Design . Build . Live
Design-build custom homes in the DMV. New home construction, teardown-rebuilds and spec homes — architecture, engineering, permits and construction under one contract.
From the first sketch to the keys in your hand — one team, one contract.
A custom home is the largest, most complex project in residential construction — and the one where the design-build model pays for itself many times over. At Karma Construction Group, new home builds are our flagship work: architecture, engineering, permitting, and construction under one contract, delivered by one accountable team across Washington DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia.
Whether it’s a modern farmhouse in Loudoun County, a teardown-rebuild in Arlington, or a high-end contemporary in Great Falls, the process is the same: we design to your budget, we permit what we design, and we build what we permitted.
Prefer a pre-designed home at a fixed price? Our sister company Lot2Build builds catalog home models on a lot you already own — choose a model and get a fixed price instead of starting from a blank page.
Most custom-home horror stories start the same way: an architect designs a house, a builder prices it a year later, and the number lands 40% over budget. Design-build eliminates that failure mode.
Washington DC · Montgomery County & Prince George’s County, MD · Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun & Prince William Counties, VA — plus Raleigh, NC. Explore our local pages for Northern Virginia, Annandale, Warrenton, and more on our service areas page.
Every serious build starts with a serious number. We’ve published detailed, county-specific cost guides to help you calibrate before we ever meet:
The same design-build team delivers home additions, whole-home remodeling, and ADUs in Virginia and Maryland — so whatever your property needs next, you already know your builder.
Ready to talk about your build? Call 202.798.7663 or request a free consultation below — bring your lot, your ideas, and your target budget, and we’ll give you a straight answer on all three.
First-hand evidence
These entries are categorized in our public project archive as new-build or development work. Their exact project type and location are stated below rather than being generalized to every market we serve.
New build / development
A riverfront Maryland estate on the Potomac — expansive living spaces with water views, a gourmet kitchen, sunroom, private dock and professionally landscaped grounds. Estate-caliber craftsmanship inside and out.
View project photos and scope →
New build / development
Multi-unit condo development work in Washington DC — amenity spaces including a pool and home theater, plus unit kitchens, family rooms and balconies. Commercial-grade delivery with residential-grade finishes.
View project photos and scope →FAQ
Plan on roughly 12 to 24 months from first design meeting to move-in: several months for design, engineering and selections, several months for permitting depending on the jurisdiction, and typically 8 to 14 months of construction depending on size and complexity. Teardown-rebuilds on existing lots often move faster than raw-land builds because utilities already exist.
Both. We build on lots you already own — including teardown-rebuilds of an existing house — and we regularly evaluate lots and older properties with clients before they buy, so you know what the land can support and roughly what the build will cost before you commit.
Design-build means one company is responsible for architecture, engineering, permitting, and construction under a single contract. For a new home this eliminates the most expensive failure mode in custom building: a design you fall in love with that can't be permitted or built on your budget. Because our builders price the design as it develops, you know where you stand at every step.
Yes — teardown-rebuilds are one of our specialties across the DMV's close-in neighborhoods, where the lot is often worth more than the house on it. We manage demolition permits, utility disconnects and reconnects, and the full design-build of the new home.
It varies widely with size, lot conditions, and finish level — which is why we publish detailed cost guides by county on our blog and give every client a written line-item estimate during design. As a rule of thumb, the DMV builds at a premium to national averages, and the design phase is where the budget is truly decided. Bring us your target number early and we'll design to it.
We're builders, not lenders, but we work with construction and construction-to-permanent loans routinely: we provide the documentation lenders require, schedule draws to match the loan structure, and keep the paperwork moving so your financing never stalls the build.
