to go over pricing. Once the pricing is finalized it is submitted to the owner. If pricing is agreed upon, it is written into the company’s fixed contract and is reflected ultimately in the build. DESIGNING LASTING RELATIONSHIPS While Chernin has designed a multitude of custom homes since joining the team, owner and CEO of Divco Custom Homes, Stephen Kauffman has also been behind the construction of countless homes since taking the reins of the company over 40 years ago. From the company’s inception, Chernin points out, Kauffman has brought an unwavering vision and dedication to the customer experience that has sealed the leading position that Divco Custom Homes enjoys today. Placing a special emphasis on interactions with the client, as well as with Divco Custom Home’s valued subcontractors, some of whom have been working with the company for decades, Kauffman knows that at the heart of his business is the client’s happiness with their new home. A house is not a transaction, Chernin relays, but rather the end product of a journey that binds the homebuyer with Divco Custom Home’s caring team. Divco’s team is made up of design and building professionals that the competition may find hard to stand up against. Chernin works alongside Mark Eastman who is the president and responsible for Marco Island, Ron Glace, director of construction and Sirena Dechert who is the company’s Interior Designer. The team works off each other’s strengths and creative energy, Chernin points out. Chernin emphasizes that Divco’s foundation is based on the principle that the home-building process is a relationship-based business. “Relationships are the most important thing to me. My father was a developer and the first thing he taught me was that our business is about relationships and not about anything else.” “I become very close with our clients and they become not only friends, a lot of times they become family,” he insists. 25 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 12, ISSUE 04 DIVCO CUSTOM HOMES
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