Home construction is picking up at Villebois and Legend Homes, a company with a long and successful history with the City of Wilsonville, is leading the effort.

The home builder developed lots at Park at Merryfield and built around 300 homes at Morey’s Landing. They are currently constructing homes at Villebois that range from 1.600 square feet to 2,900 square feet.

What makes Legend Homes stand out are the steps they take to ensure the buyer has a well-constructed home that will be easier on the pocketbook in the long run..

“We focus on homes that help pay for themselves with energy efficiency. We don’t just wave a green hand and call it sustainable,” said Legend Homes President Jim Chapman. “It might cost a couple of extra bucks for the house but you get so much more for your money. It is much cheaper to run and live in than if you just build it to code.”

All home builders that construct homes at Villebois are required to have Earth Advantage Certification. Legend Homes goes beyond that level with Energy Star Certification and have flirted with a Platinum Rating for some of their homes.

New homes that meet strict guidelines for energy efficiency can qualify for Energy Star certification. An Energy Star qualified home uses at least 15% less energy than standard homes built to the 2004 International Residential Code (IRC). They usually include properly installed insulation, high performance windows, tight construction and ducts, energy efficient cooling and heating systems, and Energy Star qualified appliances, lighting, and water heaters.

Legend Homes provides training programs, not only for their employees, but also for contractors they work with. They have redundant inspection processes to ensure all work is done properly and have third party certifications for energy, air loss, indoor air quality, and other elements of the sustainability program.

The company is so confident their homes are energy efficient that they back them up with an extended warranty. Based on all accumulated scores through design and execution, the Energy Trust of Oregon does a projection of what the annual utility bills will be for energy, both electricity and gas.

“We just take the state’s tally for that certification and guarantee it,” said Chapman. “So if your utility bills run more than projected by the state of Oregon we pay the difference for three years.”

Legend Homes also offers a three year warranty on everything in the home and another two years on plumbing and electrical.

“I approach every house as if my mom was to move into it,” said Chapman. “I love my mom but I don’t want to come back and work on her house every day, so we build it right for the long term.”

View the Legend at Villebois neighborhood page.