Our Services

Latitude 38 is focused on residential urban infill development in the City of Charlottesville. When we design and develop land, we have in mind families that want to live in walkable neighborhoods where people know their neighbors and care about their immediate neighborhood and the City at large.

We mainly build houses and apartments for sale or rent in the City of Charlottesville, although we have done some custom houses in the past. If you have a project that you think we could partner on, please let us know!

For Sale

For each site, we consider the solar orientation, cross breezes, style, massing and proximity of neighboring properties. We design floor plans that work for a lot of different living arrangements and select finishes that are unique but that should have durability of style and quality. We usually put our houses on the market on the public MLS, but sometimes we end up pre-selling houses before they ever hit the market. If you are interested in a particular house, you should reach out to us to learn more about our schedule.

Search “For Sale” under Projects to see what we have currently available.

We are always looking for infill land in the City of Charlottesville. If you have land that you think would be a good fit for Latitude 38 houses, please let us know!

For Rent

Many people are not ready to purchase a home. To address the growing demand for quality unique and updated housing for tenants, Latitude 38 also builds and renovates various multi-family projects that fit in with our walkable, energy efficient mindset. Search “For Rent” under Projects to see what we have currently available or “Apartments” to see what may be coming up.

Realtor

Even if we do not have a Latitude 38 home for you, we have many many years of experience living in the City of Charlottesville, scouring for land, designing buildings that never get built, driving around, walking, biking, looking at old and new houses, and talking to the residents of Charlottesville. We know City real estate. Joey Conover is a licensed real estate agent at Nest Realty and may be able to help you find your home. Let us know if you need help!

Custom

Note that we are not taking on any custom work at this time.

As a company focused on urban infill, Latitude 38 works with clients who are interested in staying in the City, where lots are often narrow with existing trees or other design challenges. These challenges make our job fun. In these tighter locations, we focus on unique design and on building houses that are energy efficient, healthy, durable and low maintenance. We are also a licensed Class A General Contractor in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

As a design-build company, Latitude 38 works with our clients from their initial curiosity about a custom built home through the design and construction stages. By keeping the design in-house, we have a good idea of what the actual final costs and schedule will be from our first conversations.

Process

There are many ways to start the process of building a custom home. Some people find a piece of land and start dreaming. Some are able to secure the land, but have no plan for the home. Some people know they want to build a home, but do not have a site selected yet. Some have already gone through the process of determining if they are financially able to build a home, some have no idea where to start. Latitude 38 has experience working with clients in all these stages. If you are in any exploratory stage, please feel free to reach out to us and we may be able to steer you where you need to go.

Land

Land in Charlottesville is pretty scarse. The best place to start is on at Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors. Land is a significant portion of the cost of any custom home project in the City. Because we are focused on urban infill lots, we are familiar with going land rates and most land available for sale. Please just contact us if you are looking and want to get a sense of costs.

Financing

In a custom home project, the home owner will usually secure a land loan, unless he/she is able to purchase the land outright. Although not all banks provide financing for land loans, it is worth shopping around to get options of rates and terms. Once you have a set of working construction drawings, you are able to secure a construction loan, which usually will role into a permanent loan with the land. These days, banks are typically looking for 20% downpayment, but again, it is worth talking to different banks as terms can vary. Banks will use the construction drawings and your personal financial information to make an appraisal and determine if you are eligible for a loan to cover the total cost of the project. Please contact us for a list of potential lenders in our area.

Design

At Latitude 38, we split up our design and construction work into two phases. By separating out the design phase of a project, our clients are able to take drawings to a lender for construction financing before signing a full construction contract with us. The design phase usually lasts from 3-6 months, depending on the project. We focus on what is important to the client, as well as what makes sense for the site. The design phase is the most intensive for clients, as we work together to understand how you live and what will be important in the coming years that you plan to live in the home.

Build

Once we have construction drawings, moving forward with construction usually takes about six months. During this period the client will continue to make decisions about finishes and appliances. At the finish of construction, the client’s lender will do an appraisal again based on the final product to verify that it is the same as the expected plans. Once this has gone through, the loan can go to closing and we turn over keys to the homeowner. New construction comes with a one year warranty. We often maintain a very close relationship with our clients during this period as we seek to address any matters as they arise.

Cost

Project costs depend on the project, please contact us for pricing.

Our construction team bikes to work five days a week. Thus, all potential projects must be within four miles of the downtown mall. If you would like to speak to us about your potential project, please contact us.

Design

From time to time, we have assisted on projects simply in a design or advisory capacity and bill on an hourly basis. Although we have no licensed architects on our team, we have significant experience building in the field, and can provide guidance during the pre-planning phase of a project. We have also provided CAD drawings for small projects as well when we were not able to take on a larger custom job. Even if we cannot provide the exact service you need, we may be able to point you in the right direction.