• Arlington
• Fairfax (including Vienna, Fairfax City, Falls Church, and Alexandria)
• Prince William
• Loudoun
• Stafford
• Spotsylvania
• King George
• Fauquier
• Caroline

As soon as you know that you want a new home, whether or not you already have land or a tear-down on which to build.

We’ll help you select a floor plan that will be suited to your living style and make any desired architectural changes. We’ll explain the on-your-lot construction process in detail and educate you on the potential costs involved.

By coming to us early in the process, you’ll be assured not to waste time and money designing a home that doesn’t meet your needs or budget or simply won’t fit on your lot.  And if you don't yet have land or a tear-down, you can be better informed about what type of lot to look for.

While most custom builders charge anywhere from $150 to $250 per square foot, our homes start below $80 per square foot.  This is not because we compromise on quality in any way.  It’s because we understand our costs and know our homes inside and out.

All our models are designed in-house and are built to provide you with a beautiful, well-constructed home that is cost effective to build.  Most custom builders, however, are building each home for the first time and have to add on additional costs for variances (the unknowns) and errors (i.e. "learning on the job") during construction. This is the part we cut out and where you save. As a result, our construction quality, homeowner satisfaction, and overall value for the dollar are among the best in the industry.

We strongly believe that our contractors and suppliers are the best in the business and we will not sacrifice the quality of their work to use someone else. Our subcontractors have been carefully screened and many have been working with us for decades and have built a reputation of providing superb quality and workmanship. They also know our homes extremely well and can ensure that their work and scheduling conform to our strict standards and processes, giving you a superior home delivered more quickly.

For site work (landscaping, grading of the yard, etc) you are free to use your own contractor.  We offer a list of contractors that we have found to do good work at a good price and we encourage you to discuss your choice with your superintendent to get his opinion if you would like.

We design our homes to fit common lot situations so you can rest assured that we will almost definitely have homes to fit your lot.  The specific buildable area is primarily based on your lot size and shape and the zoning district in which your lot is located.  Occasionally, topographic constraints (e.g. hilly lots, streams) or HOA or other association restrictions can come into play.

We will help you determine the homes that will fit on your lot.  Your site engineer will give you confirmation and can help you decide how you want to orient your home and where on your lot you would like it to sit.

If you are looking for land or a tear-down on which to build, come see us.  We can help narrow down the house type you want so that you can better figure out what size and shape lot you will need.

In certain counties we have identified trusted realtors to help you find land or a tear-down.  Visit our model homes to be put in contact with them.  As with all of the people we may refer you to, whether to find land or put finishing touches on landscaping, we never receive any compensation or kickbacks as others in the industry do.

Lastly, we subscribe to an online service to help our customers look for homes.  Visit www.homesdatabase.com/classichomes to access this valuable resource.

Even when it comes to financing, building on-your-lot can save you significant money.  If you are tearing down your existing home, you can use the equity you've built up to avoid putting a down payment and reduce your interest rate.  Even if you are buying a lot or tear-down on which to build, the savings from building on-your-lot means that you may be able to reduce your down payment and perhaps even your interest rate.

The loan you will receive is called a Construction-to-Permanent loan.  It is very similar to a mortgage except that instead of paying all at once, it pays out in installments as the home is constructed.  When the home is complete, the loan becomes a normal end loan, just like a mortgage.  The rates and terms are similar to what is available for mortgages except that you have more flexibility to do things like roll in payments during construction and add allowances for other items like a deck or landscaping.

Most people think that tearing down a home is more expensive or more difficult than building on a property that has never been built on.  Actually, the opposite is usually the case.  Here are some typical tradeoffs between tearing down and building on empty land.

Considerations when building on empty land

• No need to demolish a home
• More input in how lot is graded and laid out
• May need more tree clearing/grading and payment for water/sewer service ("tap fees")

Considerations when tearing down and building

• Probably have water/sewer service already (i.e. "tap fees" are paid for)
• Less clearing of trees and grading
• Need to demolish home (but demolishing a home takes only about 2 days and is usually cheaper than paying "tap fees")

Every lot is unique and the specific tradeoffs will vary but in general tearing down a house is not as scary (or uneconomical) as it appears to be.