In today's corporate-dominated construction industry, "family-owned business" has become such a common marketing claim that it's lost much of its meaning. Every builder's website seems to feature the founder's family photo and heartwarming story about starting the business in a garage.
But what does family ownership actually mean for you when you're building a custom home in Prior Lake, Lakeville, or the surrounding South Metro? Does it matter whether your builder is owned by a family, a corporation, or private equity investors? And if it matters, how do you evaluate whether a builder's family values are genuine or just clever marketing?
At Moderno Homes, we're a third-generation, family-owned custom home builder with over 50 years of history serving the South Metro. Our family values aren't a marketing strategy—they're the foundation of how we operate, how we treat clients, and how we approach every project we undertake. These values translate into tangible benefits that impact your custom home experience from initial consultation through decades of homeownership.
Genuine family ownership creates fundamentally different business dynamics than corporate or private equity ownership. Understanding these differences helps clarify why family values matter when choosing a custom home builder.
Corporate builders answer to shareholders demanding quarterly profit growth. Private equity-backed builders must generate returns within a specific timeframe to satisfy investors. These pressures create incentives to maximize short-term profits, even when doing so conflicts with client interests or long-term quality.
Family-owned businesses think differently. We're planning to serve the South Metro not just for this quarter or this year, but for the next generation and beyond. Third-generation owner Jake Tupy has children who may someday represent the fourth generation of our family serving this community.
This long-term perspective manifests in daily decisions:
Our tagline "Here yesterday, here today, here to stay" reflects this multi-generational commitment. We're not building homes to flip quick profits—we're building a legacy that our children and grandchildren will inherit.
When your family name is on the business and you plan to serve the same community for generations, reputation becomes your most valuable asset. Every home we build either enhances or diminishes that reputation. Every client interaction either strengthens or weakens the goodwill our family has built over 50+ years.
This creates powerful accountability that transcends contractual obligations. We don't just need to fulfill our legal duties—we need to exceed expectations because our family's reputation depends on it. When you see our work throughout Prior Lake, Lakeville, Credit River, and surrounding communities—in neighborhoods like Scenic Bay Estates, Harvest Bluffs, Cardinal Pass, and Holman Addition—you're seeing our legacy.
Corporate builders can rebrand if their reputation suffers. Private equity investors can sell and move on to other ventures. Family businesses live with their reputation—good or bad—for generations. This creates natural incentive to protect and enhance that reputation with every project.
In corporate construction companies, you often work with project managers, sales representatives, and customer service agents who are employees implementing company policies. They may be nice people trying to do good work, but they're fundamentally executing someone else's business model.
In our family business, you work directly with family members and team members who've been with us for years. Jake Tupy, our third-generation owner, personally oversees operations. His sister Ashlee and team member Alex are actively involved in client relationships and project management. When you call Moderno, you're talking to people who have genuine ownership—literally and emotionally—in your project's success.
As client Megan DeMeuse noted: "Jake, Ashlee and Alex have been so great at walking us through every detail of the process so it doesn't feel overwhelming. They are patient and understanding with answering all of our questions."
This personal involvement creates relationships rather than transactions. We remember conversations, understand context, and maintain continuity throughout your project. You're not case number 4,722 in a CRM system—you're a family working with our family to create something meaningful.
Family values sound nice in theory, but how do they translate into tangible benefits for your custom home project? Let's examine specific ways our family ownership impacts your experience.
Jake takes great care in understanding your family and your lifestyle to create spaces that complement you. This isn't marketing language—it reflects a fundamental belief that cookie-cutter floor plans don't work for one-of-a-kind families.
Because we're a family, we understand family dynamics intuitively:
This family-focused design approach starts with listening. Before we discuss architectural styles or material selections, we want to understand how your family actually lives. How do mornings work in your household? Where does homework happen? Do you entertain frequently or prefer intimate family time? How do hobbies and interests shape your space needs?
These conversations inform design decisions that make your home work beautifully for your specific family rather than some generic "typical family" that doesn't exist.
A core family value is simple reciprocity: treat others as you'd want to be treated. In construction, this translates to treating your property, your investment, and your trust with the same respect and care we'd want if roles were reversed.
This manifests in countless small ways:
Client testimonials consistently highlight this respectful approach. As Megan DeMeuse noted: "You can tell they value relationships by the way they treat their vendors. We have worked alongside both Moderno and their subcontractors and everyone is so friendly and professional."
The way we treat subcontractors, suppliers, and everyone involved in your project reflects our family values. We don't yell, blame, or create adversarial relationships. We treat people with respect and dignity because that's how families should operate—and how we'd want to be treated.
Family relationships are built on honest communication, even when the truth is uncomfortable. We bring this same commitment to honest communication to our client relationships.
Sometimes honest communication means telling you things you might not want to hear:
These conversations aren't fun, but they're necessary. Our transparent construction management approach creates natural space for honest communication because we're not trying to hide markups or protect profit margins. Our success depends on your satisfaction, so we surface concerns early when they're easier and less expensive to address.
Linda Herring-Jaworski captured this honesty in her testimonial: "Great people to work with, honest know what works what doesn't... quick to take care of any issues."
Three generations of family involvement in custom home construction create accumulated wisdom that benefits every client we serve. This isn't just about Jake's experience—it's about lessons learned over 50+ years of family dedication to the craft.
This generational wisdom informs:
When you work with Moderno, you're not just getting Jake's experience—you're benefiting from wisdom accumulated across three generations of dedication to custom home construction excellence.
Being a family-owned business isn't just about internal family dynamics—it's about our relationship with the community we serve.
We're not an out-of-state corporation that saw market opportunity in the South Metro. We're not a franchise of a national brand. We're a local family business born and raised in this community.
This local connection matters in tangible ways:
Deep Local Knowledge: We understand South Metro building conditions because we've worked here exclusively for three generations. We know Prior Lake's soil variations, Lakeville's permitting nuances, Credit River's rural character, and every community's unique characteristics.
As one of Scott County's largest acreage developers, we've transformed hundreds of raw land parcels into stunning homesites. This experience informs everything from septic system planning to driveway design to utility coordination.
Established Relationships: Three generations in the community means established relationships with local building officials, permitting authorities, inspection departments, and code enforcement. These relationships translate into smoother processes for your project.
Access to the Best Craftsmen: We've spent decades building relationships with the South Metro's finest electricians, plumbers, framers, finishers, and specialty contractors. These relationships give you access to craftsmen who take pride in their work and maintain the highest standards.
Community Investment: We're invested in the long-term health of the communities where we build because we live here too. Many of our team members' children attend local schools alongside your children. We shop at the same stores, attend the same churches, and participate in the same community events.
We're not just building in your neighborhood—we're building FOR your neighbors, because this is our neighborhood too. This creates what we call "shared stakes" in community quality and reputation.
When we develop communities like Scenic Bay Estates, thoughtfully plan neighborhoods like Cardinal Pass with its 12 carefully positioned acreage lots, or create the distinctive character of Harvest Bluffs, we're shaping the community where our own families live and where future generations will grow up.
This isn't altruism—it's enlightened self-interest. Beautiful, well-built communities enhance everyone's property values and quality of life, including ours. Poorly planned or cheaply built neighborhoods diminish the community we all share.
Our tagline reflects a simple but powerful promise: we're not going anywhere. We were here serving this community before you chose to build with us, we're here supporting you through your build, and we'll be here if you need us for years and decades to come.
This permanence creates accountability that short-term operators and corporate builders simply can't match. When you build with Moderno, you're not worried that your builder might disappear, get bought out, or leave the market. You know we'll be here because our family's future—both business and personal—is tied to this community.
Our family values inform not just how we relate personally but how we structure our business operations.
Our transparent construction management model with open-book pricing stems directly from family values about honesty and trust. In a family, you don't hide costs or mark things up when helping family members—you show them what things actually cost and work together to make good decisions.
We apply this same transparency to client relationships. You see actual subcontractor bids. You understand material costs. You know our management fee. Everything is documented, transparent, and open for review.
This transparency typically saves clients 10-15% compared to traditional general contractor markups—often $50,000 to $100,000 or more on custom home projects. But beyond dollar savings, it creates trust that transforms the building experience from adversarial negotiation to genuine partnership.
Because we work on a management fee basis rather than marking up subcontractor costs, our financial success is tied to your satisfaction—not to maximizing project costs. This alignment of incentives creates true partnership rather than the inherent conflict of interest in traditional contractor relationships.
When problems arise (and in construction, challenges inevitably occur), we're motivated to find cost-effective solutions rather than benefiting from expensive change orders. When you're evaluating upgrades, we can provide genuine guidance about where premium features make sense rather than having financial incentive to steer you toward more expensive options.
This partnership approach reflects family values applied to business relationships: we succeed when you succeed, and we're motivated to work together toward shared goals rather than competing interests.
The way we treat subcontractors, suppliers, and everyone involved in your project reflects our family values and directly benefits you.
As Megan DeMeuse observed: "You can tell they value relationships by the way they treat their vendors. We have worked alongside both Moderno and their subcontractors and everyone is so friendly and professional. If a problem comes up, everyone jumps in quickly to resolve."
When we treat craftsmen with respect, pay them promptly, communicate clearly, and maintain long-term relationships, they deliver their best work. They show up on time, take pride in quality, and go the extra mile to maintain the relationship. These intangible benefits—responsiveness, quality focus, extra effort—can't be purchased but they significantly impact your project outcomes.
Conversely, builders who treat subcontractors poorly, play payment games, or create adversarial relationships get subcontractors' B-game. The craftsmen show up, fulfill contractual obligations, and move on—but they don't invest the extra care and attention that elevates good work to exceptional work.
Understanding family values philosophically is one thing, but how do they translate into practical benefits for your custom home project?
In families, when problems arise, you work together to solve them rather than looking for someone to blame. We bring this same collaborative problem-solving approach to construction challenges.
When an unexpected soil condition is discovered or a material shipment is delayed or a design detail proves more complicated than anticipated, we don't waste time on blame or excuses. We focus on solutions: "Here's the situation, here are our options, here are the costs and timeline impacts of each option, and here's what we recommend and why."
This collaborative approach, informed by our experience across 800+ custom builds, consistently produces better outcomes than adversarial approaches where each party protects their interests rather than working toward shared goals.
Family relationships involve flexibility and accommodation—understanding that life happens and rigid policies sometimes need to bend. We bring this same flexibility to client relationships.
When your circumstances change—job transfer, family addition, budget adjustment—we work with you to adapt rather than rigidly enforcing contract terms that no longer serve anyone. When you need to make decisions differently than originally planned or timeline adjustments become necessary, we accommodate where possible because that's how families support each other.
This doesn't mean we accept chaos or constant change—good project management requires structure and discipline. But it does mean we recognize you're real people with real lives, and we adapt our processes to serve you rather than forcing you to fit our procedures.
Family relationships don't end when the immediate project completes. Similarly, our commitment to you extends well beyond the day you receive keys to your new home.
If questions arise months or years later, we're here. If you're planning an addition or remodeling project, we bring the same expertise and values to that work. If you're selling your home years later and the buyers' inspector raises questions, we provide documentation and context.
This long-term support stems naturally from family values and our permanent presence in the community. We're not going anywhere, so maintaining positive long-term relationships serves everyone's interests.
While Moderno is a force in the luxury market, our highest motivation is keeping the move-to-acreage dream alive in an ever-changing world. This mission reflects our family values about making dreams accessible rather than exclusive.
We leave the ego behind and are proud to offer tremendous open-book value to any home building project. Our transparent pricing approach means custom home quality is accessible to more families, not just the ultra-wealthy.
The 10-15% savings our construction management model typically delivers means families can build the custom homes they dream about without overpaying for the privilege. This democratization of custom home building aligns with our family values about fairness and accessibility.
Need management through permitting? No problem. Want turnkey and furnished? We got you! Our family business adapts to your needs rather than forcing you into rigid service packages.
Whether you're building in one of our developed communities like Scenic Bay Estates or Cardinal Pass, bringing your own plans to one of our available lots, or building on your own acreage property or lakefront location, we tailor our involvement to match your needs and preferences.
Every client has one question front of mind when building a new home: "How do I get from where I am to where I want to be with the least disruption to life and within budget?"
We walk with clients to answer questions specific to their situation, providing resources and a clear roadmap of support to make the home they've been dreaming about a reality. This guiding approach reflects our family values about service, support, and genuine care for people's dreams and goals.
Given how many builders claim family ownership and values, how do you evaluate whether these claims are genuine or just marketing?
True family businesses show evidence of multi-generational involvement. At Moderno, Jake represents the third generation of family ownership. His involvement alongside family members in daily operations demonstrates genuine family commitment rather than just inherited ownership.
Ask potential builders: How many generations have been involved? Are family members actively involved in daily operations or just passive owners? How long has the family been serving the local community?
Family values about honesty and trust should manifest in business practices. Our open-book pricing and fee-based construction management model reflect family values applied to business operations.
Ask whether the builder's compensation model creates alignment with your interests or conflict. Builders who mark up subcontractor costs might be family-owned, but their business model doesn't reflect family values about transparency and partnership.
Client testimonials reveal whether family values translate into client experience. Our testimonials consistently mention themes like patience, understanding, collaborative problem-solving, and respectful relationships—all reflecting family values in practice.
When reviewing testimonials for potential builders, look beyond "they did good work" to understand how clients experienced the relationship. Did they feel respected? Were problems solved collaboratively? Did the builder demonstrate care beyond contractual obligations?
True local family businesses demonstrate community involvement beyond just building houses. Look for evidence of long-term presence, community investment, and established relationships.
Our three-generation history in the South Metro, our role as one of Scott County's largest acreage developers, and our visible presence throughout Prior Lake, Lakeville, and surrounding communities demonstrate genuine local commitment rather than marketing claims.
Family values aren't just warm feelings and nice intentions—they're practical commitments that shape how we operate and how you experience building your custom home.
Whether you're planning to build on one of our available lots in Cardinal Pass with its 12 carefully positioned acreage parcels, considering a homesite in Scenic Bay Estates near Prior Lake, exploring opportunities in Harvest Bluffs or Holman Addition, or building on your own property, we invite you to experience how family values translate into tangible benefits:
These aren't marketing claims—they're commitments backed by three generations of family dedication to serving the South Metro with integrity, quality, and genuine care for the families we serve.
Contact Moderno Homes today at 952-234-8879 or schedule a consultation to discover how our family values can benefit your custom home journey. Here yesterday. Here today. Here to stay.
