Step 2 COLLABORATION & COMMITMENT

Share your vision with us and our vetted partners so we can make your dreams a reality within your budget.

VISION & DESIGN
PLANNING
RISK MITIGATION
GUARDIANS OF THE BUDGET

When a client shares their vision we want all parties to have a voice at the table. Effective planning helps align the client’s vision and budget with what is realistically possible. Our creative partners help bring your vision into an initial set of design plans that allow us to start the bidding, budgeting, and preliminary selection process.

Once we are aligned on the high-level vision of your future home and budget range, we would enter into a two part contract with our clients. Phase 1 involves a modest investment to cover the due diligence process and includes all the pre construction activities including meetings with the owners architect, interior designer, civil engineer, city officials, subdivision trustees, and visits to showrooms with the client to make preliminary selections that allows us to create a highly detailed budget based on preliminary selections and architectural drawings. We collaborate on the joint development of a budget for construction and, after bidding and budgeting are approved by the client, we proceed to Phase 2, Construction services. This two phase approach allows us to bring in trusted partners to collaborate and understand your vision based on your needs and location.

Step 3 BIDDING

Personalized showroom selections, vetted trade partners, and transparent pricing all lead to a high value outcome for our clients.

PRELIMINARY CLIENT INVESTMENT
SHOWROOM SELECTIONS
TRUSTED TRADE PARTNERS
COST PLUS PRICING

During bidding we will be selecting preliminary showroom finishes based on the initial design plans so that we can create a budget that you can “take to the bank.”  (~90% accurate). Simultaneously, we are uniting our vetted trade partners who provide competitive budget estimates, workforce planning, and materials to deliver a higher quality finished product at a great value. As the builder, our main focus throughout the process is to be the guardians of the budget. We follow the Cost-Plus pricing model which provides our clients a more transparent price that reflects the current building market plus our builder fee. We receive special contractor rates because of the $ volume of our homes and long term relationships we have with suppliers. The outcome is that we pass on this savings to our customers. Transparency in materials, trade partners, and costs means guaranteed quality and the end result will be a higher-value custom home or renovation than if you chose a fixed price builder.

Step 4 BUDGETING

A budget presentation does not have to be scary or shocking. Our team collaborates with you to help provide value engineered solutions to keep your goals and priorities in check with your budget.

PRESENT BUDGET
VALUE ENGINEERING
REVIEW UPDATED BUDGET
CLIENT APPROVAL

The budget process is an iterative process and our clients shouldn’t feel like they are locked into a final set of plans and budget. At the Budget stage, we collaborate on high priority and high ticket line items where we can value-engineer alternative solutions to keep the vision and budget in line. Decades of building experience in the St. Louis luxury homes market allows us to innovate and come up with creative solutions for your projects. Our clients have a chance to re-prioritize their list of needs and wants and lean on our team to help guide their decision making to the best possible outcome. Once there is full alignment on budget details between our clients we move forward with phase 2 of our agreement.

Step 5 PRE-CONSTRUCTION

Implement our newly refined budget that maximizes what is possible within the final architect plan. Give final sign off on the plan and budget so we can prepare the paperwork and permits.

FINALIZE ARCHITECT PLANS
VALUE ENGINEER
FINALIZE PLAN & BUDGET
PERMIT SET READY

During the Pre-Construction stage, it’s very normal to have adjustments to the final architectural drawing – this is an opportunity to implement our value engineering ideas into your final design to stay within budget. Once you have given final approval on architect plans and budget, we initiate the lender appraisal process and bring in a third party disbursing company who is in charge of safe and timely payment disbursement from the client to the builder. We are simultaneously working with our trade partners to make your plans ‘permit set ready’ – taking your bid set ready plans from ~90% to 100% ready for city/municipality review and approval. REA Homes can minimize permitting delays because we are using best building practices to build beyond the minimum building codes and standards to ensure better quality, more efficient homes.

Step 6 CONSTRUCTION

we prep the lot or existing home for construction, demolish what is old, and build new. Constant communication and walkthroughs are essential to our process to avoid issues at final inspection.

CONSISTENT WALKTHROUGHS
PREP
DEMOLITION
BUILD

Construction is our favorite stage, but we don’t do it alone. We are in weekly (sometimes daily communication) from start to finish with our clients. Consistent walkthroughs keep our clients abreast to what is happening throughout the project. We stay ahead of showroom selections to finalize decisions and place orders for a timely arrival to the home site.

We always encourage our clients to speak up if they have questions or concerns. Ultimately, it minimizes the work that is needed during final inspection and walkthrough so our clients are more satisfied when it is time to wrap up the construction process and move into your new or existing home. 

It’s important to note that although it can be easier to communicate with clients when living in the home, we always recommend that our clients find an alternate housing option during the a substantial renovation because, no matter the precautions taken, it will be a loud and dusty environment, with limited access to water and electricity at certain times. On top of living in a construction site, it is also creating timeline inefficiencies and can often result in a higher cost from trade partners who will have to work around you. What we have found over time is that the money people think they are saving by living in, is typically negated by higher costs, and creates unnecessary hassles in their everyday lives.

Step 7 COMPLETION

Move in and experience your updated living space. It’s normal to have tweaks after the move-in so an additional walk-thru to fine tune our work to the client’s liking is how we finish strong and leave the customer feeling truly comfortable.

FINAL INSPECTION
MOVE-IN READY
FINISH STRONG
TRUE COMFORT

Moving into your new home (or back into your renovated home) should be a pleasant experience. Our key to finishing strong happens throughout the project – constant communication. Our final inspections are more of a formality for our clients. When a job is done and the client is moving back in, it is normal to have adjustments and small changes. We normally follow up with an additional walk-thru to fine tune everything to the client’s liking. It’s important to us that our client’s feel fully satisfied with the work we have done. For us, finishing strong means wrapping up the project with a nice red bow and in a timely fashion so our customers can experience true comfort in their new home.