Most custom builders will not tell you a number until you have sat through two meetings and handed over a survey. You leave the first conversation knowing everything about their craftsmanship and nothing about whether you can afford them.
Hornet Homes puts the price on the plan. The Apex builder publishes home-only prices on all 21 of its floorplans, from $283,000 for the 1,362-square-foot Sycamore to $1,046,000 for the 5,880-square-foot White Oak. It builds on your land across eight North Carolina counties, includes most site work in the price, and backs every home with a written 1-year workmanship and 10-year structural warranty.
That is more transparency than most of the Triangle’s custom builders offer. It still leaves real questions for you to answer about your lot, your loan, and who represents you. This guide walks through both.
Who Is Hornet Homes?
Hornet Homes is a build-on-your-lot custom home builder based at 1480 Chapel Ridge Rd., Suite 100, in apex. Its About page says the company was established in 2016. It reports more than 100 homes built and is listed as a builder member in the 2025 Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County directory. Its own site lists Wake County HBA membership and NC General Contractor License #L.87896.
The team
The company publishes its team by name:
- Jonathan Andrews, founder and builder, who leads every build. He holds an NC general contractor license and is a licensed NC real estate broker.
- Donnie MacKenzie, construction manager, who runs the job site day to day.
- Etienne van Heerden, operations manager, the main contact for timelines.
- Valeria Alvarez, operations coordinator, who manages selections, vendors, and documents.
- Marqus Horton, videographer and photographer.
Andrews says he started Hornet Homes after watching friends go through bad builder experiences: surprise costs, vague timelines, and decisions made for the builder’s convenience. The company describes itself as intentionally small, so a family works with the same team from start to finish.
The phone and the entity
The phone on Hornet’s website is 919-873-4000. The 2025 HBA directory lists a different number, so use the website’s.
One naming note: BuildZoom lists the licensed entity as Lion Enterprise LLC, trading as Hornet Homes, at the same Apex address. Hornet’s site also says its real estate activity runs through Hornet Realty, LLC. Make sure you know which entity signs your construction contract, and which one, if any, is involved in your land purchase.
Where Does Hornet Homes Build?
Hornet builds in eight counties: Wake, Durham, Chatham, Johnston, Wilson, Nash, Franklin, and Granville. Its town guides cover:
- Wake County: apex, cary, raleigh, holly-springs, wake-forest, zebulon, wendell
- Johnston County: clayton
- Franklin County: Louisburg
- Granville County: Oxford
- Nash County: Middlesex, Bailey, Spring Hope
Nash and Wilson counties sit east of the Triangle. For most Triangle buyers, the Wake and Johnston towns are where the conversation starts.
Infill and teardowns
Hornet’s Cary guide mentions infill lots and teardowns. Its Raleigh guide mentions infill, teardowns, and edge acreage. If you own an older house on a good lot, that is the conversation to start.
Lots Hornet holds
Hornet holds its own lots in the Village of Old Spring Hope and Murphy’s Ridge, listed “from $75,000.” The site does not price each community separately. Its land search tool lets you filter lots and save alerts.
What Does Hornet Homes Build?
Hornet builds single-family homes from a library of 21 published plans, adjusted to your lot and your family.
| Buyer question | What the public record shows |
|---|---|
| State contractor license | L.87896 (Hornet Homes LLC): Residential classification, limited license limit, active through Dec. 31, 2026 per the NC Licensing Board for General Contractors, checked Oct. 14, 2026 |
| Home type | Custom homes on your lot, from published plans |
| Price range | $283,000 to $1,046,000, home only, building permits included |
| Plans | 21, from 1,362 to 5,880 sq ft |
| Site work | Typically included: survey, soil testing, conventional septic design, well to 300 feet, utility connections, clearing and grading, starter landscaping |
| Standard finishes | Soft-close cabinet doors, quartz or granite counters, smooth-finish walls |
| Timeline | About 6 months permit to keys; 9 to 12 months end to end |
| Warranty | 1-year workmanship and materials; 10-year structural; backed by Hornet Homes |
| License | NC General Contractor #L.87896 |
A sample of the plans
| Plan | Size | Beds / Baths | Published price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sycamore | 1,362 sq ft | 3 / 2 | $283,000 |
| Aspen | 1,624 sq ft | 3 / 2 | $315,000 |
| Hickory | 2,608 sq ft | 4 / 2.5 | $359,000 |
| Holly | 2,309 sq ft | 4 / 3.5 | $439,000 |
| Elm | 2,885 sq ft | 5 / 4.5 | $481,000 |
| Magnolia | 3,304 sq ft | 4 / 4 | $549,000 |
| Oakridge | 4,032 sq ft | 5 / 6 | $634,000 |
| White Oak | 5,880 sq ft | 6 / 6.5 | $1,046,000 |
Those prices exclude the lot and financing. Hornet says a site visit confirms the number for your land.
The fixed-price promise
Hornet’s FAQ says that once you sign, the price is firm. It changes only for upgrades you choose and for a well that must go deeper than 300 feet.
How Does Building With Hornet Homes Work?
Hornet publishes its land process and its build timeline.
- Land walk and feasibility. Send the listing, or show them the lot you own. The team walks it with you and checks utilities, septic, setbacks, and grading.
- Cost-to-build estimate. Choose a plan. Hornet prices it for that lot, including site work and upgrades.
- Offer and close on the land. If the numbers work, Hornet helps you negotiate the lot purchase.
- Contract, design, and selections. Every selection is made before groundbreaking.
- Permitting.
- Construction, about six months. Site work, foundation, framing and rough-ins, then drywall and finish.
End to end, Hornet says to plan on 9 to 12 months. Most of its buyers use a single construction-to-permanent loan that covers lot and build.
What you can change
Finishes, paint, and fixtures are part of every build. Layout tweaks such as moving a wall are usually doable. Changing the footprint or adding a story moves the project toward custom design.
What Should You Verify Before Signing With Hornet Homes?
Hornet answers more questions in public than most builders. The ones it leaves are about your specific lot and your representation. Our guides to finding a Triangle builder and why the builder’s agent works for the builder explain why that matters.
Know who represents you on the land
Hornet’s founder is a licensed broker, and the company runs real estate through Hornet Realty. If Hornet helps you negotiate a lot, ask in writing whom that agent represents. You can bring your own buyer’s agent to the land purchase and the build.
Confirm the entity and license
Match the contracting entity (Lion Enterprise LLC or Hornet Homes) and license #L.87896 to the North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors.
Test the site-work assumptions
The included site work assumes a conventional septic system and a well up to 300 feet. Ask what happens if your soil requires an engineered system, if your lot needs extra fill or a long driveway, or if city water and sewer taps are needed instead. Hornet’s FAQ notes that septic lots often need an acre or more.
Ask about deposits
The FAQ does not cover deposits or the inspection schedule. Get both in writing.
Read the warranty exclusions
Hornet’s warranty page is detailed. Claims must be reported within 30 days of discovery. Disputes go to mediation, then binding arbitration in Wake County. The 10-year structural coverage does not transfer to a new owner unless a third-party administrator is assigned. Compare the terms with our home-builder warranty guide.
How Does Hornet Homes Compare With Other Building Options?
Hornet sits between a production builder and a full custom builder: published plans and prices, built on land you choose.
| Option | Pricing | Lot | Design flexibility | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hornet Homes | Published, $283K to $1.05M home only | Your lot, or Hornet’s | Finishes and layout tweaks | Buyers with land who want a known number |
| Full custom builder | Quoted after design | Your lot | Anything | Buyers who want a one-of-a-kind house |
| Production builder | Published | Builder’s subdivision | Limited options | Buyers who want amenities and speed |
| Resale on acreage | Market | Existing | None | Buyers who need to move now |
Who Is a Strong Fit for Hornet Homes?
Hornet fits a buyer who owns land, or is ready to buy it, and wants a new home with a clear price before design starts.
The strongest candidates usually:
- own a lot in Wake, Johnston, Franklin, Granville, or the counties east of them;
- want to see a price before they commit to a plan;
- are comfortable with a construction-to-permanent loan;
- can make every selection before groundbreaking;
- are open to well and septic.
It is a weaker fit for buyers who want an architect-designed one-off, a large footprint change, or a move-in date in under nine months.
Final Thoughts About Hornet Homes From Tim Clarke
Hornet Homes does something most custom builders will not: it shows you the price before you call. Add a written warranty, a published timeline, and site work included in the number, and you have a builder that has thought hard about where buyers get burned.
The open questions are the ones only your lot can answer, plus one about representation. If the builder’s affiliated brokerage is helping with your land, have your own agent in the room.
I have spent 17+ years in Triangle real estate. Our team builds as well as sells, so we can walk your lot, read a site-work allowance, and tell you whether the published price will hold. The builder’s salesperson represents the builder. We represent you.
If a Hornet plan is on your list, call us at (919) 355-8462.
Sources
- https://hornethomes.com/
- https://hornethomes.com/about/
- https://hornethomes.com/floorplans/
- https://hornethomes.com/where-we-build/
- https://hornethomes.com/find-land/
- https://hornethomes.com/faq/
- https://hornethomes.com/warranty/
- https://www.buildzoom.com/contractor/lion-enterprise-llc-t-a-hornet-homes
- 2025 HBA Raleigh-Wake County builder-member directory (print)
- https://portal.nclbgc.org/Public/Search (NC Licensing Board for General Contractors, license L.87896)
