Cedar Knoll scores high on warranty service questions. Part of the reason has to be that Cedar Knoll sells the ser-vice side so strongly in the sales office and all through construction. "We budget an extra $2,000 into every house, so we never have to worry that we don't have the money to go back and fix it, even after the warranty expires," Wishneski says.

Like with virtually all builders in this market, Cedar Knoll's independent sales agents are Realtors, but in this case they have an extra bond because they come from a brokerage owned by Campbell. As soon as buyers go to contract, Wishneski and the purchasing team led by Craig Martin become key contacts. "For three weeks we work closely with each buyer, through pricing to blueprints," Wishneski says. "Then I do a handoff to the super, who still works closely with the sales agent.

"We've standardized our processes to a high degree for such a small firm. For instance, when we hire a new su-per, he works as an assistant, under one of our longtime supers, until he knows our system inside out. One of our current supers worked for seven years as an assistant."

To smooth the option, upgrade and selections process, Cedar Knoll now has a 3,000-square-foot design center at its headquarters, where buyers meet with an interior designer working under design center manager Sim Whitehill.