By Aaron Hale

When you begin the process of either building or buying your dream home it can be difficult to settle on the builder that’s right for you, especially when there are seemingly endless contractors vying for your business. Kent Shaffer Homes is perhaps the only custom home business in Central Indiana that draws on three generations of knowledge and expertise.

Growing up in the business as an electrician for his father, also a custom builder, Kent Shaffer made the transition to builder/designer of fine homes over 30 years ago. Kent has become renowned for his craftsmanship, attention to detail, integrity, and honesty over the course of his career. After making dream homes a reality for clients in Geist, Carmel, Zionsville, and Downtown Indianapolis, Chatham Hills in Westfield is now proudly offering Kent Shaffer homes to clients.

Continuing the family tradition of excellence in custom home craftsmanship, Kent is now joined by his daughter Kristen, making her the 3rd generation of builders in the family. Kristen grew up around job sites with her father before graduating from Purdue University’s illustrious Construction Engineering Program. Kristen offers the client a unique blend of both the timeless traditions and knowledge of her family’s business with a more contemporary woman’s touch to design and detail.

Using a hands-on approach, rather than outsourcing to office staff and jobsite foremen, allows Kent Shaffer Homes to beatmost competitors’ pricing and customer satisfaction. “We loved the one-on-one approach Kent and Kristen offered us during the building of our dream home in Stonegate (Zionsville). They walked us through every step of the process, from design to finishes. When we called them, it wasn’t a secretary picking up and taking a message, it was always Kent or Kristen. They were on the job site nearly every day, and it was great having two trusted builders like Kent and Kristen to rely on,” said a recent Zionsville client.

The process and quality Kent Shaffer Homes brings to bare on a jobsite has made it an industry leader in the state. Very few builders can claim to build homes for repeat clients. Even fewer builders can claim to have built homes for the nowgrown children of previous clients. “As a wife and mother of two beautiful children, I love the feeling of creating a place to make memories and put down roots for other families,” says Kristen. “I always begin with listening to what the client has envisioned, rather than telling them my vision. Pricing, then scheduling, and ultimately building fall in line from there with as little stress and surprises to the client as possible. This should be an enjoyable process for my clients.”

To make the process less stressful, Kristen has brought modern techniques to pair with time-tested skills. Using online BuilderTrend scheduling, and exceeding industry energy efficiency standards are just a couple of expectations on each job site. To better improve the client’s experience, Kristen is also one of the top licensed brokers with Century 21 Scheetz. This unique understanding of the fluctuating real estate market adds another level of expertise, advice, and resources to be placed at the client’s disposal.

Blending proven techniques with new technologies over multiple generations has led Kent Shaffer Homes to build some of the most beautiful homes in neighborhoods like Villages of West Clay, Stonegate, the Historic Herron Morton Neighborhood (Downtown Indy), and now Chatham Hills. Clients have the choice of building on one of the premium lots Kent Shaffer Homes owns or you can have Kent and Kristen make your dream a reality on your own lot. For additional information on Kent Shaffer Homes visit kentshafferhomes.com.