Dave R. Williams Homes

Custom luxury homes

Business View Magazine interviews Cyndee Herrin, owner of Dave R. Williams Homes, as part of our series on best American home remodelers.

Dallas-based homebuilder, Dave R. Williams, came to the small town of Prosper, Texas in 1997 and set up shop as the area’s premier luxury custom homebuilder. Today, the company is run by Cyndee Herrin, a longtime business partner of Williams, who assumed ownership of the firm this past June. “We work in many locations,” says Herrin, “Prosper, Celina, McKinney, Pilot Point, Aubrey, and Frisco. We don’t begin the process with our clients from a stock set of plans. We take a client’s dreams and their vision and we make them a reality. We start with a piece of dirt and a dream and go from there.”

In the competitive market north of Dallas/Ft. Worth, Herrin believes that Dave R. Williams Homes stands out because of the strong relationships it forms with its customers. “If you would ask any of our clients – especially our second-time clients – they would say it was a very positive experience,” she exclaims. “They want to be sure that whoever is going to build their house is listening to their vision. We take great pride in that. Our greatest source of marketing is our customer base.”

Relationships with the company’s subcontractors are equally important. “They know the quality of work that we demand,” Herrin adds. “They know that they cannot – and nor would they want to – skimp on any of the workmanship or the manner in which the work is performed. That says a lot – when you keep the same good people.”

“Another thing that sets us apart from most other builders is we typically build on large lots,” says Gary Castleberry, who joined Dave R. Williams Homes in 2004 as a Construction Manager, and was appointed General Manager in 2016. “And we build single story homes, in general. We do build some two stories, but most folks that we deal with – if they’re 30 years old or 70 years old – all want a single story. So, we’re able to spread the house out; build it all under one roof on one level and people seem to love that.”

“Everything we do is hands on,” Castleberry continues. “Our decorator spends many more hours than the industry standard with every client.  She brings them from start to finish on a house – from the paint colors, to the granite, to the lighting. Not everyone offers that. Anyone can build you a house; we’re here to build you a home.”

Herrin says that the company builds between 25 and 30 custom homes a year, either on lots that it owns and sells to clients, or on its client’s own properties. It also averages about four or five spec homes a year. A key feature of all Dave R. Williams Homes is their energy efficiency. “We provide our clients’ energy savings without sacrificing our stunning designs,” she states. “We use the most advanced technology for air filtration and air exchange. We are Texas Energy Star-approved, and a member of the North Texas Green Built Association. We do everything we can to save our clients’ hundreds of dollars a year because of our energy-efficient process.”

“We work hand-in-hand with our energy inspectors,” Castleberry adds. “We’ve been audited two times by the Energy Commission and we’ve come out with flying colors. We’re well above the 2015 standards, and we’re top of the line as far as our HER (House Energy Rating) for a house of this size. We do a very good, tight home.”

Herrin mentions that the ongoing growth in the local housing market will help the company continue to prosper. “Frisco has become the home for the Dallas Cowboys workout center; they’ve opened up a huge facility that is bringing in hundreds of people, and therefore, hundreds of people that need new homes. Also, Toyota has moved into Plano, and Prosper sits in the ‘Golden Corridor,’ which is Preston Road and the Dallas North Tollway. So, we are having a great influx of new customers and new prospective clients. And we are in the developmental stage of two new subdivisions in the Prosper and Celina school districts, great school districts, which also brings in our clientele.”

Going forward, Herrin says, “We hope to continue in the manner and the things that have brought us success and our staff is what helps make us who we are. We have all worked together for many years and every staff member interacts with our clientele in some capacity. But also we have a vision and ours is to adapt to what our clients want; to pay attention to what they’re wanting in their home.”

Marketing Director, Marcelle Johnson, sums up the character of Dave R. Williams Homes: “We are small enough to be personable, but we’re big enough to get the job done.”

Check out this handpicked feature on Faulkner Perrin Custom Homes – Impressive versatility.

AT A GLANCE

WHO: Dave R. Williams Homes

WHAT: A premier, luxury custom homebuilder

WHERE: Prosper, Texas

WEBSITE: www.drwhomes.com

PREFERRED VENDORS