Coffee in Sedona: The Turning Point
Honesty, Transparency, Loyalty & Integrity:
The True Foundation of a Luxury Home......
In the construction industry today, the words honesty, transparency, loyalty, and integrity are thrown around a lot. Builders claim them, brochures print them, but very few companies actually operate by them every single day.
At Steg Custom Homes, these values are not slogans.
They are our operating system.
They guide every conversation, every estimate, every design meeting, and every decision we make while building a luxury custom home in Sedona.
And recently, I met a prospective client whose experience perfectly illustrated why these values matter now more than ever.
A Common Story in the Construction World — And a Costly One
About a month and a half ago, I received a call from a couple who had just gone through what far too many people experience when they follow the old, broken path of homebuilding.
Their story is the construction industry’s reality today:
- They purchased a piece of land.
- They went straight to an architect.
- They told the architect they had a $3.5M budget.
- The architect said, “Absolutely, we’ll design within that.”
- They spent eight months drawing plans.
- The architect sent those plans to five or six builders.
- Every single builder came back $1.2M to $2.4M over their budget.
And now?
They’re forced to start over. More time. More money. More stress.
This is not an isolated situation.
This is the industry norm.
Why This Happens
Because the traditional approach—land → architect → builder—is fundamentally flawed.
Clients go to the architect first thinking, “Why would I need a builder before I’m ready to build?”
It’s understandable. But it’s also wrong.
When you design first and price later, you fail every time.
In Sedona especially, where site prep means rock, more rock, and then a little more rock, the cost of excavation alone can change everything.
Without a builder’s real-world pricing knowledge up front, plans become wish lists instead of realistic roadmaps.
Coffee in Sedona: The Turning Point
We met for coffee in Sedona and they asked:
“Jim, tell us about your Legacy Pre-Construction Concierge Program.”
So I did.
I explained that at Steg Custom Homes, we’ve thrown out the archaic system. It doesn’t work. It sets people up to fail emotionally, financially, and logistically.
Here’s how it should work:
The Right Way: Our Legacy Pre-Construction Concierge Program
- Discovery Call
You call me first. We learn your wants, needs, lifestyle, and—most importantly—your true, comfortable budget. - Schedule of Values (A to Z)
We create a detailed breakdown of every cost:
- Cabinets
- Countertops
- Flooring
- Tile
- Finishes
- Structural components
- Engineering
- Excavation
- Management, overhead & profit
We show you exactly what your budget can afford before a single line is drawn.
3. Architect Matchmaking
We select from 25 trusted architects, choosing the one whose style, personality, and fee structure align with your goals.
4. A 15-Step Guided Process (5–8 months)
We become your advocates—your liaisons.
We attend every meeting.
We keep the architect inside the financial guardrails.
We give the architect and designer a roadmap—the Schedule of Values—to follow.
We don’t control how the architect designs.
We simply provide the truth:
what things cost, what things mean, and what things require so the entire team stays aligned.
This process removes:
✔ Rework
✔ Budget blowouts
✔ Emotional overwhelm
✔ Miscommunication
✔ Hidden surprises
And it ensures one thing:
You stay in control.
Their Response: “Jim… You Just Described Our Last 12 Months”
Halfway through my explanation, they stopped me.
They looked at each other, looked back at me, and said:
“Jim, you just defined our entire last year. We’ve spent $150,000 on plans we can’t even use.”
And unfortunately, that is absolutely common.
People enter the homebuilding journey blind, without a professional guiding them, protecting them, and explaining what lies ahead.
This leads to the highest emotional volatility people face outside of medical emergencies or major life events.
Our job is to steady that.
More Than Construction: We Protect the Client’s Emotions
Luxury homes aren’t just wood, steel, and stone.
They’re emotional investments.
Clients need:
- Guidance
- Reassurance
- Honest answers
- Realistic boundaries
- Advocacy
- A builder who genuinely cares
At Steg Custom Homes, our core purpose is to protect the client—financially, emotionally, and logistically.
We go beyond building homes.
We build trust, clarity, and confidence.
Results That Speak for Themselves
We recently finished a $3.5 million home in West Sedona:
- On time
- On budget
- Six months ahead of schedule
- Four months ahead of the clients’ own challenging schedule
In today’s industry, that is almost unheard of.
But it happens when a builder operates from honesty, transparency, loyalty, and integrity—and when the process starts correctly from day one.
The Real Foundation of a Luxury Custom Home
At Steg Custom Homes, we believe:
- Honesty builds trust.
- Transparency builds confidence.
- Loyalty builds lasting relationships.
- Integrity builds legacies.
The Legacy Pre-Construction Concierge Program is not a service—it’s protection.
It’s your roadmap.
It’s your advocate.
It’s your emotional anchor through the biggest investment of your life.
And it works.
Every. Single. Time.
In these pictures is a wonderful young lady who put her trust in Steg Custom Homes with our Legacy Pre Construction Concierge Program. We aligned with her budget, committed to 13 weeks of construction, conducted a full build out ........ IN 11 WEEKS. OVER PERFORMED and ON BUDGET!!!!
IT WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!
