Steve Bennett Builders

- Weather is the most important consideration. From a construction standpoint, you should ideally be in the ground in spring so you can have a roof over your head before the snow starts falling in October. That’s really important. - The terrain in Central Oregon can hide unknowns that aren’t discovered until the dig-out of a lot. The granite and lava rock underground can create hurdles that are expensive to overcome. - The high demand for skilled and experienced craftsmen in Central Oregon affects the cost of new homes and can have an impact on a project’s completion date. Maintaining regular contact with subcontractors – both for cultivating relationships and maintaining awareness of their availability – is almost a must for a builder. The bottom line is that subcontractors are busy, increasing the pressure on builders to set and adhere to a schedule.

- A homeowner should want to know about the framework of the budget and understand how the phases and elements of a custom home – excavation, foundation, lumber, masonry, windows and doors, light fixtures, finish work and so on – factor into a budget. - Ask the builder how the client will be billed – how often, based on what and due when. - Come to an understanding about how the client can track the progress of the home and the status of actual costs compared to budget. - Find out how busy the builder is. Will he or she have the time to make your project a high priority, or will it be just another item on a to-do list? - Ask how changes to the original plan will be handled and how additional costs incurred with a change order will be calculated.

I don’t just build houses. I build trust. I build relationships. It’s an everlasting relationship with a homeowner. I love coming alongside of them, getting to know them and helping them make decisions. It’s that relationship that I really cherish. Some of the bigger companies have more people involved on the builder’s side, and you can get shuffled around among employees. At Steve Bennett Builders, I’m with you from the beginning to the very end. I promise all of my clients that as long as they own the home, I will treat it as my home and take care of it for them. That relationship, I think, is unique.

This is almost always the first question and it is also the most difficult to answer. Depending on finishes, complexity, and lot preparation, it can cost anywhere from $260 to $550 per square foot for a high quality custom home in Central Oregon. This is independent of the cost of the property.

The two most common fee structures are a Fixed-Fee basis and a Cost-Plus basis. I use Cost-Plus. I’m a firm believer, because the homeowner gets to see all of the actual costs, plus my percentage fee. Cost-Plus is the most transparent fee structure. It’s a win-win approach for the client and the builder. With the Fixed-Fee basis, the builder is incentivized to overestimate or inflate costs to increase profits. A Fixed-Fee builder takes risks in estimating unknown costs and they know how to avoid coming out on the losing end. It is a win-lose approach and the builder almost always wins. In terms of making payments, every month I generate line item documentation that shows the work done to date, and I bill the homeowner for that work. From that, I pay my subcontractors.

With monthly work-in-progress accounting we see regularly exactly where we stand in relationship to the budget. Unless there is a change to the Plans, the budget shouldn’t change. If construction starts on a home and not every component of every category in the home (such as light, plumbing or kitchen fixtures) has been selected, I include an allowance for those components. The fact is every project has unknowns and certain decisions may change throughout the building process. After 25 years of building custom homes in Central Oregon, my budget estimates are more than educated guesses. With a transparent, Cost-Plus fee structure, my focus is to set realistic expectations rather than “cover my butt”.

I don’t promise clients I can get their house down in X number of months. There are too many variables. My rule of thumb is a 14 month process. I can usually beat that unless we run into extraordinarily bad weather. Also, client indecision and change orders can also cause unforeseen delays. Staying on schedule is a team effort.

Me. I am a low-volume, “boutique” builder. I commit to only 1 or 2 custom homes per year. You deal directly with me and you get a very personalized experience. I will be on your job site every single day. I also have a site superintendent, as I can’t be in two places at one time.

I have worked with many of the same subcontractors and vendors for over 20 years. We are literally like family. While I take the physical aspect of building your home very seriously, building relationships has and always will be at the core of what I do. I remain loyal to my subs because they are the best and I trust them completely. Loyalty with and from subs is paramount in this industry. I am a “hands-on” leader and I promote an atmosphere of mutual respect and teamwork on my job sites. We all take pride in doing things the right way. I would not work with anyone who does not share my standards of excellence.

If a product fails while under warranty, I will get a replacement product from the manufacturer and replace it at no cost. If a product fails while outside warranty, I will get a replacement from the manufacturer and replace it for a fee. If it’s something that I have built that I have put in the home, I will warrant it for as long as the owner owns the home. As long as they own the house, I consider it my duty to take care of it for them.

- It's difficult to choose just one - we love it all! Home building is both artistic and analytical. We enjoy the challenge of the building process and thrive on creating the best team to work with for each individual project. We relish working with the tremendously talented architects and interior designers in Central Oregon and the craftsmen who do the nitty-gritty work – some of them have worked with us for 25 years. But the reward of bringing the masterpiece to life does not overshadow the personal relationship developed with the homeowner. In construction, as in life, it’s all about the relationship we form and nurture. We have had amazing clients over the years, many who are now lifelong friends.