Custom Building: A Stress-Free Process with FLH

Building a custom home with Florida Lifestyle Homes in Naples is a stress-free process, even from 4,500 miles away, according to London residents Natalie and Andy Cortese. Good communication and confidence in the builder are key, they say. For them, the choice was easy.

When the Corteses began the research for their perfect Florida home, they visited a number of model homes, checking the work of several different builders. Then they saw Florida Lifestyle Homes’ Antigua model at Quail West Golf & Country Club, a four-bedroom design with four and one-half baths plus a study in 4,032 square feet of air-conditioned living space. With a covered entry, an expansive lanai, outdoor kitchen, living and dining areas along with a three-car garage, the home has 6,762 total square feet.

“The model that was built by Florida Lifestyle Homes just wowed us,” said Natalie. “We loved pretty much everything about it, but specifically the outside lanai area, the kitchen, the floor plan, and the overall decor.”

She notes that they were then able to meet at the model with Bill Ennen, president and founder of Florida Lifestyle Homes, spending a lot of time discussing the house and the detailed process of building a custom home. “My husband and I felt very comfortable with Bill, and we really loved his open and honest way and his attention to details.”

WORKING TOGETHER

Working together with the Florida Lifestyle Homes team, a custom floor plan was created, combining features selected from two of the company’s award-winning models.

“We spend a great deal of time with buyers every time we design a custom home,” said Bill Ennen. “It is important to understand how they expect their home to function, how they actually want to live within the home. We ask a lot of questions about family, their vision of entertaining, what is important to them. We incorporate numerous exciting features in our models, but when we are building a custom home, we want to see that everything fits exactly into their lifestyle. The details are important.”

As construction progresses, the interaction with Florida Lifestyle Homes’ team is constant. For the Corteses, that was important.

“Since we lived in London, England, as we were building our home, it was imperative to us that we had very open and constant communication with Bill and his team,” Natalie said. “I dealt mainly with John Blackman and Luanza Maitland, who were amazing to work with. I would schedule my trips back to Naples from London based on when they required certain selections to accommodate the construction schedule.”

Natalie said the two scheduled the meetings and ensured that she met with the right suppliers, easing a part of custom building that can often be confusing and difficult as everything from paint colors to cabinet drawer pulls are chosen. “The selection process was a fun one and not at all stressful,” she said.

Throughout construction, the buyer is part of the process, Ennen notes. “There have been many times during the construction of a custom home that we’ve been able to make minor adjustments that provided a feature that particularly suited the buyer’s needs. It might be something as simple as taking advantage of unused space for storage or adjusting the height of shelving for convenience.”

Weekly or bi-weekly emails kept the Corteses involved.

“The supervisor on the job would send me pictures during the various stages of the build so that I could keep a nice timeline of the status,” Natalie said. “If I felt I needed more information or had questions or concerns, we would schedule conference calls with Bill and his team. I never felt stressed about living 4,500 miles away from our new house due to the open communication we had. We knew the house was in good hands the whole time.”

Natalie says that their custom home includes too many wonderful features to pick a favorite.

“If we had to narrow it down, my favs are the custom gourmet kitchen – I love to cook,” she said, noting she also likes the huge outside lanai and fireplace and pool area. “Andy’s favorite is the outdoor kitchen and the fire pit.”

“And we both love the fact that there are two loos in our master bathroom, ‘his’ and ‘hers,’ ” Natalie added. “That makes for a strong marriage.”

For Ennen and the team at Florida Lifestyle Homes, the fact that they’ve created a home that makes their buyers happy gives them a great deal of satisfaction. “It is personal to us – building something with quality and care – and doing it in a way that makes it a comfortable process for our buyers.”

Natalie and Andy say the Florida Lifestyle Homes team has succeeded.

“Bill Ennen and the entire team at Florida Lifestyle Homes are great,” they said. “They really made the experience of building a new home a fun and easy process….when most would expect it to be stressful and time-consuming.”

“I felt that Bill and Florida Lifestyle Homes had our best interests at heart throughout the entire process,” Natalie added. “Bill and his team built us a home that could be a ‘model’ home, and Andy and I cannot wait to move in and start the next chapter of our lives in our dream house.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For more information about Florida Lifestyle Homes custom building or for a personal tour of the company’s current models, contact Denise Ogden or Randy Frederick at 239.561.8022. For additional information about Florida Lifestyle Homes, visit www.FloridaLifestyleHomes.com.

Read the article at the Naples Daily News.