Listening, Transparency And A Private Touch Keep Clients Coming Through Their Door
DUNCAN – Scott and Amanda Klippenstein were ready to invest in themselves.
Blueprint Custom Homes Co-Owner Scott Klippenstein
Before January 2016, the Alberta-raised Scott had been working on an oil rig, his wife Amanda as a Care Aid at Duncan Hospital. While they enjoyed their work, both were pulled to control their own professional destiny, and stepping on that path began with investing in a duplex lot in Chemainus.
“The plan was to do a lot of the work ourselves, and then keep it as a rental property,” Scott explains. “We roofed, painted, laid laminate flooring and designed and installed kitchen cabinets through IKEA. For the remainder of the tasks we hired professional local tradesmen.”
Amanda Klippenstein
Amanda and Scott weren’t completely new to this, as both had done a number of fix-and-flip renovations up to this point. Upon completing their work, they decided to list the units so they could afford to buy yet another lot. Their success quickly snowballed. A small cabin project for a family member in Shawnigan Lake caught a neighbours eye, leading to the duo submitting a proposal to build them a one-thousand square foot home.
By 2019, Scott and Amanda had completed a number of home development projects, essentially learning the ins and outs of their new industry of choice as they went.
Plans for a 60-unit townhome project proposed for 72 Kingsview Road in Maple Bay
Scott elaborates, “After completing a development project in September 2018 and selling all seven units by May of 2019, we still had had some difficulties with financing and did not make a profit, but we learned a lot. During this time, I hired Bonnie Leverette from BrandandBanter.com, and soon after Blueprint Custom Homes was created. The development was nominated by Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB) in the 12th annual Commercial Building Awards for best multi-family development.”
One of Blueprint’s most recent projects, ‘The Aria’ is a 9-unit townhome
Today, Scott and Amanda’s custom home and development business has the momentum of success on its side. Recently Blueprint Custom Homes was hired to construct a nine-unit townhome project in Duncan at 6122 Somenos Road, a project nearing completion at the time of this writing. Most recently, Scott purchased a sixty-unit townhome project in Maple Bay, currently under design. They’ve also begun two new custom home projects, yet again in Maple Bay, and another in South Nanaimo.
They attribute their growing and continued success to Blueprint’s customer-first ethos.
“We use a software called Buildertrend, that combines construction project planning, customer management, estimating and subcontractor scheduling, allowing our clients to see in real time the progress of the project,” describes Amanda. “They have access to scheduling information, budget, and even on-site cameras live-streaming our work for their curiosity and enjoyment.”
Being a small company with only four employees, including on-site Project Manager Nicolas Vanderwerff and Bookkeeper, Admin and Payroll lead Barbara McDonald, Blueprint’s overhead is lower than many similar companies, allowing them to pass those savings to homeowners. They also place a premium on letting the customer join the conversation during the entire process.
Continues Amanda, “We recognize that we work and live in a small community and value the suggestions and requests from all clients. We hold weekly on-site meetings to review and talk about all progress and concerns.”
Calling BC home since 2008, Scott and Amanda love offering provincial communities a personal experience.
Says Scott, “BC is by far one of the most beautiful places on the planet and I’m proud to work here, providing value to my community.”
