My wife and I started planning our retirement in 2007, about 10 years before we actually retired. It started with finding the right lot…location location location, as they say. Then we turned to finding the right builder to help us put our retirement dreams into action. We interviewed six builders in the Austin area. We talked with them and visited their built homes. After about a month or two, we finally decided on Jenkins Design Build. Jenkins was the only builder that had the passion and quality for which we were looking. In fact, the only reason it took any time at all is that Jenkins wasn’t the cheapest option, and we were worried about how they would build a home at our price level. As it turned out, Shan was very straightforward with the cost. We knew all along the way how much the final number was going to be…no big surprises at the end.
Another reason we chose Jenkins was that Shan had a civil engineering background, which eased our worries on the foundation for our house. The design-build team also met with us on our lot to discuss various things like slope, setback, and house location and angle on the lot. In fact one of the best decisions made was the angle of the house on the lot. Their architect plotted our plan on the lot survey and its relation to the various views we have, so we could maximize our views by turning the house just 10 degrees from parallel with the lot lines. When people come to our house it’s one of the first things they notice…the extra view we got from that decision. All of this is to say that Jenkins takes their job very seriously and looks at every detail.
We have had many people tell us that the quality of our house is great. One friend, who just moved to California, said that the quality Jenkins built into our house was better than anything he was looking for in 7 years in California. Working with the Jenkins team was great. We immediately felt like family. The first step was the design meeting (Lifestyle Analysis). We sat down with the various team members to talk about how we wanted to live in this house. This process was critical and never stopped for my wife and me. We were in constant communication with our Superintendent about what-if scenarios. We literally lived in our house on paper throughout the process. By the time we moved in, it was if we actually had lived here already. In fact, every detail in our house was designed for very specific reasons/uses. Now over a year later, the house has performed exactly like we hoped it would. We have had many family get-togethers, church retreats, parties, and even our youngest daughter’s wedding in this house. The Jenkins team has already helped make our retirement dream a reality.
