If you’re lucky enough to build your dream home, you’ll probably do so only once in your lifetime.

In the daydreaming stage—when you’re pondering river rock fireplaces, multi-jet showers, and radiant floor heating—you may not give much thought to the process ahead. But when the moment arrives to draw up plans, you suddenly realize you’re not just looking for a builder. You’re looking for a partner—someone you have enough trust and confidence in to hand over your dream.

Jonathan Lee doesn’t take his role as dream-maker lightly. His experience as a custom home builder has taught him that before the concrete is poured and the framing assembled, a building project needs another kind of foundation. “Before anything else, we establish good communication,” says Lee, whose company, Homes by Jonathan Lee, builds custom houses and homes on spec, but also handles remodeling projects from minor updates to major additions. The builder is proud of the collaborative relationship he and his team forge with clients. “We do a lot of discovery in the early stages to make sure we understand our clients’ needs.”

Lee’s team and his clients go over everything the future homeowners want in a house, including flooring, millwork, trim, cabinetry, countertops, and the paint grade they’d like to use. Client Diana Woolard confirms that for Lee, partnering with clients isn’t just the party line. “Jonathan was a good listener and asked a lot of questions. He was receptive to our needs and we were a big part of the process,” she says. Client Mark Beeler recognizes the benefit of so much pre-thinking and pre-planning: “We spent a lot of time up front with revisions and fine-tuning. We were given good information and the building moved along at a good pace,” he recalls.

Prior to launching his own business, Lee gained experience at big commercial construction companies building commercial and industrial buildings, such as schools, shopping centers, high-rise hotels, and office buildings. That’s where he honed his detailed, step-by-step approach to construction. “We develop a contract that covers every aspect of the project,” explains Lee, who earned a degree in building construction from Virginia Tech’s College of Architecture. “We build in a very organized way,” he says. “We discuss budgets and work with clients through lot selection and plan design, incorporating their input into multiple drafts of renderings until we get the final plan.” He and his team, which includes full-time superintendent Tim Fox, also schedule regular meetings to update clients on job status. Being a small, low-volume builder has enabled Lee’s company to garner a reputation for delivering gold-plated service. Anyone who’s built a house knows about the cascade of decision-making required. Hardwood floors or bamboo? Ceramic or glass tiles? “We hear raves from clients about our interior decorator (Lee’s wife Alicia), who schedules appointments to help clients select materials and styles,” he says.

Of course, a custom builder is also judged on the merits of his subcontractors, and this is another area in which Lee’s company, which has completed over 100 homes since 1995, excels. The company’s highly regarded draughtsman, William Houck and Associates, and the exceptional landscape architects and trades people his team collaborates with, meet the exacting standards Lee sets for himself.

“We try to build your house the way we would build our own,” says the award-winning builder (The company has taken the top prize in Winston’s annual Parade of Homes every year since 1995, with the exception of two years when it snagged second place).

Homes by Jonathan Lee’s $500,000-and-up price range allows the builder to incorporate high-quality materials for things like plumbing, HVAC, and framing into his construction. Because of the struggling economy and increasing environmental awareness among homeowners, energy efficiency has become a big priority. “All our homes in the past few years have been energy-star rated. To get that rating, the home must be at least 15 percent more energy efficient than code. We achieve that with improved HVAC systems, insulation, hot-water heating systems, appliances, and windows and doors,” says Lee.

When clients request it, he also has the expertise to build a green-certified home, like the one he completed recently for a couple who asked for a water reclamation system. Their home included an underground storage tank, connected to rain gutters, to collect water for their yard and plants.

The company incorporates green building practices into everything they do. “We want to be good stewards of the land. We control erosion, and we avoid runoff and unnecessarily taking down trees,” the builder explains. Lee’s team and subcontractors also try to minimize waste by using a socially conscious dumpster company that sorts and recycles. Lee buys regional products, such as hardwood flooring, whenever possible to avoid having to truck them in over long distances.

And in a gesture that guarantees that clients will find receptive neighbors on move-in day, when the company builds a home in an existing neighborhood, Fox hand-delivers introductory letters explaining the project and time frame. The company is renowned for its immaculate jobsites, which wins points from people in the neighborhood. And Lee is known for keeping on schedule, a relief to homeowners and neighbors alike.

There are lots of ways to gauge a business: talking to clients, quizzing suppliers, and getting feedback from employees and subcontractors. But for the ultimate appraisal, nothing beats asking a competitor. Diana Woolard recalls the admiration in a competing builder’s voice when she told him who was constructing her home. He said simply:

“You’ve got a good man building your house.”

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