it will be in real time. If a picture is worth a thousand words, imagine seeing the home you have dreamed about in 3D.

While in the architectural-design phase, we will dig deeper into the analysis of your site, including permitting, utilities, topography, and other details. Once we are done with this, we re-price your home to make sure we are in line with your budget.

Selections – in our Design Studio

For many of our client families, this is the best part! Our interior designer will guide you through the selections process in our design studio. It’s her job to ensure that your home reflects you and what you love, so she will take the time to get to know you, your taste, and your dreams for your home. We also have an online program to make it even easier for you to choose what you want to include in your new home.

We know from partnering with so many clients over the years that working with a builder that offers a design studio and an interior designer to guide you will make all of the difference in how enjoyable the process will be – and it will save you time AND money!

We require our clients to make all their selections before we break ground because we want you to know the total cost and budget before we begin building. This eliminates any confusion and frustration about pricing.

Financing

Financing is crucial to building a home, and your home is part of your financial future. At this point in the process, we sign a construction agreement. Your lender will require this in order to provide financing for your home.

Processing

While your bank is underwriting and processing your loan, including appraisal, title work, and more, we will be hard at work finishing the planning stage. This is when we finalize your blueprint, turn your selections into purchase orders, and make sure we are ready to build your home right. We are also getting ready to pull permits once you close on your loan. 

Building Starts

Once you close on your loan, we pull all necessary permits, and we start lining up our trade partners to get started on your home. This includes tree-removal contractors, surveyors, excavators, and more.

Construction Schedule 

Because this is your home we are building, you deserve to know the schedule of construction. We release the schedule of construction to you at the same time as we release it to all of our trade contractors – the same schedule, at the same time. When you build with Heartland Builders, you will know when you are moving into your home 4 to 5 months before the moving date. That’s unusual in our industry.  

Time to Move in

We have a two-step process when finishing a home. About two weeks before our clients move into their home, we walk through the home together.  We go over any outstanding items, and we show you how everything works, including your mechanicals. Our final step is handing over the keys. At that point, your home is complete! 

After you move in, you will look back at the homebuilding process and realize what you achieved and how fast and smoothly it went. We are so excited to be your partner in this wonderful, life-changing process.