| Understanding how to put quality into a home began early for Dan. He's been working in or around the home-building industry for some forty-seven years. He first started working in the industry while in High School. He was tutored by two previous Presidents of our local Home Builders Association, James M. Campbell and Dusty D. Rhodes. His hands-on approach has given him a much greater understanding of how to build an almost callback free home.
That hands-on background makes a huge difference for Dan¹s customers because unlike most builders in this area, Dan has no superintendent or employees between him and his homebuyers.
Personal Care
When you build with Dan Smith Home Building, you get Dan Smith. Roger and Marie Wilkie appreciated that when Dan built their home in Tomahawk Creek Estates. "I talked with him every day," Marie remembers. "We always knew what was happening with our home."
"Dan made sure everybody treated us well and he watched our money as if it was his own," Roger comments.
Communication was doubly important for the Woods because they were living in California while they were building here. When they decided to move to the Kansas City area, John and Elizabeth visited several communities and came across a Dan Smith home they liked in the Pavilions of Leawood. About that time, Builders were getting ready for the Parade of Homes, and there was Dan planting flowers in front of his model home. After talking to Dan they decided to build with him.
"We got progress updates and shots over the internet," John said, "And they began with pictures of the first excavation of our home."
"Communication with Dan was easy and frequent," Elizabeth said. "He's easy to get in touch with and he returns phone calls promptly. You don't have to go through anybody; you talk with
Dan."
"Because we don't do mass production building," Dan explains, "I'm on every job every day checking details. Most of our subcontractors have worked with us for years, they are the subcontractors that work on all of our homes, we don't have different subs for different price brackets of homes. The same quality is built into every home."
Total Experience
"We enjoyed working with Dan," Marie says, "We had an excellent experience and Dan was a major factor in that. We would build with him again."
Elizabeth agrees, "We felt a great sense of comfort and assurance working with Dan. There were no surprises and his attention to detail doesn't stop when you close. After four years in our home, we're still glowing."
Dan's Philosophy for Building
As I walk through life, one of my strongest desires is to do the best job I can do on all of my homes. The homes I build are not just four walls to me and a pay check at the end of the day. They are places where people come together. The place where families should feel comfortable in their surroundings, and safe with their investment. I don't think it is important to build many homes, it's much more important to build good homes that will stand the test of time.
Attention to Detail
Attention to detail and details you'll not likely find in other homes is another reason both couples say they would build with Dan again.
Furniture quality Cabinetry, which is custom designed and made, is a prime example of going several steps beyond standard. Many of Dan's homes have hardwood floors on the entire first floor.
Kitchens await gourmet cooks. Granite counter tops and top-of-the-line stainless steel sinks share space with an impressive appliance package that includes three convection ovens, one a combination microwave-convection, a warming drawer, and a pot-filler above the gas cook top.
The communities in which Dan builds homes must pay similar close attention to quality and detail. "I build only in communities whose developers have a solid reputation for quality from start to the finish. That includes architectural design standards, strong homeowner associations, and beauty."
Innovative Designs
Dan Smith homes are designed in collaboration with John Mackaman an architect with Elswood-Smith-Carlson Architects, and Judy Smith, who is Dan's wife, an accomplished interior designer. The three of them have traveled extensively in Europe to develop new and fresh ideas and elevations for all of the Dan Smith homes. "If you want a special look, go where it was created, that the best way," Dan says.
After a trip to France, while staying in a six hundred year old castle in the Dordogue area, we developed our newest idea. In our model in Hampton Place, the entry closet now consists of ten feet of cabinetry including deep drawers for hats and gloves." These are some of the features you see only in a Dan Smith home.
Home building is truly a family affair with the Smiths. Son Andrew worked with Dan for years and has recently started his own building company. Now Dan is training his daughter Darcy to become an accomplished builder.
Our newest venture is a subdivision called The Vineyards. Watch for the news of this in Johnson County, Kansas. |
