Here Are 25 Things That Make LANDEN Different
At Landen Design Build, we don’t believe our job is simply to build your home. We believe our job is to help you make better decisions throughout the entire building process.
Over more than 40 years of custom home design, Calgary acreage and construction, we’ve developed a building process focused on one simple goal:
Taking the Risk Out of Building Your Dream Home™
Here’s how we do it.
1. FREE 30-Hour Design Test Drive™
We invest up to 30 hours creating preliminary plans and beautiful 3D renderings before asking you to commit to a full design package.
Value: Over $2,000+ cost with any other designer
2. No Upfront Design or Construction Deposit Required
We don’t ask for any upfront design or construction deposit before work begins. We earn our design fee when plans are 100% complete, and we earn our Project Management Fee as milestones are completed.
3. Fixed Design Fee
Once you move into the full design phase, your design fee is fixed up front. No surprise plan revisions fee invoices.
4. Reasonable Design Revisions Included
Good design evolves. We include a reasonable number of revisions within our very completive design fee, because we want you to love your home before construction begins.
5. Fixed Project Management Fee
Unlike builders who earn more when your project costs more…
Our management fee is fixed, and paid only after each milestone is completed, meaning there is NO up-front billing for our management fees.
6. No Markup on Change Orders
If you make changes during construction…
You pay only the actual trade cost. No additional builder markup.
7. Builder Discounts Passed Directly to You
We’ve spent decades building relationships with trusted trades and suppliers. We believe those discounts belong to our clients.
Not us.
8. Direct Payment to Trades & Suppliers
Whenever practical, we encourage clients to pay trades directly. Benefits include:
- Greater transparency
- Reduced lien risk
- Reduced financial risk
- Greater confidence
9. Open-Book Costing
You’ll know where your money is being spent. No hidden markups. No surprises.
10. Custom Home Budget Calculator
We’ve developed our own budgeting system to help clients understand costs before final plans are completed. This pre-budget process substantially saves in re-design cost!
11. In-House Home Design
Unlike many builders, we complete your architectural home design and all final building plans in-house ourselves. Our fully qualified design team is more than merely home designers; they have also all trained on site with our framers, foundation cribbers, and trades people, and fully understand what trades really need out of a set of building plans.
That means:
- Better communication.
- Less on site modifications
- Better trade pricing
- Better coordination.
- Better homes.
12. Stunning 3D Renderings
Don’t try to imagine your home from flat drawings. See it in full color 3D inside and out before it’s built. Our 3D rendering service is included in our standard very completive design fees, many other designers and architects charge extra for 3D rendering work.
13. Detailed Construction Plans
Many trades have told us our plans are among the most detailed they’ve ever worked from. Better plans reduce mistakes and generally reduces construction cost.
14. 40+ Years of Experience
More than four decades designing and building homes throughout Southern Alberta.
15. Over 1,000 Custom Homes
Experience matters. Every project teaches us something.
16. Acreage Specialists
Building on acreage land is very different from building in the city.
We understand:
• Wells
• Septic systems
• Drainage
• Slopes
• Utilities
• Access
• Rural construction
17. Long-Term Trade Relationships
Many of our trades have worked with us for more than twenty years, in many cases some of our trades and suppliers go back 35 years. Happy trades build better homes.
18. Fast Trade Payments
Our trades know they’ll be paid promptly. That translates into:
- Better scheduling.
- Better service.
- Better workmanship.
- Generally better pricing
- Less lien risk
19. Homeowner Education
We don’t just build homes. We educate homeowners.
Through:
• Budget guides
• Blog articles
• Calculators
• Homeowner manuals
• Educational resources
20. Comprehensive Homeowner Maintenance Manual
Every client receives detailed information on how to properly maintain their investment.
21. The LANDEN Risk Elimination System™
Every part of our process is designed to reduce unnecessary risk for our client. With Landen there is no need to worry about:
- A builder running off with your deposit
- A builder over charging you
- A builder marking up change orders
- Liens, as you are encourage to pay directly to trades and suppliers
22. Transparency
We believe trust begins with transparency. You’ll always know where your project stands.
23. Personal Service
You’ll work directly with Greg Genereux throughout your project.
Not just a salesperson.
Not just a project manager.
The owner.
24. Family Values
We still believe that a handshake means something.
- Integrity matters.
- Treat people fairly.
- Keeping our word.
25. We Build Relationships…
Not Just Homes.
Many of our clients become lifelong friends.
There’s no greater compliment than being invited back years later to see a family enjoying the home you helped create.
Our Promise
We don’t promise to be the cheapest builder.
We promise something much more valuable:
- We promise honesty.
- Transparency.
- Experience.
- Education.
- Professional guidance.
- And a building process designed to remove as much risk as possible.
Because after more than forty years…
We’ve learned something.
The best custom home isn’t the one that’s beautifully built.
It’s the one that’s built with confidence.
Closing Thought
If you’re meeting with several builders, ask each of them the following questions:
- Do you require a up-front design deposit? (Landen requires no upfront deposit)
- Do you require an upfront construction deposit? (Landen requires no upfront deposit)
- Is your Project Management Fee fixed? (Landen fixes it management fee up-front, and will NOT expand as the project progresses)
- What % do is your management fee based on (Landen bases fee is set at 15% of a mutually agreed to budget and then fixed, and does not expand even if the project cost or change orders increase)
- If the builder only offers cost plus what is that mark up (Landen base mark-up is 15%)
- Do you mark-up change orders? (Landen does not mark-up change orders)
- Will I receive all builder pricing and discounts? (Landen passes all builder pricing directly on to our client)
- How detailed are your construction plans? (Landen’s plans are consider by trades and suppliers to be very detailed with way more needed information that is minimally required by building authorities)
- Who will actually design my home? (Landen has its own in house design team that have all had “hands on construction experience” not just in school design training)
- Who will supervise my project? The owner of Landen is directly involve with supervision)
- Will I deal directly with the owner? (With Landen, you will deal directly with Greg the owner)
- How long have your trades worked with you? (Landen’s trades in most cases exceed 20 years, in many cases as much as 35-40 years)
- Can I have a list of your trades and suppliers to follow up with? (Landen freely provides our new clients with a detailed trade and supplier list for you to verify Landen asa a good builder with its trades)
- What do you do to reduce my financial risk? (Landen has a full range of risk reduction programs, where you never pay for something that is not already supplied or completed on site!)
The answers from other builders may tell you far more than their quoted price.