Maybe you already have blueprints in hand, or maybe you don’t. Maybe it’s a perfect piece of land you’ve eyed for years or perhaps that charming neighborhood you drive by every day. Even if that fully furnished, perfectly located custom home is just a vision in your mind’s eye now, consider this: you could be living in your dream home by as early as this summer.
“Now is one of the best times of year to build,” said Brian Rodrock, whose building and development company Rodrock Homes has seen an uptick in custom-home sales in recent months.
“Starting now means you can be living in a custom-crafted, one-of-a-kind home by early summer, when others are just beginning to think about moving,” Rodrock added. But if designing and building a fully custom home from the ground up sounds daunting to you, you’re not alone.
Case-in-point, when Mark and Sarah Bloustine first began to dream of building on land they loved in Louisburg, they assumed the construction complexities and expansive timelines of a custom build-job were more than they could take.
“Frankly, we swore we’d never build a home from the ground up,” said Sarah, a managing broker at Reece & Nichols Realtors who’s well versed on how time-consuming and detail-laden new construction can be. “And yet we just weren’t finding on the market the completely open first-floor plan we had visualized.”
Even after their architect drew a blueprint for a more open house, the couple still had concerns about building from scratch. Then they met with Rodrock Homes. “When we sat down with their team we just felt comfortable,” Bloustine said, “comfortable that they were going to take our needs and concerns into account during the whole process.”
Homeowner Charles Gurera found similar assurance in Rodrock Homes’ friendly, thorough way of work. Looking for a home designed uniquely to accommodate his young disabled son, Gurera said he approached Rodrock on a whim and with just a vision rather than a blueprint. “Brian listened first, then started sketching things out,” said Gurera of Rodrock Homes’ CEO Brian Rodrock. “The way he worked spoke volumes.”
It’s a way of work born from a Rodrock family legacy of three decades spent creating numerous Johnson County communities and over a thousand homes across the metro. Now word is out that the company is applying the same depth and breadth of expertise to craft one-of-a-kind homes for even the choosiest of custom-home seekers.
To those like Bloustine who’ve built from the ground-up, the company’s top-tier status is no secret. “Rodrock Homes should easily be in the top of custom builders in Kansas City for the way they run their projects,” the homeowner said.
In addition to its way of work, the company’s financial strength, manpower and time-tested relationships with both the city’s developers and craftsmen create enduring homes that exceed expectations. “It means the sky’s the limit,” said Jeff Reglin, Chief Marketing Officer for the company. “We put everything we’ve got in terms of extra capital, human resources, materials and expertise into everything we build.”
One example is the company’s recent addition of builder liaisons. “Each of our homeowners has a dedicated liaison who is there to answer questions and check in with onsite teams at every point,” explained Chief Operating Officer Jeff Gifford.
The result? Homeowners like Bloustine say they’re “overly surprised” at how easy and yes, actually fun building from the ground up with Rodrock Homes has been. “We weren’t expecting the personal attention we’ve received,” the homeowner said. “I know they’re a busy builder and yet when we have a question, it gets answered immediately. It’s like we’re the only ones they’re dealing with,” Bloustine added.
Also surprising is how rapidly the couple’s home was completed. “We’re shocked at how quickly it went,” said Sarah, who was able to move into her home much earlier than expected. “It didn’t take six to eight months to build, instead it took about 41/2 months from start to finish.”
That’s not long to wait for a home that’s created exactly when, where and how a homeowner wants. But even if you don’t have a site or a blueprint, a custom home by summer is still possible. “We have all types of clients — some who already know exactly what they want and others who are just beginning to explore what’s possible,” Rodrock said.
Rodrock welcomes all types of home seekers and walk-ins to his office on Lenexa’s Dice Lane. There shoppers can refine their own blueprints or glean ideas from over 30 of the company’s existing home plans. And whether you want to build in Louisburg or Lenexa, Bluestem or Bristol Ridge, the Rodrock team can help you choose or optimize a prime locale for your home.
Best of all, initial consults are always free. “Even if you just have a wish list right now, we can usually get you where you want to be,” Rodrock said.
