Your Journey from Dream to Reality
A Proven, Transparent Process for Building Your Northern Michigan Home
Building a custom home is a major financial transaction, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by all the details. The Labadie Group process is designed for one primary reason: to remove anxiety and provide cost certainty from day one.
We do this by guiding you through every decision before we break ground. This collaborative approach eliminates unknowns, minimizes change orders, and allows us to provide a firm contract price.
This is our proven 6-step journey from our first conversation to the moment you hold the keys.
The Labadie Group's Process
We’ve refined our new construction process to be a simple, logical timeline that guides you from a simple idea to a finished home.
1
Consultation
This is the foundational step. We meet to listen and understand your complete vision.
- Project Discovery: We’ll discuss your goals, must-haves, timeline, and overall budget.
- Site Evaluation: We’ll assess your Northern Michigan property, whether it’s on Old Mission, in Leelanau County, or anywhere in the Traverse City area, to understand its unique features.
- Scope & Feasibility: We’ll have a transparent conversation about how your vision, property, and budget align, establishing a clear starting point for the project.
2
Design
With your vision as our blueprint, we move into the creative and technical design phase.
- Plan Development: We are completely flexible. We can work with architectural blueprints you already have, help you select and modify one of our pre-designed plans (which can reduce cost and time), or partner with designers to create a 100% unique custom home plan from scratch.
- The Selection Process: This is the core of our “no surprises” philosophy. We guide you through every single selection for your home—from windows and roofing to siding, cabinets, flooring, and fixtures. Every choice is finalized during this phase.
3
Estimate & Cost Analysis
Because we completed the Design and Selection steps, we can now provide true cost certainty.
- Transparent Quoting: We present you with a comprehensive, transparent, and itemized cost analysis for the entire project.
- No “Allowances”: Unlike other builders who use vague “allowance” budgets (which often lead to overages), your estimate is based on the actual products you selected. You see exactly where every dollar is going, giving you complete control and clarity.
4
Contract
With a finalized design and a clear, itemized cost analysis, we move forward with confidence.
- The Firm Contract: We provide a fixed-price contract based on the detailed scope of work. This is our promise of cost-certainty and is only possible because we’ve done the hard work in steps 2 and 3.
- Permitting & Logistics: Once the contract is in place, our team handles the “pre-construction” logistics. We finalize all plans, secure the necessary township and county permits, and create the detailed build schedule.
5
Build
This is where your vision and our planning come to life.
- Expert Project Management: You will have a dedicated project manager who ensures the build stays on schedule and on budget. We pride ourselves on clear, consistent communication.
- ‘The Group’: We don’t just hire the cheapest subcontractors. We deploy “The Group”—our dedicated, long-standing partners and craftsmen who we trust to deliver the highest standard of quality.
- Quality Assurance: Our team is on-site managing ‘The Group,’ ensuring every detail, from the foundation to the final trim, is executed to our exacting standards.
6
Certificate of Occupancy
The final, most exciting step: your house officially becomes your home.
- Final Walkthrough: We conduct a meticulous final walkthrough with you to ensure every detail is perfect and to your satisfaction.
- Welcome Home: We manage the final inspections to secure the official Certificate of Occupancy. We’ll hand you the keys, provide all necessary documentation, and review your new home’s systems with you.
- Our Warranty: Our commitment doesn’t end here. We stand behind our work with a full warranty, giving you lasting peace of mind in a home that was built to last for generations.