Find Kiawah Island Builders And Real Estate: Buffington Homes Charleston SC Custom Builder
The road to building high-end residential
homes does not typically begin in
a doctor’s office, unless you are Dan
Buffington. Ironically, that was precisely
the route Buffington took on his way to a
construction career in South Carolina. For
the first twenty years of his professional life,
Buffington followed his family tradition
and practiced medicine. As he explained,
“medicine is simply what my family
does; my dad first, then I followed and
finally, my two brothers, who are still in
practice today.”
While practicing medicine, Buffington’s construction apprenticeship began in California when a large custom home developer offered him a partnership as they developed a 180-acre tract with significant environmental challenges within Buffington’s own neighborhood. This project spanned eight years and eventually supported 135 custom homes. In an unrelated turn of events, the Buffington’s decided the environment in southern California was not an atmosphere where they wanted to raise their soon-to-be teenage children, so they uprooted the family to Charleston, SC for a better quality of life.
Buffington had initially intended to open a medical practice in South Carolina until his wife convinced him otherwise. She persuaded him to finally fulfill his life long dream. Hence, in 1996 Buffington Homes got its start in South Carolina. Buffington’s eight-year apprenticeship in southern California proved invaluable. As an unknown player in an established market, Buffington knew he had to be better than the competition. The quality of his homes would speak loudly, however, a systematic process and tight quality control would insure consistent delivery. Great estimating and financial management with unbeatable customer service would round out the company’s offering. “Today our company is actively creating what we call “live-able works of art and a home building experience that is fun and as stress free as possible,” says Buffington.
As is other businesses, technology
continues to become more and more
of a priority for a home building company.
Building a luxury home involves
large expenditures of money, and the
manner in which a builder controls
the financial aspects of a project can
often mark the success or failure of that
builder without regard to the quality
of his homes. Buffington has invested
heavily in state-of-the-art computers
and software to assist in the estimating
and accounting process. With the start
of each new project, a comprehensive
financial plan for each client is designed
along with a complete project
schedule. These tools allow the company
to track all costs against the estimated
budget and keep homeowners
informed every step of the way.
Each project manager is equipped with a laptop computer and actively uses it to relay information to and from the job sites in a controlled and timely manner. As opposed to most home builders in this market space, Buffington allows their project managers a maximum of two jobs at a time; if working on a large job, they are limited to one. This enables the project manager to be on site while serving as the key point person with the architect and client as well as the various suppliers and craftsmen.
Buffington Homes’ culture is to approach
each project as if building for
oneself without constraints, “when in
doubt, do it the right way.” That mode
of thinking is stressed for each artisan,
making every project a labor of love. It
is the creativity and skill of the many
Buffington Homes’ craftsmen that
have earned numerous awards as they
transform client dreams into some of
the finest homes in South Carolina.
In a short span of time, the company
has become one of the most respected
and decorated builders of luxury homes
in the Southeast. In 2003, Buffington Homes was awarded a Best In American
Living Award (BALA) by Professional
Builder Magazine and the National Association
of Home Builders (NAHB).
BALA awards in two separate categories
followed in 2004. This prestigious national
competition pays tribute to those
individuals who create homes that illustrate
design quality and success in the
marketplace. Buffington Homes has
also received regional PRISM Awards
for the Best Resort/Island Home for
each consecutive year from 1998-2003.
Looking toward the future, Buffington sees nothing but sunny skies – and homes to build. Buffington said he feels blessed to work with a great team. Although he is working longer hours than when he was practicing medicine, he says he would not have it any other way. “I get to build high-quality homes for wonderful, appreciative, people. It is the best job in the world.”
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Buffington HomesCharleston's Premier Builder!253 Gardeners Circle, Suite 240 Johns Island, SC 29455 (843) 768 8525 Cathy@BuffingtonHomes.com http://www.buffingtonhomes.com |