Jim and Kelly had one key advantage when going into the planning stages for their brand new custom home with the Schumacher Homes team - they had built a custom home once before. Having that leg up on some of other homeowners meant that they really knew what to look for when not only choosing a floor plan, but choosing a builder.
It turns out that Jim and Kelly’s first home was a tri-level home built by another builder. As they are quick to admit, it wasn’t their dream home, but it was what they could afford at the time. They were a young family with a one-year-old daughter, and a tri-level home was a good bang for your buck decision at the time. Jim and Kelly can easily recall visiting with the Schumacher Homes team over a decade ago, taking a walk through the Charleston model home in Bowling Green, Ohio on the very day that they signed the paperwork for the tri-level home that they ultimately built. Their thoughts that day were pragmatic. While they loved the Charleston plan, they never thought there would be a day in their lives that they could afford it.
Fast forward 10 years, having little regret about the tri-level home that they’ve enjoyed for the past decade, Jim and Kelly now find themselves in a more comfortable situation in life, ready to build their dream home, which is what brought them back to Bowling Green so that they could take another look at the floor plan that they fell in love with so long ago. They have no issues with the home that they had lived in from their prior builder, but as Jim explains, “you could just tell the quality difference when you really dug into exactly what was in the Charleston, which made our decision easy.”
Beyond the noticeable quality, Jim and Kelly understood that Schumacher Homes covered their two biggest concerns when it came to building a custom home. First, they wanted to be sure they worked with a Construction Manager who was easy to get in touch with when they had any questions or concerns about the process. Secondly, their experience taught them that a single contractor doesn’t do all of the work themselves. The builder will bring in tradespeople to work on specific aspects of the building process, and, as the homeowner, you need to be confident the builder selects and oversees the best subcontractors with a thorough process. They wanted to be certain that they were working with a home builder who they could trust to bring in only the best people to work on their house. We were happy to know that they believed in Schumacher Homes to make the right decisions when it came time to call in our tradespeople help.
Once decided on the builder and the house plan, Jim and Kelly set out to find a piece of land to perch their dream home. They wanted to stay within the same school district, which limited their geographic circle, and on top of that, they were dead set on a lot that had a sewer connection rather than septic, which in the Danbury Township / Marblehead area, is actually rather rare.
The favorite piece of land that met their goals was a massive - a 13.5 acre plot of farmland. It was far bigger than they needed, but the location was absolutely ideal. Of course, with the land being so monstrous, so was the price tag. It was listed far outside of their budget, but after giving the offer that they could afford, the deal was accepted and everything was in place to get to work on designing their new home.
The first step was easy, they already knew they wanted the Charleston. They had wanted it 10 years ago when they saw it in Bowling Green, and they still wanted it today. The openness is what tugged on their heart strings. The free flow of the home just felt right and they couldn’t wait to call it their home. But, of course, a few customizations are often required to turn a house into a home.
To begin, Jim and Kelly met with their Sales Coordinator to talk about the basics of the design. They, like many Schumacher homeowners, didn’t really come in with a confident idea when it came to color and materials for the exterior of the home, but they were shocked with how well their coordinator was able to take their input and thoughts of design advice and turn it into something gorgeous. They simply spelled out what they thought they might like, and she helped match shingles, bricks, siding, paint, and trim into something that fit perfectly together.
As for the interior, Jim and Kelly had a few customizations that were easily added to their floor plan. For one, they added a few feet to the owner's retreat, making it extra large and spacious, finishing it with a door that opens directly out to the back porch so that they have convenient access to the yard. Funnily, when asked what they might have changed about the house once finished, Jim mentions that he likely wouldn’t have added this door as it rarely gets any actual use, but perhaps it can just be tagged as another learning lesson when it comes to building a custom home. Another customization that they added to the owner's retreat was enlarging one of the walk-in closets to the point that it could actually be used as a home office.
Depending on who you ask, Jim or Kelly, their favorite parts of the house vary. Jim is in love with the basement. They built it with massive 9 foot ceilings which makes the space feel vast and comfortable - a perfect place to spend an afternoon on a cool day. His wife spends her time differently, truly enjoying the extra room off of the foyer that they have dubbed the “craft room.” Kelly spends her free time in that room working on her crafty hobbies, loving the barn doors on the room that really set the mood for the house. One feature that Jim and Kelly can both agree on as a top feature is the fireplace. On a cold winter day it's the ideal spot to cuddle up, and having used the same stones around the mantle as they did on the front of the house, it really looks outstanding and ties the design together from outside to inside.
“Our favorite space you say? Well that depends on if you ask me or the wife. If you’re asking me it’s hands-down the basement. Holy moly it is absolutely huge and the 9 foot ceilings are awesome. We both really enjoy the fireplace. We use it constantly, and we chose to use the same stone as the front of the house so it really looks nice. My wife’s favorite space is what we call the craft room. The extra room right off of the foyer. She spends all of her extra time in there doing her little crafty things. The barn doors for that room really set off the whole house.” - Jim, Homeowner
Beyond realizing that the bedroom door that leads to the back porch was a bit excessive, the only item that comes to mind when thinking about things they would have changed in the construction of their home is the location of the sump pump. As Kelly is a light sleeper, she can often hear the pump go off and on in the middle of the night seeing as it is located just below the master bedroom. In a future home, they’d position the pump on the opposite end of the house.
What they might have added to the home is a door for them to use to go in and out of the garage (opposed to opening the large garage door every time) as they tend to use the garage as their main entrance to the home. They also might have added an egress exit out of the basement, which was actually on their mind during construction, but their budget was starting to run tight.
As noted earlier, Jim and Kelly’s biggest concerns going into the construction process was being sure that the builders, tradespeople and subcontractors were not just top quality when it came to their work, but easy to communicate with throughout the process.
“We could not have been more happy with our Construction Manager,” Jim tells us. “Communication is so flipping important, and I know they can’t get on everything right away or be there all the time, but every single time that I called or texted, he answered immediately. This sounds small, but it was a big deal to me.”
As for the trades, Jim had equally great praise, letting our team at Schumacher Homes know that our vetting process is working as they didn’t have a single subcontractor that did not exceed their expectations in both their workmanship, their cleanliness, and their polite interactions.
Jim gives a special shout out to the painters: “Very neat, great attention to detail, and no qualms putting up with barely noticeable, fastidious fixes that my wife and I would point out. Never complaining they just smiled and made the fixes.”
Overall, Jim and Kelly share that they had a smooth and easy experience with the office team, not even dealing with them very often due to how well things were being managed on site. They appreciated the recommended lender that Schumacher Homes had put them in touch with and felt that nearly everything was handled in a quick and professional manner via phone calls and diligence on both ends. The only minor hiccup was in the final disbursement due to a team member being out on vacation, but that was sorted out quickly.
It’s incredible for us at Schumacher Homes to hear about a family who has been dreaming about our homes for over 10 years finally having their dream come true and we’re so happy for Jim, Kelly, and their entire family finally having the house that they’ve been thinking about for all those years.
About Schumacher Homes
Schumacher Homes, based in Canton, Ohio, is America’s largest custom homebuilder, with operations in 32 markets in 14 states across the country. The National Housing Quality award winning company has built over 19,000 homes, customized to fit each family’s lifestyle, since its founding by Paul Schumacher in 1992. Schumacher Homes takes each customer’s inspiration and gives it a home. Each Schumacher Homes location includes a one-stop shopping design studio and model homes displaying the latest in architectural and product trends. Stop in today, be inspired and receive your no obligation price quote.