Haven Custom Homes

We love our Haven Home! Haven did fantastic work. We have a modular home that doesn't look modular.

Our house features a number of green features including affordable energy efficiency, "right sizing" about 2400 square feet - we downsized from our last house based on what we actually use - very efficient use of space; latest in coastal design - built to hold up to harsh plum island winter weather with minimal maintenance, reverse floor plan or "nantucket style" where bedrooms are on the first floor & great room on second to take advantage of water views; building smart to prevent beach erosion/flooding issues which are common in this area; and planning ahead -- space allocated for future elevator which we might need as we get older & our house was planned for solar panels to be easily added in near future. We also followed many environmental rules for Plum Island.

Haven's kitchen designer was fantastic - she maximized a smaller open kitchen design & planned for two kids who love to cook.

We did a site-built house about 10 years earlier, and we have extensively renovated two older houses that we rent out - but nothing compares with our experience with Haven & modular design. We tell everyone to go modular. We extensively researched & considered a number of high-quality modular companies but Haven Homes was the only company who offered beautifully designed houses that you really couldn't tell were modular. I think everyone expected we'd end up with a cheap, boxy, cookie cutter house & they are pleasantly surprised with our results.

Amy McDermott

The link above will take you to a story in today's Washington Post about the same modular builders (Haven Homes) who did our house at Hilton Head. While our house cost a fraction of the one in the story, we are convinced that the savings are real, and we feel we got a superior product in how solid the house is, how true and plumb it is, how airtight and watertight it is, and in how quickly it was completed (less than 6 months versus 12-18 months for a conventionally framed house).

We would also defy anyone to pick our house out of a police lineup as the "unconventional" one. We achieved open plan (including two story volumes), copious fenestration, 100% custom design (our own), and we incorporated many "green" and accessible design elements. Our only physical constraints were those imposed by transporting the modules from plant to site, and we were able to work within those constraints to no disadvantage. The six modules were produced during the same two week period the foundation was being placed, and the modules were set in place in four and a half hours. The crane was visible for miles. We did have to remove two trees (one of which would have been removed for other reasons anyway) in order for the modules to be set.

The Post story mentions how the whole neighborhood turned out to observe. We had the same experience; if we had been selling hot dogs and beer, we could have defrayed a significant portion of the cost. One little girl told her grandfather (a retired engineer from Auburn) that she wanted to go to the ice cream place, and he told her to go talk to her grandmother; he wasn't going anywhere. A Canadian family postponed a visit to historic nearby Beaufort to observe the setting of the modules.

The Post story also mentions that some lenders are reluctant to finance modular homes, but we had outstanding service from Wells Fargo. We joke that we got the last construction loan in North America in the fall of 2008 when the economy was in a nosedive. The Post story further mentions that because so much of the entire product is generated in the space of a couple of weeks, many decisions which are made in the course of the construction phase must be made upfront. We felt a little pressured at the time, but in retrospect, it was a blessing that we got 90% of the decisions behind us in short order and could go on with our personal and professional lives at a 600 mile distance. The modules were delivered with the bathrooms and kitchen in place and the gas fireplace and pendant light fixture in the dining area already installed. Exterior and some interior finishes were applied in situ.

The internet was an invaluable tool, both for making product selections (and conveying them to Haven), and for making furniture and artwork selections later. We also joke that it has taken us 27 years to furnish and decorate our primary home and that we furnished and decorated the Hilton Head home (with Donna's sister Michelle's generous assistance) in 27 days. Days trump years any time.

We did have a few bumps (not unexpected) along the way, but our overall experience was almost entirely positive, and if we ever have the opportunity to do a custom home again, we would do it the same way.

We discovered Haven almost by accident (through the internet) after corresponding with other modular builders who were singularly poor marketers of their product. It helped that Haven does emphasize custom design and that one of their plants was only 45 miles away from our site. We had done a lot of advance research including a trip to the National Homebuilders Show in Orlando (2007) which had a full scale outdoor modular exhibit (including a modular Katrina House), and that we were committed to a non-conventional solution so that we could live what we preach as architects. We feel that we have achieved what was almost out of reach for us, and that it was probably our only opportunity to do it. Nothing like a stretch at the beginning of the worst economy in several decades to get the juices flowing.

Hope you enjoy the Post story and that it doesn't sound repetitive,

Kenny and Donna

Very nice homes and you are very informative and I like to see some and get more info.

It appeared to be a wonderful structure for the price. However, when I asked about a roof leak problem that developed later, I was met with delays in response, followed by a denial of the claim and a demand for documentation that was acceptable to them. They provided no details of what they needed for proper documentation. I ordered a "30-year" roof and received 30-year shingles, but not 30-year ridge shingles or 30-year ridge vents, so I developed a leak that I had to pay $150 to fix - on a three-year-old roof! I'm getting the typical denial of responsibility with no offer of alternative action available.

My relationship with Haven Homes began with a trip to their factory in Ridgesland SC to discuss some issues that I had heard about while investigating buying one of their homes. The main concern was their service after the fact. I was assured that whatever problems they had in the past were resolved and were no longer a problem. Based on this, I decided to buy one of their homes because I head that they were better than average. I needed to alter one of their existing designs, slightly, to accomodate an elevator. They took the preliminary design modification and redrew their plan and sent it to the State for approval PRIOR to getting my approval of the plan. When I asked that slight changes be made, I was told that there would be an additional $2500 design charge. I opted to live with the changes the way they were as it would have impacted my building schedule.

The house was set by Haven and was two inches out of square which caused a problem with all the interior walls that were supposed to line up. Haven refused to correct the set and after 6 weeks of arguing agreed to patch up the misalignment. My builder had to argue with them over everything and it was not resolved until he contacted the President of the company.

Getting their service guy here was like pulling teeth and when he came, he did the least possible amount and had to be called back several times. I have since contacted them and even met with them to resolve some of the issues concerning the design and contruction and ultimate Set of this house. They have since decided to not talk to me and thus reinforce my preliminary concern with Haven Homes.

The house was ordered on Febuary 17, 2006, not set until June 1, 2006 and the Certificate of Ocupancy not issued until January 25, 2007. A total of 11 months.

I would suggest any one considering building a Haven Home to contact me first.