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Show Notes: If you’re comparing kit home or panelized home companies, this conversation shows you what actually matters beyond the price of lumber. Steve Tuma breaks down how modern home building isn’t just “buy plans and wood” — it’s architectural design, structural engineering, energy codes, site planning, and dealing with picky (or nonexistent) building departments across 50 states. He explains how a good panelized home company should help you navigate all of that, not just drop a truckload of materials in your driveway.
You’ll hear real stories of first‑time owner‑builders, repeat customers, and investors who used Landmark homes for rentals and retirement properties — including a Virginia home that survived three hurricanes and an F4 tornado with only three shingles lost. Steve shows how multi‑hour design calls, small layout tweaks (like closet doors and accessibility), and fast answers when building departments or site conditions raise issues are the difference between a stressful build and a successful one.
Transcript:
Steve Tuma: It’s just our desire We don’t look at it as stay ahead of the pack We look at just do your best job every day get better every day and you end up there
Interviewer: Hello everybody, and welcome to Episode 72 of the Panelized Prefab Kit Home Building Show.
With me today, as always, is the President and Founder of Landmark Home and Land Company, a company which has been helping people build their new homes where they want, exactly as they want, nationwide and around the globe since 1993, Mr. Steve Tuma.
Steve, how are you, my friend?
Steve Tuma: It’s another great day. It’s kind of interesting — a lot of customers are coming back from the past, doing investment homes, or a retirement home, or a home for a family member. So it’s kind of cool. I guess it’s the value of being around for 32 years.
Interviewer: That would be the value. People remember you and say, “Let’s do it again.”
Steve Tuma: Yeah, if you can keep them coming back, that’s always a good thing.
Interviewer: I want to kind of just get an overall sort of assessment of your own feelings about your company, now that — what is it — we’re going on 33 years now, something like that, that you, Landmark Home and Land Company, have been in business.
So let’s just go over a couple things about your own feelings about the last, you know, three decades, and talk about how Landmark has sort of made its mark in the world.
You guys have the reputation of going out of your way to help individuals and families build their own homes with, well, with confidence for sure and, perhaps more importantly, total control of their homebuilding project.
Let’s start off with that. And you, as the company owner and founder, you’d know very well — through your over 32, well 33 years of doing this now — how Landmark came by this reputation. And let’s dig into what you feel has earned your team the reputation in the first place.
Steve Tuma: Well, I think what’s interesting about this is all the work that it takes.
A lot of people think, “Hey, you just go buy some plans, you buy some wood, and somehow a house magically comes together,” right?
I wish that were true… but the reality is, in today’s world you need:
Architectural design
Structural design
Energy code compliance
Site plans
Green codes in some states
And then whatever special things a building department wants
So in a lot of places you need some very complicated plans.
Other places — there are areas in America where you don’t need permits at all. You just dig a hole and start a house, which is kind of interesting.
I think what’s happened over time is the growth in our experience, working in all these different places. It’s just an exciting challenge to us. It’s something we enjoy doing.
So when someone says, “Hey, my building department’s extra picky,” or, “They’re real jerks,” or, “Hey, they’re the nicest people on earth,” or, “They don’t exist” — either way, we want to have a good, solid set of plans that represent what the customer wants to build.
The customer is involved with reviewing the plans, making sure it’s exactly the way they want them, putting all the details together. Then we follow through to formalize it into the plan set.
And I think — you asked about the reputation and what we do — I think it’s just that we truly enjoy what we do.
So if someone has:
A more complex design
A building site with some curveballs
A lot on the side of a hill
A flood zone situation
An earthquake zone
A hurricane-prone area
Or just a simple flat piece of land
There’s always something we can do to make sure the house is built right.
And I think people sense that — we’re energized and we enjoy doing this. It’s not a “job” to us. It’s kind of what we choose to do. It’s a passion, along with a desire to get better every day.
And I think that represents what Landmark is.
As the company has grown, we’ve gotten involved with more and more:
Mechanical design
Electrical design
HVAC manuals J, S, D, and T
Different code compliance requirements
It’s incredible everything that we can put together.
So chances are, if a customer needs help with something on the permits, we’ve been there, we’ve done it, and we’re capable of doing it to help them through it.
And I think that’s what customers really appreciate and understand.
A lot of people, as they go through and build, will tell me:
“Steve, it’s the company support that’s almost more important than the panels themselves.”
The customers come to us to buy the panels… but the reality is, they really enjoy all the support, because they may not understand proper design or code compliance.
So it’s actually the secondary things that they don’t realize they need — those end up being the most important part.
And I think we really supply that in a partnership type of situation, where:
The customers get a lot of support
They gain extra knowledge
We’re available
We answer the phone
We talk to them — and we enjoy it
It’s kind of a passion thing for us.
So I think all the excitement of wanting to help is real.
What’s really interesting — we’ve been doing it almost 33 years, and I still get texts and pictures of houses that people are building every day. It’s still cool to see a picture. I actually sit back and look at each picture, zoom in on it, study it.
And it’s pretty amazing to see what we’re able to support our customers with, so that they can go build the house that they want, at the price they want, where they want to build it.
I think that’s really part of the fun.
Interviewer: You know that old saying — it reminds me: “A person who loves their work never works a day in their life.”
So you guys don’t really work much over there.
Steve Tuma: Yeah, yeah — that must be the case!
The reality of a day in our life is kind of funny, because I end up working 10 to 12 hours a day. So I probably actually do a day and a half in each day, as far as a typical 8-hour day.
But it is exciting.
It’s kind of cool when someone says, “Hey Steve, the building department’s asking for this,” or, “Site conditions need that — can you help me sort out how to work through a grading plan, how to work through drainage plans, how to work with surveyors, how to work with structural engineers?”
It’s pretty cool. It makes it easier for our customers to understand and build their own home.
Interviewer: You know, to a great degree, your customer base are people building their first house — at least their first panelized home but, I mean, quite often their first house, period.
So how often are you guys called upon to guide a customer through the overall, complete homebuilding process?
In other words — and I’ll go back to the reputation thing here — is Landmark really as well-situated as you’re given credit for? I mean, to take on any situation a new homeowner-builder might face when entering a project?
Or are you guys really that good?
Steve Tuma: Well, of course I believe we are — and we’re also improving every day.
So it’s kind of interesting to look back and say, “Hey, where were you two years ago, three years ago?” There are definite improvements.
There are new codes.
People are doing more complex houses.
People are doing bigger houses.
People are building homes that cost more financially.
So I think it’s that overall situation — we keep growing, and we keep learning.
We don’t look at it as, “Hey, there’s some prize at the end of this.”
We look at it as, “It’s what we do every day to help people understand their project.”
A lot of customers are first-time builders. But there are also a lot who have:
Built before
Or had a home built for them
Or worked with contractors previously
And then they realize that, even if you pay someone to build it, it’s not necessarily much easier.
There’s that idea — “Hey, I’ll have someone else do it, and I’ll just drive by with my cup of coffee.”
You still have to do a lot of work, even if you hire someone to build your home.
So I think we’ve provided a lot of:
Energy
Positive information
Help navigating the issues
Help cutting down on the learning curve
…while being a very accessible resource for our customers, with accurate information.
If you look at the different types of customers we’ve dealt with — say, 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 30 years ago — it’s kind of interesting just to see:
The increasing complexity of homes
The tightening of codes
The sophistication of the buyer — even the first-time buyer
And through all of that, we’ve really remained a leader in helping owner-builders understand the process.
The key to it is: we’re kind of the one-stop shop.
If someone can call me and get help — that’s a huge value. Great customer support is rare.
Versus: “Hey, let me get back to you,” or “We have our meeting next Monday.”
No — our mindset is: “Let’s get them an answer now and keep the project moving along.”
That’s the situation that we really enjoy — and that our customers enjoy — because we’re there to help them through the project.
We’re not just a supplier of panelized homes saying, “Hey, here’s your house,” and then we run.
No — we’re there through the complete process, to help the customer move their project along to whatever degree of help they need.
We have:
Customers who are professional builders
Customers who have never built anything
Customers who know how to manage… but have never built anything
Wherever they are, we can plug in the way the customer needs the support.
And it’s just part of our process. It’s not like we charge extra for it, or consulting fees. It’s just part of what we do.
It’s also part of us getting to know a customer — understanding them, understanding their needs, their strengths, their weaknesses, and where we can fill in.
Interviewer: Yeah. Well, Landmark is pretty unique. I mean, a lot of the uniqueness comes from just how long you guys have been around, and your ability to help customers. I mean, you guys work in all 50 states and internationally.
So how does Landmark stay ahead of the pack, as you’ve done for almost 33 years? Is it just the services you provide to the homeowner-builder? Or what do you think makes it so unique?
Steve Tuma: It’s just our desire. We don’t look at it as “stay ahead of the pack.” We look at it as: just do your best job every day, get better every day — and you end up there. Because then, by understanding different things:
Home design
Panel construction and manufacturing
Different codes
How to tighten up processes
…that’s just part of becoming a better company every day.
Looking back at situations — “How can we improve?” — or noticing, “Hey, look at this, we can do this differently…”
So, it’s: don’t be stagnant. Don’t stay in a comfort zone. Always improve.
Kind of like life — if you want to sit at home and eat chips and watch TV all day, you’re probably going to be a different person than if you get up, work out, hang with positive people, and do positive things.
And that’s the situation we look at — you’ve got to grow every day.
And just with the volume of business, the types of customers, working in 50 states and foreign countries — you run into a lot of situations that lead to that growth.
Like, “How do you build on the side of a mountain in the Carolinas, or the Northeast, or the Rockies, or the Sierras?”
Even though they’re all mountains, there can be different situations for the way you design and build.
So it’s kind of fun. You look back and go, “Wow, this is pretty cool.”
And then, when a customer calls up — did I tell you this? — a couple of months ago, I got an email. It was two in the afternoon on a Saturday. I was taking a little break, and I looked at my email. It was from a family we helped 20 years ago build a house.
They said:
“Hey Steve, I hope you remember us. You helped us build a house in Virginia 20 years ago.”
They went on to say, “It’s a beautiful home. We’re still bragging about it to our friends.” That’s cool.
They’d had some friends over for lunch, and they figured, “We’re going to send Steve an email saying thank you.”
They wrote:
“The home has gone through three hurricanes and an F4 tornado. It’s beautiful. On the rest of our land, there were outbuildings that were blown away. The steeple from the local church was found two miles away. Our house lost three roof shingles.”
And it was just kind of cool to sit back and have someone remember you from 20 years ago and reach out to say, “Hey, thanks. This is a beautiful home. We’re still enjoying it.”
That’s kind of the ultimate pat on the back — to say, “Hey, great job, Landmark.”
Stuff like that just energizes you, because we’re going to be around a long time. We’ve got to build for those people who will be calling us in 5, 10 years saying, “Hey Steve, that was great — let’s do another one.”
And that’s really what it is — the desire to work, to do it right. And the payoff is when you get an email like that 20 years later, or a customer refers a friend or family member to work with us.
There’s something really cool in that ultimate “thank you.”
We look at it as a partnership with our customers. We want to give them a good home.
Interviewer: Well, I think that’s a passion that’s missing in American business, no matter what you’re buying. I mean, when you’ve been at something for a few decades, there’s got to be things that inspire you — that get you back to work the next morning without being bored.
You keep talking about passion, and I think things like that — having old customers come back and want to build again — that’s got to be the thing that makes Landmark also unique: the fact that you have customers from the past saying, “Man, this house that we built years ago — let’s do it again.” And that’s got to be fun for you guys.
Steve Tuma: Oh, it is. And then to see a customer come back and say, “Hey, we sold our house, made money. I want to do a side project. I want to do a little investment home. I want to do a rental property.”
You’re also helping these people get into different stages of their life.
They become investors. They make money on it. And it moves forward.
As far as getting up every day — we work long hours to get people taken care of. So there’s always that list you finish at the end of the day of what you have to do in the morning.
And it’s kind of energizing to say, “Hey, I’ve got to do this with this project. We’re doing that. We’re getting this put together.”
Whatever the situations are, it’s electrifying.
Interviewer: I’ve got to just ask — do you personally ever look back and go, “Wow — 33 years, and I’m still energized about this line of work, about this company”?
That excitement that you have — your customers, new customers, have to feed into that. I think when people call you, they’ve got to feel that. They must feel the fact that you really dig what you’re doing.
Steve Tuma: Customers tell me that. Suppliers tell me that. And I think that’s why we’ve got customers that come back. Some customers have built… I think one did 18, maybe 20 homes with us.
We’ve had investors do different projects that might be more volume-oriented, too — but it’s just the energy in doing it.
Looking back at 33 years — yeah, you do look back and go, “Wow, this is insane. This is pretty cool.”
But to see that after 33 years it’s still on a great path — doing different projects, having different support systems, having different capabilities to help customers — you just feel like you are getting better every day.
And that attitude, plus the feedback from our customers, our systems, our suppliers… it’s pretty interesting to see. You can’t not be energized by it.
I feel bad for people that get up, go to work, and hate their job. It’s unfortunate.
But the reality is, we’re lucky that we’ve developed something that’s truly a value to customers.
In today’s world — being able to afford a home or get the home that you want — this gives our customers the capability of getting the home they want, saving money, and still getting the features they want.
They’re not settling for just a box. They’re getting the house that they want. It’s pretty cool.
Interviewer: Yeah. It’s amazing, actually. Have you found that the types of homes people want to build, or the customers themselves — have things changed over… I’m sure they have, but over three decades, how have things in the panelized home design and construction business evolved or changed over the years?
Steve Tuma: I think the changes are this: people have always known what they want. What’s changed is that they’re surprised they can actually get it, once we work with them — once we do things to make sure they get that “extra something” in the house, or that “must have” feature.
The desires of people and where they’re building change in different markets.
Someone building a house in Iowa is going to build differently than if they’re on the ocean or a lake.
Even if it’s the same customer: if we helped them with a house closer to a city, and then they do their retirement home in the country — it can be different.
But overall, it’s one fundamental thing:
Our customers are great, hardworking people.
They want:
To get the bang for their buck
A house that they like
A house they enjoy
A house they’re proud of
So whether someone’s doing a small, very affordable design, or some mega-mansion, or some extremely unique design — it’s the same mindset:
“I’m watching my dollars. I want to make sure I get the right house. I want to make sure it’s built right. I want to make sure it’s energy-efficient. I want to make sure it’s a good long-term decision.”
That, I think, is the constant: people want value.
And as things get more expensive, we continue to add value — which I think is one of the key reasons customers come back, and new customers want to work with us.
Because the value they get out of:
Designing the home they want
Building it where they want
…it’s extremely rewarding, compared to buying a house somewhere else and just settling. Telling yourself, “It’s only a two-year home.”
It doesn’t work that way. People want to build the house they actually want.
So as life gets more expensive and different things go on in life, we’re able to provide a value that people can’t obtain in other places — and the support.
That’s the key: the support.
Like I say, a lot of people come to us — they come to Landmark Home and Land Company for the panelized homes. But the support, knowledge, and help through the process is a key element that I think they really value, and didn’t realize they needed.
And we supply it all as part of our product and service.
It’s pretty cool.
Interviewer: And we can go back to the reputation thing too — we talk about this a lot, but one of the things that makes Landmark unique is the customer service.
And I don’t think you can stress that enough. In this day and age, customer service just… barely exists.
The fact is, people make a phone call and they’re getting some call-center person who really doesn’t—
Steve Tuma: —Is unknowledgeable.
Interviewer: Yeah, just doesn’t have the background. The questions people ask just don’t get answered. And you guys seem to have developed that — as much as anything — and that’s got to make you pretty proud.
Steve Tuma: Oh, it does. I was just working on a project yesterday. We’ve been working with Cheryl for five, six years, and a variety of her friends. We helped a couple of her friends, and then she was finally in a position to get going herself.
She finalized the design, and I spent two hours and 35 minutes on the phone tweaking the finer details of her plan.
We went through:
Where the kitchen cabinets are and how big they are
Where the window is
How the closet doors are put together
Just a lot of the minute details to really make sure that the house is hers.
That’s a key element to it. It’s not just like, “Hey, here’s a house. Pick from these three standard plans. Take it or leave it.”
It’s: “No — let’s make this your house.”
And she had a particular desire to have a certain type of closet door — a tall, floor-to-ceiling bifold closet door that she just really, really enjoyed, both the design and the access.
So we spent a lot of time specifying closet doors. It was very important to her.
And it was actually a unique experience for us, because most people are just like, “Hey, a closet door is a closet door.”
But we understood why she wanted it a certain way. So we worked with her on:
Accessibility situations
How the floor is put together
The transition from the house to the garage, so there wasn’t a step
Different structural designs for the floor system to give her the look she wanted
That was a two-hour and 35 or 36-minute phone call purely helping that one customer get through the details they needed.
Now, the longest phone call I’ve been on with one customer — helping them get through all the details — was five and a half hours.
I don’t necessarily want to break that record, but it goes to the point: if a customer needs help, we go through the process to get them taken care of.
We respond to emails. We call. We talk with answers. We jump on situations right away to help a customer through it.
We’re not a company set up with a bureaucracy of meetings everywhere.
If a customer needs something, let’s get on it now, help them through it, and go make it happen. It’s a lot of fun.
Interviewer: And it sounds like there’s a lot of — I don’t know, I’ve just watched you over the years — your ability to adapt. I’m sure there have been some changes in the way houses are built or permitted or whatever. But you seem to be able to adapt. I mean, 33 years ago there weren’t podcasts, and you jumped on this, saying, “This might be a good way to reach out to some customers.”
It just seems like you’re always thinking about the future — and that’s a good thing.
Steve Tuma: Well, that’s the thing — what we’re trying to do is make it accessible for a customer to get what they want. Emails, phone calls, podcasts — however we go — it’s the service, plus having a good design team so we can get the plans done, send them to the customer so they can review them, go through, and get everything taken care of.
So that evolution — it’s not something that we’re pushed into. It’s something we choose to go after.
It’s the personal growth of the company, and our desire to understand.
Since we work on all these different projects:
Little homes
Big homes
Super custom homes
More standard basic designs
In jurisdictions that are extremely picky
In building departments that are a little more lax
We want to know that we’re ready for whatever comes. Either way, there’s always experience and knowledge that we gain that helps us be better the next day.
It’s kind of amazing when you look at:
How things were built 5, 10, 15 years ago
The software systems
The manufacturing systems
The customer-service requirements
The building department requirements
And not even just the building department — the reality of what it takes to build on a site, irrespective of what a building department thinks.
Usually what we supply is beyond that.
Our plans are there to help people get permits — but they’re also building plans.
And there’s a difference there that people don’t understand.
We’re there to get a real set of plans and support to help you build a house.
It’s kind of important.
Amazingly, people don’t think of it. Man, if I’d never built a house, I wouldn’t understand it either — but the ability to have the support to build, instead of just get permits, is very important.
Interviewer: Right. And the knowledge — people want to be able to pick up the phone and talk to somebody who knows what the heck they’re talking about.
Steve Tuma: And we answer the phone. That’s a big thing.
Interviewer: That’s key. As important as anything. Alright, well that’s going to wrap it up for another very informative episode of the Panelized Prefab Kit Home Building Show.
But before we go, Steve, let the listeners know how to find out more about Landmark Home and Land Company.
Steve Tuma: I think the best thing to do is just check out our website at LHLC.com. Again, that’s LHLC.com — Landmark Home and Land Company.
You can see:
These podcasts are on there
Videos are on there
Details of what we supply
A bunch of house plans
Different ideas and conversations about how we help
On there, you can email us directly. You can find a plan and email us about it. Or you can give us a direct phone call.
The calls and inquiries will initially go to Mike at 800-830-9788. Again, that’s 800-830-9788.
You can make an inquiry and we’ll work with you right away to figure out the best way to move forward.
People can also call me directly on my cell phone: 708-205-2043. And we’ll do everything we can. If we’re awake, we answer the phone. That’s nights, weekends — we’re here to have some fun with some people and help them build the house.
Interviewer: That’s good. I mean, where else do you get service like that? 24/7.
Well, there you have it. Thanks again, Steve, and thanks to all of you for listening in to the Panelized Prefab Kit Home Building Show.
So I’ll say, for Steve Tuma and myself — have a great day, and we will see you next time.
Thanks, Steve.
Steve Tuma: Thank you.
