Every NERA project moves through the same disciplined process — from first conversation through warranty period. Below is the path your project will follow, and what to expect at each stage.
A direct early-stage conversation about your site, your priorities, and the kind of home you want to live in. We assess feasibility at a high level — what the lot supports, what your program implies, and what a credible budget envelope looks like for the work you have in mind.
This phase is intentionally light on formal documentation. The goal is to make sure we're aligned on intent and approach before either side invests further.
The architecture begins to take recognizable form. Our design team — in-house and partnered as appropriate to the project — develops massing, floor plans, key elevations, and the first iteration of the material palette. You see options, we discuss tradeoffs, and we converge on a direction.
Throughout schematic design, our construction team is in the room — flagging buildability issues, cost implications, and constructability tradeoffs while they're still inexpensive to address.
The home is resolved in detail. Structural and MEP engineering are coordinated alongside architecture; interior layouts are finalized; the material and finish palette is selected to specification. Drawings move from schematic intent to coordinated construction documents.
Pre-construction estimating runs in parallel: as the drawings tighten, the cost basis tightens. By the end of this phase, you have a complete set of drawings and a refined cost picture ready to be priced as a formal contract.
We submit the permit package and steer it through plan check, responding to corrections and coordinating any required consultant inputs along the way. In parallel, the construction agreement is finalized — typically as a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) commitment tied to the completed drawing set.
You sign one number, against one set of documents, before construction begins. From that point forward, scope changes are managed through transparent change orders rather than open-ended billing.
Execution. Our construction team takes the project from site mobilization through framing, mechanical rough-in, finish work, and final inspections, with weekly transparent reporting and milestone-based payments along the way. Quality control is structured, not improvised — checklisted at every major phase.
We support and where appropriate facilitate independent third-party verification throughout the build, including independent inspectors and owner's representatives where you would like one.
Keys are handed over against a clean punch list, with a complete operations and maintenance package documenting your home's systems. A formal warranty period follows, during which we remain the responsible party for any warrantable items that surface as the home settles into use.
Many of our owners stay in touch well past warranty — for ongoing improvements, consultations on neighboring properties, or simply to talk through how a system is performing. We build for the long view; that includes the relationship.
Every NERA engagement begins with a direct conversation — no fees, no obligation. Tell us where you are and what you're trying to build, and we'll tell you honestly whether we're the right team for it.
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