Your dream. Our expertise.
For on-your-lot custom homes that are truly individual, Custom Homes by Cory provides the personalized service you expect and the experience you need.
How long does building a new home take?
The building process has two phases—the pre-construction planning and the actual construction.
Once construction starts, most homes take 8 to 9 months to complete. This timeframe will be specified in your contract.
The pre-construction planning can take 3 to 5 months on average. Several factors determine the length of planning time.
A couple of significant areas are drawing plans and compiling prices. You should allow 4 to 8 weeks for plans to be drawn from scratch. Getting prices together can take 2 to 3 weeks.
Planning also includes several other areas, such as discussing ideas, estimating prices, setting up lending, evaluating the building site, putting a contract together, and getting permits.
In a large way, you’ll determine the total length of planning time. While some customers only need a couple of months, others need significantly more time. Our goal is to work within your personal timeline.
How much will I spend out of pocket?
The only necessary expenses outside of your contract are the cost of your house plans, the cost to connect utilities to the house, the utility costs during construction, and—if applicable—having your building site evaluated. All permitting costs are included in your contract.
While many customers choose to make out-of-pocket purchases during construction, we work hard upfront to make sure you don’t have to.
Do you draw floorpans or can we bring our own?
We have an excellent draftsman who can help you draw plans from scratch or work with any ideas or examples you already have.
If you’ve already had plans drawn or you’d like to use a different draftsman or architect, that’s perfectly fine too.
How do you price your homes?
Once your final house plans are completed, we send them to our material suppliers and trade contractors. Our prices are based on the quotes we receive. By operating with very low overhead, we can keep our margins low and give you the best price possible.
What about buying plans online?
We strongly recommend not purchasing plans online. While online plans are great for gathering ideas, they very rarely work as is. Dimensions are sometimes impractical, cost estimates are rarely accurate, and most alterations you want to make will require the plans to be completely redrawn.
When making one of the biggest investments of your life, the relatively minor cost of working with an experienced draftsman who knows your budget and can fine tune your plans to your exact needs is more than worth it.
Do you have regular vendors?
We have many excellent vendor relationships, and we’re happy to provide you with their information. We’ll also pass our builder discounts along to you. While we have our regular vendors, whomever you use is ultimately up to you.
Who does the actual construction?
We have exceptionally long-lasting relationships with our contractors. Some have worked with us for five years, some as many as thirty! Not only does this mean that we have confidence in every worker we send to your house, but it also ensures that any issues will be dealt with smoothly and quickly.
What are some of the first steps I should take?
A great first step is to talk to a lender. We’ll be happy to give you a recommendation if you need one. This will help you determine what you’re willing and able to spend on your new home.
Another important step is to begin looking for a lot if you don’t already have one. We can assist you with finding and purchasing a lot, as well as selling an existing home.
One of the best things you can do is to sit down and talk with us. We’re happy to explain the entire process to you and help you get ideas together.
Do your homes have any standard features or materials?
Since our homes are 100% custom, every detail is up to you. That said, nearly all of our homes have brick, stone, or cement-board siding; 30-year dimensional shingles; high efficiency windows, appliances, and furnaces; 75-gallon water heaters; basements or crawl spaces; at least 9′ ceilings; and 8′ garage doors. All of our houses are stick frame with 16″ on center framing and floor joists.
Do you offer any warranties?
All our homes come with a 10-year structural warranty and a 1-year warranty on all craftsmanship. We build according to the standards of the Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis.
Do you build in subdivisions or stand alone properties?
Both! We build the majority of our homes on standalone property—and love it—but we also build in many subdivisions. If you need help finding and purchasing a lot, ask us about our real estate brokering services.
Will you help with home design?
We love architecture and home design! We’ll help as much as you want in determining the layout and style of your home.
Can I get references?
Absolutely! We encourage you to always get references from any builder you talk to. We’ll give you contact information for former customers, contractors, suppliers, and industry partners.
Were also happy to walk you through our current homes under construction and give you the addresses of completed homes to look at.
What if I'm on a strict budget?
We are extremely respectful of your budget. We’ll bring up your budget very early in the conversation to make sure we’re on the same page. Before we get very far, we’ll put together an estimate to make sure you know what to expect.
Our home prices generally start around $600,000.
We’re happy talk to you about ideas for building a great home on a budget, and we even have pre-drawn, cost-efficient plans you can use or look at.