Heritage Homes has emerged as the Fargo, North Dakota, area’s leading home builder through a relentless focus on the customer. Everything – from the home plans to the products and processes – has been thoughtfully designed based on keen insight and customer feedback to deliver remarkable new homes and customer experiences.
Putting the customer first, coupled with a love for construction, led company owner and President Tyrone Leslie to envision a new kind of homebuilding company. But he knew he couldn’t do it alone. According to Leslie, this could only work in a team environment where customer satisfaction is a core value held by all,
“With the magnitude of the purchase, a brand-new home, we’re honored by the trust customers place in us. Our team is not about personal agendas. Our team is passionate about what they do and they enjoy collaborating. As soon as you want to collaborate, communication improves and good things come from great communication.”
Great communication is at the center of Heritage Homes’ customer journey. Heritage Homes knows you can’t have a great home without having had a great homebuilding experience. Following visits to the company’s website, their journey typically begins in one of Heritage Homes’ furnished model homes, where visitors can come to appreciate amenities they just won’t see in other new homes. They are greeted by one of Heritage Homes’ New Home Specialists who take great pride in educating prospective home buyers, so that the buyers are empowered to make the best decisions. “We listen. Our New Home Specialists know what can and can’t be done, which is a tremendous benefit for our customers,” Steve Larson, Sales Manager for Heritage Homes
The Journey continues in the design process, where customers are delighted to realize Heritage Homes will modify its home plans, customizing them for how each buyer wants the home to “live.” Then, with plans in hand, buyers proceed to Heritage Homes’ Design Center, where Project Coordinator Nicole Schaffer works with them on product selections for their home. “The Design Center is a revolving door of innovation,” Schaffer said. “And it is very hands-on. My role is to educate our customers; what they should know regarding product choices when building a home. Customers also tell me they really appreciate my assistance in helping them make selections that are complementary and go well together. In addition, as their Project Coordinator, I’m their go-to point of contact throughout the building process.” Knowing that ambiguity is no one’s friend, customers can contact Nicole any time with any questions they have regarding their new home.
Read the full feature story of Heritage Homes here.
Form and function. Beautiful and practical. Great home design has to have both.
The bathroom in an owner’s suite has always been a “hot button” for home buyers. Hence, bath design receives lots of attention. Designers often start with creating the first impression–what you see when you first walk into the bathroom. We’ve been wowed by some visually stunning master baths only to discover practical considerations, such as convenient towel storage, were obviously afterthoughts. Many people like to dry off in the warm shower area rather than walk across the bathroom, wet and shivering, just to get their hands on a towel!
Nothing in the home is as personal to us as the master bathroom. So the design of this space is often modified from an original layout to one based on individual preferences. Here are the most common changes, and reasons for those modifications:
The original owner’s bath layout presents a large, doorless walk-in shower, compartmented toilet, and separate vanities.
Alternate bathroom layout #1 shows a single vanity with two sinks and adds another storage closet.
Alternate bathroom layout #2 utilizes the same single vanity with two sinks but shows a traditional bathtub in lieu of the extra closet.
People looking for a pampering bathing experience would likely opt for alternate layout #3 with its deluxe bathtub, large dual-sink vanity, semi-private toilet, and more generous walk-in closet.
Bathroom design, like your wardrobe, should be tailored for a perfect “fit”!
Those of you who follow Design Basics likely know that we have a home plan book collection based on the four Livability At A Glance™ lenses: Entertaining, De-Stressing, Organized Living, and Flexibility. It may come as a surprise that the top seller from this collection is the Flexible Home Plans title!
We all try to predict the future – what prospective home buyers will want – and plan accordingly, so we can incorporate certain amenities into the homes we offer. This provides better design, and some control over cost and construction. Yet, individual buyers have individual needs as well as a desire for their home to both reveal and augment who they are.
Hence, the surging popularity of homes with pre-planned design options; not just the default 2-foot extension for the dining area, but true flexible spaces. Design Basics’ Harmon Haven (42366) shows an open flex space to the front – think dining room with a walk-thru pantry/server or music room. Or, imagine that space closed off as a home office via barn doors. The original design has a large laundry area that can easily double as a craft/hobby area, but some buyers would be much more interested in a second bedroom on the main floor with its accompanying full bathroom, preferring the convenience of a stack washer/dryer in their owner’s suite because there’s another laundry closet upstairs. And that second-floor loft? Just asking “How would you use this space?” may yield more varied responses than you would have dreamed!
Design Basics’ Elba Grove (42336) is another new plan showcasing flexibility. The original design presents a study/home office with nice storage and adjoining powder bath, so clients and colleagues need not walk through the rest of the house to use a bathroom. But we also show it just as easily could be a nice main floor bedroom suite. There’s a pocket office at the back, which could also be a…planning center…wine room…bulk item closet…or deleted altogether in favor of a larger dining area. The deep garage offers abundant storage potential or may become a workshop, gardening center, man cave, or like Apple and Google, where the next mega-business is born!
Search for other Flexible Living plans via our Plan Search Tool.
The year was 1972. Don McLean’s “American Pie” topped the Billboard charts, “The Godfather” made big-screen history, Billie Jean King won her seventh Wimbledon Tennis championship, and George Parmer founded Fine Line Homes in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. In the 45 years since, American Pie still enjoys significant airplay, The Godfather remains one of the top-rated movies of all time, Billie Jean King’s impact on gender equality in professional sports can still be felt, and thousands of Pennsylvania and New York families come home to a house built by Fine Line Homes.
Such enduring legacies are neither accidental nor “good fortune.” Fine Line Homes has not merely survived, but thrived, for multiple generations in part because home building is a process, which Fine Line Homes has honed to near perfection. Then there are standards, such as name-brand building products. Yet it may be the company’s cornerstones of quality and integrity that laid the foundation for success, according to Mark Bittner, the company’s Director of Sales and Marketing.
“Under Mr. Parmer’s leadership, Fine Line Homes has grown to now serve all of Central and Northeast Pennsylvania as well as Southern New York,” said Bittner, continuing, “The company, and the homes we build, have evolved, but our ‘customer-first’ commitment is unwavering.”
Recently, Fine Line Homes’ customers Barbara and Jim Scheifley were interviewed in the Williamsport Sun-Gazette regarding their new home. Jim was quoted as saying, “They [Fine Line Homes] are very honest with you and there were no hidden prices.” And, “Their standard construction options are what other builders offer as extras.” Even the article headline, “On Budget and On Time,” attests to the company’s focus on the customer.
Each of Fine Line Homes’ regional offices (Harrisburg, Lewisburg, State College, Hazleton, and Sayre) has a different model home built for prospective home buyers to tour. There, they’ll meet with one of Fine Line Homes’ Housing Consultants who will help them through the home design, product selections, and purchase processes. Bittner practically brags on the Housing Consultants, “The majority have been with Fine Line Homes for more than 10 years. They know the homes, they know the products, they know the process. They know what can and can’t be done. Their knowledge is a tremendous value for our customers.”
Better Decisions
Bittner says “Our home designs have evolved, based on customer feedback and input from Design Basics through their Woman-Centric Matters!® research into women’s preferences in the home. Our plans are more open and inviting, with larger kitchens and pantries, places to work from home, and more spacious bathrooms as well as enviable owner’s suites. Yet square footages have remained fairly constant over the past decade.” How? Most of today’s Fine Line Homes’ buyers favor one eating area as opposed to the formal dining room plus separate breakfast area layout, so the space formerly devoted to formal dining can be re-allocated. Similarly, a high majority of the company’s customers are choosing an oversized shower and dual sinks, but no bathtub in the owner’s bathroom.
Read the full feature story about Fine Line Homes by clicking here.
Nothing says more about a builder than the homes the company builds. Your homes communicate what you believe is important and what [you perceive] buyers want and value. Some aspects are obvious to prospective buyers; others are “hidden assets” buyers might overlook or not notice at all. That’s where your stories regarding those hidden assets can powerfully influence the buying decision. But ultimately, whether or not the home sells is based on the stories prospects tell themselves.
We’ll use Design Basics’ new Beckley Place (42348) home plan to illustrate. The eclectic exterior incorporates shake and horizontal siding plus stone accents. A combination of composite shingles and metal roofing, carriage-style garage doors, shuttered windows, and a covered front porch create a façade that’s new and distinctive. The volume entry foyer is wide and inviting, while the flex room to the left presents a great opportunity to stir the buyer’s emotions. Simply asking “How would you use this space?” will help you identify your prospect’s priorities. As designed, it might be an ideal parlor, music room, or sunroom. But if a craft room or home office is what the buyers have in mind, closing the space off with double doors can provide desired privacy. Just beyond, the staircase landing presents a window seat flanked by built-in shelving. Explaining that the window is both aesthetic and a safety issue (better lighting in the staircase), and that a split staircase, such as this design, reduces fall danger and serious injury, can help your buyers appreciate such an amenity. Some buyers might place books on the shelves; others may display nick-knacks that bring a smile every time she passes by them!
Drop zone stories tend to center around de-cluttering the kitchen; parents recognize the desirability of lockers for organizing their kids’ stuff; and, a bench by the lockers is great for removing shoes. A planning desk is also shown in this space, which could be repurposed as a coat closet or bulk item storage if preferred. A covered patio means your outdoor plans need not be cancelled due to rain, and the corner location offers added privacy as well as making this space more pleasurable on windy days.
The garage is wonderfully sized for active households, including the extra-deep outside bay, which is ideal for backing a boat into or perhaps a collector car. The generous storage area presents workshop opportunities or organization that eliminates the “trek-around-the-bikes-and-garden equipment” routine. Explaining it in this way triggers related memories!
Buyer hot-button issues continue upstairs, starting with the owner’s suite. Three transom windows over the likely headboard wall are a visual delight. The combined shower/bathing area is trending upward and if your hopeful buyers aren’t “tub people,” the bathtub could be omitted and that space given over to an even larger walk-in closet. Because most of us disrobe in the bathroom, a door from the owner’s bath to the laundry room eliminates steps, and there is room between the laundry sink and dryer for a hamper/clothes basket. This is another one of those stories buyers rehearse when they’re contemplating their new home purchase with you. Two sinks AND separate vanities for the compartmentalized hall bath is a great way to reduce conflict, especially when teens are in a hurry. While some buyers love the spaciousness of a two-story entry, others see this as “wasted space.” For those individuals, suggesting this space could be finished and turned into a walk-in closet for bedroom #2 or hall cedar closet or open study area may help turn prospects into customers!
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Great communication is at the center of Heritage Homes’ customer journey. Heritage Homes knows you can’t have a great home without having had a great homebuilding experience. Following visits to the company’s website, their journey typically begins in one of Heritage Homes’ furnished model homes, where visitors can come to appreciate amenities they just won’t see in other new homes. They are greeted by one of Heritage Homes’ New Home Specialists who take great pride in educating prospective home buyers, so that the buyers are empowered to make the best decisions. “We listen. Our New Home Specialists know what can and can’t be done, which is a tremendous benefit for our customers,” Steve Larson, Sales Manager for Heritage Homes
We all try to predict the future – what prospective home buyers will want – and plan accordingly, so we can incorporate certain amenities into the homes we offer. This provides better design, and some control over cost and construction. Yet, individual buyers have individual needs as well as a desire for their home to both reveal and augment who they are.
Design Basics’ Elba Grove (
Such enduring legacies are neither accidental nor “good fortune.” Fine Line Homes has not merely survived, but thrived, for multiple generations in part because home building is a process, which Fine Line Homes has honed to near perfection. Then there are standards, such as name-brand building products. Yet it may be the company’s cornerstones of quality and integrity that laid the foundation for success, according to Mark Bittner, the company’s Director of Sales and Marketing.
Each of Fine Line Homes’ regional offices (Harrisburg, Lewisburg, State College, Hazleton, and Sayre) has a different model home built for prospective home buyers to tour. There, they’ll meet with one of Fine Line Homes’ Housing Consultants who will help them through the home design, product selections, and purchase processes. Bittner practically brags on the Housing Consultants, “The majority have been with Fine Line Homes for more than 10 years. They know the homes, they know the products, they know the process. They know what can and can’t be done. Their knowledge is a tremendous value for our customers.”
We’ll use Design Basics’ new Beckley Place (
Buyer hot-button issues continue upstairs, starting with the owner’s suite. Three transom windows over the likely headboard wall are a visual delight. The combined shower/bathing area is trending upward and if your hopeful buyers aren’t “tub people,” the bathtub could be omitted and that space given over to an even larger walk-in closet. Because most of us disrobe in the bathroom, a door from the owner’s bath to the laundry room eliminates steps, and there is room between the laundry sink and dryer for a hamper/clothes basket. This is another one of those stories buyers rehearse when they’re contemplating their new home purchase with you. Two sinks AND separate vanities for the compartmentalized hall bath is a great way to reduce conflict, especially when teens are in a hurry. While some buyers love the spaciousness of a two-story entry, others see this as “wasted space.” For those individuals, suggesting this space could be finished and turned into a walk-in closet for bedroom #2 or hall cedar closet or open study area may help turn prospects into customers!