JOST HOMES

PRE-CONSTRUCTION PROCESS

What is “Pre-Construction” anyway?

Simply put, it’s everything that happens before we break ground on your new home. 

At Jost Homes we take a different approach to Pre-Construction.  The motivation of our process is genuine care for people and the home they will be living in.  With 30 years of experience, we’ve seen almost everything there is to see in custom home building.  Our goal is to come alongside you as a guide.  At the end of the day, we want to get people pointed in the right direction, whether or not they end up using us.  Here’s how we make that happen…

  1. A personal phone call.  After filling out our contact form, we will schedule a phone call with John Strevens, owner of Jost Homes.  Why is a phone call our first step?  Building a new home is a journey, and a lengthy one at that.  While we do our best to streamline the process, no two journeys are the same.  A phone call helps us understand where to begin on your specific construction journey.

    If everything feels like the right fit, steps 2 & 3 can happen interchangeably. 

  2. A site visit to your property.  Before planning your home, we want to walk your property with you, make sure the home you are envisioning is the right size and in the right location.  The layout of your lot will have a lot of determining factors on the construction process.  If you don’t have land, we can guide you on the right type of property to purchase.

  3. House plan review.  Whether you have existing plans or just dreams, we want to make sure you have the “right size dreams” for your budget and lifestyle. Too often clients spend thousands of dollars on house plans just to find out the house they’ve designed is out of their price range or will not work on their lot.  A lot of time and money can be avoided if you know the direction to go.

  4. Pre-Construction Planning.  After 30 years of experience we’ve learned there is no quick way of coming up with an accurate cost for your home.  In our industry a true line item estimate is called “counting sticks and bricks”.  We comb through your plans brick by brick and board by board, get bids from subcontractors and vendors, consult with your architect/designer, and connect with local municipalities.  Our process is much more thorough than just an estimate, we offer full service “Pre-Construction Planning”.  This process can take 4+ weeks.  Here’s what we offer in our Pre-Construction Planning package:

    • Evaluate initial sketches of house plans. 

    • Work with your architect or draftsman to ensure the plans fit with your budget and lifestyle, normally over several meetings. 

    • Make an additional site visit to look at the topography and placement of your home.

    • Advise on selections to be made and help setup appointments with vendors.  

    • Estimate the true cost to build your home based on the selections and plans.  

    • Meet with subcontractors to review plans and receive estimates.  

    • Call and meet with vendors to establish line item pricing.

    • Meet with owners to discuss the final estimate and discuss any changes.

    • Talk with lenders to provide necessary information. 

    • Have plans reviewed and start the permitting process with the appropriate county. 

    • Participate in other phone calls, emails, correspondence and additional meetings when necessary.

As mentioned before, we want to be a guide for clients on their construction journey, this is why we offer Steps 1-3 for free.  When we move on to Pre-Construction Planning, a considerable amount of resources will be utilized and we charge for this service.  The cost for Pre-Construction Planning varies on the scale of the project and can be discussed during Steps 1-3.

In summary, whether we stop at Step 1 or go all the way through Step 4, our goal is to save you a lot of time, money, and energy going down the wrong path.  Building a custom home is a journey.  We will guide you through each step of the process and keep you heading in the right direction.