Great Southern Homes - Article - Winter 2022
Grand Strand New Home Guide - Winter 2022
Living Up To Its Name
For nearly two decades, the name of Great Southern Homes has epitomized its brand as the company has successfully built quality homes with care and created a following of devoted, happy homeowners who are proud of their “great homes”.
The company’s motto, “Creating quality-built homes for today’s growing families at affordable prices” doesn’t tell the whole story according to Sonya Schaffner, Coastal Sales Manager for Great Southern Homes. “Our three prime focal points are: Style, Quality, and Affordability”, says Schaffner.
Having built over 12,000 homes over the past two decades and currently slated to build over 200 homes in the Grand Strand this year, Great Southern Homes views itself as a local builder… with the benefits of scale. “Our construction and financing scale gives the company the buying power to acquire quality products at advantageous pricing but also gives us clout with our subcontractors,” says Coastal Division Manager, Jason Faulkner. “Our subcontractor partners have grown right along with us and remain loyal to our company.”
While size explains buying power, sometimes size and quality can be at odds with each other. Not so with Great Southern Homes. “We take quality very seriously in every home we build”, explains Faulkner. “Our goal is to deliver every single home with zero defects. We have a rigorous quality control program that begins with our Project Manger’s quality assessment of every home followed by a Quality Inspection by another individual which is followed by two more quality reviews with the homeowner. We refine every home until we are satisfied, we attempt to deliver it to the customer with zero defects and zero items owed to the buyer.”
The quality checklist with between 300 to 600 items depending on the size of the home gets reviewed multiple times by three full-time warranty and quality control staffers as well as the Project Manager. The greatest reward is a happy customer … but at Great Southern Homes quality commitment has also been validated by winning the homebuilding industry’s Guildmaster Quality Award. This award is the result of a third-party evaluation of each homeowners’ “happiness” and “willingness to recommend” immediately after the sale and after the closing. The Guildmaster Award is not easily earned but Great Southern Homes is proud to have achieved this recognition in 2019 and 2020.
The other principle of the Style-Quality-Affordability ideal, “Style”, is where things start to get exciting. Great Southern Homes has developed over 120 active floorplans based on experience and customer tastes. Nearly four dozen of those plans are being constructed in the Myrtle Beach market with up to nine different plans in any given community.
As Schaffner explains, “Our floorplans and home designs are constantly evolving as our customers evolve and their tastes change. This has been especially beneficial during these pandemic times as most every builder has eliminated customization of existing plans due to the difficulty of getting materials delivered in time to meet the build schedule. We design all our plans in-house and we have an extensive line-up of plans designed for different types of buyers so we can please most any customer without a need to redraw plans. That has been a boon to our buyers this year!”
Great Southern Homes places emphasis on kitchen and bath design and buyers notice that their homes have larger kitchens than is usually typical. There is also demand for outdoor living spaces and most homes the company builds have covered porches with many customers opting to turn them into screened porches.
With most of their communities having between 10 and 20 showcase homes under construction at any given time, Great Southern has been able to satisfy buyers all across the Grand Strand even during the pandemic. Indeed, a drive through the lovely communities of golf-based Wild Wing Plantation or river-front Grissett Landing shows off many of their very stylish homes and distinctive designs. Special touches to the roofs, the front elevation, the porches … it all works together to create wonderful curb appeal … these are inviting homes! Even their less expensive homes that are designed to deliver maximum square footage at the most affordable price have a style that sets them apart.
Currently, Great Southern Homes is building in seven communities in the Grand Strand and has several new communities under development. Demand has been so great that Great Southern Homes is building from Pawleys Island to Conway to North Myrtle Beach to Loris and Longs … and all points in between.
According to Faulkner, “Our positive corporate culture is the heart of our growth and good communication is the key to translating that positivity throughout the new home build process. We are in complete partnership with our subcontractors and suppliers to get homes completed on time and to meet the desires of our customers. Communication, especially during these trying times, has kept the company growing and delivering happy customers … one new home at a time.”