2008 may not have been the wisest time to start a custom home-building business. Yet Matt Kronaizl proved that, with the right formula, it’s possible to overcome tough times to become one of eastern Nebraska’s top custom home builders.
Matt Kronaizl owns and runs Omaha-based Sierra Homes, a local builder of custom homes in the $400K to $1M range. His team delivers about 12 homes a year. A notable example is a 3,077 SF, four bedroom/four bath home in a luxury lake community called Bluewater just west of Omaha. The Bluewater project is noteworthy because it was one of seven 2017 Integrity® Red Diamond Achiever Award winners. Here is a look at six principles Kronaizl follows to ensure project success:
- Stay Close to Your Client. “Our clients know they can call and talk to me anytime. We do not hand off clients to a superintendent or project manager. They came to me to fulfill their vision,” Kronaizl explains. To support that high-touch approach, Kronaizl and his team maintain a one-home-a-month building cadence. Kronaizl believes going beyond that pace may jeopardize client relationships.
- Dig Deep to Identify a Design Solution. About half of Kronaizl’s clients have seen a home he has built and want him to duplicate it or they present him with a custom house plan to build. The other half look to Kronaizl to consult with them on a custom design. The Integrity Red Diamond Achiever Award winner says he’ll ask “What are your wants?” “What are your needs?” “What’s important to you?” The replies inform the solution, supplemented by “several people’s input rather than just input from a single architect or builder,” Kronaizl says.
- Protect the Client’s Interests. The client of the Bluewater project is a single person. Designing the home to anticipate a family’s space needs wasn’t a high priority for the owner. However, Kronaizl knew a modestly sized ranch-style home already constrained by lot size would have limited resale appeal. Kronaizl came up with a best-of-both-worlds approach where the front elevation would appear like the stylish, single-level home the client preferred. “We kind of faked-in a second story with a couple more bedrooms with the mechanicals so it’s not obvious from the front,” Kronaizl says.
- Use Glass as a Design Element. You expect a lakefront property to feature glass to frame the scenic backyard view. How you use glass to support the aesthetic and achieve “something a little bit out of the ordinary” is the challenge. For the Bluewater project, Kronaizl used glass as a stylish design element on the front elevation by stacking horizontal windows and creating a distinctive L-shaped window arrangement.
- Specify High-Value Products. Eastern Nebraska is hail country and exposed metal is especially vulnerable to damage in a hail storm. That’s why Kronaizl specs Integrity® from Marvin® Windows made with Ultrex® fiberglass. “They hold up extremely well,” Kronaizl says. “You don’t have to worry about replacing windows and sashes from hail dents or construction dings.”
- Treat Trusted Contractors and Suppliers like Gold. Omaha is a tight labor market. Sierra Homes subs its work, but keeps the same high-performing crews busy from project to project. Kronaizl’s loyalty to his contractors earns their loyalty in return. Access to dependable labor helps Sierra Homes meet their delivery goals and minimize client disappointment. Kronaizl says the same goes for suppliers. “We spec Marvin or their Integrity line about 90 percent of the time. We don’t have callback, installation, or warranty worries. If something does come up, Marvin jumps right on it.”
As you make plans for your next residential project, keep Kronaizl’s principles in mind. Not only did they net the builder a prestigious national design award but more business: “It’s landed us a few other jobs. We start this week on another lake project. Different design, different layout. It’s a really great house plan.” For more information and pictures of the Bluewater project, visit here.
