Drees brings neighborhood to you

Longtime builder offers flexibility with building power

By Hollie Deese

Mike Carey was born and raised in Nashville and has been with Drees Homes for 20 years, managing a program that helps people build their company’s homes on a lot they purchase outside of a traditional Drees-developed neighborhood. Basically, getting the neighborhood Drees buying power, outside of the neighborhood.

“What we do is take any of the Drees homes that we would build inside any of our neighborhoods here in Nashville, and we build those on scattered lots,” he says. “So that could be an infill situation. We have built on 50-acre farms. We have done an 1,800 square foot house and we’re getting ready to build an 8,000 square foot house.”

Carey says people like to find their own lots, especially if they have their heart set on a development Drees is not building in, have acquired a lot through family or, they just want a larger tract of land than a neighborhood can offer.

“Lots are still hard to find and we really haven’t seen any price breaks on land,” Carey says. “If people haven’t been out shopping and they start looking for land, they figure out pretty quick that it is more difficult to find the lots you want because they are so limited.”

Carey says the program offers people flexibility with the experience of a builder who has been in business for 90 years.

The process begins with a pre-construction meeting, selections done up front at their design center and weekly calls with the construction manager and salesperson until closing. After the closing, Carey says they do a 60 day follow up and then a one-year follow up.

“And I think there’s some comfort in that for people,” he says. “We’re big enough that we’ve got the economies to scale and we’ve got the people and we’ve got the experience.”