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The family room was designed with a balcony that The Innisses built their home in Seven Lakes subdivision in Stafford through Distinctive Homes of Virginia, which helps the owners design and build their new house. |
LOOKING AT THE house Horace and Denise Inniss own, one might make some incorrect assumptions. That they are fabulously wealthy, for example.
They are not ones to spend money unwisely, they say, which helps explain how they could afford the house that was completed in 2000 in Stafford County's Seven Lakes subdivision.
They also bought their 6.3-acre lot in the late 1990s, before land prices around here really took off.
The home they envisioned was custom, through and through. It wasn't one that could be created by tinkering with a builder's standard models, no matter how many different elevations or floor plans he offered.
Sure, there's probably a builder who would have taken the Innisses' ideas and turned them into their dream home, but the couple came up with their own solution. They went to Distinctive Homes of Virginia on U.S. 1 near Stafford Courthouse.
A different way to buildDistinctive Homes is not a builder, but a facilitator for those willing to do things a little differently in order to get more bang for their building bucks.
"We wanted to find someone who would put the house together in a way that would suit us," said Horace Inniss.
When the Innisses came to Distinctive Homes in 1999, the company was but a year old, and owner Roy Loy was a one-man operation. He had 40 years' experience in the building industry, but he wanted to offer custom-home buyers a new way of doing things--without the middleman.
Today the company has grown to include a handful of people, and the woman in charge is Tina Salceda, Loy's daughter. But the firm's philosophy remains the same, and Loy is still there to lend his building expertise.
The company has had clients from across Virginia and many in Maryland, Salceda said. Nearly 90 percent of its clients are referred by previous clients. She said they do about 50 houses a year.
"No two of the houses we build are the same," she said. "Whether you start with a napkin drawing or a picture from a magazine page, the house you get from us is a custom house--not just Option A, B or C."
The Innisses preferred not to disclose how much their 8,500-square-foot home cost, but Horace Inniss did say that a custom home builder looked at the plans and offered a construction estimate that was $200,000 higher than the one they received from Distinctive Homes.
According to Salceda, that's because a traditional builder bases his price on the market value of the home at that time, not the actual cost to build it. Distinctive Homes adds a flat 13 percent to the estimated construction cost to cover its fees for a house it handles from start to finish.
Inniss said ground was broken in December 1999, and the couple moved into the house in July 2000.
He said they knew going in exactly how much they would pay, aside from any upgrades they chose later on, and liked the idea that they would realize some equity upon moving in.
Another example Salceda offers is the home the company recently built for a client for $264,000 that was appraised upon completion for $410,000.
"They had about $150,000 in equity as soon as they moved in," she said. None of the figures includes the cost of land.
Dave Kitterman, executive vice president of the Fredericksburg Area Builders Association, said many people are using such firms to build their homes. The savings, he points out, will vary according to the complexity of the project, with greater savings expected on the larger, fancier houses.
"It depends on the builder's margin. A production builder will have a smaller margin than a custom builder," he said, adding that it's always wise to get more than one construction estimate.
How the program worksSalceda said Distinctive Homes breaks its process and pricing down into three parts: planning, consulting and supervising.
"We can be with you from the start to the OP [occupancy permit]," she said.
Clients may choose to step away after the planning or consulting phases if they'd prefer to handle the rest of the project in another way or on their own.
Salceda said the company will provide a free estimate for construction of the basic house someone has in mind.
If the figure is agreeable, it's time for the program to begin. The planning phase costs 1 percent of the construction estimate. A $500 deposit gets things going, with the remainder of the 1 percent due when the master copies of the home plans are completed.
Once a deal is made and the Distinctive Homes program begins, its fee will not change, Salceda said, even if the client arranges with the subcontractors for upgrades that increase the bottom line. Since the subcontractors are actually working directly for the homeowner, clients can use their own subs if they prefer.
The next step, consulting, will cost 6 percent of the construction estimate. At this point the company distributes the plans to its stable of subcontractors, obtains a building permit and prepares bank financing. The client's responsibilities will be clearly listed, and Salceda said the company will strive to adhere to the schedule it sets for events to occur.
Salceda said that in some counties, for example, obtaining a building permit takes longer these days due to efforts to control residential growth. That's become a near universal complaint among builders.
If the client proceeds to the third segment of the program, supervision, the fee is an additional 6 percent of the construction estimate. The superintendent assigned to a project will set schedules, arrange county inspections, deal with the subcontractors and oversee construction. He'll also address any questions or concerns a client has.
"The important thing for clients to understand is that our fees are not due until we have completed our work. They will only pay for work that is already done," she said.
The Innisses have since added a deck and are continuing to work on the landscaping. But they have their house, and that makes everything else a labor of love.
"This was the only way we were going to have a house like this," Horace Inniss said.
For more information, visit the Distinctive Homes Web site: dhomesinc.com.
To reach RICHARD AMRHINE: 540/374-5406 ramrhine@freelancestar.com
