Tired of cookie-cutter homes?
Not another box
in a subdivision.Custom homes on your land or lake lot in the Upstate. Your plans or ours.
Your land or lake lot, your plans or ours, and a fixed price in writing before you sign.
Representative image. The Keowee, $649,000 base at Standard spec, on your prepared lot. Land not included.
The price you sign is the price we build.Rock and soils priced by the unit, in writing, before we start.
You see your home every week.Photos every Friday and a walk before drywall and before paint.
Nothing changes without your signature.Every change priced, signed, and paid before a nail moves.
Two ways to build with us
Either way you get the same fixed-price contract, the same site work by our family's crews, and the same photos from your lot every Friday.
Your plans
Already have plans? We build them.
From an architect, a designer, or a plan website. We check the set against your lot and the county's code, price it line by line from the drawings, and give you a fixed price before you sign.
Build from your plansOur plans
Start from one of ours.
Twelve plans with the base price printed on every one, from $185 to $235 per heated square foot by spec tier. Change anything you like; the plan is where we start, not where we stop.
See our twelve plansOn the water
Lake lots on Keowee and Hartwell
A lake lot is the hardest kind of site in the Upstate: a slope toward the water, rock that hides until you dig, tight access, and shoreline rules from Duke Energy or the Corps of Engineers. That is exactly the part of the job our family's crews do every week.
How we build on lake lots- Walkout foundations and retaining walls, priced in the fixed contract
- Rock probed on the walk and priced at written unit rates
- Duke Energy and Corps of Engineers shoreline rules checked before design
Compare for yourself!
The cookie-cutter house vs. a house on your land
Three things folks worry about when they leave the subdivision, and two more they should. Here is how it goes at a typical build-on-your-lot builder, and how it goes with us.
| Topic | A typical build-on-your-lot builder | Alumni Homes, on your land |
|---|---|---|
| The lot | A narrow pad, close enough to hear the neighbor's television, and a whole street that looks like yours. | Your acreage. Trees, a view, a porch that faces the right way, and nobody's kitchen window looking in. |
| The plan | Pick from a short list. Changes cost extra, if they are allowed at all. | Your plans or ours. Bring a plan set you already have, or start from one of our twelve and change anything: stretch it, flip it, add a wing. One round of red-lines is included on ours. |
| The price | A “base price” that grows with every allowance you blow through. | Published and fixed. $185 to $235 per heated square foot, in writing. The number you sign is the number we build, with rock and bad soils at unit prices you saw before signing. |
| The site work | Not their problem. “Build-on-your-lot” outfits hand you an allowance and a stranger's crew. | Our family's clearing company. Clearing, grading, and the driveway quoted firm, with rock priced by the unit before you sign. |
| Who you call | A sales office, then a warranty line, then hold music. | The builder. A local owner who answers, and a photo from your lot every Friday. |
Twelve plans. Every price printed.
Not one from a subdivision catalog. Base prices are the finished home on your prepared lot at Standard spec. Change anything you like; the plan is where we start, not where we stop.
Standard $185 · Enhanced $210 · Premium $235, per heated sq. ft.
“Just tell me the price.”
Gladly. $185, $210, or $235 per heated square foot by spec tier, printed right above. Permit, tap, and septic fees for all four counties are on the Plans & Prices page.
Fall 2026 price list
ranch · 1,842 sq. ft. · 3 bed
craftsman · 2,184 sq. ft. · 3 bed
modern farmhouse · 2,456 sq. ft. · 4 bed
ranch · 2,638 sq. ft. · 4 bed
modern farmhouse · 2,948 sq. ft. · 4 bed
barndominium · 2,014 sq. ft. · 3 bed
Six of twelve shown · Standard spec · Repriced quarterly
Base price is the heated area at the Standard rate plus that plan's foundation, garage, porches, and engineering package, which is why the per-foot figure varies by plan. Barndominium plans use a separate steel-frame rate.
Worked example, all in: The Keowee on a wooded three-acre lot with well and septic is $649,000 base, plus roughly $30,000 to $50,000 of site work and $15,000 to $30,000 for well and septic, about $695,000 to $730,000 in writing before you sign. Land not included.
Five steps. The first is free.
Walk the land
Access, slope, soils, well or tap. A written site-work figure within 48 hours of the walk. No charge.
Home & Land Plan, $4,500
Your plan set on your lot, an engineered site plan, and a full budget within ten percent of your final contract. The $4,500 comes off your contract price when you sign. If you do not build with us, the drawings are yours to keep.
Fixed price, signed
Three priced spec tiers, one contract, the rock and soils rider in writing.
Loan and permits
Most buyers use a construction-to-permanent loan. Your lender gets a fixed-price contract and a draw schedule while we pull permits and schedule crews.
Build, then keys
Nine to twelve months of construction, photos every Friday, and a ten-year structural warranty at the end.
Plan on 12 to 16 months from the first site walk to your keys. If you hear a faster number, ask whether it counts the site work and the permits.
New name, not new hands.
Alumni Homes is the building arm of the family behind Nelson Land Management (formerly Nelson Stump & Land Clearing), which clears and grades lots across Greenville, Anderson, Pickens, and Oconee counties.
The questions folks ask first
What does a home cost per square foot?
Standard $185, Enhanced $210, or Premium $235 per heated square foot by spec tier, before land and site work. The full rate card is on the pricing page, and the Home & Land Plan turns it into a fixed number for your lot.
Can you build from plans I already have?
Yes. We are a custom builder, so send us the plan set, whether an architect drew it or you bought it online. We check it against your lot and the county's code, price it line by line from the drawings, and sign a fixed price before we start. Or start from one of our twelve plans, which have their prices published.
How long does the whole process take?
Plan on 12 to 16 months from first site walk to move-in: 30 to 45 days for the Home & Land Plan, 60 to 120 days for design, permits, and your loan closing, then 9 to 12 months of construction. We commit to a schedule in writing before we break ground.
Do you build on lake lots?
Yes, on Lake Keowee and Lake Hartwell. Lake lots bring slope, rock, walkout foundations, and shoreline rules from Duke Energy or the Corps of Engineers, and site work is what our family's crews do every week. We check the shoreline boundary, the dock question, and room for septic before you buy, and the full story is on our lake lot page.
Do I need to own land first?
No. We will evaluate a lot you own or walk one you are considering before you make an offer, and we are glad to talk through tracts you are looking at across the four counties.
How is a build on my land financed?
Most people building on their own land use a construction-to-permanent loan: one closing, interest-only draws while we build, then it converts to a regular mortgage. Land you already own can count toward the down payment. We hand your lender a fixed-price contract and a draw schedule, which is what underwriters want to see.
What if I want changes during construction?
We price every change in writing before it happens, and you approve it before a nail moves. No surprise change orders is a promise we put in the contract.
No obligation, no salesman
Let us walk your land with you.
Clearing, grade, driveway, well or septic, and what your budget really buys there. It costs nothing, and you keep the report whether you build with us or not.
(864) 400-7766