Compare builders before you sign.
Before you sign with a national on-your-lot builder, get a second number from a local family company. We do not name other companies here, because their prices and policies change and ours are printed.
Published pricing, $185 to $235 per sq. ft.
Site work in the contract, quoted by our family's crews
Written change-order policy
1-2-10 warranty, our cell on top
Local family company vs. national on‑your‑lot franchise
Ten things to compare before you sign. The left column is how it usually goes at a national build-on-your-lot franchise. The right column is how we do it, and the parts that belong in a contract are written into yours.
| Topic | A typical national on-your-lot franchise | Alumni Homes |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership | Usually a corporate office in another state, with a local sales center that reports to it. | A local family company. The family behind our clearing crews owns the building company, and you deal with the owner, not a sales center. |
| Who walks the lot | A sales consultant, if anyone. The people who will run the machines rarely see the land before you sign. | The builder, with you, free. Access, slope, soils, well or tap. You get a written site-work figure within 48 hours of the walk. |
| Who quotes the site work | A subcontractor you have not met, often after the contract, often as an allowance. | Our family's clearing crews. Clearing, grading, and the driveway quoted as one firm number, in the contract, before you sign. |
| Allowance policy | A base price built on low allowances for tile, lighting, flooring, and sometimes the site work. The difference shows up later as change orders. | Specification, not allowance. Three fully priced spec tiers built from supplier bids. The few allowances left are printed with what they buy. |
| Price transparency | Call for pricing, or a base price with a long list of exclusions in the fine print. | Published. $185, $210, or $235 per heated square foot by tier, and every plan's base price printed on this website. |
| Rock and soils | Often an exclusion. If the excavator hits rock, the bill can come to you at whatever it costs that day. | Written unit rates before you sign. A stated hourly hammer rate and a per-load haul rate in a rider, so even the worst case has a price. |
| Change orders | Priced after the fact, often by someone you have not met, and added to the balance. | Priced, signed, and prepaid. One written change-order policy. Nothing changes without your signature, and the work does not start until it is paid. |
| Warranty | A warranty line with a ticket number. Structural coverage varies by company and by state. | 1-2-10, in writing. One year workmanship, two years systems, ten years structural, backed by a national warranty program, with our cell number on top of it. |
| Who you call | A sales office, then a warranty line, then hold music. | The builder. A local owner who answers the phone, before closing and after. |
| Who is on your job site | Usually a superintendent running several houses at once, with subcontractors chosen by the corporate office. | Our family's crews, then the owner. Our crews clear and grade, the trades we hire build, the owner checks the work, and you get a photo update every week. |
The site-work figure, the spec tiers, the rock rider, the change-order policy, and the 1-2-10 warranty are written into the contract you sign, not promised at a sales desk.
How to read a base price
A base price is the house on a finished pad. It is not the cost to move in. Add the six lines below to any base price, then compare that all-in figure to ours.
Site work
$15,000 to $50,000
Clearing runs $5,000 to $20,000 and grading $10,000 to $50,000 on Upstate lots. Ours is a firm number from our family's crews, in the contract.
Well and septic
$15,000 to $30,000
Most rural lots need both, plus the $150 South Carolina septic permit. We coordinate both and quote them after the site walk.
Permits and taps
$4,000 to $4,200 permit
Greenville County permit on a 3,000 sq. ft. home. On municipal service, add $4,555 for a Greenville Water connection and $4,110 for a ReWa sewer account. Passed through at cost.
Allowances
Ask what each buys
A low tile or lighting allowance keeps a base price small until you pick real tile. Our three spec tiers are priced from supplier bids, so most of the contract is specification.
Engineering
In our base price
Engineering, county-stamped plan sets, and one round of red-line changes are in our base price. The engineered site plan comes with the Home & Land Plan, credited at contract. Ask whether any of it is in the other one.
Driveway
Priced per foot
A long drive and a culvert are easy to leave out of a base price. Ours is priced per foot in the site-work quote, before you sign.
Worked example, all in
The Keowee, 2,948 sq. ft., on a wooded three-acre lot with well and septic: $649,000 base, plus roughly $30,000 to $50,000 of site work and $15,000 to $30,000 for well and septic, comes to about $695,000 to $730,000, in writing before you sign. Land not included.
Base price is the heated area at the Standard rate plus that plan's foundation, garage, porches, and engineering package. Ask any builder for the same math on the same lot, then set the two numbers side by side.
See the full rate card and every feeQuestions to ask any builder
Ask these of every company you talk to, including us. Write the answers down and keep them next to each quote.
- 01
Who owns the company, and where do they live?
- 02
Who walks my lot before I sign, and do I get the site-work figure in writing?
- 03
Is site work a firm number in the contract, or an allowance?
- 04
What happens, and what does it cost, if the excavator hits rock?
- 05
How much of the contract is specification, and how much is allowance? What does each allowance actually buy?
- 06
Are engineering, permits, tap fees, and the driveway in the price?
- 07
How are change orders priced, and do I sign before the work happens?
- 08
What is the warranty, in years, and who do I call when something breaks?
- 09
Who is on my job site day to day, and how often will I see photos or walk it?
- 10
What is the schedule in writing, from contract to keys?
The National Association of Home Builders publishes its own list of questions for choosing a builder. Read the NAHB guide. It opens in a new tab and applies to us as much as to anyone.
No obligation, no salesman
Bring us the lot. We bring the number.
We walk your land, price the house at our published rates, and hand you a written figure with site work in it. Set it beside whatever you already have. You keep ours either way.
(864) 555-0148You hear back from [OWNER NAME], the builder, not a call center.
Yes, give me the other quote.
Questions people bring from the other sales desk
Why is your per-foot price higher than the base price I saw elsewhere?
Because ours is closer to the finished number. $185 to $235 per heated square foot buys the house at a full spec tier, engineering included, at a fixed price. Permits and tap fees are listed at cost. A low base price often leaves site work, well and septic, tap fees, and real finishes for later, then adds them back as allowances and change orders. Compare the all-in figure, not the per-foot figure.
What is an allowance?
A placeholder dollar amount in a contract for something not yet chosen: tile, lighting, flooring, sometimes the entire site work. If the real cost runs over, you pay the difference as a change order. A low allowance makes a base price look small. Our three spec tiers are priced from supplier bids, so most of the contract is specification, and any allowance left is printed with what it buys.
Do you build only on my land?
Yes. We build on land you own, or land you are about to buy, in Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson, Pickens, and Oconee counties. If you have not bought yet, send us the listing and we will walk it with you before you make an offer, free.
How long does it take?
Plan on 12 to 16 months from the first site walk to keys: 30 to 45 days for the Home & Land Plan, 60 to 120 days for design, permits, and your loan closing, then 9 to 12 months of construction. If you hear a faster number, ask whether it counts the site work and the permits.
What if I already have a quote from someone else?
Good. You do not have to show it to us. We walk your lot, price the same size house at our published rate, and hand you a written number to set beside theirs. Line for line: site work, allowances, engineering, permits, warranty. You keep our number either way.
Get the other quote before you sign.
One site walk, one written number at published rates, yours to keep beside whatever you already have.