Questions
Frequently asked questions
The answers Randy gives on the phone, written down. Where the honest answer is that it depends on your lot, that is what it says.
Working with Randy
- Who will I actually deal with?
- Randy O'Brien, from the first walk of your lot to the day he hands you the keys. There is no sales team, no project manager and no call center. He answers his own phone at 903.821.2482.
- How many houses do you build a year?
- About ten. That is the number one person can genuinely be on site for, and it is the reason to hire him rather than a builder doing fifty.
- How long have you been building?
- Since 1998, all of it in Grayson County. That includes the 2008 crash and the growth that followed the semiconductor plants.
- Where do you build?
- Sherman, Denison, Pottsboro, Howe, Van Alstyne, Gunter, Whitesboro, Bells, Tom Bean, Collinsville. If your lot is near that but not on the list, call and ask rather than assuming.
- Are you accredited?
- O'Brien Custom Homes is accredited by the Better Business Bureau with an A+ rating, accredited since 2023.
Cost and quotes
- What does a custom home cost?
- There is no honest square foot number to give you, which is why there is not one on this site. A custom house costs what its specification costs, and that moves with your lot, your finishes and your size. Randy will give you a real number once he has walked the land and the specs are written down.
- Why do two builder quotes for the same house differ so much?
- Usually allowances and omissions rather than margin. Low placeholder figures for things not yet chosen make a bid look cheaper than it is, and site costs like dirt work, septic and the power run are often left out entirely.
- Will you look at a bid I have from another builder?
- Yes. Send it over and he will tell you what is missing from it, including when the other bid is the better deal.
- Do you have lots available?
- Yes, on Addison Rowan Ct in the Howe school district. Call to ask what is still available, because that changes.
Land, soil and permits
- Can you build on land I already own?
- That is most of what he does. He walks the site before anything is priced, because out here the lot decides more than the floor plan does.
- What is different about the soil here?
- Grayson County sits on Blackland Prairie clay with a plasticity index in the 40 to 60 range. It swells wet and shrinks dry, so foundations are engineered and post-tension slabs or drilled piers are the norm rather than an upgrade.
- Do I need a septic system?
- Outside the city limits, yes, and on this clay it will be an aerobic system rather than a conventional drain field. Across this part of Texas they commonly run in the region of $10,000 to $20,000 depending on your lot and bedroom count.
- Who issues the permits?
- Inside a city you are on that city. Outside the limits you are on Grayson County. They are different processes with different timelines, and which side of the line your lot falls on changes your schedule.
The house itself
- Can I bring my own plans?
- Yes. Randy builds from full architectural sets, from plans people found and want changed, and from a sketch and a list of what the last house got wrong.
- Can I walk a house you have finished?
- Yes, and it is worth doing. There are full galleries for Wester House, Lugo House, Dahl House on this site, plus a video walkthrough, and he will arrange for you to see one in person.
- Do you do roofing as well?
- Yes. Roof repair and replacement across Grayson County, including for people whose houses he did not build.
- How do I start?
- Call 903.821.2482 and talk to him, or fill in the short form on this site and he will call you. There is no charge for the conversation or for walking your lot.
Longer answers
- All the guidesChoosing a builder, buying land, foundations and septic.
- How we buildThe eight steps, in the order they happen.
- Questions to ask a builderAsk these of Randy and of everyone else.
