Building Homes Customers Love

Putting the customer’s wish list on top and building homes they love

For the president of Focal Point Homes, custom home building is simple; putting the customer’s needs first and translating their vision into a beautiful home they will love for years to come. Of course, there is a lot more that goes into the art of custom building and Focal Point Homes has mastered this process while assembling a team and crafting a portfolio of homes that are “built to last.”

Specializing in custom homes with high-end finishes, Focal Point Homes counts a core value of providing an exceptional client experience which has translated into clients who enjoy designing and building their homes. They also love the end product: their cherished home.

“The thing that sets us apart is our team. Every member of our team does everything we can to help our customers love building their homes. This begins from the first interactions we have with them in the community and extends through the build process and beyond,” says Jeff Jardine, President of Focal Point Homes.

“Our world is very competitive, with lots of builders and lots of competitors all around the area in Northern Virginia. Our clear aim is to have customers enjoy the [home building] experience, feel like they are experiencing something different. We live here – we coach in the youth sports leagues or see our customers at the supermarket or at church – we are truly their friends.”

Founded in 2010 by Scott Murray and continuing to gain traction in their local market, Focal Point Homes is laser-focused on living the company’s seven core values, delivering an annual average of 25-30 homes annually. The company will deliver its 300th home at the end of 2025.

The company’s staff of 13 highly experienced team members are its “secret sauce” according to Jardine. The staff includes individuals recognized across the country for excellence in their fields.

“We are very careful about who we have hired over the years. We have hired people who have been acknowledged as the top project managers in the states of Maryland and Virginia; there is a premium to get those people, but it is worth it: every touch point with each customer along the way needs to be an outstanding experience,” Jardine elaborates.

With a reputation for strong and long-standing client relationships, open and transparent communication throughout the design and construction process as well as meticulous attention to detail in their work, the team at Focal Point Homes has helped the company to separate itself from other builders, securing a leading position in its market and loyalty among its clientele.

“Again and again, clients move into their homes with substantial equity in place from day one. They are consistently excited also for their friends to build with us as well..”

“Our goal isn’t just to build one house in a neighborhood, but to be invited back again and again by neighbors and customers,” Jardine notes.

Local Roots building lasting relationships

Focal Point Homes built its company foundation on excellence with customer service and always doing the right things in every circumstance for each customer, neighbor, and trade partner.

“This is a well-run company of kind, diligent, smart people,” Jardine states.

He adds, “We try to treat people as we would want to be treated if we were going through the home building process. We know that each new customer is a new relationship of trust that must be developed and earned each time.”

“In the early years we were building entirely on a spec basis- buying land, developing a new home, and selling it on the market,” Jardine explains.

The company still builds 10 to 12 speculative projects each year today, but has seen considerable growth in building custom homes for people on their lots.

“We are honored today by the trust of families who have purchased a piece of land and hire us to design and build their ‘forever homes.’ And our company is built for this work,” Jardine notes. “We are a one-stop shop for permitting, site work, land development, home design, construction, and our customer care on the back end.”

Focal Point Homes has also grown its reputation for building efficiently.

“Most of our homes are built in the span of five to seven months from permit to permit; this often includes some of the more custom high-end homes,” he adds. “We track permit dates of other projects in the area and we know that our efficiency is something else that sets us apart. Our goal here is that a day will not go by without us moving a project forward in some way.”

Equipped with over 30 home plans developed over the years, adding on average two plans a year reflecting the current style of homes and design trends, Focal Point Homes helps clients get started with the design process and narrow down what they may want their home to look like.

During the height of the pandemic in 2021, Jardine relays that the company delivered nearly 40 homes, but has since chosen to scale back from that number and chooses to focus its current efforts on producing considerable custom work. Roughly half of Focal Point’s business is devoted to custom builds and the remaining half are spec builds from the company’s plans.

Jardine highlights that the business has also profited by retaining top-caliber trade partners.

“Our subcontractors also live our values,” Jardine outlines. “We pay them on time and treat them with respect. They are an extension of our team.”

“Over the years we have developed a group of people that we are confident in, that we like working with, who do good work, and who keep coming back to us,” Jardine illustrates.

Designing a custom home experience

Boasting many impressive projects over the years, Jardine points to a recent custom home build that stands out for the team.

“Less than a year ago we finished and sold a home in a very nice and exclusive neighborhood over by Langley High School here in Northern Virginia,”

The company acquired a half-acre lot which was challenging to build on due to a notable slope in the backyard. After considering the best way to navigate the uniqueness of the land, “We decided some of the design elements that we wanted to incorporate that were unique to the area. For example, some wood paneling on the ceilings, high-end cabinets, unique appliances from La Cornue.”

“We also incorporated an elevator into the design of the home and worked with the lot’s slope to include a 19-foot ceiling basketball court with exterior windows allowing for natural light.”

“This was a great project,” Jardine enthuses.

Designing the future

When asked about what he envisions for Focal Point Homes’ future, Jardine answers with reflection.

“We are very invested in the communities near our centers of strength around McLean, Langley, and other nearby premium high schools in Northern Virginia and have built more homes in McLean, Virginia over the last 10 years than any other builder,” Jardine details.

Although focused in most part on their current market around McLean, Falls Church, and Arlington, Jardine does admit that the company has begun to expand its footprint in the Northern Virginia area to include homes in Vienna, Oakton, Springfield, Alexandria, and Fairfax.

“We will be smart about future growth; and this growth will reflect the expansion of our capabilities as the years go by, as with every project, we are learning more and more,” he concludes.

Our Seven Core Values:

1. Providing an exceptional customer experience.
2. Building homes that we and our customers can be proud of.
3. Sincerely caring about those with whom we work and for whom we build.
4. Relentlessly focusing on operating efficiently and controlling costs.
5. Being self-motivated learners and doers.
6. Being the best at what we do.
7. Always doing the right thing.

AT A GLANCE

What: High-end custom homes and spec homes builder with a customer-centric and relationship approach underpinning its business model
Where: McLean, Virginia
Website: www.focalpointhomes.com